News
July 16-31
July 16 | NSW
Police Media Release
Police Appeal
For Help Finding Missing Harrington Woman
Police are
appealing for public assistance locating an elderly woman missing from
her home near Taree since last night. Alice May Ahrens, 85, was last seen
by her husband at their Granter Street home in Harrington, north of Taree,
about 8pm yesterday. She is described as white/European, about 172cm tall,
with a thin build and collar-length grey hair. She was last seen wearing
brown trackpants, a navy tracksuit top with white stripes, and reddish
slippers. She suffers from a medical condition which may make her appear
confused or disoriented. The NSW Police Dog Squad from Newcastle and State
Emergency Service volunteers are assisting police with their search. Anyone
who has seen Mrs Ahrens is urged to contact Taree Police on 6552 0399 or
Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
July 17 |
NSW
Police Media Release
Search resumes
for missing 85-year-old Harrington woman
Police will
resume the search at first light this morning for an 85-year-old woman
who went missing from her home near Taree on Monday night (15/7). Alice
May Ahrens was last seen by her husband at their Granter Street home in
Harrington, north of Taree, about 8pm. She is described as white/European,
about 172cm tall, with a thin build and collar-length grey hair. She was
last seen wearing brown trackpants, a navy tracksuit top with white stripes,
and reddish slippers. She suffers from a medical condition which may make
her appear confused or disoriented. The NSW Police Dog Squad from Newcastle
and State Emergency Service volunteers will continue to assist with the
search today. Anyone who has seen Mrs Ahrens is urged to contact Taree
Police on 6552 0399 or Crime Stoppers on 1 800 333 000.
July 17 |
NSW
Police Media Release
Woman’s Body
Located
Marrickville
Police are investigating the location of a woman’s body in a unit at Lewisham
yesterday. About 3pm police attended the unit and located the 39-year-old
Lewisham woman’s body. Police are treating her death as suspicious, although
the cause of her death is still to be determined. A crime scene was established
and a report prepared for the coroner. An autopsy is expected to be conducted
today. Anyone with any information about the incident is urged to contact
Marrickville Police on 9568 9299 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
July 17 |
NSW
Police Media Release
Missing Teenager
in Helensburgh
Police will
resume their search at first light this morning for a 16-year-old developmentally
delayed boy missing since yesterday afternoon from Helensburgh. The teenager,
Shaun Boittier, went missing from his Helensburgh backyard about 5pm when
he wandered out of the yard into the nearby Royal National Park. Shaun
is described as white/European in appearance, 16-years-old, slight build,
with short brown hair and is wearing glasses. He cannot speak. He was last
seen wearing a long sleeve black t-shirt and grey corduroy jeans. He may
also be carrying a newspaper. Local Police, Dog Squad, Polair and SES volunteers
will be involved in the search for Shaun. Anyone in the area is urged to
keep a lookout for the 16-year-old, and motorists are requested to take
extra care when travelling on the Old Princes Highway, near the Helensburgh
turnoff.
July 17 |
NSW
Police Media Release
Missing Helensburgh
teenager found safe and well
A 16-year-old
developmentally delayed boy missing from his home in Helensburgh overnight
has been found safe and well. Shaun Boittier was found shortly after 8.15am
by a police coordinated search on the side of a ridge near his home in
the Garrawarra National Park. Police say he was found about 50m from his
home after becoming disoriented. Ambulance personnel and NSW Police Rescue
squad officers assessed Shaun before he was returned to his family. Police
would like to thank the media and members of the public for their assistance.
Shaun Boittier went missing from his Helensburgh backyard about 5pm yesterday
when he wandered out of the yard into bushland.
18 July
| Qld
Police Media Release
Police search
river (for Steven)
Police divers
searched an area near the Merthyr Road jetty this morning to continue investigations
into the disappearance of Steven Goldsmith. Mr Goldsmith, 28, was last
seen on July 5, 2000. His belongings and car were found at his home in
Sydney Street, New Farm about 500m from the Merthyr Road jetty. At the
weekend, police received an anonymous call providing information about
Mr Goldsmith’s disappearance. Police are appealing for the caller to contact
police again.
21 July
| Qld
Police Media Release
Photos released
of Armed Robber
Police have
released security photographs of a man who can assist with inquiries into
a series of armed robberies in the Gold Coast. The man is believed to be
responsible for seven robberies at financial institutions since April last
year. The most recent robbery was last month.
During each
robbery, the offender wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, and carried a
plastic shopping bag which he requested the bank staff to fill with cash.
He was armed with a black handgun during each robbery. He is believed to
be about 35 years old, Caucasian and in earlier robberies, had a long,
dark ponytail. During the more recent robberies the man had short hair.
The photographs are available from Police Media and can be emailed. Anyone
who recognises the man is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
21 July
| NSW
Police Media Release
Missing Cross
Country Skier Found
A 42-year-old
Queanbeyan man overdue from a cross-country skiing trip at Kosciusko National
Park has been located safe and well. He was located shortly after 7am by
crew on board the Southcare Helicopter, about 4km north of Munyang Power
Station. The skier was winched to safety about 7.10am and assessed by medical
staff, who found he was suffering mild hypothermia. A search was launched
by police and AUSSAR this morning after a call to police about 11.35pm
yesterday from the missing man’s wife, who said her husband had failed
to return from a day trip.
23 July |
NSW
Police Media Release
Do you know
the whereabouts of Hector ?
Police are
appealing for public assistance in locating a well-known West Ryde identity,
Hector
the galah. The pink and grey bird went missing between 1pm and 1.10pm Saturday
(20 July) from outside a pet shop in Graf Avenue. Hector is a well-known
local identity, and has been an integral part of the pet shop for the past
31 years, with many residents stopping for a morning or afternoon “chat”
with the bird.
Police are
investigating reports that the galah may have been “liberated” by a welfare
group, concerned at Hector’s caging. Witnesses have told investigators
they saw a grey-haired woman in her 50s, take Hector and his cage from
outside the store on Saturday afternoon. She then placed the cage in a
cream or beige coloured station wagon, possibly a 1999/2000 Toyota Camry,
which was in a nearby shopping centre car-park. Customers of the pet shop
are outraged at Hector’s theft, and police have been told that some are
starting a ransom fund to offer a reward for his safe return. Police are
appealing for anyone with information about Hector’s disappearance or his
current whereabouts, to contact Gladesville Police on 9879-9699 or Crime
Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
23 July
| Channel 7
Search for
two missing fishermen called off after one fisherman was rescued.
24 July |
QLD
Police Media Release
Search for
missing trawler crewmen
The search
for the two missing crew from the trawler which sank off far-north Queensland
on Saturday has wound down. Australian Search and Rescue wound down the
search last night, however Water Police will continue an aerial search
of the coastline north of Cairns today and tomorrow. Police are also trying
to locate the exact position of the sunken trawler to allow police divers
to inspect it.
24 July |
NSW
Police Media Release
Appeal for
information over attempted Hurstville abduction
APolice are
appealing for public assistance after an attempt to force a 37-year-old
Hurstville man into a van by two men in Sydney’s south. About 8.20am yesterday,
the man was walking along Hodge Street when he was approached by two men
in a white Econovan, which had a red plumbing sign on the side of the vehicle.
Two men inside the van threatened the man with a pistol and told him to
get into the vehicle. The man was struck after he lost his footing, suffering
a wound to his head. He managed to escape from the men and ran to a nearby
house. Anyone with information about this incident should contact Hurstville
Police on 93758599 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333000.
25 July |
The
Courier Mail Online by Rodney Chester
Private dick
hunts fake nipples
Despite their
efforts at promoting non-nudie sites, there are at least 100,000 fake nude
photos of celebrities on the Net, according to Ed Lake, aka the Fake Detective.
At his site, the Fake Detective has painstakingly examined more than 300
images of female celebrities, exposing how the images have been manipulated
to fool thousands of people. Incidentally, Mr Fake Detective says he doesn't
worry about fake porn images of famous men. "The Fake Detective protects
'damsels in distress'," he says at his site.
25 July |
ABC
News Online
'Black shirts'
accused of stalking
A radical
men's support group whose members dress in paramilitary uniforms has been
accused of stalking women and children in Victoria. Victorian Attorney-General
Rob Hulls says members distribute abusive letters, make phantom phone calls
and knock on doors in the middle of the night. Barristers and lawyers are
also being targeted. The organisation is known as the "Black Shirts", and
members claim they are victims of broken marriages. Mr Hulls says their
activities could be considered stalking and has written to the group to
try to stop the campaign. "This is cowardly behaviour and I strongly suggest
that these angry men in Victoria stop harassing innocent citizens and instead
attend the various men's support groups that have been established to deal
legally and effectively with the hurt and pain of broken marriages," he
said.
27 July |
NSW
Police Media Release
Appeal for
assistance to find missing Artarmon woman
Police are
appealing for public assistance to locate an Artarmon woman who has been
missing since 1976. Kathleen Marie Aitken was last seen by family members
at her Artarmon unit at the corner of Palmer Street and Pacific Highway
during the summer of 1976. At about that time, she failed to keep a regular
appointment with her sister and has not been seen since. At the time of
her disappearance she was aged about 27. Around 1986, Ms Aitken contacted
a family member and told the relative she now had three children – a 12-year-old
daughter named Rachel, and two sons. One boy was named Luke, while the
other was named either Matthew or Mark. At that time, the boys were believed
to be 10 and 9 years of age. Ms Aitken was an aspiring model and was also
known by the surnames of Tunks, Ross and Finnis.
She’s described
as being of white/European appearance, 170 to 175cms tall, of thin build,
fair complexion, blonde hair, and grey eyes. She also has a birthmark covering
the left arm. Ms Aitken would now be around 52-years-old. Her disappearance
is being treated as suspicious. The matter has been reported to the Coroner
and an inquest has been listed to be held at Westmead on Monday, 26 August,
2002. Members of the public who may have seen Kathleen Aitken, or have
any knowledge as to her present whereabouts are asked to contact Batemans
Bay Police on 4472 0099, Chatswood Detectives on 9411 0820, or Crime Stoppers
on 1800 333 000. Images of Kathleen Aitken and her children are available
from the Police Media Unit.
28 July |
NSW
Police Media Release
NSW Govt.
Offers $100,000 Reward for information about 1999 murder
On 24 December
1999, Sanjay Kumar Roy was shot and killed while working as a console operator
at the Mobil Service Station in The Kingsway at Woolooware. The New South
Wales Government is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who may have
been responsible for the murder of the 31-year-old. The allocation of this
reward will be at the sole discretion of the Commissioner of Police.
Commander
of Strike Force Polesworth, Detective Senior Constable Kevin Bale says
investigators have exhausted all avenues of inquiry. “The investigation
by Strike Force Polesworth has been extensive,” said Det Sen Const Bale.
“A number of persons have been interviewed in relation to Mr Roy’s murder,
but unfortunately, none of our inquiries have been able to firmly identify
a suspect. “We hope that by posting this reward, persons who have been
reticent in assisting police to date, may come forward. We would also like
people who have contacted us anonymously in the past, to call us again.
They may have that vital piece of information that helps us solve this
case. “Witnesses have previously told police they saw a light-coloured
Holden Commodore sedan (VL or similar model), parked at the service station
at the time of the shooting. The vehicle was then seen leaving the service
station and heading west along The Kingsway.
“Police would
also like to talk with a man they believe may be able to assist with their
inquiries. He’s described as being 178cm tall, medium to solid build, fair
to olive complexion, with dark coloured short hair. At the time of the
incident, he was wearing a green/blue coloured collared jacket, lighter
coloured jumper or sloppy joe, light coloured baseball cap, light coloured
jeans or pants, and dark coloured shoes.”
“We are seeking
the urgent assistance and co-operation of the public in finding the person
or persons responsible for Mr Roy’s death,” said Det Sen Const Bale. Any
information will be treated confidentially, and may be given at any time
of the day or night at any Police Station, or by telephoning Police Headquarters
on (02) 9281 0000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
28 July |
NSW
Police Media Release
Body Located
– Chipping Norton Lakes
The body of
a 34-year-old man who disappeared after a boat he was in capsized last
month has been located. The body of the Ashcroft man was found around 10am
on Saturday, 27 July, by a cyclist riding on a path on the edge of the
Chipping Norton Lakes. The body was floating about two metres from the
shore, at the end of Wharf Road at Lansvale. Police attended around 10.20am
and the Forensic Services Group examined the scene before the body was
taken to Westmead Morgue and positively identified as being that of Sashi
Sharma. Mr Sharma had been missing since about 10.30am on Sunday, 7 July,
after he and three other people launched a small aluminium dinghy into
the Chipping Norton Lakes at Lansvale. The newly purchased boat capsized,
throwing the occupants into the water. A 57-year-old man, a 22-year-old
man and a 5-year-old boy were all rescued by a nearby fishing boat a short
time later, but despite an extensive search, the fourth occupant could
not be located. A post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine
the cause of death, and a report prepared for the Coroner.
30 July |
The
Australian Online story by Martin Chulov
New hunt for
bodies
PROMPTED by
phone records suggesting Kerry Whelan's suspected killer may have travelled
deeper into the forest to dispose of her body, NSW police are preparing
a new search for her remains and those of a second missing woman, Dorothy
Davis.
Plans have
been finalised for a two-week sweep of the Bungonia State Recreation Reserve
in the NSW Southern Highlands -- five years after 30 officers originally
searched the area for almost a week. A submission by senior detectives
was sent last week to Deputy Commissioner Field Operations Andrew Scipione.
The push for a new search gained impetus in May during a coronial inquest
into the disappearance of both women, after mobile phone records of Bruce
Burrell, the man identified by coroner John Abernethy as their likely killer,
were analysed.
Mr Burrell's
mobile records from May 30, 1995 -- the day 74-year-old widow Dorothy Davis
was last seen -- show he travelled south from Sydney that morning to his
farm near the town of Bungonia, and returned to Sydney late that night.
He previously had told police he was at a workmate's birthday lunch. Crucial
to plans for the new search of the forest are two calls transmitted that
day through a mobile cell link at Mittagong, on the Hume Highway near Goulburn
-- the last spot with mobile coverage before the turn-off to Mr Burrell's
property. The first call was made at 4.30pm and the second at 8.46pm. Police
have deduced that the four hours between the calls may have given Mr Burrell
time to travel up to 30 minutes further into bushland than previously thought
if, as alleged, he had taken Mrs Davis's body there. Mr Burrell has denied
any involvement in the disappearance of either woman, but admitted knowing
them both.
He was charged
in April 1999 with kidnapping Mrs Whelan from a Parramatta hotel on May
6, 1997, and later murdering her, but Director of Public Prosecutions Nick
Cowdery last year withdrew the charges at trial. However, at the end of
a three-week inquest, Mr Abernethy said he was satisfied that a "known
person"-- later identified as Mr Burrell -- had murdered both women. Mr
Abernethy sent his findings to the DPP, and senior Crown prosecutor Mark
Tedeschi QC has prepared a recommendation for Mr Cowdery. The new search
is likely to cost close to $70,000 and has been complicated by the fact
that ownership of the farm has changed hands. Plans include up to 40 officers
searching the rugged bushland and mine shafts that dot the reserve and
the adjoining farmland.
Two witnesses
told the coronial inquest that during visits to the farm in the mid-1990s,
Mr Burrell had gestured towards bushland and told them he knew of a place
where a body could be hidden and never found.
30 July |
The
Daily Telegraph (Sydney) Page 18
In LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR, "The Missing Persons Register" got a mention.
Anybody got
a copy of the paper?
31 July |
ABC
Online News (NSW)
Police fear
missing woman may be dead
Police fear
missing woman may be dead
Detectives
at Young, in central southern NSW, have escalated their enquiries into
the disappearance of a local woman and increasingly think she may no longer
be alive. Police have been told Amber Haigh was dropped off at Campbelltown
Railway Station on the night of Friday, June 5, but she has not been seen
since. Detective Sergeant Gae Crea says Strike Force Villimar is now trying
to locate people of interest in the Young area, around Campbelltown and
around Tahmoor near Picton. He says after eight weeks, it is likely the
19-year-old woman is dead, possibly murdered. "With the passage of time
our fears grow more...we've got grave concerns for her being alive," he
said.
31 July |
ABC
Online News (WA)
Police consider
new information in missing teen case
Mid west WA
police are investigating new information from a woman who may have been
the last person to see missing teenager Hayley Dodd alive. The 17-year-old
vanished three years ago when she left Dongara to hitchhike to a friend's
farm in Badgingarra. A reward for information on her whereabouts has recently
increased to $250,000. Detective Sergeant Eddie Rowe says a woman revealed
she saw Hayley walking on the isolated North-West Road towards Moora the
day she disappeared. He says the woman also saw a shiny blue-green car
and an army-style truck travelling along the road that day, and later asked
some youths at a property for directions to Moora. "All of this information
is new to the investigation and we'd call upon the owners or drivers of
those vehicles to come forward so that we can eliminate them from our inquiries,
and for those people if they remember on this day a woman with her daughter
travelling in the Badgingarra area to come forward so we can also eliminate
them in our inquiries," he said.
International
News:
2 July USA
| The
Nando Times
Police fingerprint
neighbors of missing Utah girl
Police fingerprint
neighbors of missing Utah girl.
14 July
Belgium | Ananova
Missing nurse's
family search for clues in Belgium
The family
of a student nurse who vanished while travelling to Ostend are visiting
some of Belgium's major cities in a bid to find clues about her disappearance.
Louise Kerton, from Broadstairs, Kent, went missing after visiting her
fiance's mother in the Aachen region of Germany nearly two weeks ago. (in
Aug 2001) The 24-year-old's father Phil, mother Kathleen, brother Simon
and sister Marie travelled to Aachen to meet German police. They are taking
a train from Aachen to Ostend which Louise was planning to catch and will
then visit cities along the route which she could have stopped at, including
Bruges, Brussels and Ghent. Mr Kerton, of New Ash Green, Kent, has accused
Belgian police of not doing enough to find Louise. He said Belgian police
had told him they will not start looking for his daughter until their German
counterparts can prove she left their country. He said: "We are extremely
tired and frustrated. The Belgian police have everything in place, but
will not start their search until the German police tell them to. "They
have a dossier on Louise ready, but through procedure cannot do anything
to help as there is no proof she got on to that train." But a police spokesman
in Bruges said: "We are searching for her. We have a team of investigators
from our railway police in Ostend working on the case." A Foreign Office
spokesman said it was working with Louise's family and police in Kent,
Belgium and Germany to find her.
17 July
| Reuters (Bejing)
US team in
China seek Cold War missing
A U.S. Army
team arrived in China on Wednesday on the first mission allowed by Beijing
to search for the remains of Americans who went missing in action during
the Cold War, the U.S. embassy said. The eight-member team from the U.S.
Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI) will look for the
remains of two pilots whose plane crashed in northeastern China on a CIA
spying mission in 1952, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Since 1996,
the Army's Central Identification Laboratory has conducted hundreds of
search operations for bodies from World War II, the Korean War and the
Vietnam War. Washington has listed 130 as missing in action in Cold War
aircraft that crashed or were shot down around the world. The only other
case in China, Greer said, was 12 people still missing from the crash of
a Navy aircraft lost off Shanghai in August, 1956. The remains of four
other victims of that crash were found.
18 July
| The
Salt Lake Tribune
A grave task
in Bosnia
Forensic expert
Pjotr Drukier of Poland, a member of the International Commission on Missing
Persons in Bosnia, inspects remains found in a mass grave near the Serb-held
village of Kamenica, northeastern Bosnia, Tuesday, July 23, 2002. Forensic
experts discovered a mass grave that may contain up to 100 bodies of Muslims
killed at the end of the country's 1992-95 war, officials said Tuesday.
According to experts the newly discovered grave contained bodies that had
been brought from graves elsewhere for reburial in an attempt to hide the
remains from war crime investigators.
23 July
| Yahoo News
NZ police
uncover kidnap bunker
A hidden underground
bunker found in the Rimutaka Forest Park north of Upper Hutt led to last
night's arrest of three men on attempted kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap
charges, Wellington police said. A 21-year-old unemployed man and a 34-year-old
builder, both from England, appeared in Upper Hutt District Court this
morning and were remanded in custody to reappear on July 29. They did not
plead to charges of attempting to kidnap, attempting to commit a crime
while armed, conspiring to kidnap, intending to confine and intending to
obtain a ransom. A third man, a 52-year-old lawyer also from England, was
charged with the same offences but did not appear because he was in hospital
being treated for dog bites received during his arrest.
Wellington
district crime manager Detective Inspector Norm Cook said, "The degree
of planning and preparation used in building and concealing the bunker
suggested a kidnapping was well planned." He said the site would be thoroughly
examined over the next few days and the bunker would be filled in. "We
are very keen to hear from people who may have seen the structure being
built and materials being carried into the site," Insp Cook said. He said
he wasn't prepared to comment on how police identified the arrested men,
nor to identify the intended victim, a middle-aged man who had asked for
privacy. Insp Cook also refused to reveal details of the investigation.
The victim, who was only told of the alleged kidnap plan hours before the
men were arrested, was in a mild state of shock following the news, Insp
Cook said.
23 July |
US
ABC News & Reuters, story by David Morgan
Missing Philadelphia
Girl Escapes to Safety
A 7-year-old
Philadelphia girl, abducted as she played outside the home of her grandmother
on Monday night, was able to free herself and flee to safety after about
nearly 24 hours of captivity, police said on Tuesday. Erica Pratt, a 3-foot-5-inch,
70-pound child, was bound with duct tape and locked in the pitch-dark basement
of an abandoned home in north Philadelphia by a pair of kidnappers who
left her with little more than a can of water, police said. But the girl
gnawed her way through the tape bound around her hands and feet, kicked
out a panel in a locked basement door and shouted for help from the front
window of the building, police said.
Meanwhile,
police said they were looking for two suspects in the abduction identified
as James Burns, 29, and Edward Johnson, 23, both of Philadelphia, who were
described as having long criminal records. In another of a series of U.S.
child abduction cases in the past six months, Erica was grabbed from a
sidewalk as she played with a 5-year-old friend at 9:22 p.m. Monday by
a man who dragged her screaming to an older-model white car while a second
man waited inside the vehicle. Her family began receiving telephone demands
for $150,000 ransom within 15 minutes of her disappearance while city police
and the FBI launched a massive search for the missing child.
On Monday,
prosecutors in California filed kidnapping, murder and sex-crime charges
against 27-year-old Alejandro Avila for last week's killing of 5-year-old
Samantha Runnion, who was playing with a friend when she was abducted.
23 July |
Europe
Media Net
Police to
set up missing persons Web site
The Netherlands
Police plans to use the Internet to help find missing persons, Europemedia
reported. Starting in October, police stations will file missing persons
reports with a central investigations department. Details of the
cases will be posted on a Web site, so that anybody can access the files.
According to Europemedia, around 15,000 people are reported missing annually
in the Netherlands. Although most turn up within 24 hours, around 700 are
still missing after three weeks and 20 people are not found after one year.
27 July |
AP
& Fox News
Body of missing
St. Louis-area girl found
Authorities
have found the dead body of a missing 6-year-old girl, who disappeared
while she was eating breakfast Friday morning.The body of little Cassandra
Williamson was found on the grounds of an abandoned glass factory and was
covered in debris. St. Louis County Police Chief Ron Battelle said the
police had arrested Johnny Johnson, a homeless man who spent the night
in the home where her father was staying, and where she was last seen.
Authorities
said Cassandra was in the kitchen around 7:30 a.m. with her father. Williamson
said he was about to pour his daughter a bowl of cereal and left the room
briefly to go the bathroom. When he returned, the girl, barefoot and dressed
in a white nightgown, was gone. The father said he also noticed that Johnson
(a man also living in the house) was gone. About a half-hour later, Williamson
said, Johnson returned to the house, wet and muddy, and said he had been
swimming in the nearby river. Police began questioning him soon after he
returned. Johnson told police where Cassandra could be found, a group of
volunteers who were searching got to the glass factory at about the same
time investigators did.
29 July |
San
Francisco Chronicle story by Jaxon Van Derbeken
Foul play
feared for vanished mother
A week before
she was to give birth to a second son, Evelyn Hernandez disappeared
from her apartment in San Francisco along with her 5-year-old boy, Alex.
No one has seen or heard from the 24-year-old single mother since May 1.
The cell phone belonging to the Salvadoran immigrant is missing, but the
account is still being paid for by a friend in the hope that she is alive.
San Francisco
police have exhausted the only lead they have in the case, the discovery
of Hernandez's wallet near a South San Francisco canal. Tucked away in
the newly purchased wallet were folded-up cash and a disability benefits
check made out to Hernandez. San Francisco homicide inspectors have taken
over the investigation from the missing persons unit. "The case is now
being investigated as a potential double or triple homicide," said Inspector
Holly Pera, alluding to Hernandez, her son and her unborn child.
30 July |
Ananova
Missing Louise's
family angry at German inaction
The family
of student nurse Louise Kerton, who went missing last year, have condemned
German authorities for their lack of action. More than 35 family and friends
gathered outside the German Embassy in London on Monday urging the ambassador
Thomas Matussek to act. Louise, then 24, vanished after going to catch
a train. She had been staying with her fiance, Peter Simon, 39, in a village
near Cologne. After the meeting Louise's mother Kath Kerton, said: "We
do not believe a word we hear from the German police until we actually
see some action." She said she had felt so frustrated she thought of "throwing
bricks" and "smashing" the German embassy. "We want them to pull their
finger out and get a move on," she said. Louise's father Phil, 57, and
his wife, now want the German authorities to set up a national missing
persons helpline. They also want travellers to leave a note with loved
ones to say they do not intend to disappear. The Kertons hope their meeting
with the German ambassador will push the police to act. The private investigator
hired by the family, former detective superintendent Bob Moffat, said:
"The German police are just giving lip service to the family." Mr Moffat
believes forensic examinations and witness interviews have not been conducted
properly. He also said the Simon family "need to be eliminated as suspects."
The ambassador, Mr Matussek, said: "As a father of two daughters in their
early twenties I can feel the pain and I can understand the grief."
30 July |
US
ABC NEWS
Search started
for Missing Four-year-old boy in Texas
About 150
rescue workers and volunteers fanned out over the west Texas countryside
on Tuesday to search for a four-year-old boy who was reported missing a
day earlier, police said. The boy, Schyler Fain, was last seen playing
at his grandparents' home near Fort Stockton, said Betsy Spencer of the
Pecos County Sheriff's Department. Rescue and volunteers have taken to
horseback and helicopter to search for the boy in the rugged and open countryside.
"It is bizarre
to have a child playing in the yard and then go missing," Spencer said.
"The child has been known to wander away before, but never for this long."
Spencer said that police are not sure if the boy went missing or has been
abducted. The boy lives with his mother and grandparents in an area about
210 miles east of El Paso. Fears of parents were fanned earlier this month
when Samantha Runnion, 5, was snatched from the driveway of her Southern
California home on July 15. Her bruised and naked body found the next day.
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