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Tag: child abduction

  • Kirsten Hatfield: Arrest Made in Abduction Cold Case Thanks to New DNA Evidence

    In the spring of 1997, an 8-year-old girl named Kirsten Hatfield was abducted from her bedroom in Midwest City, just outside of Oklahoma City.

    Police questioned possible suspects and searched for Hatfield, but were unable to find the girl and leads went cold.

    Now, 17 years later, police have finally made an arrest in the case – and untested DNA evidence is the hero.

    Earlier this summer, police opened up the cold case to do a follow-up and found something of note – evidence that had never been tested by the FBI or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. They also decided to re-test some evidence using more sophisticated methods, as 18 years have passed and DNA technology has improved greatly.

    From CNN:

    Using DNA technology that is more advanced than it was in 1997, lab technicians discovered blood from the window sill and the girl’s underwear came from an unknown male. Investigators ran that DNA through a national database and didn’t find a match.

    Authorities then tracked down about 10 men who’d previously been questioned and asked for DNA samples, [Midwest City Police Chief Brandon] Clabes said.

    One of them was Anthony Joseph Palma, who lived just two doors down from the Hatfield house and had been interviewed twice in 1997, Clabes said.

    Palma told investigators he was in bed the night the Kirsten disappeared but awoke about 2 a.m. because a dog was barking, KOKH reported.

    He said he wasn’t involved and allowed police to take a new DNA sample with a cheek swab, KOKH said.

    His sample matched the DNA on the underwear and the window sill, the chief said.

    Palma has now been arrested and charged with murder, as police believe Kirsten Hatfield is dead.

    “Police believe Hatfield was killed shortly after her abduction. Palma has lived in the same house since the date of the kidnapping. Police believe he has been motivated to stay in the same home to conceal evidence of the crime and/or location of Hatfield’s body. Hatfield’s body has not been found,” reports Oklahoma’s News9.

    Kirsten’s family says they are “hopeful.”

    “I’ve always felt like if Kirsten would have been here, I would have adopted her, too. So I consider her my daughter, too. We want to tell you all that our family is hopeful. We want to take this opportunity to let all of our family and friends know that we are OK, and please continue to pray for us,” said Kristen’s stepfather Chris Hazen at a news conference.

  • Teen Missing Four Years Found Behind Fake Wall

    A 13-year-old Atlanta-area boy who had been missing for roughly four years was discovered behind a mock wall that was constructed to conceal him. The boy was reunited with his mother on Saturday, according to authorities.

    The teen was able to gain access to a phone and contact his mother, which lead police to a house in Jonesboro, Georgia, which is situated 17 miles south of Atlanta. Upon an initial search of the home, police found no evidence of the teen. During a second search conducted hours later, the boy was able to tell his mother exactly where he was being hidden.

    Clayton County Police Sergeant Kevin Hughes commented that officers at the scene “discovered him hidden behind a false wall in the interior portion of the home.” Five residents of the house were taken into custody, including the boy’s father, Gregory Jean, 37, and an adult female.

    Jean and Samantha Joy face charges of false imprisonment, cruelty to children and obstructing an officer. Three juveniles were also arrested, and charged with obstruction.

    The missing teen reunited with his mother, who traveled to Georgia from out of state:

    Upon being found, the boy appeared to be in good health, and neighbors said they would see him in the yard often, and that nothing seemed to be wrong.

    Here is the home where the teen was found:

    Neighbor Julie Pizarro, 37, said that the Jean household just appeared to be quiet, and that she thought the boy was home-schooled. Pizzaro added that she would see the teen working in the yard a lot, and commented, “You can see the yard is immaculate,” she said. “The boy kept it that way.”

    The boy went missing in 2010 while visiting his father in Florida.

  • Man Charged in Abigail Hernandez Disappearance

    A 34-year-old New Hampshire man was charged Monday for the kidnapping of 15-year-old Abigail “Abby” Hernandez over nine months ago.

    Authorities believe that Nathaniel Kibby abducted Hernandez on October 9, as she left Kennett High School in Conway. Kibby was arrested in Gorman without incident, roughly 30 miles north of where Hernandez lives.

    Hernandez returned home out of the blue on July 20, and at that time, the FBI issued a statement – “We’re just happy to see her home safe and sound, but we still want to understand how this came about and learn more about the circumstance.”

    Details are still vague concerning Hernandez’ confinement, but sources close to the case revealed that Kibby held the teen in a storage container on his trailer park lot. Kibby was in court today and was so far charged with felony kidnapping. His bail was set at $1 million, cash only.

    Kibby has an extensive rap sheet, and was charged with criminal trespassing and assault in March. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young refused to unseal affidavits outlining the current case against Kibby, to the dismay of public defender Jesse Friedman. Young commented, “There are searches being conducted at the defendant’s house,” and explained that the investigation against Kibby is still in a preliminary stage.

    Abigail’s mother, Zenya Hernandez, revealed that when her daughter returned home, she was gaunt and pale, and had “a look in her eyes I’ve never, ever seen before. And that’s something that’s haunting me, and I think will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

    FBI Agent Kieran Ramsey remarked, “Her courage, her resolve to return home in the way she did, I think, speaks for itself.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Amber Alert in Virginia Called Off

    Amber Alert in Virginia Called Off

    An Amber Alert issued Saturday by the Virginia State Police and Virginia Missing Children Clearinghouse for an abduction of a teenager has been called off.

    Fifteen-year-old Dustin Wade Shaver was found safe by authorities at approximately 7:15 a.m. Sunday. Virginia State Police noted that the teen was found in North Carolina.

    The original alert read:

    The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office is looking for Dustin Wade Shaver, white, male, age 15 years old, height 5 feet 05 inches, weight 130 lbs, with blue eyes and straight brown hair, wearing white tshirt shirt, blue / brown shorts pants, blk / blue addidas (sic) tennis shoes shoes.

    The child is believed to be in extreme danger and was last seen at 320 Pannell Drive, Hurt, Va.

    The child is likely abducted by Denise Michelle Shaver, white, female, age 39 years old, height 5 feet 07 inches, weight 223 lbs, with blue eyes and straight brown hair wearing unknown unknown shirt, unknown unknown pants, unknown unknown shoes, unknown unknown, unknown unknown and Kevin Scott Parrish, white, male, age 24 years old, height 5 feet 10 inches, weight 180 lbs, with hazel eyes and blonde hair wearing unknown unk shirt, unknown unknown pants, unknown unknown shoes, unknown unknown, unknown unknown.

    They may be traveling in a 1995 green jeep jeep, license VAC 5770, va, unknown.

    Dustin Shaver was located in Benson, North Carolina, and both suspects described in the alert are in custody, facing charges of abduction. Denise Shaver and Kevin Parrish are both being held in the Johnston County Jail. A third suspect, Kayla Hoy, is being held in Wake County, NC.

    Persons convicted of kidnapping can expect to be sentenced to a lengthy prison term, and in some states and at the federal level, might be incarcerated for life. If a death occurs during a kidnapping incident, capital punishment might be enforced. Abduction is so harshly punished because it involves a forceful dispossession of liberty, typically is aligned with a separate criminal offense and requires a particularly depraved level of criminal recklessness.

    Image via Twitter