Black and Missing but not Forgotten

Missing: Chrissita Cage (Detroit)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Police are asking the public to assist them in finding a missing local woman.

Twenty-eight-year-old Chrissita Cage has been missing since Oct. 26 and suffers from bipolar disorder.

Officials said they found her vehicle on Belle Isle with all of her personal items in it.

[Source]

Missing: Shanita Brown (Detroit)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:30:00 +0000

28-year-old Shanita Brown hasn't been seen in three days, and her family fears something awful has happened to her.

"I talk to my sister everyday. Anybody that knows us (knows) I talk to my sister every day," said Salina Brown.

That's why Salina is worried sick about her 28-year-old sister, Shanita, who she hasn't seen or spoken with since Monday.

"This is not like her. She has not shown up for work. She didn't pick her work check up. She has not been to her house. I just want my sister to come home," Salina Brown said.

On Monday night, Shanita went to Detroit's Celebrity Club on Plymouth Road. Exclusive video obtained by FOX 2 shows Shanita entering the bar with two men and a girlfriend. Shanita is seen in the video wearing a dark jacket.

"I don't know who these two guys are. I just know she's (known) one for about two weeks and that's it," said Salina Brown. "No one has seen her."

The owner of Celebrity tells us Shanita spent a few hours at the club. When you look closely at the video, you can see one of the men becoming very affectionate with Shanita and rubbing her back. The other man sitting to the right of the couple. Cameras eventually capture a clearer image of the two men she was there with until early Tuesday morning.

After they left the bar, Shanita and those two men dropped the other girl they were with off in the 13300 block of Mark Twain. Shanita hasn't been seen or heard from since.

"I hope nobody has hurt her. She (has) so many people that love her. I just want my sister to come home. I want her to be okay," Salina Brown said.

Detroit Police are getting ready to examine the surveillance video, hoping to identify the two men Shanita was with and speak to them about what happened that night.

As each day passes without Shanita, her family can't help but fear the worst.

"In my heart, I feel like something (is) wrong with my sister because she never did this before," said Salinia Brown.

But they're praying for the best.

[Source]

Video:

Missing: 8 month old Jashon Williams (Cali)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:25:00 +0000

Divers were at Aquatic Park this morning probing the waters for the missing 8-month-old son of a 23-year-old Oakland woman found slain at the park Friday morning, authorities said.

The missing child was reported to Oakland police early today by relatives of Zoelina Williams, who was found beaten and shot to death about 4 a.m. Friday at the park.

Police in both Berkeley and Oakland apparently did not know Williams had a child until the relatives notified police. Oakland police said she and the infant had been living with relatives in West Oakland. The baby's name is Jashon Williams.

A suspect, Curtis Martin, 38, of Oakland, has been arrested as a suspect in Williams' slaying. But authorities said he so far is not talking about Williams' death or the missing child.

Authorities said he may have been driving both of them from Oakland to Vallejo early Friday before something happened to cause him to kill Williams and leave her at Aquatic Park.

It is still not clear what the relationship was between Martin and Williams and why she was killed.

The divers are part of the Alameda County Search and Rescue Team.

Anyone with information about the missing child should contact the Oakland Police Department at 510-238-3641.

[Source]

Still Missing: Video of Man Taking Shaniya Davis

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:47:00 +0000

[Source]

Previous Posts:

Shaniya Davis

Shaniya Davis: 2nd Suspect Arrested, but Girl Still Missing

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:09:00 +0000

A second man has been charged in the disappearance of a 5-year-old girl, police said Friday, but the whereabouts of the girl are still unknown.

Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, was arrested early Friday and and charged with first-degree kidnapping. He was being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $100,000 bond and was expected to make his initial court appearance at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Police also dropped the kidnapping charge against another man in the case and released him from jail.

Shaniya Nicole Davis was reported missing from her home, at 1116-A Sleepy Hollow Drive in Fayetteville, on Tuesday morning. Her mother told police she put the girl on a couch at 5:30 a.m., but she was gone when her mother went to check on her about an hour later.

A worker at a Sanford hotel called Fayetteville police on Tuesday to report seeing a child matching Shaniya's description with a man at the hotel. A security video showed the girl with a man believed to be McNeill at the hotel at 6:11 a.m. Tuesday.

By the time Fayetteville investigators reached the hotel, however, the man and the child had checked out, police said.

Shaniya appeared to be "well taken care of," Theresa Chance, spokeswoman for the Fayetteville Police Department, said Thursday night.

"We're hoping we find her alive," Chance said.

She said a tip led to McNeill's arrest, but she declined to disclose where he was found. Investigators are continuing to follow leads in the case, she said.

"We're receiving new leads all the time," she said.

McNeill has a criminal history, including arrests for fleeing to elude arrest, assault on a female and drug possession.

His relationship to Shaniya and her family is unknown, but Chance said that he admitted to investigators that he had abducted the girl.

On Wednesday, police arrested Clarence Darriel Coe, 30, of 211 Brookwood Ave. in Fayetteville, and charged him with first-degree kidnapping in the case.

A witness saw a man driving away from the Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park on Tuesday with Shaniya in his car, police said.

The man was initially believed to be Coe, but Chance said investigators have now determined he wasn't involved in Shaniya's disappearance. McNeill told investigators that he abducted the girl, Chance said, so the charge against Coe was dropped Friday morning.

Shaniya is described as 3 feet tall and 40 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt with pink underwear. She is thin and has a scar on her foot.

Anyone with information on Shaniya's whereabouts is asked to call the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1856 or Crime Stoppers at 910-483-8477.

[Source]

Still Missing: Mitrice Richardson - Sheriff Lee Baca says Department Handled Mitrice by the Book; New Website for Mitrice Richardson

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:10:00 +0000

Sheriff Lee Baca reported to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday that although the Mitrice Richardson missing person’s case is in his words “unusual and unfortunate...the [sheriff’s] department’s release policy and procedures are consistent with state law, and our investigation revealed all applicable laws, policies and procedures were followed.”

Richardson mysteriously disappeared after release from the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Sept. 17 and has not been heard from for close to nine weeks, despite extensive field searches and a concerted effort by her family to keep the missing 24-year-old’s story in the public eye.

Baca’s four-page report was requested by the board last month when the supervisors announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to Richardson’s whereabouts. He concludes that “the department did not identify any areas requiring modification.”

The head of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the LASD processes approximately 180,000 prisoners each year for release and “over-detention [carries] tremendous liability, as well as risk to the public’s safety and a deprivation of civil rights.”

His report includes a cursory outline of the department’s assessment of the circumstances under which the Cal State Fullerton honors graduate was placed under citizen’s arrest by the manager of Geoffrey’s restaurant for allegedly being unable to pay an $89.51 dinner tab and possessing less than an ounce of marijuana in her vehicle, then transported by deputies to Lost Hills for booking on two misdemeanor counts related to the allegations.

As Baca describes it, after Richardson’s 92-year-old great grandmother, the matriarch on her mother’s side, was unable to drive to the restaurant to pay the bill, her mother Latice Sutton spoke to the manager and she “opted not to assist her daughter with the payment.”

Although Geoffrey’s staffers had described the young woman’s behavior as “crazy,” she reportedly passed a field sobriety test and Baca said “her interaction with the deputies was coherent and rational” and “deputies described her as cooperative and polite.”

He said Richardson signed an Arrestee Medical Screening Form stating she has no medical issues or psychological problems.

Richardson, who was garbed in a T-shirt and jeans, and whose only possessions reportedly were a hat, a belt and her California driver license, left the station through a side entrance at 12:25 a.m. with no money, cell phone, or means of transportation; and ostensibly without making her plans known to anyone. Telephone calls to the great-grandmother are listed on the booking report, but no further information about them has been made available.

Regarding the timing of Richardson’s release, Baca said, “It is the policy of the department to release misdemeanor prisoners as soon as such persons may be reasonably and safely released.”

Baca said this policy “is no different than any other time of day,” adding that the procedures emphasize “prompt and safe release once there is no justification to deprive the arrestee of their freedom.” He said “it is not practical or legal for the department to hold people until someone is available to pick them up” and “altering this procedure would subject the department to potential litigation.”

The sheriff reiterated that Richardson was offered the option of being placed in a cell and being “free to leave at any time.” Baca stressed that there was “no legal basis to hold Ms. Richardson and she was released on her written promise to appear in Malibu Court on Nov. 16. Following her release from the station’s jail area, her movements were no longer monitored.”

PARENTS’ REACTION

Richardson’s mother Latice Sutton said she is “very upset by the report” and told the Malibu Surfside News: “It is unfortunate that the LASD deemed releasing anyone from their facility knowing that they had no transportation, form of communication or money as ‘prudent, reasonable and safe,’ particularly someone who they knew was behaving in a manner that warranted an evaluation by a qualified professional. Further the amount of time and manpower that it took to generate their erroneous report takes away valuable time in the search for my daughter.”

Richardson’s father, who maintains his own website concerning his missing daughter, as does the mother, (the couple separated when their daughter was very young), posted a similar comment to the mother’s statement on that site, adding:

“This is ridiculous and my daughter is still missing and really it’s the sheriff's who were the last verified people to see her. If I follow the sheriff’s department’s own logic, it’s clear they acted inappropriately. The initial call regarding my daughter from Geoffrey’s to the sheriff’s was that she was “acting crazy.” Crazy. Crazy as in mental problems, as in you don’t release her on her own in the middle of the night without money, her cell phone, or transportation. You call her parents and or hold her overnight.”

Michael Richardson added, “Now I'm no rocket scientist, but if a woman says she’s from Mars and is here to avenge Michael Jackson's death...chances are she’s in need of some help. My question is, who did they call or who was on duty that night that had the training and background to make the assessment on whether Mitrice Richardson was stable or not?

“If the sheriff’s handling my daughter would have used a little common sense or even put themselves in our shoes as parents and thought twice before just letting Mitrice out into the middle of the night, my daughter would not be missing. But because they didn’t, she is and they refuse to accept responsibility or even act as though they played a role in her disappearance or that they even care.”

The father concludes, “We are tired [of] being lied to and misled by the sheriff's department. I believe that someone at the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff’s department had something to do with my daughter’s disappearance and this report only confirms it for me.”

Richardson’s last statement is being echoed on dozens of blog posts related to the missing woman on websites across Southern California, as well as blogs in other parts of the country.

OIR REVIEW

Lost Hills personnel’s position that the matter has already been reviewed notwithstanding, the Los Angeles Office of Independent Review indicates that it is still looking at the Richardson matter.

Deputy Chief Attorney Benjamin Jones told The News on Monday, “The Office of Independent Review has not completed its monitoring of the department’s review of the Malibu Station personnel’s conduct in their interactions with Ms. Richardson.” This stance was subsequently reiterated by OIR Chief Attorney Michael Gennaco.

The OIR is a civilian oversight group that was created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2001 to “monitor the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and provide legal advice to ensure that allegations of officer misconduct involving the LASD are investigated in thorough, fair, and effective ways.”

OIR consists of six attorneys with backgrounds in criminal law and civil rights issues who “work with LASD, but not for LASD.” OIR contends that it “has the freedom to arrive at its own conclusions and, if necessary, to challenge the department with regard to specific practices or incidents.”

LAPD STATUS

Repeated efforts to obtain updates from the Los Angeles Police Department detectives assigned to the Richardson case have been unsuccessful.

The LAPD is the lead agency because the missing woman resided in Los Angeles with her great-grandmother. There have no formal briefings on whether there have been any recent sightings or exactly what is now being done by the LAPD to try to locate Richardson. Family members have expressed interest in trying to take up the case with new LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

FEDS PETITION

An online activist group whose concerns include criminal justice—change.org—has collected 2022 signatures toward its goal of 5000 signatures on a petition urging state and federal elected and appointed officials to initiate a federal investigation of the Mitrice Richardson case.

In addition to an effort to “help find Richardson,” the group wants “to ensure that this does not happen to additional persons.” The petition is at the group’s website: www.change.org

PRAYER SERVICE

Family and friends gathered last Saturday for a prayer service to “pray for the safe return of Mitrice Richardson” at the New Testament Church in Los Angeles, a church where the missing woman has worshiped in the past.

[Source]

New Website for Mitrice Richardson:

http://www.bringmitricehome.org/

Please Don't Forget about Missing 5 year old Hasanni Campbell: Reward - $75,000

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:33:00 +0000

Volunteers trying to find a 5-year-old Fremont boy who's been missing for more than three months are hoping a $75,000 reward will bring some fresh leads to the case.

They've held a number of vigils for Hasanni Campbell since he was reported missing Aug. 10, but they say the latest one Tuesday had a poor turnout.

Authorities and volunteers have now raised the reward, up from the $60,000 announced in September.

Hasanni, who has cerebral palsy, reportedly went missing when his foster father, Louis Ross, briefly left him alone in a parked car in the city's Rockridge neighborhood.

Police initially arrested Ross and his fiancee, Jennifer Campbell, on suspicion of murder, but prosecutors declined to file charges due to lack of evidence. Authorities say searches have turned up no significant leads in the case.

[Source]

Low turnout at vigil for missing Fremont boy

Turnout was poor at a Tuesday night's vigil marking three months since 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell was reported missing, an organizer said Wednesday.

"We had a handful of people, but that was it," said Sherri Miller, who has organized searches, vigils and at least one fundraiser for the missing Fremont boy.

But after a fundraiser in Livermore last week, the reward for information leading to a conviction in Hasanni's abduction now stands at $75,000.

Tuesday's gathering at College Avenue Presbyterian Church drew television news cameras, but few attendees, Miller said.

Hasanni's foster parents, Louis Ross and Jennifer Campbell, of Fremont, reported the boy missing Aug. 10 near a shoe store in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. The two were later arrested on suspicion of murder, but released after prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to charge them. The foster parents did not attend Tuesday's vigil.

Several police and volunteer searches since then have turned up no significant leads as to Hasanni's whereabouts, police said.

"The more frustrating it gets, the harder we have to work," Miller said. "He's out there somewhere and that's the bottom line. He's out there and he deserves to be found. Hopefully with the city's new police chief and new district attorney, maybe they'll get some answers. Maybe we'll figure it out. I don't know what it's going to take, but we haven't found him yet, so we just have to keep going until we do."

Campbell was about six months pregnant at the time of Hasanni's reported disappearance, and declined police requests that she take a polygraph test because, she said, she was worried that the test might affect her pregnancy.

Police have not discussed new leads in the case.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Oakland Police Department at 510-777-3211 or 510-238-7934 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.

Supporters continue to hold monthly vigils for the boy. The next one will be on Dec. 10. For more information, visit www.hasannicampbell.com or e-mail findhasanni@gmail.com.

If you know anybody that live in California or Oakland area, please help support this little boy. Foster children are often forgotten about (especially when they go missing because some would assume that they are just running away from their problems) and Hasanni needs us now more than ever.

Refresh Your Memory on Hasanni Campbell's Disapperance

“The longer he’s out there and not found, it doesn’t look good,” Louis Ross says, choking up, in an interview about his missing foster son, 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell.

Campbell disappeared Aug. 10 in Oakland, Calif. when Ross left him in standing near the family car in the parking lot behind the shoe store where his fiancée, Campbell’s biological aunt and foster mom, Jennifer Campbell works. Upon seeing that their son had disappeared Ross and Campbell called 911 and began frantically searching.

“Hasanni does not wander away,” Ross told CBS 5 San Francisco.

How can Ross be so sure?

Hasanni was born with Cerebral Palsy, a type of permanent disorder that inhibits development of movement and posture, i.e., he had trouble walking, and according to Ross, could do so with concentration.

Contrary to early reports that described him wearing metal braces on his legs, Ross told reporters he wears plastic braces on his feet, which would not be visible over his clothes. He also said that if his son’s braces were removed he would still be able to walk, but would be looking down at the ground in focus.

Hasanni was left alone for “about five minutes, probably less,” Ross said in the same interview.

When asked what he think did happen in those five minutes, Ross tears up: “as a father, those are thoughts you don’t want to entertain.”

Jeff Thomason says Ross is mostly likely correct in his assumption that Hassani did not walk away: “anything’s possible but it’s not likely…right now no witnesses saw Hassani walking away from that area.”

The FBI has joined the search, along with several other local agencies. On the day of his disappearance a massive search was launched, including the use of a California Highway Patrol airplane and the K-9 unit. In the past eight days they have gone door-to-door in parts of Oakland and searched numerous locations, including a regional park and his foster parents’ home in Freemont.

Hassani Campbell, five, disappeared on Aug. 10 when his foster father left him in a parking lot for a mere five minutes.

The police have only received around 50 tips, which Thomason told reporters is an unusually low number for a week-old missing child case.

“We definitely need the public’s help,” Thomason said to CBS 5.

A $10,000 reward was offered Monday by Oakland Police and Crime Stoppers for information leading to the whereabouts of the boy.

“This is a continuous investigation that will be conducted day and night,” Officer Seth Neri said in a press conference.

The Oakland PD has been in touch with the biological mother, who lives in San Francisco, and told Crimesider that she is not a person of interest at this point.

Hasanni was removed from his 25-year-old mother’s home because she had physically abused him. Shemika Campbell, who also has Cerebral Palsy, says she thinks someone kidnapped him. In an exclusive interview with CBS 5 she says, “I always had a feeling that he would be gone from me one day.”

Missing and Not Forgotten: Priscilla Rogers (North Carolina)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:25:00 +0000

Sometimes late at night, when Larry Rogers was trying to sleep, he'd hear his name mentioned outside his home.

His sister, Priscilla Ann Rogers, was out on Red Cross Street in Wilmington, shouting at somebody about how they'd better shape up, or her big brother would be outside any minute.

Rogers, 50, would ignore her and go back to sleep. That, he says, is just how his little sister, known in the neighborhood as “Chuck E. Cheese,” often acts.

Priscilla, 41, loved to be seen and heard in downtown Wilmington where she's lived all her life and knew almost everyone, her family says.

But the mix of her outgoing personality and risky lifestyle - Priscilla was addicted to drugs and would work as a prostitute - makes it even more alarming that she hasn't been seen in Wilmington for more than four months. She's been officially missing since late August, and a police are again asking for help finding Priscilla.

“I think something happened to my sister,” Rogers said. “She would have called me.”

Disappeared

Priscilla was reported missing to the Wilmington Police Department on Aug. 28. But her family and police say they suspect she disappeared in mid-June. Rogers said Priscilla was last seen getting into a truck with someone she knew.

Several days later, he says, he and authorities entered Priscilla's home near Ninth and Queen streets and found food in the sink, lights on and her dog crying.

Family members said they didn't immediately fill out a missing persons report because Priscilla would sometimes leave town for short periods.

But Rogers says she would always called soon after she left.

“We know this time it's too long. Something ain't right,” he said.

Wilmington police Detective Paul Verzaal knew Priscilla and agreed she wasn't one to be in town and go unnoticed.

Since August, Verzaal says, he's looked for Priscilla and hung missing person signs in downtown convenience stores, but had no luck.

Rumors she was found dead near Leland or Greenfield Lake have turned up nothing, he said. He also checked with the N.C. State Medical Examiner's Office, but still hasn't found any sign of Priscilla.

Verzaal said he's spoken with people who knew her, and is still following leads. But he also said he is looking for help from anyone who might know where she is. Verzaal has considered the family's fear that something bad has happened to her.

“We're still treating it as a missing person case until we're proven otherwise,” Verzaal said.

Priscilla's description has been entered in a national database, which will tell any law enforcement she encounters that she is missing from Wilmington, Verzaal said.

Rogers is a black woman, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 100 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

In an interview, Verzaal asked hunters who are heading into the woods in the coming months to report anything that could be human remains.

Wondering

Larry Rogers and Beverly Rivers, Priscilla's sister, say wherever they go in Wilmington, people ask about Priscilla, and they don't know what to tell them.

They acknowledge she led a risky lifestyle, and Rivers says she prayed for years Priscilla would quit drugs and lead a more normal life.

But her brother and sister say she's a happy person, with family who cared for her, and who treated everyone with respect.

“She deserves more than to not be found,” Rivers said. “It's just not the same with her not around.”

[Source]

Missing: Dalon Harkless (New Jersey)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:23:00 +0000

Police in Camden County are searching for a teenage boy with autism who went missing Thursday evening.

Dalon Harkless, 13 was last seen laving his home on Madison Avenue in Lindenwold at about 5:10 p.m.

Authorities said Harkless, who answers to "Day", is mentally around the age of 6. He is described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall with a medium to thin build.

Harkless was last wearing black-hooded sweatshirt, nylon warm-up pants and was carrying a backpack filled with magazines.

If you have any information, please contact Lindenwold Police at 856-784-4800.

[Source]

Spotted but Still Missing: Shaniya Davis (North Carolina)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:13:00 +0000

A missing 5-year-old North Carolina girl was seen with a man at a hotel, but not the same person charged in her kidnapping, police said late Thursday.

Shaniya Davis was spotted in Sanford with a man identified as Mario Andrette McNeill, said Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Teresa Chance. She was seen with him Tuesday, about an hour after she disappeared from her home in Fayetteville, about 40 miles away.

Late Wednesday night, police arrested and charged 30-year-old Clarence Coe, who told a judge at his first court appearance that he is not guilty of kidnapping the girl. Police did not comment on any possible link between Coe and McNeill.

Chance said a hotel worker called police to report seeing a child matching Shaniya's description, but by the time police got there, McNeill had left. Authorities reviewed surveillance video and, after speaking with family members, confirmed the child's identity.

Chance said authorities are uncertain of the connection between McNeill and the child. Her father, Bradley Lockhart, made a tearful appeal for his daughter's safe return.

"We just ask that they bring her home safe. We all miss her and love her very much," Lockhart said. "Shaniya, if you're listening to daddy, I miss you so much, honey. I'm waiting for you. I'm not going to give up. You don't give up either, honey."

In court on Thursday, Cumberland County Judge Tal Baggett asked Coe if he understood why he was there.

"No, but I'm not guilty, sir," Coe said. He did not enter a formal plea to the kidnapping charge, and Baggett said the court would appoint an attorney.

Baggett also said Coe was also accused of "terrorizing" the child's mother, although he did not elaborate.

Chance said a witness spotted Coe taking Shaniya Davis out of the trailer park where she was reported missing.

"I think it's safe to say this is not a random occurrence," Chance said.

Chance also said authorities believe the girl is alive.

"We believe she's safe. We just want him to return her. We have no reason to believe that he would harm her, none at all," Chance said.

Barbara Davenport, property manager at Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park, said Coe is dating Shaniya's mother, Antoinette Davis, and has visited several times.

Investigators said police dogs did not pick up the child's scent during a search of the neighborhood.

"Our hopes are that she's close by," Chance said.

Coe was being held at the Cumberland County jail. He has several criminal charges on his state record, including an April conviction for misdemeanor breaking and entering, and he was released from prison in mid-August, according to Department of Correction records.

Coe was previously convicted of assault on a female, felony breaking and entering, larceny, robbery and other charges dating to 2001.

Investigators found a blanket that may have belonged to Shaniya in a garbage can outside a neighbor's home. Lt. Alex Thompson said investigators also found other items Shaniya may have been wearing.

Davis and Shaniya's father, who flew in from out of state, have been speaking with investigators.

[Source]

Missing: Cassandra Morton (Virginia)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:44:00 +0000

A Lynchburg woman has been missing for more than a month, and police are asking for the public’s help in locating her.

Lynchburg police said Thursday that Cassandra Ann Morton, 23, was last seen on Oct. 10, a Saturday, around 10 p.m. near Park Avenue in Lynchburg.

Morton’s family told police that Morton has always stayed in touch with friend and family.

Police described Morton as a black female, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 125 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective M.R. Soyars with the Lynchburg Police Department at 455-6160 or Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900.

[Source]

Missing: Regina McDaniel II (Detroit)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Relatives of a Detroit woman missing since Nov. 3 are praying she’s still alive and that she’ll return home safely to family including her 2-year-old son.

Regina McDaniel II was last seen Nov. 3, and that night she left her last entry on Facebook, her mother, also named Regina McDaniel, said this morning. Her daughter, 20, is studying to become a pharmacy technician and has a 2-year-old son, Kimoni McDaniel.

Regina McDaniel said she’s holding out hope even though police on Wednesday discovered her daughter’s unoccupied silver 2004 Mercy Sable sedan had been burned out and towed to an impound lot, Detroit Police Officer Phillip Cook said.

Regina McDaniel II was last seen leaving her home in the 200 block of Merton. She was last seen wearing a pink jacket, blue jeans and leopard print boots.

Investigators are trying to determine whether a body found in a Dumpster Tuesday may be Regina McDaniel II. The woman, discovered in the 6900 block of Mettetal, just east of where Fenkell and Grand River cross the Southfield Freeway, still had not been identified this morning, officials said.

“I don’t even know how to begin to live my life without her,” Regina McDaniel said this morning as her grandson cried in her arms. “She’s quiet and kept to her self, but she also had a sassy side. She was so beautiful, and so kind.”

Regina McDaniel II lived at the family home near Palmer Park. Her mother said it’s been heartbreaking watching Kimoni McDaniel run to the window looking for his mother’s car and calling out for her.

Anyone with information about Regina McDaniel II’s disappearance is asked to call the Detroit Police at 313-596-1200 or Crime Stoppers to leave anonymous info at 800-773-2587.

[Source]

Anthony Sowell: 10 Victims Identified

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:16:00 +0000

If you missed the news on Anthony Sowell:

Three More Victims Identified: Crystal Dozier, Amelda Hunter, Michelle Mason

Cleveland police on Saturday told three more families that their relatives were among the 11 women whose bodies were removed from the house and yard of serial murder suspect Anthony Sowell.

The names of Crystal Dozier, 38; Amelda Hunter, 47; and Michelle Mason, 45, are now added to the list of victims discovered around Sowell's Imperial Avenue home between Oct. 29 and Nov. 2.

Hunter, known as Amy, was the sixth of eight children, a mother of three and a beautician. Denise Hunter, Amy's 46-year-old sister, said her sister might still be alive if not for an injury that left her unable to use one of her arms.

"She was a fighter. If she wasn't hurt she would've given him [her attacker] a fight for his money," she said.

Dozier went missing in May 2007. The second oldest of four children, she shared a birthday with her mother, Florence Bray, 57.

"That was me and her special day," Bray said Saturday, adding that the two often dressed in matching jeans or jumpsuits on their birthdays.

Antonia Dozier, 23, one of Dozier's seven children, said she just recently started crying while assembling a special sandwich that her mother used to make -- pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese toasted on bread. "I wish I could see her just one more time," she said.

Reached by phone, a member of the Mason family declined to comment.

Sowell, 50, remains in the City Jail under a $5 million bond.

Earlier this week, authorities identified four other women found around Sowell's home including Tonia Carmichael, 52; Nancy Cobbs, 43; Tishana Culver, 31, and Telacia Fortson, 31.

Members of the FBI's behavioral analysis team were in Cleveland Saturday looking into Sowell's background and touring the neighborhood around his house. Agents said they are gathering information to see if Sowell may be linked to unsolved cases in cities where he once lived. During eight years as a U.S. Marine, he was stationed in North Carolina, Okinawa and California.

All of the victims were black females between the ages of 31 and 52. All were mothers.

Cobbs, Culver, Dozier and Mason lived or had lived in the area, according to public records. Carmichael and Hunter frequented the area. Police reports list Fortson as a victim and a suspect in multiple crimes in the neighborhood.

All of the women had criminal records and a history of drug abuse. Police believe drugs and alcohol were keys to Sowell's ability to lure women to his house.

A woman who came forward Tuesday to accuse Sowell of attacking her in April says, that as he choked her he said, "You just another crack [expletive] from the street, no one will know if you missing," according to a police report.

While all of the women were missed by family members and friends, three of the victims -- Culver, Fortson and Hunter -- were not reported to police until after authorities began removing bodies from the house Oct. 29.

Family members of Fortson, who was last seen in June, said they called East Cleveland police and thought that a police report was taken.

Carmichael was reported missing to Warrensville Heights within weeks of disappearing in November 2008. Cobbs' family reported her missing to Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority within days of not seeing her.

CMHA shares its reports with Cleveland police, but the Cobbs report never made it into the department's system, according to records.

Dozier, who disappeared in June 2007, and Mason, who was last seen in October 2008, were both reported missing to Cleveland police. The 'department's response to the report about Dozier was not clear Saturday. But family members said they didn't do enough.

Antonia Dozier said that since her mother had been missing previously, police said she likely would turn up. Antonia disagreed: "It's not like her not to call," she said. "They said there was nothing they could do because she was an adult."

Antonia Dozier said the family continued the search on their own, periodically calling the coroner and hospital and posting fliers in stores and on power poles.

Although the news was difficult to face, Bray said she was grateful in a way. "It's comforting to know she is in a better place," she said. "I have closure now."

Police did react to the missing report on Mason. According to records, officials checked Mason's home, a relative's home and three areas Mason was known to frequent along with hospitals and the morgue. They also alerted the FBI's National Crime Information Center.

Janice Webb Identified

Officials have identified another woman found dead at Anthony Sowell's house on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland.

Janice Webb, 49, was last seen June 3 when she left the Lakewood house where she was living with her boyfriend.

For days now, her family has been awaiting word on whether she was one of the 11 women removed from the Imperial Avenue house of suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell, 49.

Like the other women police suspect Sowell of killing, Webb had a criminal record, a history of drug abuse and ties to the neighborhood where Sowell lived.

The other women are identified as Tonia Carmichael, 52; Nancy Cobbs, 45; Tishana Culver, 31; Crystal Dozier, 38; Telacia Fortson, 31; Amelda Hunter, 47; Michelle Mason, 45.

Sowell, 50, is in jail with bond set at $5 million.

He has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder and rape in connection with the bodies removed from his house.

Sowell also faces charges of kidnaping, rape and attempted murder in connections with an attack on a 36-year-old woman on Sept. 22. Sowell lured a 36-year-old woman to his house on Cleveland's East Side to drink malt liquor with him, then used an extension cord to choke the women until she passed out and raped her, authorities say.

Authorities suspect that Sowell is responsible for the deaths of all 11 women found dead in his home on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland.

Investigators outside the city also are looking at Sowell as in connection with other crimes, including in East Cleveland, where police are trying to connect Sowell to three unsolved murders.

9th Body Kim Yvette Smith

Authorities have identified 44-year-old Kim Yvette Smith as the ninth of 11 women whose bodies were found in and around the house of suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell. Post your condolences to the families of the victims here.

Like the other seven women who police say were victims of Sowell's, Smith had a criminal record and a history of drug abuse. She was not reported missing to Cleveland police until Nov. 2, the day authorities finished removing bodies from the house.

The other women are identified as Tonia Carmichael, 52; Nancy Cobbs, 45; Tishana Culver, 31; Crystal Dozier, 38; Telacia Fortson, 31; Amelda Hunter, 47; Michelle Mason, 45, and Janice Webb, 49.

Sowell, 49, is in jail with bond set at $5 million.

He has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder and rape in connection with the bodies.

Sowell also faces charges of kidnaping, rape and attempted murder in connections with an attack on a 36-year-old woman on Sept. 22. Sowell lured a 36-year-old woman to his house on Cleveland's East Side to drink malt liquor with him, then used an extension cord to choke the women until she passed out and raped her, authorities say.

Special to The Plain DealerKim Yvette SmithAuthorities suspect that Sowell is responsible for the deaths of all 11 women found dead in his home on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland.

Investigators outside the city also are looking at Sowell as in connection with other crimes, including in East Cleveland, where police are trying to connect Sowell to three unsolved murders.

10th victim: Leshanda Long

A 25-year-old Cleveland woman has been identified as the 10th victim found at serial killings suspect Anthony Sowell's home.

Leshanda Long was familiar with Sowell's neighborhood on Imperial Avenue and last resided on Denison Avenue. She had been reported missing to Cleveland police twice: once in 1997, when she was 13, and in 2000, when she was 17, according to police Lt. Thomas Stacho.

Long was not reported as a missing person to police recently, he said. Family members told police she had last been seen in August 2008. Long's relatives were too distraught to talk late Wednesday night.

"This is still hard to believe," a cousin said. "We tried to prepare ourselves for this but we couldn't."

Long's father did not want to speak to reporters, the man said. Long's uncle said his niece had three daughters and battled a crack cocaine addiction for years. The Cuyahoga County coroner's office used DNA analysis to identify her, which was complicated because only her skull was available, Stacho said.

FBI agents are expected to use thermal imaging equipment to search for bodies today at the house next door to Sowell's. City workers were at Sowell's home Wednesday clearing debris in preparation for the search and detectives took several evidence bags from the home.

Their work seemed to stir up foul odors that flooded the southeast Cleveland neighborhood, though no new bodies were found.

The coroner's office is working to identify the 11th and final victim found in Sowell's home or yard.

The other victims already identified include Tonia Carmichael, 52; Nancy Cobbs, 45; Tishana Culver, 31; Crystal Dozier, 38; Telacia Fortson, 31; Amelda Hunter, 47; Michelle Mason, 45; Kim Yvette Smith,44; and Janice Webb, 49.

Most of the women were strangled, authorities said.

Sowell is in jail under a $5 million bond, having been charged with five counts of aggravated murder. Cuyahoga County prosecutors said more charges are expected and they could seek the death penalty.

Sowell served 15 years in prison after being convicted of attempted rape in 1990. He moved into the Imperial Avenue home after getting out of prison in 2005.

The house was owned by his late father and his stepmother. Allen Sowell, the suspect's brother, said he was told by Sowell that their stepmother was living in a nursing home, but Allen Sowell said he was concerned about her fate since he had not spoken to her in at least a year.

Stacho said police were able to talk to the woman in recent days and confirm that she is safe.

Police went to arrest Sowell on Oct. 29, about one month after a woman told them he choked and raped her inside the home. He was not home at the time but police went in and found two bodies.

Investigators found four more bodies the next day. Sowell remained at large for nearly two days until police arrested him walking down the street Nov. 1 about a mile from his home.

Three days later, police found four more bodies, and a skull in the basement.

Most of the victims battled drug addiction and police believe Sowell lured them into his home by offering them liquor or drugs.

Consideration of a Missing Persons Unit

In the wake of the Imperial Avenue stranglings, Cuyahoga County officials are considering tactics to more easily find missing people.

County Administrator Jim McCafferty said at today's commissioners' meeting that he and Sheriff Bob Reid have had preliminary discussions about creating a database of missing persons or forming a missing persons unit.

The discussions come two weeks after police found bodies at Anthony Sowell's home on Imperial Avenue on the east side of Cleveland. So far, 10 of 11 victims have been identified, all women, many of them strangled.

Most of the victims battled drug addiction, and some often went missing for days or longer. Police believe Sowell lured them into his home by offering them liquor or drugs.

Commissioner Tim Hagan said he would encourage the sheriff to meet with local police chiefs to make a concerted effort to track down Clevelanders who go missing.

"There seems to be some kind of breakdown here," Hagan said. "We want to be as supportive as we can."

Telacia Fortson Remembered

The life of Telacia Fortson, a victim of a suspected serial killer, was celebrated today at an emotional ceremony that called on the community to unite as it copes with a still-unfolding tragedy.

The funeral - the first for any of the victims removed from a house on Imperial Avenue - overwhelmed Fortson's adoptive mother, Inez Fortson, who began hyperventilating and was taken to a hospital, Rev. Ivory Jones III said during the service. A family spokeswoman said after the service that Inez Fortson was stable.

Family and friends of Fortson, 31, remembered her at the Grace Missionary Baptist Church in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood as a caring and generous mother who had a playful, competitive side.

Fortson is one of 11 women whose bodies were removed two weeks ago from Anthony Sowell's property on Imperial Avenue on Cleveland's East Side. The victims are all black women.

The pastors who spoke at the funeral urged the capacity audience to embrace those who are suffering through the tragedy.

Telacia FortsonQuita Thompson, who knew Fortson for years and babysat her children, said the community has to keep the funeral's message in mind after all the victims have been grieved.

"At times of tragedy, people come together. We got to do it all the time," she said. "If everybody was together, these 11 women would've had a different outcome."

Still Missing: Shaniya Davis - Foul Play Suspected (North Carolina)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Cumberland County authorities say foul play is suspected in the disappearance of Shaniya Nicole Davis. The 5-year-old girl went missing from her home, 1116-A Sleepy Hollow Drive in Fayetteville, Tuesday morning.

An Amber Alert was initiated for Shaniya just before noon, Lt. David Sportsman said.

Police responded to the home around 6:50 a.m., and Shaniya's mother told officers that she last saw her daughter at 5:30 a.m. The mother’s boyfriend and her sister, along with an infant and Shaniya's 7-year-old brother were also in the home when the girl went missing.

“There is definitely something not right about the situation. Foul play is suspected,” Fayetteville police spokeswoman Theresa Chance said Tuesday evening.

It is unclear how the child left the home.

"The circumstances surrounding her disappearance are very odd. A 5-year-old usually... [is] not awake at 5:30 a.m. normally, and they just wouldn't leave their home," Chance said. "If she would have wandered out of her home, she would be around here somewhere."

Chance said the family has a history with the Department of Social Services.

"There have been major DSS issues with this family – who has custody, switching back and forth," Chance said.

Chance said it's unknown whether the child's disappearance is related to those issues. Police said Shaniya's father flew in from out of state Tuesday afternoon and was talking to investigators.

"We're treating this as a child in danger, with the information we have," Chance said.

Chance said police have been called to the home before. This summer, officers served a search warrant at the home and found a variety of drugs inside.

The family was not allowed inside the home Tuesday evening after it was deemed a health hazard due to extensive sewage leaks, authorities said.
Police K-9s, firefighters and sheriff's deputies searched the area throughout the day Tuesday.

“We are searching for her and hoping to find her alive, but we just don't know at this point,” Chance said.

Chance noted that search dogs did not pick up Shaniya's scent, which they would have if the child was wandering around outside.

Shaniya is described as 3 feet tall and 40 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt with pink underwear. She is thin and has a scar on her foot.

Fayetteville police say three registered sex offenders live in the neighborhood. Chance said the offenders, along with everyone else in the neighborhood, have been interviewed.

The sex offenders are not considered suspects, Chance said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Fayetteville police at 910-433-1856.

[Source]

No Amber Alert for Missing 2 week old black male (SC)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:31:00 +0000

Apparently the baby doesn't have a name and neither does mom.

- Conway Police are looking for a 2-week -old boy who went missing from his bed late last night.

According to Conway Police, officers were called to a home on Duckett Street in Conway just after midnight Tuesday morning. The mother told police she put her 1-year-old daughter and 2-week-old son to bed around 11 p.m. When she checked on them an hour later, the boy was missing.

Officers searched the area, but were unable to find the boy. He is described as a 2-week-old black male with brown hair and brown eyes last wearing navy pants, a football print blue shirt and light blue socks. The child was born Oct. 24, 2009.

Anyone with information on the incident or the location of the infant is urged to contact the Conway Police Department.

An AMBER Alert has not been issued at this time. According to the AMBER Alert Program, an alert can be activated once an investigation reveals the following (all must aplpy):

The law enforcement agency believes that the child has been abducted;

The child is 16 years old or younger, and the law enforcement agency believes the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death;

or if the individual is 17 years old or older, and the law enforcement agency believes the individual is at greater risk of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death because the individual possesses a proven physical or mental disability;

All other possibilities for the victim's disappearnace have been reasonably excluded;

There is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the victim, suspect, or vehicle used in the abduction.

[Source]

Missing: Marquita Newton (Chicago)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Chicago police are searching for Marquita Newton of the city's South Side.
Authorities say Marquita Newton, 15, may be in the vicinity of 72nd Street and Racine, 74th Street and Stewart, or 69th Street and Ada.

According to police, Newton was last seen on October 28 wearing a black fur jacket with fur on the hood, a dark green shirt and tan pants. Police say she was also carrying a red book bag.

Authorities describe Marquita Newton as 5ft. 6 inches tall, 155 lbs., with a medium complexion, brown eyes and black hair. Her date of birth is March 9, 1994.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call Area 2 police at (312) 747-8274.

[Source]

Missing: Jonathan Oakley (Pennsylvania)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Lower Paxton Township police are looking for a teenage boy they say could be in danger.

Jonathan Tymare Oakley, 17, left his home on Ohio Avenue in the township on his own several days ago, but police said information received from his mother this morning indicates that he might not be safe.

Oakley, a student at Central Dauphin East High School, is described by police as a black male, 5'8" tall and weighing 130 pounds. Police said he is known to frequent the Allison Hill area of Harrisburg. Lower Paxton and Harrisburg police are working together on finding him.

Anyone with information may call the Lower Paxton Township Police Department at 717-657-5656 or the Tip-Line at 717-635-2606.

[Source]

Amber Alert: Shaniya Davis (North Carolina)

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Cumberland County authorities are searching for Shaniya Davis, 5, who went missing from her home, 1116-A Sleepy Hollow Drive in Fayetteville, Tuesday morning.

"An Amber Alert has been initiated," according to a news release from Lt. David Sportsman.

Police responded to the home around 6:50 a.m., and Shaniya's mother told officers that she last saw her daughter at 5:30 a.m.

Shaniya was last seen wearing a blue sleep shirt with pink underwear.

Police K-9s, fire officials and deputies with the Cumberland County Sheriffs Office are searching the area.

Anyone with information is urged to call Fayetteville police at 433-1856.

[Source]

Anthony Sowell: Complete List of Women Missing from the City of Cleveland

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:43:00 +0000

Here is the complete list of women missing from the city of Cleveland:

I will work on providing pictures and descriptions but for now, I'm posting the list for your information.

Missing from Cleveland's First District

Cynthia Curry
Diara Sherman
Evelida Martinez
Nadia Worthy
Aileen Galarza
Cynthia Allender
Leslie Wallace
Kristen Anaya
Eugena Rodgers
Heather Shaw
Roneisha Taylor
Cindy Waddell

Missing from Cleveland's Second District

Lois Langdon
Tyesheia Freeman
Maria Clark
Ericka Jones
Sonya Sanders
Jamie Kane
Jeanine Davis
Tatiana Gilmore
Marianne Budziak
Thu Ta
Amy White
Martha Washington
Anissa Benton
Chantell Rogers
Marissa Johnson
De Nisha Elams
Kandeise Sewell
Andrea Williams
Slaina Green
Aletha Carter
Hasha Jambor
Sandra Sanders
Kiairra Maxey
Nakia George
Kathleen Jewell

Missing from Cleveland's Third District

Rokeisha Brooks
Adrianna Webster
Tiffany Cistrunk
Vernice Davis
Nautica Cade
Bianca Sims
Laurel Rogers
Sherri Jenkins
Janice Webb
China Randle
Twonda Hodge
Fasonia Jackson
Tamara McQueen
Linda Williams

Missing from Cleveland's Fourth District

Lacey Jones
Natalie Turner
Kim Smith
Nancy Cobbs
Amelda Hunter
Mary Jackson
Alexis Murphy
Clarrissa Floyd
Linda Jarrett
Patricia Lewis
Mariah Campbell
Kiera Newborn
Jasmine Pearson
Chelsey Hager
Rose Davis
India Reese
Martina Williams
Johnetta Jackson
Contessa Cowan
Kinya Jones
Dirisa Williams

Missing from Cleveland's Fifth District

Shanequa Horne
Catherine Cortes
April Williams
Deanna Bunker
Marilyn Jones

[Source]

Anthony Sowell: Three Possible Cases May Be Linked to Killer Says Police

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:39:00 +0000

East Cleveland detectives are looking into three unsolved murders from 20 years ago to see if they might be linked to suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell, who lived in the city at the time.

As Cleveland police wrapped up the search of Sowells Imperial Avenue home where the found 11 dead women, most of them strangled, detectives in the neighboring city began pouring over files from 1988 and 1989.

They identified three homicides that had some similarities to the 11 women found decomposing in Sowell's home, Detective Sgt. Ken Bolton said. He said they would review more recent homicides and any rape cases with similarities.

Carmella Karen Prater, 27, was a nursing assistant who lived down the street from Sowell when she was killed in 1989.

Prater was found in an abandoned home on First Avenue. She was severely beaten and her body was frozen but the coroner's office could not pinpoint the exact injury that caused her death. There was also evidence she had been using drugs.

Mary Thomas was found the following month, also on First Avenue near an abandoned building. Thomas, 27, was pregnant when she was found and had been strangled with a red ribbon, according to the coroner's report.

Some sperm was collected from the bodies of both women, according to the coroner's report.

One year before those women were killed, Rosalind Garner was found beaten and strangled in her home on Hayden Avenue.

Garner, 36, lived alone and had worked at the Navy Finance Center. Her family told police at the time that they thought she might know her killer because she was cautious with who she let into her home.

Police were alerted to both Prater and Garners deaths by anonymous phone calls. A gas company worker found Thomas' body.

[Source]

Anthony Sowell: $5 Million Bond Set

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:37:00 +0000

Late Friday afternoon, a judge set bond for Anthony Sowell at $5 million.

Police had been holding Sowell without bond since his arrest.

Sowell has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of five of the 11 victims that were discovered inside and outside the Imperial Avenue house.

In addition, Sowell has been charged with the rape and kidnapping of another woman.

[Source]

Anthony Sowell: Fourth Victim Identified, Nancy Cobbs

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:33:00 +0000

Cleveland police have released the identify of a fourth woman found dead in the house of suspected serial killer Anthony Howell.

Nancy Cobbs, 43, was reported missing to Cuyahoga Metropolitan Authority Police in April.

After police began removing bodies from Sowell's house on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland, Kyana Hunt reported Cobbs missing to Cleveland police.

Sowell remains in jail facing charges of aggravated murder. Police have found 11 bodies at his home at Imperial Avenue.

Police and Cuyahoga County Coroner's officials are still working to identify the other seven victims.

Cobbs’ 22-year-old daughter, Audrey Williams, told CMHA police her mother, who did not live on CMHA property, had a history of drug abuse but had always stayed in touch with family until about six days ago. Williams said her grandmother and her mother’s boyfriend also hadn’t heard from Cobbs, according to the report.

CMHA police went to the boyfriend’s home, then contacted hospitals and the Cuyahoga County Coroner to make sure Cobbs was not injured or dead, said CMHA Police Chief Andres "Andy" Gonzalez.

He wasn’t immediately sure what more was done on the case, but said that in this case, nothing Williams said indicated she was in danger.

“There was no indication there was anything suspicious about her disappearance,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the officer who took the report told him Friday that he intended to go to Cobbs’ home on Griffing Avenue even though it was not on CMHA property, but that because of other assignments that afternoon didn’t get a chance to.

CMHA ordinarily submit their reports to Cleveland police, Gonzalez said, but he was not certain whether that happened in this case.

In any case, the report never entered Cleveland police’s report system, according a request for public records.

The first and only report in Cleveland police records of Cobbs being missing was filed on Wednesday, four days after police began pulling bodies out of Sowell’s house.

[Source]

Background Information on Anthony Sowell

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:30:00 +0000

The chances of Anthony Sowell sexually assaulting another woman after serving 15 years in prison for attempted rape were supposed to be low.

That was the conclusion of the report evaluating him three months after his June 2005 release from prisons.

The report, reviewed by The Plain Dealer, appears to be horribly wrong. The bodies of 11 women have been unearthed at Sowell's home on Imperial Avenue on Cleveland's southeast side. He is in jail facing aggravated murder and rape charges.

The report was done for Cuyahoga County Common Pleas court to evaluate whether Sowell was a sexual predator.

It also provides the most detailed history of Sowell's life from his childhood in Cleveland through his time in prison for sexually assaulting a pregnant woman in East Cleveland in 1989.

The evaluation is standard procedure for sex offenders just out of prison. It said that of 100 offenders with criminal histories like Sowell's, only six would commit another sex crime within five years of being released.

But the report cautioned: "These estimates do not directly correspond to the recidivism of an individual offender but to the risk group in which they fall."

This conclusion was reached after reviewing Sowell's history and interviewing him for 90 minutes on Sept. 1, 2005.

Sowell arrived early for the interview. He was coherent, cooperative and polite, showing no signs of mental illness.

"Initially, the defendant complained bitterly about the sexual predator evaluation and hearing process," the report says. "This dissipated after the defendant engaged in the interview."

As the interview progressed Sowell painted a picture of his past.

He was born into a working-class Cleveland home in 1959. His father was a construction worker who moved out while his son was still an infant, leaving the child's mother, who worked for a dry cleaner, to raise him and a younger sister.

Sowell had friends, but other children teased and bullied him. He didn't participate in organized sports, but played with other neighborhood children, according to the report.

He took shop classes at Shaw High but didn't have enough credits to graduate by the end of his senior year.

He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1978.

Nine months later, a local woman gave birth to Sowell's daughter.

He spent time in North Carolina, California and Okinawa, Japan with the Marines. He took some GED classes and worked as an electrician.

He married a fellow Marine in 1981.

At one point, he went AWOL for two months. His discipline included being knocked down in rank.

He was a sergeant in 1985 when he received an honorable discharge. That same year, he and his wife divorced.

During the interview, Sowell was about his sexual habits.

Sowell went to strip clubs, looked at pornographic magazines and watched pornographic videos. He said he lost his virginity at age 17 and estimated he had been with "more than 50" women since then.

During the nearly five years between the military and prison, Sowell had at least six drinks nearly every day. Sometimes, he started drinking when he woke up. At times, he would lose control or black out.

"He acknowledged having family problems and increased aggressiveness when drinking," the report said.

Sowell was convicted of domestic violence when he was 28. Two years later, in 1989, he said police suspected him of aggravated burglary, but didn't have enough evidence to charge him.

Sowell said he was drinking the night he committed the crime that would land him in prison.

He went to a motel on Euclid Avenue and told woman he knew from around the neighborhood that her boyfriend wanted him to take her to his place.

The woman, who was pregnant at the time, told police he bound, gagged and raped her.

He was charged with kidnapping, attempted rape and rape. In the interview he said he pleaded guilty because he didn't have a "good defense" in the case.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1990. While inside, he worked as an assembler, cook, electrician, food cart attendant, porter and a yard crewman. He also got his GED.

He also completed the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program along with programs for anger management, drug awareness, positive personality change.

He applied to a sexual offender treatment program in 1993, but wasn't accepted because he denied he had committed a sex crime.

[Source]

Mom Worried for Missing Daughter and Granddaughter Ronkeya Holmes and Masaraha Ross

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:18:00 +0000

Edith Fletcher, of Savannah, Georgia is spending a lot of time alone these days. She clutches a cell phone waiting for any news she can get. Her hours are spent worrying about what has happened to her 29-year-old daughter, Ronkeya Holmes, and Ronkeya's 3-year-old daughter.

The two were living with Fletcher who says, "It's just hard knowing that you've spent two weeks without her - not knowing anything - where she is or how she is doing."

Fletcher adds "I don't think she's alive. I'm trying to think positive but in my heart I don't feel she is."

Back in April Ronkeya left her daughter, Masaraha, with the child's father Lester Ross who lives in Winter Haven, Florida. She wanted to focus on her early Early Childhood Care and Education classes at Savannah Technical College. Six months after her classes ended in early October, she tried to get her daughter back.

Her mother says it wasn't an easy process.

"She would call and say, 'Well you know, let me speak to Masaraha' or 'I'm going to come get her.' He would always say she's either asleep or she's out of town. And I just told her to just go and get her and so when she got there, he didn't want to give her to her."

Family members say Ronkeya made the 10 hour roundtrip from Savannah to Winter Haven a few times and was unsuccessful in picking up her child, so Ronkeya filed a report with detectives at the Winter Haven Police department. A few weeks later, she tried to pick up her daughter again. She stayed at her former stepfather's home and her grandmother's home during that time.

Lester Ross told investigators that he handed over his daughter to Ronkeya on October 18 at a Wal-Mart store in Haines City. Ross says he has not seen or heard from either of them since.

But police say they have no evidence that the child exchange actually happened. Fletcher doesn't believe the exchange ever happened either. She says, "Even with the surveillance cameras that they have at Wal-Mart, they didn't show him nowhere."

Fletcher and other family members have said they believe Ross's family members cared for for Masaraha. Several of Ross's neighbors say they never saw a child at his home.

Meanwhile on the same day around 11 p.m. Ross's cousin, Joseph Wilcox, was stopped by Lake Mary Police. He was driving Ronkeya's car. Wilcox was arrested on unrelated charges.

Investigators say they're getting inconsistent stories from the people involved and so believe the mother and daughter are in danger.

On Tuesday, evidence technicians spent the day inspecting Ronkeya's car for clues. There was a suitcase on the passenger side seat and children's clothing and items in the back seat.

Fletcher says "A bag of baby clothes that I think they planted in there just to cover up."

Fletcher says she's hoping for the best but bracing for the worst. "I'm ready for that call, but I don't want to get that call." She adds, "Ronkeya has never gone long without calling family members." She says whether her daughter is alive or not she needs closure either way.

The FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement are assisting Winter Haven police in the case by providing their resources.

If you know anything abou the missing mother and daughter you could earn a cash reward and you don't have to reveal your identity. Call Polk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS.

[Source]

Neighbors Angry at the Police for the Anthony Sowell murders

noreply@blogger.com (Deidra) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:11:00 +0000

After the third police station in a row refused to take a missing-person report about her niece two years ago, Sandy Drain took matters into her own hands.

She organized search parties to comb abandoned houses. She got neighborhood children to help post fliers on light poles. She recruited a national advocacy group for missing persons to host a rally. She even hired a psychic to look for clues in her niece’s apartment.

“It was pretty obvious the police weren’t going to help us,” said Ms. Drain, 65, who added that the police began seriously investigating the case of her niece, Gloria Walker, only after Ms. Drain’s initial efforts prompted the news media to begin asking questions.

“If you’re from this neighborhood, you come to expect that,” Ms. Drain said.

Her desperation and anger have grown here on Cleveland’s gritty east side since the police last week arrested Anthony Sowell, a convicted sex offender who has been charged with multiple counts of murder after 11 decomposing bodies were discovered in his house and backyard.

Despite being accustomed to drugs and violence, residents said they were shocked by the case’s gruesomeness and appalled that a man convicted of attempted rape had apparently been able to hide such heinous crimes, even as the authorities were regularly checking up on him.

Community activists added that in recent years they had received dozens of reports from residents in this largely poor and black neighborhood who told of encountering similar frustrations in getting the police to investigate cases of missing adults.

“They belittled it and made jokes,” said Barbara Carmichael about her repeated and failed efforts to file a missing-person report about her daughter Tonia, whose body was the first of the 11 found in Mr. Sowell’s house to be identified this week. “They told me to wait a while because she would return once all the drugs were gone.”

Law enforcement officials insist, however, that they had done everything they could.

“We take these cases seriously,” said Lt. Thomas Stacho, a spokesman for the Cleveland Police Department, who added that Ms. Carmichael’s case had occurred out of Cleveland’s jurisdiction.

In the case of Ms. Drain’s niece, “certainly our records show that we spent a significant amount of time investigating the disappearance,” Lieutenant Stacho said, including checking leads, looking up license plates and obtaining Ms. Walker’s dental records.

Experts on crime also point out that unlike cases involving missing children, where the police typically react quickly, cases involving missing adults are more complicated. With adults, the police tend to investigate only when there is clear evidence of foul play, rather than just signs of a family feud or the disappearance of a drug addict who, perhaps, has chosen to remain out of touch while on a binge.

Many of the women from the neighborhood who were reported missing were known drug users, according to neighbors and the police.

But as a crowd gathered to stare at the cream-colored duplex where Mr. Sowell lived — one of the better-maintained homes in a neighborhood filled with abandoned houses — many people said it should not matter whether a person was a drug user for the police to investigate.

Many also wondered aloud whether they knew anyone among the dead.

“She has been missing since April,” Fawcett Bess, owner of the pizza shop across the street from Mr. Sowell’s house, said of a former girlfriend of Mr. Sowell. “But nobody really paid any attention because she was into the dope. It’s crazy.”

“I just feel sad,” Mr. Bess added. “All these girls missing, and nobody did anything.”

In 2005, Mr. Sowell moved back into this neighborhood of crumbling streets and vacant two-story walk-ups interspersed with a few tidy homes.

He had spent the previous 15 years in state prison for luring a 21-year-old woman into his home, then choking and raping her, according to the county prosecutor’s office. Mr. Sowell pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted rape. (Earlier reports on the county court’s Web site that he had been convicted of rape were incorrect.)

On the corner of Imperial Avenue and East 123rd Street, just feet from Mr. Sowell’s house, many people said Thursday that the only thing they remembered about the place was the stench.

“People thought the stink was me,” said Ray Cash, the owner of Ray’s Sausage, a meat-processing plant next to Mr. Sowell’s house.

To eliminate the smell, Mr. Cash said he had the plant’s gutters cleaned, drain pipes flushed and sewage drain cleaned with bleach. It made no difference.

The smell was so bad, Mr. Cash said, that his workers preferred the pungent air inside the meat factory to the foul odor outside, so much so that they kept the windows shut, even in the summer heat.

Last Thursday, the police finally discovered the cause of the smell. While serving a search warrant on Mr. Sowell’s house in response to an accusation of rape, the police found two bodies. By Wednesday, the count had risen to 11.

Councilman Zack Reed, who represents the neighborhood, said the smell should have been the first clue to the authorities that something was awry.

“Clearly, something could have been done differently,” Mr. Reed said, adding that he did not understand why the police and sheriff’s officers who had visited Mr. Sowell’s home weeks ago did not investigate the smell further.

On Sept. 22, two county sheriff’s deputies appeared at Mr. Sowell’s door to make sure he was obeying the reporting requirements imposed on sex offenders.

Hours later, according to a police report, Mr. Sowell tried to drag a woman into his house to rape her.

Experts say that while local law enforcement is required to track sex offenders when they are released from prison, the authorities are usually given limited legal leeway or extra resources to do this.

“The system that we have to do monitoring and supervision follow-up once they return to the community is just overwhelmed,” said Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.Mary Mason rejected the notion that the police had done all they could to find her sister, Michelle Mason, after she disappeared on Oct. 8, 2008. Mr. Sowell was not caught sooner, she said, because the police ignored complaints from residents about missing persons, much as they ignored the stench from Mr. Sowell’s house.

“The police are still in the mindset that some people don’t matter,” said Ms. Mason, adding that while her sister had a police record involving drug use, she had stopped using drugs 10 years ago. “Shouldn’t the police have noticed that we had so many black women missing before this?”

Police logs show that officers worked virtually every day for months trying to find Michelle Mason, Lieutenant Stacho said. Similar steps were taken in other missing-persons cases, he said.

The reason it took 36 days from the time the police received a rape complaint against Mr. Sowell to the day they finally obtained a search warrant, Lieutenant Stacho added, was that the victim avoided repeated efforts by the police to interview her.

But Ms. Drain, who still does not know what happened to her niece, said she was tired of waiting for answers. “I’m looking at 10 bodies and a skull, and I’m hoping one of them is Gloria,” Ms. Drain said, “because it would be closure for my family.”

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