Found Six Years Later: Kaswella Anderson

Six years ago, as a 13-year-old, Kaswella Anderson disappeared in Syracuse. Her name was soon displayed on Internet Web sites devoted to missing children. Relatives hung fliers carrying her photograph around the city. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children agreed to help find her.

Last fall, unexpectedly, Kaswella emerged. Police confirmed she had given birth to twins in a New York City hospital.

There was no joyous homecoming. According to investigators, Kaswella, now 19 and a legal adult, rejected any contact with her family in Syracuse.

“As far as I know, (the police) talked to her and she doesn’t want to be found,” said Kaswella’s mother, Andrea Killins, who has four other children in Syracuse. “I have no money, no resources, to go after her. I just want to know if she was forced to stay away, or if she was forced to leave Syracuse, or was this all on her own? I want to know what caused her to leave in the first place.”

Kaswella went missing on Feb. 18, 2002. She was a 13-year-old pupil at the Hughes Magnet School, a child with a history of running away. For the next five years, Killins said, she heard nothing of her daughter — which left Kaswella’s family to fear the worst.

In October, a letter arrived from Killins’ insurance company. It explained Kaswella had given birth to twins in a New York hospital, and had tried to charge the fees to her mother’s insurance. Kaswella apparently could not remember the name of the company, and the best she could do was offer Killins’ name.

“I think,” Killins said, “she did it on a whim.”

By the time the hospital got in contact with Killins, the trail was again cold. Because Kaswella was an adult, hospital officials could not release personal information. Killins said she took the letter to the police. Detective Kelly Moran, who handles missing person cases, made some followup calls in New York.

For reasons of confidentiality, Moran said, she can only disclose basic details of what she learned: Kaswella is alive, and Moran was told the 19-year-old has no wish to see her family.

Killins said she finds that hard to accept. She recalled her daughter as an unusually peaceful infant. Kaswella grew into a little girl who took saxophone lessons and wrote poetry.


As she grew older, she became harder to control, Killins said. Friends started telling the family they’d seen Kaswella hanging around with other youths on street corners. In response, Killins said, she and her husband Lavon — Kaswella’s stepfather — tried imposing tougher rules.

Kaswella rebelled. The conflict ended up in Family Court, Killins said, where Kaswella signed an agreement promising to obey her parents. If she broke her word, the response would be swift placement in a juvenile center.

She ran away again, Killins said, and came home for one last night.

The next morning, she left for school. She never returned.

That was in 2002. Killins filed a report with the local missing person’s unit and eventually sought help from the national agency for missing children. A friend told the family Kaswella called once from New York, seeking money — but did not call again.

“I never stopped thinking about her or where she was,” Killins said. “I worried, but I never got the feeling she was dead.”

She became especially afraid, she said, when police captured such sex offenders as John Jamelske, now in prison for imprisoning and attacking women in a bunker at his DeWitt home. But each case would come and go with no mention of Kaswella. The years passed slowly by, without news.

Killins said she struggled with depression, “a lot of it stemming from the fact that she was missing.” Her marriage broke up. She said her joy at the unexpected letter about the twins quickly turned to grief when she learned her daughter would not bring those babies home.

“I’m happy to know she’s alive,” Killins said. “She’s 19, and she can be missing if she wants. I’m glad she’s fine and the twins are fine. But I’m depressed she doesn’t want to talk to me.” To accept it, Killins said, she needs some basic answers: Where was Kaswella during the years when she was a minor, after she ran away from home? Who took her daughter to New York City, and how did she survive there? Is Kaswella refusing to come back by her own choice?

If so, Killins said, she wants to know why.

While police cannot reveal how they gained their information, Chief Gary Miguel said standard procedure would be “interviewing the young lady to make a determination on what happened when she went missing.”

Killins was told an interview occurred, but she isn’t sure if it was done by Syracuse police or by someone in New York. She said investigators told her Kaswella rarely uses her real name — which means her daughter again has dropped out of sight, accessible only to those with law enforcement power.

“I’d just like to see her, and find out why she left, and why she stayed there,” Killins said. “That’s all.”

[Source]

Missing mom and daughter: Felicia Lomax and Janasia Grant

Chicago police are asking the public for help in finding an 8-year-old girl and her mother who were last seen on Thursday.

Janasia Grant, 8, and Felicia Lomax, 39, were last seen in the 6100 block of North Fairfield Avenue, according to a community alert issued by Chicago police.

DeWitt Clinton Elementary School is located at 6110 N. Fairfield Ave., according to the Chicago Public School's website.

Lomax is Grant's mother, but does not have custody of the child, police said. The two may be in the area of 3500 S. Rhodes Ave., 2800 W. Wilcox St., or 600 W. Division St. near Cabrini Green.

The two also may be using CTA buses or trains.

Grant was last seen wearing a brown shirt, brown pants, a red three-quarter-length coat and white Nike "Airmax" gym shoes with a pink and tan logo. Grant is about 4-foot-1, 70 pounds, with a dark complexion and black hair. Her nickname is "Nana," the alert said.

Lomax is about 5-foot-5, 140 pounds, with black hair and a dark complexion. She goes by the nickname "Shawn" and may be distraught, according to police. A clothing description was not available.

Anyone with information on the missing should contact the Belmont Area Detectives Special Victim's Unit at (312) 744-8266.

[Source]

Found: Britney Rascoe

A teen missing from the Ambridge area was found safe in Monaca Monday afternoon.

Britney Rascoe was last seen at 9 a.m. Monday at Ambridge High School.

The 16-year-old was said to be walking toward Beaver Road.

Police told Channel 11 Rascoe was at a relative's house in Monaca. No other details were released.

[Source]

Majority Of People In 'Missing Child' Experiment Don't Notice, Help Girl

An experiment to raise awareness about the plight of missing children found that a majority of people did not notice or stop to help a little girl after seeing her face on a missing person poster a few feet away.

Local 6 printed missing posters of Britney -- a paid 8-year-old actress -- and posted them at the entrance of the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando.

Britney sat alone on a mall seat near a missing poster as her father watched from a distance inside a nearby Panera restaurant.

The experiment was to determine how many people would notice or help the girl posing as a missing child.

Local 6 videotaped person after person entering the mall without even noticing the missing child signs.

Others who did see the posters on the doors were videotaped walking by the missing child.

"I saw her but didn't know what to think," shopper Megan Reed said.

"I didn't even see her," shopper Priseilla Landerer said. "I didn't notice her."

The majority of people at the mall who did see a missing person sign also saw the young girl but just kept walking, Local 6's Donald Forbes reported.

"I took a good look at the poster," shopper Tony Roush said. "I'm a photographer, so I'm good with faces and I walked in and I was like, 'That's the girl. What do I do?'"

Some people said they were fearful of getting involved.

"That’s what I was thinking," a shopper said. "I was scared the mom would pop out of nowhere and be like, 'Why are you talking to my child?'"

"Yeah, I think a lot of people have that fear (of getting involved)," shopper Omar Rijos said.

Forbes said there was concern by shoppers that if they started a conversation, it would be misconstrued by a possible nearby parent.

"We don't want to get really close because some people don't like it when you bother their child," shopper Linda Turner said.

Others said they didn't want to overreact or be made to look foolish.

"I didn't want to go tell the police and it not be her," shopper Jose Adorno said. "I really didn't know what to do."

Out of the dozen and dozens of people who walked by the girl, only two actually stopped to ask if Britney was OK, Forbes reported.

Marlon Campbell and Gina Perazella noticed the missing flier and then the girl.

Perazella sat down next to the girl and started to ask questions.

"She was alone," Perazella said. "I didn't see any parents around so that was another thing that kind of shocked me as well. And then, (Campbell) said that is the girl on the poster, so the poster definitely let us know."

Chelsa Stewart said she also noticed the girl but did not initially stop and went about her shopping. However, she came back 10 minutes later to ask Britney is she was OK.

"You might as well check," Stewart said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Katey Yocum and Maria Majiros Courtney were videotaped looking carefully at a flier and then at the child.

Both went to the nearest store and asked a manager to call security.

"I was like, 'What are the chances?'" Majiros said. "I'm like, 'No, that couldn't be it' and then I was like, 'It looks like her.'"

The experiment and the reactions of shoppers was upsetting and satisfying to the child's real father who watched the experiment from a distance.

"On one hand, I wish someone could have stopped to check on a little girl who was obviously by herself," father Brian Ball said. "But on the other hand, it was nice to see there weren't a lot of men walking up to her and random strangers."

For safety, Local 6 lined the surrounding halls of the mall with producers and planted undercover cameras at the main entrance.

[Source]

I wanted to share this with you guys because I thought it was a very interesting experiment. I will be showing this story to my local reporters to see if they can do the same experiment, but with a black child. It's sad that this little girl only had two people respond to her, but I wonder what would happen if it was a black girl.

Would she have gotten the same, less, or more? Either way, I hope this video open some eyes to the seriousness of missing children. Sometimes we have to put our fears aside for the sake of a child - I don't think doesn't hurt to help a little.

California Father says Picture is that of his daughter and not Tionda Bradley

The FBI Saturday night is investigating a California couple who claim that a mysterious picture on the Internet is actually their daughter, not missing Chicago girl Tionda Bradley.

And if they are right, a local private detective says, the case highlights the dangers of the Internet.

"It stops the money, resources and manpower from going after a false lead," said private detective James Miller.

Earlier this week, a Houston forensic artist sparked controversy saying, she was certain a mysterious Internet picture is Tionda Bradley, a South Side girl that disappeared from her home in 2001 with her younger sister.

In a phone interview from Chula Vista, Calif., Jeff Smith told CBS 2 the girl in the Internet picture is the same one in this picture – his daughter.

And he was sorry if the picture raised the hopes of the Bradley family.

"I hate to have a family suffer like this, it is very disheartening," Smith said. "It's a very cruel thing to do someone missing a child."

"It gave the family false hope, but it did bring national awareness to the case," Miller said.

Sources tell CBS 2, on Monday, California FBI agents will be checking birth certificates, school records and perhaps DNA to verify the identity of the mysterious girl.

[Source]

Still Missing: Jasmine Leos

The Escambia Country Sheriff’s Office in Pensacola, Fla. is asking the public’s help to locate a 15-year-old missing girl who may be in east St. Tammany.

Jasmine Leos, a black female, is 167 pounds and 5 feet, 7 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. She also has a pierced nose.

Leos, whose nickname is Jazz, was last seen five months ago on Dec. 20, 2007, according to her profiled posted on the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children’s Web site www.missingkids.com.

Leos is suspected of stealing her grandmother’s gold 2006 four-door Chrysler PT cruiser that was later discovered abandoned on Murray Road in Pearl River.

Pearl River police found the car April 10, likely abandoned for a week, after an unidentified man contacted Rock and Roll Motors in Jefferson, La., offering to sell the car, said Troy Brown, the case’s lead detective for the Escambia Country Sheriff’s Office. A Carfax revealed the car was stolen, and the unidentified man contacted the Florida sheriff office, Brown said.

The case has since fallen cold, Brown said.

Leos went missing after her grandmother suspected the teenager of having an affair with Lonnie Urquhart, a 34-year-old white male originally from the Slidell and surrounding New Orleans areas.

“She did call last month and stated she did not know where she was and she was being held against her will,” Brown said, adding the grandmother, however, didn’t buy her story, instead “believing the girl ran away.”

Detectives are worried because rumors have surfaced that Urguhart’s girlfriend, Leslie Ruth, discovered the affair and stabbed Urguhart, Brown said.

However “this is no hard evidence of this, and it was never reported to our agency,” he said.

If Leos is found to be in Urguhart’s custody he could face felony kidnapping and rape charges, Brown said.

Anyone with information on Leos’ whereabouts should contact Brown at 850-436- 9199.

[Source]

Indictment describes disappearance, abuse of missing girl Aarone Thompson

The full indictment against Aaron Thompson shows that his missing daughter, Aarone, died because she was undernourished, suffered cruel punishment and was denied medical care.

Details surrounding the disappearance and presumed death of Aarone Thompson, along with information outlining a pattern of alleged child abuse against Aarone and her siblings were released Wednesday as the full indictment against Aaron Thompson in his criminal case were made public.

The Denver Post asked the Colorado State Court of Appeals to consider its argument that withholding the information from the public was illegal. Earlier this week, the court agreed and announced it should be made public.

An indictment is a legal document that outlines the charges against a defendant. Indictments are considered public information in Colorado.

Among the 60 counts, Thompson faces child abuse resulting in death - knowingly or recklessly, multiple counts of conspiracy to commit child abuse resulting in death, false reporting to authorities, concealing death, conspiracy to conceal death, abuse of a corpse, conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse, multiple counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and multiple counts of child abuse resulting in injury.

Thompson's girlfriend, Shely Lowe, was also named a person of interest in the case. Lowe died in May 2006 of heart problems, shortly before the grand jury was convened to hear the case.

For more on the information contained in the indictment, click here.

In the 60-plus page indictment, Lowe's former common-law husband, Eric Williams, describes a late night in January or early February of 2004 where Lowe discussed the night when Aarone "just stopped breathing." Williams told the grand jury that Lowe started sobbing and crying to him explaining that she had tried, along with Thompson, to bring Aarone back to life by giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Williams continues explaining that Lowe told him she and Thompson determined they needed to get rid of the body because Aarone had a scar on her back from discipline they had given her. The couple feared social services would take away their other children, according to Williams.

Aarone's body has never been found but Williams' testimony goes on to say that Lowe described the evening when she and Thompson left the other children at home, driving "far away" to dig a grave. She told Williams that they placed the child in a grave and as they put the dirt over Aarone, "the last breath of the child was coming out of her body."

The indictment also outlines how Thompson and Lowe told the other children that Aarone had been living in Michigan for two years prior to the day Thompson reported his then 6-year-old daughter missing in November 2005.

It also describes how Lowe and Thompson tried to keep their children and Lowe's teenage brother, also living with the couple in Aurora, from talking to authorities about Aarone's disappearance.

Lowe's own mother told authorities she had never met Aarone, never spoken with the girl or seen her picture. Aarone's paternal grandmother last saw Aarone in Michigan before the family moved to Denver when Aarone was only 2 years old.

Aarone's last documented medical appointment was at Aurora South Hospital on May 12, 2002. Her last known photograph was taken at the Grand Canyon when she was approximately 3-and-a-half years old. The National Park Services determined, based on shadows, growth of foliage, and other factors that the photo had been taken in May, June or July of 2002.

The indictment also details testimony from one of Aarone's older sisters.

The sister told a therapist that Lowe and Thompson punished Aarone for "peeing" by putting her in a coat closet. It goes on to explain that sometimes it would be part of the day, other times it would be part of the day and all through the night. The sister also remembered the last time she saw her sister, saying she was in the closet and was going to be there all night as punishment for "peeing."

Aarone's bed-wetting is also detailed in the indictment as it was Lowe's responsibility to clean her. Aarone's older sister explained that she heard Thompson giving Aarone a "whoopin'" in the middle of the night. Another sister also said Aarone got "whooped" with a belt by Thompson for "peeing" in the closet.

Two different incidences described in the indictment imply that Aarone was sexually assaulted but some of the details have been redacted.

The physical abuse Lowe and Thompson inflicted upon the children is graphically detailed in the indictment. All of the children were subjected to continuous physical abuse by the couple with belts, bats, poles, extension cords, hats, broomsticks and belt buckles.

One section of the indictment describes a "whoopin'" where Thompson was beating one of his sons in the basement after tying him to a pole naked. During the "whoopin'" Thompson yelled for one of his daughters to bring him a drink of water. After she gave it to him, Thompson said to his son, "I am ready for more, are you?"

The indictment explains that the children were frequently kept home from school because the assaults were so severe that the parents feared others would notice. They were also forced to bath in hot water to reduce swelling. If the children bled during the "whoopins" they were required to clean the blood from the carpet or flooring.

The physical tormenting came, many times, after the children had eaten some of Lowe's food. Many of the children told investigators they feared both Lowe and Thompson, according to the indictment.

With the exception of one, all of the Lowe/Thompson children are in Colorado and have been either adopted or remain in foster care.

The indictment was partially released in May 2007 but was heavily redacted following a year-long grand jury investigation. Many of the specific details outlined against Thompson had been left a secret.

History of the case

Thompson was arrested on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 in Aurora just after 12:30 p.m., and his bond was set at $500,000. He will be back in court on May 29.

Thompson, 39, had reported 6-year-old Aarone missing in November 2005, claiming she ran away after an argument over a cookie.

More than 100 police officers and volunteers searched for Aarone, and Thompson made tearful pleas for the safe return of his daughter.

Yet, within days, investigators labeled the case as a homicide and named Thompson and Lowe as persons of interest. The case concerned them because there were no credible reports of Aarone being seen for at least 18 months prior to the time she was reported missing, police said, and the mattress from her bed in the Thompson home was gone.

In addition, the information from Williams implicated the couple.

Seven other children living in the home were removed by social services, as well as an infant child born later to Thompson and Lowe.

After the couple went to court for custody, a ruling that Aaron Thompson "was responsible for serious bodily injury or the death" of his daughter, Aarone, was issued by the Colorado Court of Appeals.

The court affirmed the decision made by a dependency and neglect jury.

In the decision issued Feb. 8, the Colorado Court of Appeals said "the record contains sufficient competent evidence" that then 6-year-old Aarone Thompson, reported missing by her father and his girlfriend, Shely Lowe, in Nov. 2005, "…went missing long before reported by the parents, that the parents were not forthcoming about the circumstances of her disappearance, that the parents did not want the children to talk to police, and that the child was probably deceased."

"This is so devastating," Lynette Thompson, Aarone's mother, told 9NEWS at the time from her home in Detroit, Michigan. "Oh my God, you mean to tell me that he killed his own daughter? That's not the man that I married."

Lowe and Thompson had asked to have the dependency and neglect case heard by a jury, and after a nine-day trial, the jury returned special verdicts "finding that the children were dependent or neglected."

In addition, court records said, "In response to a special interrogatory, the jury also determined the father was responsible for serious bodily injury or the death of A.T. due to proven parental abuse or neglect."

[Source]



DOCUMENT: Thompson grand jury indictment - Note: This is NOT for the weak minded, I was so angry after reading this!

Poem for Aarone from her mother



Related article:

Indictment details tale of abuse that led to Aarone Thompson's death

Missing: Rachel and Kaynen Katz

Police have a message for a 17-year-old mother they say plucked her child from Jewish Family and Child Services in Thornhill’s Promenade Mall: if you love your child, you must bring him back.

Kaynen Katz, 18 months, was taken from the centre at about 12:30 p.m. on April 28. He is thought to be with his mother, Rachel McKenzie Katz, 17.

Det. Sandra Staley appealed for his return during a media conference in Vaughan today.

Ms Katz has no fixed address, but is a Toronto native. She frequents the area around Davenport and Symington roads in Toronto, where she was last seen at about 2 p.m. April 28.

Kaynen was taken from the Jewish Family and Child Services offices on the third floor of the Promenade Mall during a supervised visit with his mother, Det. Staley said.

Police and the Jewish Family and Child Services worry about the 18-month-old’s well-being due to

Ms Katz’s lack of parenting skills, Det.-Sgt. Angelo DeLorenzi said.

A court order placed Kaynen in the custody of the Jewish Family and Child Services. York Regional Police obtained a court order under the Youth Criminal Justice Act to release the young mother’s identity.

“The mother here is a chid herself; she’s 17 years of age,” Det.-Sgt. DeLorenzi said. “We don’t know exactly where she is right now, but because of her upbringing and her going through foster home to foster home when she was a young girl, she did not have great parenting skills herself. So, obviously, there is a concern and this child is in need of protection.”

Rachel McKenzie Katz is black/Filipino, five-feet, seven-inches, 150 pounds with a slim build. She has long, black hair worn in a ponytail and a tattoo of a rabbit on her lower back. She was wearing a white shirt and white pants.

Kaynen Katz is a black/Filipino male with brown eyes and black, curly hair. He was last seen wearing green khaki nylon pants and a light and dark green T-shirt. His shoes and jacket were left behind.

Anyone with information is asked to call the #4 District Criminal Investigation Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7441 or 7400, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.

[Source]

National Missing Children's Day: May 25, 2008

Note: This is very important information about the upcoming National Missing Children's Day on May 25th. So make sure you read it and pass it on. I plan on participating that day by providing information for those that may need it. The official press release of the event below:

The second annual, national Take 25 child safety campaign will take place during the month of May in hundreds of communities across the country. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) launched the campaign last year to encourage families to take 25 minutes to talk to their children about safety and abduction prevention. A website for the campaign, www.Take25.org, lists 25 safety tips that can help save a child's life. The campaign begins May 1 and continues through National Missing Children's Day on May 25. Nationwide, more than 600 events are scheduled in 266
communities and 49 states.

Every year in America, an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing, more than 2,000 children each day. Of that number, 200,000 are abducted by family members and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members,for which the primary motive is sexual. Each year, 115 children are the victims of the most serious abductions; they are taken by non-family members and either murdered, ransomed or taken with the intent to keep. An analysis of attempted abduction cases by NCMEC found that in 56% of the cases, the child escaped would-be abductors by yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away or attracting attention.

May 25 has been observed as National Missing Children's Day since it was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The Take 25 campaign will help parents and others teach children to be alert to potential threats and provide simple preventative steps that children can take to stay safe.

"We know teaching children about safety works. Children's actions enable them to escape attempted abductions more than half of the time. It is important that parents and others take the time to talk to their children about these issues," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. "The campaign is designed to provide information to make it easy for parents and others to teach their children about safety and prevention. There is no better way to mark National Missing Children's Day than with an initiative designed to empower children and help keep them safe."

The Take 25 campaign is proudly sponsored by Lifetouch, the largest employee-owned photography company in the world. Lifetouch provides professional portraits for preschools and schools, houses of worship and the retail market in all 50 states and Canada. National partners include the National PTA, the United States Secret Service, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Community Oriented Police Services (COPS), and 50 Minor League Baseball teams. In addition, more than 200 other local and national organizations have partnered with NCMEC on this campaign.

A list of cities where events will be held can be found at www.take25.org or on the Spanish language site, www.toma25.org.


About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)

NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 570,000 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 140,900 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 124,500 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

[Source]


Below you can download the 25 ways to make your kids safer. Click on the arrow next to where it says "iPaper" on the top left side to email, embed or print this document for future reference.

Read this doc on Scribd: 25 ways to make kids safer

Forensic Artist Lois Gibson says picture is definitely of missing girl, Tionda Bradley

A renowned forensic artist has looked at photographs of Tionda Bradley and compared them to photographs of a "mystery girl" the Bradley family found on line.

The artist's opinion: "It absolutely is her. Unless somebody can find this older girl and say, well, look, there's this huge mole or something ... It's her. All of the features are consistent."

Forensic artist Lois Gibson works for the Houston Police Department. She's the artist who did the drawing of the unidentified boy whose body was found in DuPage County.

And she's the artist who looked at the badly decomposed corpse of "Baby Grace," and did a drawing which led to the grandmother's identification of the child as Riley Sawyers.

Now, at the Bradley family's request, Gibson has turned her attention to photographs found on line of a girl in a black blouse who the family has believed was Tionda.
And Gibson thinks so too.

"It's her."

The Bradley girls' great aunt says authorities need to step up their investigation and find the girl in the photos - the girl she says she will now refer to as Tionda.
Gibson's Web site is loisgibson.com.

[Source]

Now all that is left to do is to locate this girl. If you see this girl in the picture, contact the authorities immediately. And don't forget about her sister, Diamond, as well. You can read about both sisters on the family's website here. There is a $30,000 reward being offered for their return.

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