Emily Rimel: Lindsay Bruce found guilty

If I remember correctly--although this article did not mention it--this was a capital case. That is, Lindsay/Lindsey (however it is spelled) Bruce could get the death penalty.
Story from The Columbus Dispatch:

Jury finds Lindsey Bruce guilty in girl's murder
Friday, March
23, 2007 4:39 PM
By Bruce Cadwallader
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Web
extras
Slide
Show: Photos from the Emily Rimel murder case, 2004 to present
Timeline
and archive of previous stories about Emily and the trial of Lindsey Bruce,
accused of killing her
A jury this afternoon found Lindsey Bruce guilty
of killing 5-year-old Emily Rimel.
Emily would have turned 8 on
Saturday.
The Franklin County jury, seven women and five men, announced its
verdict at 4:15 p.m.
Bruce was charged with aggravated murder, murder and
tampering with evidence in the killing of Emily, who disappeared overnight from
her apartment on Reinbeau Drive in Madison Township. Her skull was found 17
months later on a bank of Big Walnut Creek, 8 miles south of her home.
The
jury, which was handed the case on Wednesday, found Bruce guilty of one count of
aggravated murder, one count of murder, and one count of tampering with
evidence. It also found him not guilty of one count of aggravated
murder.
Bruce, 25, is a self-employed mechanic who became friends with Brent
Copley more than 10 years ago. Copley later moved in with Jane Rimel and her
daughter, Emily. The couple had a son together.
Twenty-one witnesses
testified during the death-penalty trial.
According to testimony: On Dec. 7,
2004, Bruce visited the apartment twice late at night. He had been drinking at a
Refugee Road bar and sometimes used the apartment as a place to flop. His former
girlfriend, Lila Wright, lived there for three months that year and he
frequently visited her overnight.
That night, Bruce was the last adult to
leave the apartment, and he apparently left the door unlocked instead of waking
Copley, which prosecutors said was his custom. Emily was nowhere to be found
when Copley woke up at 8 a.m.
Prosecutors said Bruce kidnapped the girl and
killed her to conceal a rape, then discarded her body in nearby Heisel Park.
Emily's DNA was found on his genitals, and his right forearm had three small
scratches. He was arrested 10 days later.
Bruce told police and the FBI he
left the apartment about 3 a.m. and worked on cars. He could not prove where he
was until 9:27 a.m., when he received a store receipt for buying a car
part.
Defense attorneys said the DNA evidence is suspect and no other
evidence proves Bruce did anything to the girl.
Testimony by defense
witnesses indicated that Rimel and Copley were poor guardians of Emily and that
the girl had left the apartment on her own before.
Bruce is serving a 10-year
prison term after having been convicted of kidnapping Emily at a previous trial.
Men incarcerated with him have testified in both trials that Bruce confessed to
the murder.
bcadwallader@dispatch.com

Stefanie Mills now missing 5 years, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Stefanie C. Mills does not seem to have gotten as much media coverage as some missing people do. Some might say it is because she is African American, but I think it is more likely that it is because she is listed as a "runaway". People tend to not pay as much attention to runaways--they're the largest category of missing children and teens, and people probably figure they're all right because they left home voluntarily. Indeed, most runaways do seem to make it home safe--sometimes within days, other times not for years. It may be important to know why they are running away, but one thing is certain: All runaways have family and/or friends who wonder where they are and what they are doing and when they can ever see them again.

Do you think you can help Stefanie C. Mills' loved ones? Do you recognize her?

From the Charley Project:

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: African-American female. 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- 255-2927

You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

You can print a poster of Stefanie here.

Sofia Juarez: New age progression

Today when I was looking at the Charley Project, I found an age progression of Sofia that was done this year (shown at right). I think this looks very realistic; it shows the changes made by the passage of time, but there is enough resemblance to believe it could be the same person.

Back in August, a child's body was found in a field in Ritzville, Washington, and it is possible that it could belong to Sofia. However, this has not yet been proven, and until or unless it is, we should continue to keep our eyes open for Sofia in case she is still alive somewhere.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Sofia Lucerno Juarez, please call the Kennewick Police Department at (509) 585-4208 or (509) 628-0333; the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678); or your local FBI office.

You can print a poster of Sofia, with the new age progression, here.

Sofia's website: http://www.geocities.com/thekarmaclub/sofia.html

Emily Rimel: Lindsay Bruce murder trial days 1-3

I have found five articles that cover different aspects of the trial's developments so far. If I posted them all in their entirety, that would be one long post! So, instead, I am going to summarize them and provide links to the originals.

Day 1 (March 7): Jury took a bus and visited Helsel Park (where Emily's body was found) and the Rimel family's home. http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-03-07-0010.html Emily's mother, Jane, testified about Emily's life.

Day 2 (March 8): Inmates who supposedly heard Lindsay Bruce confess were scheduled to testify. http://www.10tv.com/?story=sites/10tv/content/pool/200703/1159346793.html The jury is shown a PowerPoint of photos of Emily's skull and teeth. A forensic anthropologist, Dr. Nancy Tatarek of Ohio University, testifies that the skull belonged to a child around six years old, give or take a year. (Emily was five.) She also said that two other bones found at the scene were not human. The defense argued that she was not able to determine the cause or time of death, or whether Emily was alive when she ended up in Big Walnut Creek. Five dentists who had examined Emily's teeth testify. Emily's mother testified again, saying their front door was always locked. The defense says that she had said in a 911 call that sometimes the door was left open. They imply that Emily could have "run away" or been abducted by someone else. http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-03-08-0016.html

Day 3 (March 9): Brent Copley, now Emily's mother's husband (boyfriend at the time of Emily's death), testified. He said that he and Lindsay Bruce had been friends for over ten years, and that he (Lindsay Bruce) often stayed with them. He said the night before Emily vanished he and Lindsay Bruce had been out drinking, and they did not do anything or even talk during the early morning of December 7, 2004. He said Lindsay Bruce arrived at their house about 1 AM, then again about 2 AM. Brent Copley was the one who reported Emily missing. http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-03-09-0013.html

There is another article about Emily's mother testifying, and it is dated March 9, but it does not say if that is when this part of her testimony took place. While she spoke, she cried and held Emily's tennis shoes, which had been found in their apartment. She also looked at photos of Emily's backpack, coat, and sheets. She testified that Emily had complained about a cold the night she disappeared and that she would not have left without her shoes. She also said that Emily had known Lindsay Bruce since she was 2 1/2 years old and had no reason to fear him. The article also said that the defense said that the state has a weak case based on circumstantial evidence. They questioned how reliable the inmates could be. http://www.marionstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070309/NEWS01/703090333

We shall see how this progresses. I still do not think it looks good for Mr. Bruce.

Amy Billig now missing 33 years, Coconut Grove, Florida

I first heard Amy's story on a rerun of Unsolved Mysteries, and I personally think it is one of the most twisted, complicated missing persons cases I have ever heard of. True, there are many different stories and theories about Natalee Holloway's disappearance. But at least there are three major suspects in that case. Almost nothing about what happened to Amy seems certain. I like to try to be an optimist, but of course it gets harder as more time passes. I think that Amy is almost certainly dead, and I wouldn't be surprised if her body has been found but has been lying unidentified in some morgue.
If you have never heard of Amy Billig, please take a moment to read her story. (Photos and information from 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: Caucasian female. 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/Jewelry 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.
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

You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
You can print a poster of Amy here.

Shelly Misinay: Death ruled suicide

And the decision is causing a bit of online forum controversy. One of the posters on Websleuths actually knows Shelly and her family, and he/she seems to think the whole scenario is suspicious and out of character for Shelly. He/she believes Shelly was murdered and that everything in the press is a bunch of lies.
I personally feel that, while police and coroners do rely on science, friends and family would usually know. They may not be able to say if it was a homicide, but they should at least know whether she would have killed herself.
Anyway, here is the story from http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_062131443.html:

Mar 3, 2007 1:20 pm US/Eastern
Missing Woman's Death Ruled A
Suicide
(KDKA) SHARON The Mercer County Coroner has ruled the death of a
missing woman a suicide.
Officials say 41-year-old Shelly Misinay was reported missing on
Valentine’s Day after she reportedly had an argument with her husband.
It was Misinay’s brother-in-law, Donald Blackshear, who discovered her body
in the Temple Beth Israel Cemetery in Hermitage.
Blackshear says a premonition led him to her body.
He and his wife walked a path near where the body was found.
“There was some footprints, several sets of footprints that had went
through the trees, so I kind of ducked down and went through and just started
walking down the road and saw footprints that went over to the corner of the
property,” he explained. “I walked down there and something just kept me, ‘Keep
coming down this fence row.’”
He says he found her the body around some Cedar trees.
According the Mercer County Coroner’s office, Misinay died from
hypothermia.

Of course, the hypothermia would be pretty certain.
You can read all of the discussion for yourself on Shelly's thread, http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47187.

Andrew Karis now missing 14 years, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

From 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: Caucasian male. 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
and Texas 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.

Audrey Nerenberg to appear on online radio show "Missing Pieces"

Audrey Lyn Nerenberg's father is going to appear on the Internet radio show Missing Pieces on March 6 at 8:00 PM (EST). A rebroadcast will be available on the show's archives the next day. The show's website is http://www.missingpieces.info.
Also, Audrey's family is lobbying for a law in Congress, the Audrey Nerenberg Act (H.R. 4162), which provides assistance in the search for missing adults who have the mental capacities of children. (More info on the law at http://www.petitiononline.com/cue4162/petition.html.)

For more details on these and other events in Audrey's case, see http://angelsthatcare.blogspot.com/2007/03/audrey-lyn-nerenberg.html. (The message itself could not be posted here due to copyright protections on that blog.)

If you know anything about Audrey's disappearance, please call the New York City Police Department at (646) 610-6914 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

Audrey's website: http://www.angelfire.com/ak/403/page10.html

You can print a poster of Audrey here.

Audrey's father also wrote a book about her disappearance, Give Me Back My Daughter Audrey by Milton Nerenberg, that was published in 2003. You can learn about Audrey and the book here.

Photo and age progression of Audrey from the Charley Project.

Tanya Kach: Suspect to undergo mental health evaluation, treatment

From The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Thomas Hose committed to Mayview
By The
Tribune-Review
Friday, March 2, 2007
A former school security guard accused of keeping
a girl captive in his McKeesport home for 10 years was committed Thursday to
Mayview State Hospital.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kevin G.
Sasinoski ordered Thomas Hose, 48, to undergo a mental evaluation and treatment
at the hospital in South Fayette. Hose attempted suicide by stabbing himself
hours before he was to go on trial Feb. 13.
Hose was on house arrest while
he awaited trial on charges of statutory sexual assault and involuntary deviate
sexual intercourse for the 1996 disappearance of 14-year-old Tanya Kach, who is
now 25. Kach emerged March 21 from what she called a decade in captivity and
told her story to a McKeesport deli owner, who called police.

Shelly Misinay: Body found

From http://www.wfmj.com/Global/story.asp?S=6163452&nav=menu491_2:

Missing Farrell Woman's Body Found
A Farrell woman missing more than two
weeks was found dead less than a block from her home. Hermitage police say
Shelly Misinay's brother-in-law found the body at a Farrell cemetery.
Misinay, a mother of two young children, went missing in the early morning
hours of Feb. 14 after having an argument with her husband Frank.
Police said
an autopsy will be done on Friday. They would not describe the condition of the
body or if her death is being treated as suspicious.
21 News will have more
on this developing story on 21 News at Six.

The story takes a strange twist, however.
From http://www.sharonherald.com/local/local_story_060204515.html:

Published March 01, 2007 08:45 pm - Papers filed in Mercer County Common
Pleas Court last week may hold some clues to Shelly Misinay’s disappearance more
than two weeks ago. Mrs. Misinay, 41, of 605 Park Ave., Farrell, was found dead
Thursday morning in a cemetery less than a 10-minute walk from her home.
Mrs. Misinay's husband had filed for custody of children
By Patrick W. Connelly
Herald Staff Writer
FARRELL —
Papers filed in Mercer County Common Pleas Court last week
may hold some clues to Shelly Misinay’s disappearance more than two weeks
ago.
Mrs. Misinay, 41, of 605 Park Ave., Farrell, was found dead Thursday
morning in a cemetery less than a 10-minute walk from her home. She had been
missing since Feb. 14.
Her husband, Frank, last week filed for custody of
their children, citing concerns that his missing wife might return and then
disappear again with the kids.
Misinay filed the paperwork Feb. 22; the next
day, Mercer County Common Pleas Judge John C. Reed granted him temporary custody
of Frankie, 6, and Gillian, 4.
According to Misinay’s request for
custody:
Mrs. Misinay had problems with money and spending, and the couple
had been seeing a Hermitage psychologist from September until December 2005 and had resumed their sessions in January.
On Feb. 12, her husband questioned her
about her money problems and she responded, “When I’m gone, I’ll leave you, my
mother, and your boss a letter explaining what happened.”
Two days later she
vanished.
Misinay told Southwest Mercer County Regional Police that he
believed his wife had walked away between 4:30 and 9:30 a.m. that snowy morning,
while he was asleep.
Mrs. Misinay was wearing her pajamas and a winter coat
when her brother-in-law Don Blackshear found her Thursday, he said.
“It seems
as though she took her own life,” said Becky Swartz, who accompanied Blackshear
to the Southwest police station in Farrell Thursday afternoon. She is a longtime
family friend and co-worker of Mrs. Misinay’s mother, Bernice
Stanton.
“There’s still more to this story that we don’t know,” Blackshear
said.
Herald Staff Writer Patrick Connelly contributed to this story.

So was it indeed a suicide, or just an accident? Hopefully soon we'll know.
From http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_061111742.html:

Mar 2, 2007 3:05 pm US/Eastern
Autopsy Set For Missing Mercer County Woman
Today
(KDKA) HERMITAGE The coroner is set to perform an autopsy on the Mercer
County woman who was found dead in a cemetery on Thursday morning.Officials say Shelly Misinay, 41, was reported missing back on Valentine’s Day after an
argument with her husband.Authorities report that her body was found at the
Temple Beth Israel Cemetery in Hermitage.The investigation into her death
continues.

Rest in peace, Shelly, however your end came about.

Jason Jolkowski: Radio Waves for Jason

Jason's mother is starting a new awareness campaign for him.

She has posted a message about it on several message boards, including Courttv.com (http://boards.courttv.com/showthread.php?s=d4c245cb24f7228c7627a6a39de235de&postid=9205526):

Hello,
As you all know, my son, Jason, has now been missing without a trace for 5
years and 8 months. There are no leads to follow up on, and we, at this time,
depend on the general public to provide new leads to help us find our son. For
those of you who have a missing loved one, you already know the struggle to find
ways to get the word out, especially as time passes. You know that you must be
creative in order to get the media to react and to be able to reach your target
audience.
The purpose of my letter is to inform you of a new campaign which has the
goal of creating awareness for Jason, targeting every radio station in the
country. I am looking to amass a team of volunteers to email each radio station
Jason’s story (already prepared for you) and link to more information, photos,
and a poster. If you are familiar with his story, you know that Jason was once a
D.J. for a local community college. It was something he enjoyed and he became
very popular in the local area. He had some financial setbacks, and had to leave
school and the D.J. internship. We, his immediate family, feel that if he is
still alive, it’s very possible that he is working for a radio station, thus,
our campaign, Radio Waves for Jason. (We will make “waves” in the radio industry
looking for him.)
If you are either a family member with a missing loved one, or one of our
peers in the missing person cause, this email is merely to inform you of our
campaign. You often ask about Jason, so we’re letting you know what we’re doing.
We wouldn’t ask you to become involved as we understand you are very busy with
your work or seeking your own missing loved one. This campaign might even give
you an idea for one of your own, which is another good reason to share it with
you.
If you are a friend, family member, or a friend of Project Jason, and feel
you would have the time and commitment to help, we would be happy to have you
assist. As mentioned earlier, you would be given a prepared statement with links
to email radio stations in a set area. I estimate that it will take 3-5 minutes
to email each radio station. Even if you can only email a few locations, each
effort will help us reach our goal.
If you are interested in volunteering to help, please send an email to us
at radiowavesforjason(at sign)projectjason.org You will then be sent an email
with more details about the campaign and the prepared letter for the radio
stations.
*This campaign is suited for persons who are already comfortable
navigating the internet and using copy and paste functions.
Thank you for all you do for our family, Jason, and Project Jason, whether
it’s a simple prayer or more, all efforts are greatly appreciated.
With hope for all of our missing loved ones,
Kelly Jolkowski,
Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org/
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

If you know anything about the disappearance of Jason Anthony Jolkowski, please call the Omaha Police Department at (402) 444-5657.

Jason's website: http://members.cox.net/prayersandposters/

Guestbook for messages to the Jolkowski family: http://pub36.bravenet.com/guestbook/show.php?usernum=3085091876

You can print a poster of Jason at http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200301135W.

Jason is also included in Project Jason's Adopt a Missing Person program. To learn more about how you can "adopt" Jason or someone else, visit http://www.projectjason.org/adopt.html.

Photo of Jason from his website.

Ranee Gregor: A suspect at last

There is finally news on Ranee, but it is among the most horrible sorts of news a family could hear. My heart goes out to John's and her loved ones.

Story from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07058/765229-85.stm. Photo and age progression of Ranee from the Charley Project:

Serial killer admits to 2 Findlay deaths in 1977
Tuesday, February 27,
2007
By Chico Harlan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Having just received his first
paycheck from a busboy job at a nearby fast-food restaurant, John Feeny, 17,
decided to take his girlfriend, Ranee Gregor, days shy of 16, on a date. He left
with her in his family's rusted yellow van. They headed to a remote area of
Findlay called lovers' lane. Hours later, on Oct. 22, 1977, the boy was
shotgunned to death. The girl was missing.
They became two victims
connected -- for years, only by widespread suspicion -- to serial killer Edward
Surratt.
Now, almost 30 years later, Mr. Surratt has admitted to six
unsolved murders, including the pair of teenagers, Beaver Township, Ohio, Police
Chief Carl Frost said yesterday.
Mr. Surratt, currently serving multiple
life sentences in Florida, was long suspected by police to have committed at
least 18 murders, most of them in Ohio and Pennsylvania. During the fall and
winter of 1977-78, Mr. Surratt pulled the region into a panic, most often by
entering homes, shooting the male and often raping and killing the female.
Mr. Surratt also admitted, Chief Frost said, to the 1977 murders of David A.
Hamilton and his wife, Linda; and John J. Davis and his wife, Mary. Those were
the four unsolved cases in Mr. Frost's township.
He received a reminder of
that following last year's county fair, when somebody -- he doesn't know who --
wrote the names of the Davis couple atop a photograph, posted at the fair, of
the area police department. After a series of phone calls, Chief Frost arranged
for two investigators in Florida -- one representing the Bal Harbour, Fla.,
police and one representing "America's Most Wanted" -- to question Mr. Surratt.
For his cooperation, Mr. Surratt wanted a transfer to a prison in South
Carolina, where in 1978 he'd been convicted of killing a man with a baseball
bat. He has been told prisons in that state have spring mattresses and air
conditioning. Florida is willing to cooperate with the move, Chief Frost said,
"because they're interested in getting rid of him anyway. He has been a pain."
Mr. Surratt, 65, a Marine Corps veteran and a former Aliquippa truck driver,
agreed to speak only with the "America's Most Wanted" representative, Joe
Matthews, a former homicide detective. He told Mr. Matthews that the bodies of
both Linda Hamilton and Ranee Gregor, never found, were "unrecoverable."
Other details, Chief Frost said, were vague.
"He didn't sit down and
say, 'I went in this door and I shot him when he said this.' He didn't give us
the full admissions," Chief Frost said.
Police now want more details about
the six murders and admissions to other unsolved cases. Chief Frost plans,
perhaps within the next month, to travel to Florida to assist with the process.
After Ranee Gregor's disappearance, her parents kept the girl's room exactly
as she'd left it. On the night of his date, John Feeny had been instructed to
return the van to his parents by 10 p.m., so his mother -- who worked nights --
could drive to work. Rita Feeny, John's mother, says the loss "is still raw."
"I'd like my son back," she said. "That's not going to happen ... and I have
to face that reality. If you have to be blunt, my son bled to death in our car;
the fancy medical term is exsanguinate. But ... it's still there. You think
about that on birthdays. There's a hole in all of your holidays. In everything.
And it comes to the surface every so often, when you think about what would have
happened if he'd had a chance to grow up."

If you have any information about the disappearance of Ranee Ann Gregor, please call the Robinson Township Police Department at (412) 788-7111 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

Of course, there is always a chance that this guy could be lying. There is always a tiny little chance that Ranee could somehow alive. If you want, you can still print out and hang up a poster of her, even if only to try to get tips on her murder. You can print a poster of her here.

Websleuths thread on this case: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14937

Natalee Holloway: Kalpoes want suit against them dropped

Big surprise, eh? Well, at least they attempt to justify it with a valid reason.

Story from http://www.nbc4.tv/news/11128216/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news. Photo of Natalee from http://www.natalee-holloway.com:

Aruban Brothers Want Natalee Holloway Lawsuit Dismissed
POSTED: 2:08 pm PST
February 27, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles against two
Aruban brothers by the parents of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway should
be dismissed on grounds the case has no connection to California, the siblings'
lawyers argue in court papers obtained Tuesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court
Judge George Wu will consider the motion brought on behalf of Deepak and Satish
Kalpoe, but no date was immediately set. The next scheduled hearing in the case
is April 2.
The brothers' attorney, Kristina M. Beck, filed court papers
last Tuesday in support of the dismissal.
The Kalpoes and another Aruban
resident, Joran van der Sloot, have been the subject of scrutiny by Aruban
authorities and the U.S. media. All three were arrested in connection with the
Holloway case and later released.
Beck's court papers state that an
important ruling occurred Jan. 24, when another Los Angeles Superior Court
judge, Edward A. Ferns, ruled that the wrongful death claim of the teen's
parents against the Kalpoes is substantially different from the siblings'
defamation case against "Dr. Phil" McGraw.
"These actions do not arise from
the same or substantially identical transactions, happenings or events...,"
Ferns wrote, in ruling that both cases should not be kept before the same judge.
The Kalpoes sued McGraw and CBS Television on Dec. 13, alleging they were
defamed in a Sept. 15, 2005, show dealing with the still-unsolved case. Although
the Kalpoe brothers had been released from Aruban police custody, the "Dr. Phil"
episode suggested they gave Holloway a date rape drug and had non- consensual
group sex with her, according to their lawsuit.
The episode also implied the
siblings helped kill Holloway and dispose of her body, according to the lawsuit.
The Kalpoes and van der Sloot have maintained that they were not involved in
her disappearance and did not have sex with her.
In addition to defamation,
the Kalpoes' suit alleges invasion of privacy, emotional distress, fraud, deceit
and civil conspiracy.
Natalee Holloway's parents, Elizabeth Ann Twitty of
Alabama and Dave E. Holloway of Mississippi, filed a wrongful death suit against
the Kalpoes the next day, even though their daughter's body has never been found
and Aruban authorities have not determined if she is dead or alive.
Natalee
Holloway was vacationing with friends on the Caribbean island resort when the
18-year-old disappeared the night of May 30, 2005.
Twitty and Dave Holloway,
who are divorced, maintain that by bringing an action against McGraw in Los
Angeles, the Kalpoes voluntarily submitted themselves to the Los Angeles
Superior Court jurisdiction.
But in her court papers, Beck argues that
Twitty and Holloway are not part of the defamation case; that the alleged
misconduct by the defendants in the lawsuits occurred in two entirely different
locations -- Aruba and California; and that one suit involves wrongful death and
the other defamation.
In support of her motion, Beck attached to her court
papers a declaration by the Kalpoe brothers' mother, Kemwattie Ramirez, stating
that her sons live with her in Aruba and have no ties to California.
"Neither Deepak nor Satish has ever traveled to California, or anywhere
within the United States, for business or pleasure," according to their mother,
who also said her sons have no business, employment of financial ties to
California.
Twitty and Dave Holloway also filed a wrongful death suit last
year in New York against van der Sloot and his father, but a judge there also
threw it out for lack of jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, a motion is set before
Judge Ferns on Thursday in the defamation case.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, please call 1-866-SOS-LOST (1-866-767-5678).
Natalee's website: http://www.natalee-holloway.com/
A couple blogs about Natalee: http://blogsfornatalee.com/ and http://justicefornataleeholloway.blogspot.com/.
Natalee's father and stepmother have started the Natalee Holloway Foundation to help other American families who have loved ones who are missing and endangered in other countries. For more information, visit http://www.nataleehollowayfoundation.net/. Natalee's mother also has an organization, the International Safe Travels Foundation, which teaches safety tips to those traveling abroad. For more information, visit http://www.internationalsafetravelsfoundation.org/MS/MS37/.

Arley Earhart has returned home!

I decided to do a Google search on Arley's name just in case there were updates, and I was pleasantly surprised to find this!
Story from http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_495457.html:

Missing Derry teen Earhart returned home today
By The
Tribune-Review
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
A Derry Area High School sophomore who
disappeared from Derry Township on Jan. 5 returned home today, according to
WTAE-Channel 4.
According to a source, Arley Earhart, 16, was allegedly
hiding out with a married couple in Greensburg, who went to the extent of dying
her hair.
Authorities are considering filing charges against the couple.
Police said Earhart was dropped off at a BP-Pit Stop Quik Shop on Jan. 5 and
was not seen since. Earlier this month, Earhart apparently left a message on her
mother's answering machine saying she is OK.

So, if you have placed any posters of Arley, you can now take them down because they are no longer needed. Also be sure to include the news anywhere you may have posted Arley's information.

Emily Rimel: Jury selection continues for suspect's trial

This could take a while.
Story from http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/24/20070224-D3-04.html:

Jury pool narrowed to 97 in murder trial
Saturday, February 24,
2007
Lindsey Bruce, convicted of kidnapping a girl, is accused of killing
her.
Ninety-seven Franklin County residents filled out questionnaires
yesterday in the first step for choosing a jury in the death-penalty trial of
Lindsey Bruce.
Bruce, 25, is serving a 10-year sentence for kidnapping
5-year-old Emily Rimel from her Madison Township bedroom on Dec. 7, 2004. He was
indicted on aggravated-murder charges last June after Rimel’s skull was found in
Big Walnut Creek.
Bruce, who wore close-cropped hair and beard, and shackles
beneath his gray suit, sat between attorneys Christopher Cooper and Donald
Schumacher as Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Sheeran swore in the
jury pool.
The pool began with 105, but eight candidates were dismissed
because of medical issues, trying circumstances at home or work, the impending
birth of a first child, or a planned and paid-for vacation. The court sent 300
summonses.
Bruce’s attorneys and Assistant County Prosecutors Tim Mitchell
and Jennifer Rausch will spend the weekend reviewing more than 1,000 pages of
responses before starting to question potential jurors next week.
Jury
selection is expected to take more than five days, and the trial could last
longer than two weeks, Sheeran said.

Cherrie Mahan now missing 22 years from Cabot, Pennsylvania

Last year, there were some news articles on the 21-year anniversary of the disappearance of Cherrie Ann Mahan. I have yet to find any for this year. However, in January her story was on the Anderson Cooper 360 blog and on the CNN TV show Insight. Both times her story had been brought to mind by the miraculous recovery of Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby in Missouri.

Don't think, however, that Cherrie has been totally forgotten. Yesterday, on the actual anniversary of her disappearance, there was a post on her on The Butler, Pennsylvania Blog. You can read it at http://clcing.blogspot.com/2007/02/cherrie-ann-mahan.html.

Insight transcript from http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/16/i_ins.01.html. Photo, age progression, and sketches from the Charley Project:

MANN: Many parents of abducted children are haunted by the unknowns. Not
only of what their may look like today but why they were taken, who took them
and is it possible that they're living a life without them.
As Randi Kaye tells us, the questions rarely ease with time, even for one
mother whose daughter disappeared more than 20 years earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANICE MCKINNEY, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: The past 20 years probably has
been a real torture.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Words spoken by a mother in
pain.
MCKINNEY: Four o'clock, the bus came and we heard it. And she just never
came up the driveway.
KAYE: A mother overwhelmed by grief and guilt.
MCKINNEY: I should have been there when Cherrie got off the school bus, and
I wasn't.
KAYE: February 22, 1985, Cherrie Mahan went to school and never came home.
MCKINNEY: I think that the last words that I probably told her was, you
know, have a good day and I do love you. And that was probably as I took her
down to the bus stop and she got on the bus.
KAYE (on camera): Did she tell you she loved you back?
MCKINNEY: Yes. She always told me that.
KAYE (voice-over): That day, Janice McKinney went from being the mother of
a bubbly 8-year-old who loved rainbows and reading to the mother of a missing
child. It was Cherrie who helped put a face on missing children nationwide, the
first child on ever on a "Have you seen me?" mailer, delivered to homes around
the country.
(on camera): What is that moment of panic like, that first moment when you
realize your child has disappeared?
MCKINNEY: It's the most scariest thing and the -- I think my guilt started
at that point, because, up until that day, I was there. And if I would have been
there, she wouldn't -- I wouldn't be going through this.
KAYE (voice-over): Ever since Cherrie was old enough to go to school,
Janice says she walked her daughter to and from the bus stop.
(on camera): It was a day just like this one, snow on the ground, the sun
shining. Cherrie got off her school bus right here. She had to go about 200
feet, around that bend to get to her driveway, then another 300 feet to her
front door. Investigators never found any footprints, which means Cherrie never
got very far.
(voice-over): Janice called state police and tracked down Cherrie's school
bus. She had to be sure Cherrie wasn't still on it. Children on the bus told
Janice and police Cherrie got off at her regular stop with other children. Those
young witnesses described a blue van right behind the bus with a snowcapped
mountain and a skier painted on its side. Investigators checked out hundreds of
leads, no van, no Cherrie.
(on camera): Is there indication as you walk this way how far she got?
GLENN HALL, FORMER PENNSYLVANIA STATE TROOPER: No, there was no sign of any
tracks or anything.
KAYE: So, what does that tell you?
HALL: That apparently someone picked her up.
KAYE: Pretty quick?
HALL: Yes.
KAYE (voice-over): For retired trooper Glenn Hall, who worked the case from
day one, there is also guilt.
HALL: I feel that maybe there's something I overlooked at the time, but I
followed every lead that I got that night.
KAYE: With the case now entering its third decade, Trooper Hall remains
convinced a stranger abducted Cherrie, a stranger who knew the little girl's
schedule and who knew the area. Such crimes are rare. Of the thousands of
children each year who are officially described as abducted, the vast majority
are taken by someone they know. But every year, about 100 children are taken by
a stranger.
MCKINNEY: That was her dog and that was her cat.
KAYE: Janice gave birth to Cherrie when she was just 16. They grew up
together, she says. And this is what investigators think she might now look
like.
MCKINNEY: By now Cherrie could be married and have children and have
graduated and I could be a grandmother.
KAYE: Cherrie's mom works two jobs, barely sleeps, anything to keep out the
dark thoughts. Five years after Cherrie was kidnapped, Janice had another child,
Robert. After losing Cherrie, Janice says she didn't want to go through life
without being a mother. Her son Robert is a soccer player with big plans to go
away to college, something that doesn't sit so well with his mom.
MCKINNEY: He's never, ever gone anywhere without somebody. I mean, from the
time he was able to walk until this day, I mean, I go to every soccer game. I
stand by the door, you know, worried that somebody could come in and take him.
KAYE: Janice works hard to keep Cherrie close and her memory alive. There
is an angel at the family's cemetery plot. Two decades and countless tears
later, Janice is still not ready to place a gravestone here.
MCKINNEY: We live in a society where we need to see something. And until I
see something or hold something or know something, I -- it will -- I can't put
it to rest yet.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Cabot, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)

Other people mentioned in the episode were Steven Stayner and Timmy White, who were also found together 25 years ago after they managed to escape their abductor and go to a police station; Natasha Kampusch, who was held captive in Austria for eight years before escaping last August; and Katelyn Rivera-Helton, who disappeared from Pennsylvania in 1999 and is still missing.

If you know anything about Cherrie's disappearance, please call the Pennsylvania State Police at (412) 284-8100 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

You can print a poster of Cherrie here.

Emily Rimel: Jury selection begins in trial of her suspected murderer

I mentioned a little while ago, I think when I posted about the man Tanya Kach ran away with, that I would try to get better at posting updates on the trials of those who harmed some of the people I had featured on here. Well, I am going to be busy for a little while, because the trial of Lindsay Bruce, who is most likely guilty of murdering little five-year-old Emily Rimel, is about to begin.
Story from http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-02-22-0028.html:

Jury Selection To Begin In Emily Rimel Murder Trial

Thursday, Feb 22, 2007 - 06:31 PM
Nancy Burton
Reporter
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jury selection will begin Friday in the case of a man
accused of killing a 5-year-old girl.
Emily Rimel went missing from her home
in December of 2004. Two weeks after her disappearance, police arrested family
friend Lindsey Bruce in connection with the case, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
Bruce was charged with kidnapping and rape after Rimel's DNA was allegedly
found on his genitalia, Burton reported.
According to authorities, Bruce was
a friend of the Rimel family and had been at their home the night Emily went
missing.
Ten months after Rimel went missing, a jury found Bruce guilty of
kidnapping, but not rape.
A judge sentenced him to the maximum 10 years in
prison while police continued to search for the girl's body.
Nine months
after Bruce's sentencing, the 5-year-old's remains were found along Big Walnut
Creek.
In June 2006, Bruce was charged with Rimel's murder, Burton reported.

If convicted, Bruce could be sentenced to death.
Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.

Yes, Tajanik Thompson was found

Toward the end of last year, I posted that Tajanik Latrice Thompson had been listed as "restricted" by the NCMEC. Well, apparently she was found safe in December. The date on the following quoted post on the Child Seek Network forum is December 19. Another website, the National Voice for Children, had listed her recovered as of December 12.
NCMEC recovery notice posted at http://www.childseeknetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12611&sid=539a5600bc00e84e4b426a6aac75af1f:

Dear Poster Partner:
Tajanik Thompson missing from Oakland, CA, has been recovered. Please
discontinue dissemination of this poster. Your participation in this program has
made a valuable contribution to this recovery.
Please remove and discard any posters on this case that you have placed in
public view.
Thank you for your support.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Visit our web site at www.missingkids.com.

Bryan Fisher now missing 24 years, Erie, Pennsylvania

By now Bryan Keith Fisher is well into adulthood--at least, if he is still alive. But it wouldn't be too late for him to be reunited with his family. Have you seen him?

From the Charley Project:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: February 21, 1983 from Erie, Pennsylvania
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: March 31, 1966
Age: 16 years old
Height and Weight: 5'9, 180 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel
eyes. Fisher has a scar between the middle and ring fingers of his right hand.
He has a tattoo of a cross on his right arm. Fisher has a tattoo of a skull on
his upper arm which may have been altered to the image of a rose. His nicknames
are Bry and/or Fish.

Details of Disappearance
Fisher was last seen
leaving his family's residence in Erie, Pennsylvania to go fishing on February
21, 1983. He has never been heard from again. Few details are available in
Fisher's case.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Erie Police Department
814-870-1120

You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

You can print a poster of Bryan here.

Natalee Holloway: No "damages" for Paulus van der Sloot

Finally, some good news in this case! Well, maybe not good news for Paulus van der Sloot.

Story from http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=36556. Photo of Natalee from her website:

No damages in Holloway case
15 February 2007
AMSTERDAM – Paul van der
Sloot, father of the main suspect in the Natalee Holloway case, has not been
awarded any damages by the court in Aruba. The decision cannot be
appealed.
Paul van der Sloot was himself detained from 23 June until 26 June
2005 in connection with the disappearance of American high school student
Natalee Holloway. The examining magistrate decided at the time that there was
not enough evidence of involvement in the case.
The father of Joran, who
is still a suspect in the case, based his claim for damages on this
decision from the magistrate. Last year the court initially ruled that he should
be granted damages of 40,000 Aruban guilders (18,000 euro).
The court has now
ruled that his arrest at the time was “without grounds but not unjustified.” “So
he will not be getting anything,” summarised lawyer Arie
Swaen.
Eighteen-year-old Holloway disappeared after a night out on 30 May
2005. She left a nightclub with three young men and was never found. The police
have arrested ten people since her disappearance but all have since been
released.
There was much criticism from the US about how Aruban authorities
handled the case. The Netherlands has led the investigation since September and
made officers of the national police corps available to the effort.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, please call 1-866-SOS-LOST (1-866-767-5678).

Natalee's website: http://www.natalee-holloway.com/

A couple blogs about Natalee: http://blogsfornatalee.com and http://justicefornataleeholloway.blogspot.com.

Natalee's father and stepmother have started the Natalee Holloway Foundation to help other American families who have loved ones who are missing and endangered in other countries. For more information, visit http://www.nataleehollowayfoundation.net/. Natalee's mother also has an organization, the International Safe Travels Foundation, which teaches safety tips to those traveling abroad. For more information, visit http://www.internationalsafetravelsfoundation.org/MS/MS37/.