Tanya Kach: Both suspects out on bail

A week after she was miraculously found (yes, it is a miracle even if it was she herself who came forward), developments in Tanya Kach's case continued to make headlines.
For instance, a hairdresser was being sought as an accomplice, and I was happy to see that she turned herself in (http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_086143911.html):

Hairdresser In Kach Case Turns Herself In
Judy Sokol charged as an
accomplice in the sexual assault
Lynne
Hayes-FreelandReporting

(KDKA) North Versailles A hairdresser was
arrested Monday on sex charges for her role in allegedly helping a middle-school
student run away with a school security guard accused of having sex with the
girl.Judy Sokol, 57, of Duquesne, was arraigned on charges of statutory sexual
assault and three counts of involuntary deviate sexual assault. She was being
held at the Allegheny County Jail on $10,000 bail.Sokol had been wanted in
connection with the case of Tanya Nicole Kach, who ran away from home in 1996
and said she went to live with Thomas Hose, who was 24 years older than her.
Kach resurfaced last week after telling a deli owner that she had been living
with Hose for the past decade against her will.In arrest warrants issued last
week, authorities said Sokol cut and dyed Kach's hair to help conceal her
identity in 1996. Sokol told authorities she allowed Hose and Kach to use her
home, where they had sex for the first time, according to her arrest
affidavit."The affidavit does not allege that she was involved in sexual
behavior with a minor," Sokol's attorney, Angela Carsia, told reporters after
the woman's arraignment.Under questioning from detectives, however, Sokol said
she knew Hose was involved in an "inappropriate" relationship with Kach,
according to court documents.A preliminary hearing for Sokol was scheduled for
April 3.Earlier Monday, a judge increased bail for Hose, 48, of McKeesport. Hose
can leave jail only if he posts $10,000 bail, up from $2,000, wears an
electronic monitor and stays away from Kach , the judge ruled.Kach told police
last week that she had been living with Hose for a decade. Hose was charged with
statutory sexual assault and three counts of involuntary deviate sexual
intercourse.Kach's parents reported her missing on Feb. 10, 1996 - the same day
she allegedly moved in to a house owned by Hose's parents.Stay with KDKA for
more information on this case.

Days later, however, something not so happy--both of them managed to raise $10,000 each for bail (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06088/677609-55.stm):

Suspected captor of teen girl released to house arrest
Wednesday, March
29, 2006
By Jonathan D. Silver and Steve Levin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tony Tye, Post-GazetteThomas Hose walks past reporters
outside the Allegheny County Jail.Click photo for larger image.
Thomas J.
Hose left jail yesterday, stepped into his attorney's car and was chauffeured to
his parents' home in McKeesport, where he will remain under house arrest until a
hearing on charges that he molested a teenage runaway.
Earlier in the day,
Mr. Hose's accuser, Tanya Kach, was reunited with the McKeesport convenience
store owner in whom she confided her true identity and secret history last week.
Miss Kach, 24, told Joseph Sparico of JJ's Deli Mart that she was
masquerading as Nikki Allen and had been held in captivity for a decade by Mr.
Hose, a onetime security guard at Cornell Middle School.
Mr. Hose, 48, is
charged with statutory sexual assault and three counts of involuntary deviate
sexual intercourse. Police said he had carried on a sexual relationship with
Miss Kach since she was 14. A hairdresser named Judith Sokol, 57, has been
charged as Mr. Hose's accomplice.
Police have charged that Miss Kach
arranged in 1996 with Ms. Sokol to run away from home and stay at Ms. Sokol's
home before joining Mr. Hose at his house.
Investigators also charge that
Ms. Sokol cut and dyed Miss Kach's hair to change her appearance and allowed Mr.
Hose and Miss Kach to use her house to have sex.
Ms. Sokol posted her
$10,000 bond last night and was released from the Allegheny County Jail, her
attorney said.
Ms. Sokol, who surrendered to police Monday, was charged with
three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and one count each of
statutory sexual assault, which applies to a person younger than 16; indecent
assault; endangering the welfare of children; and corruption of minors.
Although Mr. Hose has not been charged with imprisoning Miss Kach,
investigators accused him of keeping her as a psychological captive in the home
he shares with his parents and his son.
On Monday, Mr. Hose's bond was set
at $10,000 straight. The bond was posted that afternoon, and the pretrial
electronic monitoring that was a condition of bail was ready to go yesterday.
"I saw him this morning around 9:30, and he was very anxious to get out, as
you would be," defense attorney James Ecker said upon arriving at the Allegheny
County Jail. "He's looking forward to getting home with his mother and dad, who
are elderly and sick."
Mr. Hose walked out of jail around 1:30 p.m., looked
straight ahead and ignored reporters' questions.
A half-hour later, Mr.
Ecker pulled up in his black 2006 Cadillac at 1002 Soles St., the home of Howard
and Eleanor Hose. Neither attorney nor client spoke as they entered the house.
A few minutes later, Mr. Ecker emerged from the house and spoke briefly.
"He's home. He's very happy to be home," the attorney said, adding that Mr.
Hose embraced his parents upon entering the house.
A woman who answered the
phone at the home declined comment.
Mr. Hose's preliminary hearing is set
for April 6.
"It's pretty obvious there's two sides to every story," Mr.
Ecker said.
So far, Mr. Hose's side of the story has not been told, and Mr.
Ecker has declined to provide any details.
Wayne Washowich, president of the
McKeesport Area school board, described Mr. Hose as a popular employee.
"They liked him over there. They thought he was one of the greatest guys
around. My understanding was the kids all loved him, and the teachers all liked
him," Mr. Washowich said. "He was very polite. It's very confusing to
understand."
Parents of students at Cornell Middle School in McKeesport said
yesterday their children mentioned Mr. Hose by name to them even before his
alleged role in Miss Kach's disappearance and detention became public.
The
mother of an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Cornell, who asked not to be
identified, said her son told her Mr. Hose made a point of showing students that
he had money.
The son said Mr. Hose liked to flash a 3-inch-thick wad of
bills in front of students. He occasionally bought students lunches and seemed
to hover around the girls, the sixth-grader said.
"He was always tapping
them" on the shoulder, the boy said. "He would just tap them and then he walked
away."
The student also said sometimes the boys would be talking among
themselves when Mr. Hose would suddenly appear.
"You could be talking about
something and he'd come behind you and butt in," the student said. "He always
used to brag about his wife and his girlfriend and his son. He would say he buys
a lot of things."

I remember thinking back when his bail was only $2,000 (hey, it was just this week or last) that they really needed to succeed in raising it. Let's face it: most people have at least $2,000 sitting in the bank, and, if not, they could easily come up with it. Apparently it was about as easy for Mr. Hose to raise $10,000. We have yet to see whether wearing a tracking device and keeping his distance will really be enough.

Natalee Holloway: New search, other developments

In the past week or two, the investigation into what really happened to Natalee Holloway has been generating headlines again.
First and foremost, police are going to conduct another search of the sand dunes in northern Aruba (story here):

Sources: Search Resuming For Natalee
March 29, 2006
(CBS) CBS News has learned that authorities in
Aruba are resuming the search Wednesday for missing Alabama teenager Natalee
Holloway. The lead investigator in the case calls this the "critical last phase"
of the search. Holloway vanished nearly 10 months ago while on a high school
graduation trip. 48 Hours Mystery correspondent Troy Roberts told The Early Show
co-anchor Julie Chen Wednesday that Aruba's Deputy Police Chief, Gerald Dompig,
is hoping new clues help authorities find her. "They're bringing in cadaver dogs
from Holland to search the dunes, and also the beach area near the Marriott
hotel, where the prime suspect, Joran van der Sloot, said he last saw Natalee," Roberts said (video). "They're also bringing in
ground radar equipment that was used to try to find mass graves in Bosnia. And,
finally, they're comparing satellite images of this area taken before Natalee
disappeared last May and photos taken (more recently) to see if there's, like, a
shift or something peculiar, changes in the landscape, to help pinpoint a burial
location." This is costing lots of money, Roberts pointed out, adding: "They've
looked at this area before, but what they're doing is acting on a tip that they
received a couple of months ago from an anonymous tipster, they believe from
outside of Aruba, either Colombia or Venezuela. This person was privy to details
about the circumstances surrounding Natalee's disappearance that had not yet
been made public. "They're using that information along with new clues developed
by the FBI and the Dutch forensic institute." The tipster may have been an
eyewitness to Natalee's burial, Roberts says. Dompig informed
Roberts that, "The information this person gave was too specific to just be
a story that was just made up by somebody." Roberts says Dompig told him this is
the "critical last phase" of the search. "So," Roberts said, "I think they're
just gonna go for it." Officials tell Roberts the renewed search should take
three or four days, but Roberts says that may be ambitious because, "This area
is the size of like six to eight football fields." Dompig has described the task
before searchers as "worse than looking for a needle in a haystack." Also, the
strong winds by the dunes could make it much more difficult for the dogs to pick
up any scents, Roberts said.

You can read the full 48 Hours story by clicking the link labeled "informed Roberts".
The statement on Texas Equusearch's website suggests it is prepared in case this turns out to be yet another dead end:

Dave Holloway wanted Texas EquuSearch to express the family's appreciation to
those that continue to support the search for their beloved Natalee. He wanted
you to know that we are currently on standby as we await Aruba PD's search of
the sand dune areas. After that area is cleared, TES will be returning to Aruba
to finish the search of the ocean. Dave feels this case will be resolved and
that no one intends to give up until Natalee is brought home

Second and more recently, police have a new plan to generate leads: A re-enactment of Natalee's last hours will be aired on Dutch television (http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060330/aruba.shtml):

Aruba seeks clues in Holloway case with re-enactment show
By Margaret Wever
Associated Press Writer
ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Police have been dispatched from
the Netherlands to assist in the search for missing American teenager Natalee
Holloway, including a televised re-enactment of her last known hours on the
island, officials said Wednesday.
The Dutch television program, to air on
April 11 in Aruba and the Netherlands, will trace her movements on the Dutch
Caribbean island and offer a toll-free, multi-lingual hot line for people to
call with tips, the Aruba Public Prosecutor's Office said.
Holloway of
Mountain Brook was last seen on May 30, the final night of her high school
graduation trip to the island.
Investigators believe there are people on the
island who have important information about the case but have not yet come
forward, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The program,
"Opsporing Verzocht," which translates as "Arrest Requested," has helped
authorities solve 30 percent of cases it has featured over the past 22 years,
the prosecutor's office said.
Dutch police spokesman Ed Kraszewski confirmed
that a group of police officers went to Aruba from the Netherlands to help in
the Holloway case, but wouldn't give details.
Dutch Marines, the FBI and
hundreds of volunteers have previously searched for Holloway, who was 18 when
she disappeared.
Aruban Deputy Police Chief Gerald Dompig said on Friday
that searches for Holloway's body were ongoing and would continue through the
coming weeks in sand dunes along the island's northern tip and a salt pond near
the hotel where she stayed.
Holloway was last seen leaving a bar with three
young men, who were arrested in June and later released after a court ruled
there was insufficient evidence to hold them.

Remember, if you have any additional information on Natalee's disappearance, you call 1-866-SOS-LOST (1-866-767-5678).

Natalee's website: http://www.natalee-holloway.com
You can sign Natalee's guestbook at http://www.nataleeholloway.com/guestbook/addentry.php .
Blogs related to Natalee: http://blogsfornatalee.com
http://joranvandersloot.blogspot.com
Natalee's forum on Websleuths: http://websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=78
Also, wristbands are still on sale to help pay for searches. (I do not know if this includes the police one, but it probably will include the Equusearch one if it becomes necessary.) You can view and order them at http://www.bandsonhand.com/products.php?cat=61.

The photo accompanying this post comes from cbsnews.com. It aired on 48 Hours after the FBI discovered it on a classmate's camera. It is a close-up from the last known photo of Natalee, taken at Carlos 'n Charlie's the night she disappeared.

Another Cherrie Ann Mahan age progression

You will notice that the post prior to this one was about a girl named Tanya Kach who was miraculously found alive near Pittsburgh, PA, after being missing for ten years. Cherrie is from the same area and has been missing longer, but Tanya's story reminds me that there is hope for long term missing people. Cherrie is already considered abducted, whereas we did not know Tanya was being held against her will until she was found yesterday. This week I saw on the Crimeshots forum that there is a different age progression of what Cherrie might look like. (This one is of her at 22, whereas the other was at 27, but to me this one looks more realistic. Still, I will post both progressions here, because, as we learned from Tanya, it is not easy to predict what someone will look like after all these years.)
Here is the info from Cherrie's poster at Findmissingkids.com. (Click here to print your own to put up.)

Case Type: Non Family Abduction

DOB: Aug 14,
1976
Sex: Female
Missing Date: Feb 22,
1985
Race: White
Age Now: 27
Height: 4'2" (127
cm)
Missing City: PITTSBURGH
Weight: 68 lbs (31 kg)
Missing
State : PA
Hair Color: Brown
Missing Country: United
States
Eye Color: Hazel
Case
Number: NCMC601805
Circumstances: Cherie's photo is shown
age-progressed to 22 years. She was last seen getting off the school bus about
100 yards from home. A bright blue 1976 Dodge van with a mural of a mountain and
a skier may be involved in her disappearance. She has pierced ears. She was last
seen wearing a gray coat, blue denim skirt, blue leg warmers and beige
boots.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pennsylvania State Police - Missing Persons Unit - 1-412-284-8100

For more info on Cherrie, visit my previous post on her at http://betweenlifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2006/02/cherrie-mahan-now-missing-21-years.html

From findmissingkids.com: what Cherrie might have looked like at 22 (top)
From the NCMEC: what Cherrie might have looked like at 27 (middle); Cherrie around the time she disappeared (bottom)

TANYA KACH FOUND SAFE AFTER 10 YEARS

Miracles still happen, folks! This proves that, like Mr. Kach, we should never give up because people can still be found no matter how much time goes by.
Just imagine, I looked at Missing People board at Courttv.com, and right there, near the top, is "Tanya Kach, 14, missing 1996 - Found Safe". The post only had a little bit of the story, and when I went to the link I learned just how miraculous it was:

Girl Missing For 10 Years Shows Up Near Pittsburgh
Kach Was 14 When Last
Seen In McKeesport
POSTED: 11:39 am EST March 22, 2006
UPDATED: 5:24 pm
EST March 22, 2006
MCKEESPORT, Pa. -- McKeesport police said a woman who has
been missing for 10 years -- since she was 14 years old -- has been found safe.
Officials said Tanya Nicole Kach, now 24, was found Tuesday in
McKeesport.
Kach was reported missing on Feb. 10, 1996.
McKeesport police Officer
Joseph Pero said Kach was initially listed as a runaway, but her disappearance
turned into a missing person case.
Kach was reported to be in good condition
and is with family members in Pittsburgh.
Kach told Channel 11 news reporter
Karen Welles that she was held captive by a 37-year-old man.
The suspect
turned himself into police on Wednesday.
Kach said, "I thought I found
someone who loved me and he said he'd take care of me."
Kach said she was
held in a bedroom for 10 years. Kach insisted she wasn't physically or sexually
abused, but she said there was verbal and mental abuse.
"There were times
when I would threaten to leave and there were times he threatened to kill me,"
said Kach.
Kach said after four years of never leaving the bedroom, she was
finally allowed to go out once in a while, but she thinks she was brainwashed
into thinking her parents wouldn't want her back.
"I didn't want to be on
the streets because that's where I thought I'd be. I didn't think I had a home.
That was my home, that was my life," said Kach. "I didn't think anybody cared
because he would tell me, 'Your case is dead, it's cold.'"
Her father, Jerry
Kach, never gave up hope of finding her.
Jerry Kach said, "It was exactly 10
years, one month and 11 days and there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't
think of her."
Officials said the investigation is continuing, but would not
comment further.
Watch Channel 11 News and refresh this page for updates on
this story.

Story from http://www.wpxi.com/news/8186371/detail.html.
The story had a link to info about Tanya on the Charley Project, but I am not including it because I doubt that page will be up very long.
Another story I later found on From Whispers to Roars gives the details of how Tanya was found. (See the original at http://cbs3.com/pennsylvaniawire/PA--MissingGirlFound-dn/resources_news_html):

Suburban Pittsburgh woman found after running away 10 years ago
Wednesday
March 22, 2006
MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) A woman who has been missing for 10
years, since she was 14, was found safe after she revealed her true identity to
a convenience store owner, police said Wednesday.
Tanya Nicole Kach, now 24,
was found Tuesday in McKeesport, where she went missing on Feb. 10, 1996, city
Police Chief Joseph Pero said.
``She was initially listed as a runaway. It
turned from there into a missing person case,'' Pero said.
Joseph Sparico
said Kach had shopped at his convenience store for several months before she
told him Tuesday that her name wasn't Nikki Evans the name Sparico knew her by
and that she was unhappy with her living situation. Sparico's son is a retired
McKeesport police officer and recognized Kach's name.
Sparico notified
authorities, who reunited the girl with her family.
``She's in good
condition. She's with family members in the Pittsburgh area,'' Pero
said.
McKeesport and Allegheny County police were investigating the girl's
disappearance, but they didn't immediately offer other details.

Please, go back and look at the people I have posted on here, and at the many more on my index. At least half of them have not been missing as long as Tanya was, which means there is still hope! Also, please visit sites like the NCMEC, NCMA, and Charley Project (I have links posted to them) to see if there are missing people in your area that I have not listed.
Also, always try to observe their photos carefully, because the resemblance between Tanya and her age progression was not very obvious.

Photo of Tanya today from the WPXI article.
Photos from the Charley Project: Tanya around the time she disappeared; age progression that was done to show what she could look like today.

Georgina DeJesus--Cleveland, Ohio

Found this article today on the angelsmissing.com forum (http://www.angelsmissing.com/forum/GEORGINA-DEJESUS-MISSING-t36.html). The original is at http://www.newsnet5.com/news/8162717/detail.html?rss=nn5&psp=news.

Web Site Launched To Help Find Local Missing Teens
UPDATED: 3:41 pm EST March
21, 2006
CLEVELAND -- The FBI announced in a news release that a new Web site
will be used to help report and find missing children in the Cleveland area.
The Web site is http://www.assistingmissingyouth.com/.
The organization, AMY, will help locate Greater Cleveland children who have
been abducted or missing under suspicious circumstances, apprehend and prosecute
child offenders, and educate the public about stranger abductions.
The Web
site allows the public to contact law enforcement confidentially over the
Internet with information about missing children.
A reward for $25,000 is
currently being offered in the three cases involving Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus
and Amy Mihaljevic.
Tips and information can also be provided by calling
(216) 522-1400.

Here is the AMY profile of Gina
(http://www.assistingmissingyouth.com/caseinfo-georgina.htm):

Georgina Lynn DeJesus
Page Updated: March 03, 2006
Any
information
contact gdejesus@assistingmissingyouth.com
Georgina
Lynn DeJesus was last seen on April 2, 2004, 3:00 PM in the
area of West 105th
and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. She may still be in
the local
area. Georgina's ears are pierced and she has a second piercing in
the
cartilage of her right ear. She has a birthmark on her right leg and a
birthmark on the right side of her chest. Georgina may go by the nickname
of Gina.
DOBFeb 13, 1990

Sex Female
Missing Date Apr 2,
2004

Race White/Hispanic
Age Now 14

Height 5'1"
(155
cm)
Missing City Cleveland, Ohio

Weight 135 lbs (61
kg)
Missing Country USA

Hair Color Brown

Eye Color
Brown
Case Number NCMC985783



Below are items
of clothing that
Gina was last seen wearing.
Any information, please contact
law
enforcement at 216-522-1400 or
Missing Children's Task Force
P.O. Box
94221
Cleveland, OH 44101

You can also call the Cleveland police at (216) 621-1234, the Cleveland Crimestoppers at (216)252-7463, or the toll-free FBI hotline at 1-888-660-5437.
Additional info from the Charley Project (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dejesus_georgina.html):

DeJesus disappeared only a few blocks from where another teenager, Amanda Berry,
disappeared in April 2003. Berry has not been found and abduction also is
suspected in her case, but investigators have not uncovered any links
between
her and DeJesus. They are investigating the possibility that a
kidnapping and
rape on March 22, 2004 is connected to DeJesus's
disappearance. A teenage girl
said a man abducted her when she was waiting
for a bus on west 40th Street and
Denison Avenue in Cleveland. He sexually
assaulted her and then released her.
That crime is unsolved and authorities
are not sure if it has anything to do
with DeJesus's disappearance.
A
week after DeJesus vanished, police
announced that they were seeking a
Hispanic man in connection with her
disappearance. He is described as 25 to
35 years old, 5'10 and 165 to 185
pounds, with green eyes, which are
uncommon in Hispanics. Investigators have
released a composite sketch the
individual, which is posted below this case
summary.
DeJesus is
described as a naive person who is not streetwise, but
who is friendly and
trusting. Her case remains unsolved.

Gina's website: http://www.findgeorgina.com
You can print a poster of Gina here.

Photos from A.M.Y.: Georgina; clothing she was wearing: her jacket, her sweater, her pants, her shoes.
Composite sketch from the Charley Project.

Jeanne Scrima now missing 26 years, Erie, Pennsylvania

Info and photo from the Charley Project (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/scrima_jeanne.html):

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 19, 1980 from Knox, New York
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: October 15, 1935
Age: 44 years old
Height and Weight: 5'3, 118 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Dark brown hair, hazel eyes.
Clothing Description: A gold heart-shaped cocktail ring with diamonds on the outside.

Details of Disappearance
Jeanne resided in a farmhouse near Knox-Gallupville Road in Knox, New York. She met her second husband, John Scrima, while she was employed as a restaurant in the New York City borough of the Bronx. Their marriage was troubled by February 1980 and Jeanne planned to file for divorce. She met John Sidney around the same time and the two began having an affair. Sidney's marriage was ending and Jeanne told him that she was divorced from her husband. Sidney resided in Schoharie County, New York and was employed as a General Electric plant designer in Schenectady, New York.
Jeanne and Sidney drove to Erie, Pennsylvania on March 17, 1980. They stayed at the Hilton hotel while Sidney attended to company business. Jeanne told John that she was visiting loved ones in the area. She learned that her husband realized she was having an affair during a phone conversation with her sister on March 18. Jeanne told Sidney that she was still married and needed to return to Knox the following morning. She promised her four children that she would be home by the time they returned from school in the afternoon.
Jeanne departed from Erie during the morning hours of March 19. She was driving her light blue 1977 Lincoln Continental at the time. The car had New York license plates numbered 458LXS. Authorities believe that she arrived at her family's residence in the early afternoon, but her whereabouts after that time period are unknown. Jeanne has never been heard from again.
John failed to report his wife's disappearance to authorities. Her attorney filed a missing person's report after he was unable to contact her by May 4, 1980. Sidney cooperated with the investigation and was eliminated as a possible suspect after passing a polygraph exam. John refused to speak with authorities and retained a lawyer shortly after Jeanne's disappearance was reported. He sold the family's farmhouse and relocated to Esperance, New York in 1981.
Jeanne's vehicle was spotted in Fultonville, New York several weeks after she was reported missing. Investigators determined that the car passed through several owners in Ohio before it was discovered abandoned in Michigan on October 5, 1980. No evidence related to Jeanne's case was found inside the vehicle.
Authorities said that Jeanne told John about her plans to open a restaurant in Ducenesburg, New York with the money she would receive from the sale of their property after their divorce. Investigators said that they wanted to question John about his wife's case, but all attempts have been unsuccessful. There have not been any arrests in connection with Jeanne's disappearance, which remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected in her case.

Investigating Agency If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: New York State Police Troop G New Scotland Station 518-768-8162 OR 518-477-9333

Even though Jeanne had been cheating on her husband, she still matters as much as any other missing person. Please call if you know anything that could help police find her.

You can print a poster of Jeanne at http://www.troopers.state.ny.us/Wanted%5Fand%5FMissing/Missing/view.cfm?ID=29&printer.

Audrey May Herron: Florida story false, possible sighting

The good news: Someone might have seen Audrey outside the state of New York. Because the police are not saying which state, I strongly encourage all Amerians to keep on the lookout.
The bad news: The story about a truck driver saying he drove her to Florida--which I just posted yesterday--turns out to be false. I will leave that post up, but I will add an update to it.
Below is the portion of the Albany Times-Union's "Law Beat" which relates to Audrey:

New lead emerges in disappearance of nurse
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, March 16, 2006
State Police are
investigating a new lead -- a possible out-of-state sighting -- in the case of
missing Catskill nurse Audrey May Herron.
Herron, a licensed practical
nurse, was 31 when she vanished 3 years ago after finishing her shift at 11 p.m.
at the Columbia-Greene Long Term Health Care Facility. She said goodbye to
co-workers in the parking lot and drove off in her 1994 black Jeep Grand
Cherokee, heading for home in Freehold, Greene County, about 12 miles away.
Neither she nor her vehicle have been seen since that night of Aug. 29, 2002.
Investigators have pursued numerous leads. Searches by police, family and
friends and local residents shortly after her disappearance turned up nothing.
Police have treated the case as a homicide since her disappearance.
Now
there's something new to look into.
"We're working an out-of-state lead, and
we are speaking to an individual who saw a woman who may look similar to
Audrey," State Police Capt. Wayne Olson said. "We don't have any credible
evidence at all that this is Audrey."
Olson, who heads the Troop F Bureau of
Criminal Investigation, based in Middletown, said the new information "is one of
hundreds of leads that we've followed on this case up to this point, and this is
a lead that is dealt with just like all those others."
He declined to name
the state where the lead originated. Investigators debunked media accounts over
the past couple of days, saying there was no truth to a report that a truck
driver told police recently that he picked up Herron that night and drove her to
Florida.
A year ago this month, investigators looked into yet another lead
that involved contacting Canadian authorities in an attempt to trace the sender
of an e-mail to the Herron Web site from a person purporting to be the missing
mother of three. It proved fruitless.
Those close to Herron have made
efforts to keep her name in the public eye. A $20,000 reward has been
posted.

If you have seen Audrey, call the New York State Police at (518) 622-8600.
Audrey's website: http://audreymayherron.expage.com
Print a poster of Audrey at http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300201S.

Photo of Audrey from The Charley Project (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/herron_audrey.html). Visit the site for a complete profile and more photos, especially if you think she looks even slightly familiar.
Jeep photo from Audrey's poster.

Nicole Bryner now missing 24 years--Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pictures: Nicole around the time she disappeared; two different possibilities of what she might have looked like at age 26.
Nicole's Charley Project profile and photos:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 11, 1982 from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of
Birth: February 20, 1979
Age: 3 years old
Height and Weight: 2'6, 35
pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, brown eyes. Some agencies
may spell Bryner's middle name "Lynne."

Details of
Disappearance
Bryner's mother, Melody Thomas Childs, told authorities that
her daughter was abducted from a shopping cart on March 9, 1982. Childs claimed
that Bryner was sitting inside a cart at a Giant Eagle supermarket store on the
south side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She stated that when she turned around
for a moment, Bryner disappeared. An extensive search yielded little evidence at
the time and Bryner's case became cold.
Childs's former boyfriend, Timothy
W. Widman, confessed to Bryner's murder four years later in May 1986. He was
imprisoned on burglary charges at the time of his claims. Widman said that he
hit the child and she died as a result of her injuries in March 1982. He claimed
that he and Childs buried her body in a wooded area along Timberland Road in
Brookline, Pennsylvania. A search was conducted in the region for Bryner's
remains, but nothing was located.
Widman was charged with Bryner's homicide
shortly after his confession, but the charges were dropped in 1987. Prosecutors
stated that there was not enough evidence against Widman to support a murder
charge. Childs was arrested in June 1986 and charged with hindering prosecution
and providing false reports to the authorities in connection with her daughter's
disappearance.
The missing child's report date is listed as March 11, 1982,
although Childs claimed Bryner was abducted on March 9. Her case remains
unsolved and continues to be listed as a Non-Family Abduction.

Investigating Agency If you have any information concerning this case,
please contact: Pittsburgh Police Department 412-255-2888

You can print a poster of Nicole here. (Note: The poster features the shopping cart story and the second age progression.)

Stefanie Mills now missing 4 years, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Photos from the Charley Project: Stefanie around the time she disappeared; what she might have looked like at age 19
Stefanie's Charley Project profile:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March
7, 2002 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Classification: Endangered Runaway
Date Of Birth: February 24, 1986
Age: 16 years old
Height and
Weight: 5'6, 110 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black hair, brown
eyes. Mills has a scar on her right forearm. Her ears pierced. Her nickname is
Stef.

Details of Disappearance
Mills was last seen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 7, 2002.
She has never been heard from again. She is believed to have left of her own
accord. Mills may be in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area. Few details are
available in her case.

Investigating Agency If you have any information
concerning this case, please contact: Pittsburgh Police Department 412-665-4000

You can also call the NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
You can print a poster of Stefanie here.

Website for Donald D. Smatlak

Donald's family and friends have set up a website for him: http://www.writesolutionsinc.com/index1.html. He has been missing from North Versailles, Pennsylvania since January 28. My previous post on him is available at http://betweenlifeanddeath.blogspot.com/2006/02/missing-in-2006-donald-d-smatlak-north.html.

Photo from his article on PittsburghLive.com.

Amy Billig now missing 32 years, Coconut Grove, Florida

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the very strange disappearance of Amy Billig. To see just how strange, just read Amy's Charley Project profile (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/billig_amy.html):
{Photos from the Charley Project: Amy around the time she disappeared; what Amy might have looked like at age 46. More photos of Amy from 1974 are available on the Charley Project.}

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 5, 1974
from Coconut Grove, Florida
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of
Birth: January 9, 1957
Age: 17 years old
Height and Weight: 5'5, 110
pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, brown eyes. Amy has a
two-inch scar on her abdomen from an appendectomy. She may have a tattoo. She
has a high-stepping gait.
Clothing Description: A denim miniskirt and cork
platform sandals.

Details of Disappearance
Amy was last seen
hitchhiking along Main Highway in Coconut Grove, Florida on March 5, 1974. She
was headed to her father's office to borrow money from him so she could meet
friends later in the day. Amy never arrived at the office and her friends never
saw her that evening. She has never been heard from again. Amy enjoyed playing
the flute and guitar, as well as reading and writing poetry, at the time of her
1974 disappearance, and was considering becoming an actress. She often
hitchhiked through her neighborhood.
Charles and Larry Glasser,
sixteen-year-old twin brothers, called Amy's family a few days after her
disappearance and claimed to have kidnapped her. They said they were holding her
for $30,000 ransom. The Glassers turned out to be lying; they did not know Amy
and had nothing to do with her disappearance. They were subsequently charged
with extortion. A photograph of the Glasser twins at the time of their arrest is
posted below this case summary.
Amy's mother, Susan Billig, began
investigating her daughter's case in addition to law enforcement's attempts
immediately after Amy disappeared. A photograph of Susan at the time of Amy's
disappearance is posted below this case summary. Susan began receiving tips from
numerous individuals who claimed that Amy had been abducted by members of The
Outlaws or The Pagans, both motorcycle gangs that traveled through the Coconut
Grove area of Florida in 1974. Some people claimed that Amy was alive and others
maintained she had been killed; these tips led Susan on a cross-country chase
through the US and even into Great Britain through the years. Sometimes Susan
would come within days of finding her daughter, but Amy was never located. She
may have used the aliases "Mute," "Sunshine," "Little Bits," and/or "Mellow
Cheryl" while with the bikers.
Paul Branch, a member of The Pagans,
initially told Susan in the late 1970's that Amy was alive and being held by
Pagan members in the U. S. Branch's widow claimed he recanted this statement on
his deathbed in the late 1990's; he then said that Amy had attended a party
thrown by The Pagans in Florida on the night of her disappearance and died of a
drug overdose, and that her body had been taken to the Florida Everglades by
gang members and tossed to the alligators. His widow relayed this information to
Susan.
Amy's camera was located at the Wildwood exit on Florida's Turnpike
shortly after Amy's disappearance. It was turned in by a man who had heard she
was missing. Wildwood would have been on the route the biker gangs took
traveling north. Nobody knows if Amy had the camera when she disappeared,
however; it might have disappeared before she did. The film inside, once
developed, revealed no clues as to her whereabouts. The majority of the
photographs were completely overexposed.
Another sidenote to Amy's
disappearance involved harassing phone calls that Susan began receiving shortly
after Amy vanished in 1974. A then-unidentified male caller informed Susan that
Amy was abducted by members of an illicit sex ring organization and being held
captive. The caller tormented Susan for 21 years until 1995, when FBI agents
were able to trace a call the man made using his cellular phone. Until that
time, the caller always used a pay phone to harass Susan, making him difficult
to apprehend. The caller was identified as Henry Johnson Blair, who worked for
the US Customs Department. A photograph of him is posted below this case
summary. Blair claimed that he was an alcoholic and had an obsessive-compulsive
disorder which caused him to harass Susan; he also stated that he never met Amy
and knew nothing about her disappearance. Blair was sentenced to a two-year
prison term for harassing Susan and has since been released. Susan settled a
lawsuit against him for five million dollars, but Blair will probably never be
able to pay the full amount.
The addition of Blair into this case focuses
renewed attention on to a man Amy described in her journal. Amy wrote that she
was considering running away to South America with a man she called "Hank."
Blair's nickname is Hank. A photo developed from a roll of film in Amy's camera
showed a white van which was identical in color and model to a van Blair drove
in 1974. Blair's job with the Customs Department required him to relocate to
South America around the time Amy specified in her journal. Blair has not been
positively linked to Amy aside from his incarceration for the harassment of her
mother, however.
The A & E Network aired a program about Amy's case on
its Investigative Reports series in 1998. The documentary shows elements of
Susan's decades-long search for her daughter with law enforcement and also
provides footage of Susan's meeting with Branch's widow. Susan accepts his
widow's statement at the program's end, but authorities believe that his widow
was lying about his confession in an effort to financially profit from Amy's
disappearance. Amy's father died of lung cancer in the early 1990s.
Susan
co-authored a book about Amy's disappearance in 2001 with Greg Aunapu, called
Without A Trace: The Disappearance Of Amy Billig -- A Mother's Search For
Justice. She died of a heart attack in 2005, at age 80. Amy's case remains
unsolved.
Left: Henry Johnson Blair, circa 1996; Center: Susan Billig, circa 1974;
Right: Susan Billig, circa 2005
Above: Larry and Charles Glasser, circa
1974

Investigating Agency If you have any information concerning this
case, please contact: Miami Police Department 305-579-6530

Do you know anything that could shed some light on this after all these years? Call the above number or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST. Please do not use this as an opportunity for scams--as you can see, Amy's family has already been through more than enough.
You can print a poster of Amy here.

Ricky Holland murder discussed on Nancy Grace

Ricky Holland finally received a segment on Nancy Grace on March 2--after he was found dead and his adoptive parents were charged with his murder.
From the online transcript (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/02/ng.01.html):

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The injuries to Ricky`s body, in conjunction with his
sudden bizarre disappearance and his discovery in a remote area wrapped in
plastic bags, support a conclusion that his death was the result of harmful
volitional actions committed by another or others. The preponderance of our
evidence in our investigation leads to a conclusion of homicide by unspecified
means for the cause and homicide as the manner of Ricky Holland`s death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell sitting in tonight for Nancy Grace.
Tonight, the tragic story of Ricky Holland, the young boy who saw more than a
lifetime of suffering before his premature death. Ricky`s first set of parents
failed him. And then, at the age of seven, his second set of parents, the two
people who adopted him, are charged with killing him. Let`s go right out to
"Detroit News" reporter Karen Bouffard in Mason, Michigan, with the very latest
on this case -- Karen? Karen, can you hear us?
KAREN BOUFFARD, REPORTER, "DETROIT NEWS": Hi, Jane. Yes, I can.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What`s the latest? What happened today in court?
BOUFFARD: Well, today was the third day of testimony in the preliminary
examination. And there were four witnesses for the prosecution. All four of them
were employees of the Jackson public school system where Ricky Holland attended
school before he moved to the Williamston area last spring.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, this is such a bizarre case, Sheriff Gene
Wrigglesworth, the Ingham County sheriff. And I thank you, sir, for joining
us.It`s such a bizarre case, because the husband, Tim, is accusing the wife, I
understand, of killing the child. And the wife, Lisa, is accusing the husband of
killing the child. Which story do you believe? What do you think is the truth?
Can you explain?
SHERIFF GENE WRIGGLESWORTH, INGHAM COUNTY: Well, they`re conflicting
stories. The truth is going to be determined by a judge at some point in time,
but there certainly is conflicting stories, as there usually is in this type of
case.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. But you`re talking about two wildly different
stories. You`re talking about a man who says his wife killed the child, and
you`re talking a woman who says her husband killed the child, yet they`re both
charged with murder. Let`s go to the judge in this case, Rosemarie Aquilina. She
is the judge presiding over the preliminary exam. How come, technically, can you
explain to us how two individuals can be charged with murder in this situation?
JUDGE ROSEMARIE AQUILINA, 55TH DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: Well, because anybody
who participated in a crime, such as murder, or for that matter any other crime,
can be charged with the same offense.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And another bizarre...
AQUILINA: If you aide or abet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Aide or abet, thank you, ma`am. Another bizarre aspect of
all of this is that this couple, Tim and Lisa Holland, on July 2nd, when they
say the child disappeared, called 911, and then later kind of went public, and
encouraged hundreds of volunteers to search for this child, and hundreds of
people did throughout the hot summer, some of them singing lullabies as they
went, hoping to lure the child out of the bushes. Let`s hear what Tim Holland,
the adoptive father, actually said this past summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM HOLLAND, ACCUSED OF ADOPTED SON`S MURDER: My wife and I would like to
thank the Ingham County Sheriff`s Department for everything that they have done
for us, and especially thank all of the volunteers that have come out to take
time away from their families to search for our son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall, authorities believe at the
time that he was saying that he already knew that his son was dead. What kind of
a person is capable of doing that? And I have to tell you, there`s tremendous
anger in the community...
MARSHALL: Of course.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... among the people who really, really gave their heart
and soul to this search.
MARSHALL: Well, an abuser. And we know that 80 percent of children who die
from child abuse and neglect are killed by the parents, not neighbors, not
social workers, not teachers, by the parents. And both parents fit the profile
of somebody who can murder a child, and I`ll tell you how. When a child is
murdered by a mother, usually it`s maltreatment. And we know this little boy was
being malnourished and underfed. We know that from a neighbor`s testimony. When
the father kills the child, usually it`s physical abuse. And we know from the
very same neighbor that the father had called the little boy a Ted Bundy. And
so, I mean, a little kid is not a killer, so you can guess the father is
attributing his own destructive impulses to the child. He also said to the
neighbor, "We can`t get pets, because this little boy would kill them," so
there`s confusion between self and other in the minds of the father. So I think,
you know, what kind of father could offer this testimony, I mean, or say this to
the public? I`d say, what kind of dad would call a little kid a Ted Bundy? An
abuser.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And, Bethany, that`s a very good question. So we have with
us tonight the attorney for Lisa Holland, the wife, Mike Nichols. Good evening,
sir. Thank you for joining us. What does Lisa say? This is such a convoluted
case. And apparently, they were presenting a united front until something
happened and it was an incident with a hair dryer. Can you explain, please?
MIKE NICHOLS, ATTORNEY FOR LISA HOLLAND: Well, Jane, I`m not going to
comment on what Lisa has to say.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, then I`ll tell you what happened with the hair dryer.
This is what I understand. You can correct me if I`m wrong.
NICHOLS: OK.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tim accused Lisa of throwing an electric hair dryer at him
when he was in the shower, OK? And then she was later arrest and charged with
assault with a deadly weapon. And the next day, Lisa told police that her
husband had killed Ricky.
NICHOLS: Jane, that felonious assault charge related to the hair dryer was
dismissed. And at this point, we`re in a preliminary examination on an open
murder charge. We`ve been put on notice that our clients, Tim and Lisa Holland,
are going to -- there`s a bind over that will be sought on a child abuse charge
in the first degree.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But let me just say this...
NICHOLS: That`s what we`re dealing with.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... you`re saying that she`s innocent. What is her
explanation of what happened? Tell me your side of the story.
NICHOLS: Well, Jane, all I can tell you is that we`re going to try this
case in the courtroom. The one point that I want to make is -- Bethany made a
comment, an analysis related to malnourishment on the part of Lisa Holland. I
guess the MRPCs, the Michigan rules of professional conduct, would let me
respond to something that I think is inaccurate in analyzing evidence.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, go ahead and respond, because we`re running out of
time. We want to hear your side.
NICHOLS: Well, what I would say, Jane, is that the testimony that I heard
today is not that that child was malnourished. There was testimony that he was
skinny and that he was short, but the testimony that I heard, in fact, from one
of the school officials was that he didn`t seem to be malnourished at all.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Lauren Lake, defense attorney, what do you think?
When a neighbor, we had read in news reports, said that this youngster suddenly
surfaced inside her home and was in the refrigerator looking for food. And she
fed him two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he said, "I don`t want to go
home. I don`t want to go home." And she said, "Well, you can`t stay here," but
she was a kind lady. But that sounds like a hungry kid, not a psychotic kid.
LAKE: Well, Jane, you`re right. And this is sickening. This case is from my
home state, and I`m just sickened by it, to tell the truth. But, unfortunately,
I have to put on my defense hat and say, even if they were malnourishing the
child, we still don`t know which of these two people actually killed the child.
And as a defense attorney, it just amazes me sometimes that your clients can be
their own worst enemy, because had neither one of those two said a word, there
was really very little evidence in this case to convict them on, being that the
child`s body was so decomposed when it was found.So here you`ve got them saying,
"No, you did it," "No, no, you did it," and it`s just the silliest game. And
it`s going to end in defeat for one, if not both of them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It would be silly were it not so tragic. I agree with you
entirely.Let`s go to Dr. Larry Kobilinsky, forensic scientist. Where did they
find the body? I understand the body was in a plastic bag. What was the
condition in? Who led them to the body?
KOBILINSKY: Well, I can only tell you, Jane, that this body was
approximately seven months sitting in a plastic bag in a ditch. And the fact of
the matter is that, after such a prolonged period of time, there is no longer
soft tissue; all you have are skeletal remains. And that is precisely the reason
that the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death. Matter of
death...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But weren`t there fractures? Weren`t there fractures on the
bones?
KOBILINSKY: Indeed there were, and that tells the tale. Not only did the
medical examiner find fractures, he found different kinds of fractures, fresh
fractures that were unhealed, and fractures that were older and in a state of
healing. In fact, the fresh fractures were extensive.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what does that show?
KOBILINSKY: Well, it shows that this child was abused, physically abused
over a lengthy period of time. It didn`t happen just at the time of death or a
few days before, but a lengthy period of time this child`s bones were broken.
Now, if the child had been perhaps punched in the abdomen and soft tissue damage
resulted in hemorrhage, that could have been the cause of death. We will never
know the cause of death.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Because of the decomposition.
KOBILINSKY: That`s correct.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, Doctor. And we have to stress, of course, these
two individuals have only been charged. They do have the presumption of
innocence. And we did attempt to contact Tim Holland`s attorney. We invited him
on the show. He politely declined, saying he was very busy working on the case,
which is certainly understandable. We`re going to have more on it in a second.
Quickly to "Trial Tracking," the case of Lita Sullivan, the Atlanta socialite
gunned down at her front door by a hit man carrying a box of pink roses. Day
four in the trial of Lita`s estranged husband, James Sullivan. He allegedly
hired the hit man for $25,000. Prosecutors say Sullivan spoke on the phone with
the hit man just days before the 1987 shooting. Today on the stand, an FBI
agent, who examined James Sullivan`s diaries from around the time of the murder,
testified he saw no entries about Lita Sullivan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a recollection of the mark on Ricky that
caused your attention (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looked like a burn. It was a pretty good size. It
was kind of like black and blue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you concerned for Ricky Holland`s safety at all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought she might have been mean to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell sitting in tonight for Nancy Grace.
We`re talking about the sad, short life of Ricky Holland and his untimely death
at the age of seven. And now each adoptive parent accusing the other of killing
him. Let`s go to reporter for "Detroit News," Karen Bouffard who`s been tracking
this case. Apparently, a hammer factors into this. Can you tell us about that?
BOUFFARD: Yes, Jane. In this swear-to report that sheriff`s deputies gave
to the judge when they requested the warrant for the arrest of the Hollands for
the murder of Ricky Holland, they gave a lot of information that they say was
provided to them by Tim Holland. According to that court testimony, Tim Holland
had gone to the prosecuting attorney and had told them that Lisa had hit Ricky
with a hammer and killed him with two blows to the head with a hammer. And then
he had instructed him to bury the body, and that he had gone and buried the
body. And after providing this information to the prosecutors and the sheriff`s
deputies, he led them actually to the place where Ricky was buried. And this is
how they found the body.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, do we know what Tim`s story is? Do we know what Lisa`s
story is, rather? I mean, because we have Lisa`s attorney on tonight, but he is
very restricted in what he can talk about. Have we heard any reports about the
other allegation, what Lisa is saying Tim did, aside from disposing of the body?
BOUFFARD: Right. There`s very little information about what Lisa`s story
is. In the report by the officers, it just says that she had blamed it on Tim,
but really didn`t provide any details as far as what her story is.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And let`s hear and see Lisa emotionally speaking out this
past summer, encouraging hundreds of people to search for her boy, at a time
when prosecutors say that she knew all along that he was already dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA HOLLAND, ACCUSED OF MURDERING ADOPTED SON: I don`t want anybody else
to have to go through this. It plays on your emotions. It plays havoc on your
family, because everybody is upset.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mike Nichols, you`re the attorney for Lisa Holland. I
understand you`re restricted in what you can say. But, I mean, here she is
speaking on camera, crying, hundreds of people, 600 at one point, searching
through lakes, and bushes, and everything for this child. And prosecutors say
she knew that he was dead at that time. What can you say in defense of your
client about those statements? Because this community is quite angry that they
were deceived.
NICHOLS: Well, Jane, I`m asking you and your viewers and the community not
to prejudge Lisa Holland. She`s innocent in the eyes of our system. You know,
people can react to situations and events many, many different ways, and the
point of what I want to convey is Lisa Holland is innocent until proven guilty.
There has been rafts, volumes of paper written about what she said, what Tim has
purportedly said, things that I heard Karen Bouffard talk about relative to a
hammer. None of that is in evidence yet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, they have other children, four other children. I
understand that three of them are Ricky`s biological siblings and then one is
their biological child. What`s the status of those children right now? Who`s
taking care of them?
NICHOLS: The other four children are in protective custody. They have been
placed through Michigan`s Department of Human Services. They are, I believe
living -- two siblings with one paternal relative, and two siblings with another
paternal relative.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Former federal prosecutor Michele Martinez, we`re running
out of time. Did this child fall through the cracks?
MARTINEZ: Absolutely. And it`s a tragedy, but it happens all the time. You
know, foster children do get killed, and people in the system do make mistakes.
It`s tragic, but hopefully justice will be served and the parents will be
convicted.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s so sad, because some of the neighbors were saying that
this child would show up at their doorstep saying that he wanted to stay there.
He didn`t want to go home. And, of course, those people can`t take the child in.
Some of them did call protective services. And obviously, we`re going to find
out what, if anything, was done by the powers that be to protect this child. It
really is a disgrace. It`s a beautiful little boy, and he should be alive today.
He should be alive having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And it`s a
tragedy. We will be right back. Quickly to tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin," FBI
and law enforcement across the country on the lookout for this man, Michael D.
Johnson, wanted in connection with an execution-style triple murder last
November in New Mexico. Johnson, 26, 6`4", 210 pounds, black hair, brown eyes.
If you have any information on Michael D. Johnson, call the FBI at 505-889-1301.
Local news next for some of you. We will all be right back. And, remember, live
coverage of the Lita Sullivan Atlanta socialite murder trial, 3:00 to 5:00
Eastern, Court TV. Stay with us as we remember Army Private First Class Jason
Sparks, 19, of Monroeville, Ohio. Sparks` platoon was engaged in direct enemy
fire in Iraq. In high school, he played offensive line for the football team.
His Aunt Becky describes him as one of those good kids who just never got into
trouble. Jason Sparks, a real American hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... did receive a letter from his biological mother
asking that she be given his remains. We had a number of people call the office
and say they wanted to bury Ricky, they wanted to do something in Ricky`s
memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are talking about little Ricky Holland`s, whose badly
decomposed body was found in a plastic bag. Let`s go straight out to Judge
Rosemarie Aquilina, who is the presiding judge in this case. What happens next
with these two adoptive parents, ma`am? AQUILINA: Well, we have about five more
days of hearing, and then either the matter will be dismissed, if there`s not
probable cause, or it will be bound over to circuit court.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, let me go to Karen Bouffard...
AQUILINA: There are about...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m sorry, ma`am? Go ahead.
AQUILINA: I was just going to say there are probably 20 more witnesses that
have to be heard.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So it`s kind of like almost like a mini-trial, in a way.
AQUILINA: It is, but it`s one simply to find probable cause that the crime
was committed and probable cause if the individuals who are accused did the
crime.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Karen Bouffard, reporter for the "Detroit News," I`ve read
that a lot of people in the area are furious because they spent so much time,
effort, money, dogs, helicopters, boats, you name it, searching for this child
for a prolonged period of time, for months. What`s the mood in the community?
BOUFFARD: That`s correct. Well, I think it`s a mixture of sadness and grief
over the loss of Ricky, and just complete dismay that this sweet little child
was murdered, and also outrage that it was allowed to happen, that there were
safe protection workers that were aware that he was being abused, a lot of
questions about why wasn`t he removed from the home, a lot of questions about
his remaining siblings that continued to live with the Hollands until after
Ricky`s body was discovered. So there are a lot of questions, a lot of sadness,
and a lot of outrage.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, thank you for joining us. And as we wrap up, I can
tell you one neighbor said, quote, that this boy told them, quote, "I ran away
because the people don`t want me. They want a baby." And that was what this
young boy said to a neighbor, according to that neighbor. We want to thank our
guests tonight for their insights. And thanks to you at home for tracking these
very important cases with us. Coming up, headlines from around the world. I`m
Jane Velez-Mitchell sitting in for Nancy Grace. We hope to see you right here
tomorrow night, 8:00 Eastern. Until then, have a wonderful evening.
END

Please, if you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, do not wait until it's too late to report it.
If you are abusing or close to abusing your child, please get help.

Rest in peace, little guy, now that you are away from the pain, the mistreatment, the abuse.
For more about Ricky Holland, go to http://richardhollandvanished.blogspot.com.

FOUND SAFE: Ambur Ditch, Meadville, Pennsylvania

From Fox 66 website (http://www.fox66.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=6115):

Missing Meadville Girl Found Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Meadville Police say
they`ve found the teenage girl whose been missing since Valentine`s
Day.14-year-old Ambur Ditch is now with Children and Youth Services. Meadville
Police picked her up at the home of an acquaintance Monday night. Ditch ran away
earlier this month, after Bethesda Day Care decided to make her a permanent
resident. Ditch`s mother launched a search to find her daughter earlier this
month -- her only contact with Ambur was on a phone message the girl left three
days after running away.

I guess this was before I posted about her. I am sorry that it was out of date. I will be deleting that post but leaving this one up.

Andrew Karis now missing 13 years, Pittsburgh, Pensylvania

Info and photo from the Charley Project (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/karis_andrew.html):

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 1, 1993 from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of
Birth: October 27, 1973
Age: 19 years old
Height and Weight: 5'8, 130
pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, hazel eyes. Karis's
nicknames are Andy, Drew and/or Sparky.

Details of Disappearance
Karis was a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania in 1993. He was last seen on campus on March 1, 1993. Authorities
tracked Karis's credit card and telephone records after his disappearance.
Investigators determined that he may have purchased a Greyhound bus ticket to
New York City, New York on March 2 and possibly stayed in the city until March
4. Karis may have been in San Francisco, California on March 15, but that
sighting remains unconfirmed. Karis has never been heard from again. Authorities
believe he disappeared under suspicious circumstances.
Some agencies may
list March 4, 1993 as the date of Karis's disappearance. California authorities
are handling his investigation.

Investigating Agency If you have any
information concerning this case, please contact: San Francisco Police
Department 415-553-0123 OR Texas Department Of Public Safety 800-346-3243

You can print a poster of Andrew at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mpdetailsPrint.asp?id='M6/4/20022:17:17PM'&Person=Missing%20Person.