Jhessye Shockley, where are you?

I am saddened that Jhessye Shockley, a five-year old child, has been missing since October 11. To learn that she suffered abuse from her mother who pleaded for her safe return makes me resurrect this blog—at least for one more post.

Jerice Hunter, the mother of Jhessye Shockley, has been arrested for child abuse of her missing five-year old daughter. That’s step one, but Jhessye is still missing. No clues to what happened to her.

Jerice Hunter was incarcerated for four years after pleading no contest to corporal punishment for an October 5, 2005 arrest in California (Hooray for California!). She was released in May 2010 and eventually reunited with her children. Thanks to Glendale Police, a newborn and the older children have been placed in protective care.

Thirty days is a long time for a child to be missing. Authorities have little hope that Jhessye is alive. I offer prayers that she, or her abused body, will be found and the perpetrator(s) brought to justice.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57329009-504083/mother-of-missing-ariz-girl-jhessye-shockley-arrested-on-child-abuse-charges/

http://www.kpho.com/story/16004337/missing-girls-mom-gives-first-sit-down-interview

Deadlines and decisions

On a “real” job—employer/employee status—the hired worker makes every effort to perform daily chores and take on additional assigned duties. In my writing world, multiple daily deadlines leave the balance decisions to me based on audience, exposure, and followers.  For now, I’ve taken a leave of absence from this blog. Please visit my Wordpress writer’s niche, the other Violet’s Vibes and become a follower.

http://violetsvibes.wordpress.com/

Amber Alert canceled for Cristina Ramirez

GOOD NEWS! Not all Amber Alert cancellation end in death like the search for Madeline Samman Fay, the toddler abducted by her father and Juliani Cardenas kidnapped by his father, Jose Esteban Rodriguez. Original news articles proclaim that Christina Ramirez, 13, abducted from Hollister by her father, Marcelo Ramirez, was found safe when the white Honda van was stopped near San Bernadino, almost 400 miles away. But was she safe? No. She was endangered by her father who allegedly assaulted her four days before the August 30 kidnapping.

Grateful thanks to the unnamed witness who spotted the van after she had read the Amber Alert sign in San Bernadino, San Benito County, four hundred miles south of Hollister. Keep your eyes open. You could save a child’s life.

http://www.kcra.com/news/29034812/detail.html

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=8336429

Madeline Samaan Fay Autopsy

Autopsy results for Madeline Samaan Fay, two-year old toddler abducted by her father, Mourad Samaan, gives mixed cause of death as two gunshot wounds to her head and carbon monoxide poisoning.

What causes a man described as a “loving father” to become an executioner?  Rage? Revenge? Retaliation? We’ll never know. All we know is that he killed his innocent daughter near Grizzly Flats, California after her mother received full custody.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=8314798&rss=rss-kgo-article-8314798

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=8309526

Madeline Samaan Fay and father found dead in 4Runner

Madeline Samaan Fay, a two-year old, and her father who abducted her were found dead as I knew they would be. Chalk it up to instinct from following Amber Alerts or from reading too many mystery novels. No matter how I knew, the results are the same. The FBI hasn’t released the cause of death, but common sense says this was a murder-suicide event.

Someday I’ll write about the dark side of this crime. For now, it’s better to go on with life and hope we don’t see a copycat performance by others struggling with custody battles.

AMBER ALERT for Madeline Samaan-Fay

I can’t shake the thought that I’ve seen this abductor—the shaved clean-cut version—walking alone through an East Bay Wal-Mart parking lot several weeks ago. I hope I’m mistaken.

Click the link below to see his picture. Maybe you’ve seen Madline or her father, Mourad "Moni" Samaan or his green Toyota 4Runner, California license plate No. 3XRM111.

 
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=8303972

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/12/BAJJ1KN2AT.DTL

Fremont Teen found safe

No details, but good news! ABC KGO reports that Meloshi Mehta, 15-year old girl missing from Fremont, is home safe.

Next step: When will California become the leader in adding endangered runaways to the highway alert system?

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=8296949

Missing Fremont Teen-Where’s the Amber Alert?

Miloshi Mehta, 15-year old Mission San Jose high school junior went missing on Sunday, August 7, 2011. She was last seen about 8:30 p.m. when she went for a walk around Lake Elizabeth.
 

Miloshi’s family said they suspected she may have walked away to meet a man whom she had corresponded with on the internet. If they had lied, feigned ignorance, or shrugged their shoulders to questions about circumstances surrounding her absence, hinting that she could have been abducted while walking, perhaps an Amber Alert would be flashing on nearby freeway signs. You might be scanning faces of every dark-haired, black eyed teen on the BART, looking for Miloshi, worrying, maybe praying that she would be found unharmed. Since her family told the truth—that she could have been lured away by an internet sexual predator—Amber Alert does not apply.

I hope she’s found unharmed. If not, will a California lawmaker propose a Miloshi Alert to assist in locating teens lured away by internet sexual predators?

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_18639474?source=rss

http://www.chp.ca.gov/amber/index.html

False Amber Alert kidnapped teen from Antioch, California

Did you notice that I didn’t post this Amber Alert as I have others? Why? Because my sleuthing skills whirled a clue in front of my eyes that the fictional crime-solving Jessica Fletcher would have noticed immediately.

“The robber [Eric Lerone Walker] ordered him [16-year old] at gunpoint to drive the Yukon, police and Holmes said.” You say, so what? Lots of 16-year olds drive. Here’s a second look. Robber takes car keys from barbershop owner, then points sawed-off shotgun at a young man entering the shop and demands the youth drive the owner’s 1996 Yukon as a get-away vehicle. Duh? The Jessica Fletcher question: How did the robber know the young man he “abducted” could drive? As sure as 1+1=two, I knew Jessica Fletcher would spot this pair as friends who partnered this robbery.

I could have posted this blog within minutes of the Amber Alert, but then the police might suspect I knew something about the robbery instead of being an avid mystery fan. Even though I like to think I’m a super sleuth, this was a faked kidnapping so clear that even Jessica Fletcher’s nephew could have figured it out while she was off in Cabot Cove writing another mystery book.

Amber Alert: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2011/08/amber-alert-act.html

Amber Alert Canceled: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktxl-an-amber-alert-has-been-issued-for-a-16yearold-boy-from-antioch-20110801,0,5387657.story?track=rss

Teen charged in holdup:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/03/BA5Q1KIT2Q.DTL#ixzz1U29bvYtu

Chowchilla schoolbus kidnap 35th anniversary 1976-2011

Two weeks after twenty-six summer school children and their bus driver from my hometown of Chowchilla, California had celebrated Independence day, they lost that freedom. The terrifying July 15, 1976 event was not a random act, but a premeditated crime. Three affluent young men, James "Jim" Schoenfeld, Richard Schoenfeld and  Fred Woods had planned the kidnapping for eighteen months. They executed it when they drove their captives to Livermore after wandering for hours to conceal the 100-mile journey to imprisonment in a moving van in a rock quarry. Like a heavy San Joaquin valley fog that refuses to allow sunshine, this event hovers over the survivors.  A few made their way toward a measure of normalcy. For others, the trauma became an impenetrable barrier that altered their destinies. Thirty-five years after that indelible day, I applaud those who’ve soared above the struggles. I offer prayers for those whose happily-ever-after dreams have turned to endless nightmares.

Chowchilla children 1976 bus kidnappers seek parole

A bus full of summer school children from Dairyland, near Chowchilla, California were abducted in 1976 by three men who planned the detailed hijack kidnap for eighteen months. They drove their captives to Livermore, first wandering for hours, then sealed them in a moving van buried in a cave at a rock quarry. All three men were sentenced to life in prison. Today, more than thirty years later, they want to be set free.

News archives confirm that Richard (Rick) Schoenfeld and his brother James (Jim) were sons of a wealthy Atherton podiatrist. The third abductor, Fred Woods, was from a wealthy Woodside family. These three men, all in their twenties, planned the imprisonment of twenty-six innocent children and an adult bus driver for the purpose of demanding five million dollars ransom for safe exchange. Case files mention the bravery of bus driver Ed Ray who helped students escape. 


Would there have been fatalities without that escape? We don’t know. We do know that July 15, 1976 is indelibly stamped in the minds of these children, their parents, guardians and other relatives, school mates and staff, and the community. The sentencing judge and Dale Fore, former chief investigator, say these prisoners should be released after serving more than thirty years of a life-time sentence. Thirty years confinement is a long time, but is it long enough to compensate for emotional damage to the children? Yes, say the imprisoned men and supporters. For the children and their families, what do they say?

No! No! No! A thousand times NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Related articles:


http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_17463289?source=rss


http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/02/23/notorious-76-chowchilla-kidnappers-up-for-parole/


http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/02/23/judge-lawyers-urge-parole-in-chowchilla-school-bus-kidnap/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110224/ap_on_re_us/us_chowchilla_busnapping_parole_2

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/chowchilla_kidnap/9.html

Good news – Amber Alert victim Elijah Rivas found safe

With all the sadness related to the Rodriguez-Cardinas kidnapping and murder-suicide near Patterson, California, here’s today’s good news for a baby kidnapped by an estranged father in Fresno County, California.

The abduction of Elijah Rivas, a nine-month old baby boy, occurred Saturday during a visit by his father, nineteen-year old Edgar Ramos. Elijah has been found, safe and in good condition, near the father's home about an hour’s drive south of the Wasco abduction site. 

Click HERE for CBS report details.

Nancy Grace enters search for Juliani Cardenas

Nancy Grace, noted television crime commentator, enters the hunt for missing Juliani Cardenas, 4, allegedly kidnapped from his grandmother’s arms by Jose Esteban Rodriguez, 27, near Patterson, California. Nancy Grace’s tenacity and fervor equals a southern hunting dog following a scent and brings global attention to this missing boy.


Mr. Rodriguez, authorities are searching the Delta-Mendota canal for your Toyota Corolla. If you’re alive, somewhere far away from this canal, please listen to Tabitha, Juliani’s mother, and drop him off at the nearest fire station. If you want the world to know your side of this story, call Nancy Grace.


UPDATE: Friday, January 21, 2011


Authorities say a third car has been pulled from Delta-Mendota canal, but it's red. This canal is beginning to look like a repository for stolen vehicles.

Amber Alert

Praying for Juliani

My blog is informative or humorous, or both. Not today. The sign on I-580 between Livermore Boulevard and First Street exits, usually dark, is bright yellow with an AMBER ALERT. I’d read about the abduction yesterday, but reading the sign sent cold chills down my spine on this sunny 60-degree day.

Jose Esteban Rodriguez, 27, allegedly kidnapped Juliani Cardenas, 4, from his home near Patterson. Snatched him from his grandmother’s arms, the news said. Rodriguez was last seen driving a silver Toyota Corolla with license plate number 6HBW445. The vehicle had oversized wheels and a "donut" spare tire on the front passenger side. So how many cars fit this description? Maybe none. Perhaps the plates have been switched. Perhaps the tire has been repaired. Perhaps the car is hidden in a garage. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. All I know is that the Amber Alert sign sends the chilling message that a little boy who should be home with his mother and grandmother is missing.

Unbelievable Plot

Writing nonfiction requires impeccable research. A fiction novel should mimic truth. The plot needs a beginning, middle and end. Conflict and offshoots of that conflict should be woven around the protagonist (good guy) and the antagonist (bad guy). These two main characters will interact with other lesser characters to advance the story to an arc that brings a resolution or conclusion. These hard facts and requirements pummeled me like an ancient stoning and stifled my imagination. I read online news to ignite fresh ideas. That’s when I stumbled upon this local story.

A quick arrest followed a mid-afternoon bank robbery after the “alleged” (who forced us to use that word?) robber, the antagonist, ran away with an undisclosed amount of cash. A trained canine becomes the hero, the protagonist, by following the scent from the bank to a nearby apartment where the missing cash was stashed. Witnesses and video surveillance identified the alleged robber. So far, a humdrum story. Bank robbery. Quick catch. Cash recovered. Alleged perpetrator apprehended and in custody. All mundane facts; nothing to hold the reader’s interest.

Suppose this were a novel synopsis, not a news article. At this point, the agent would drop the pages onto a desk-high slush pile and sip a caramel latte before moving to the next submission. I imagine hearing, “Hey, wait a minute,” as her read-ahead abilities recalled an incredible twist in the next line. The robber, make that alleged robber, was a bank customer with account records available at that branch! Now that’s an unbelievable plot, a fact from the news article, that could generate a blunder-book detective series contract. A book series could prompt a comedy movie and make me famous.