Posted on 08/12/2002 9:08:54 PM PDT by IamHD
Perhaps my perception is incorrect. She certainly is not flagrant or abusive at all in her criticism. Maybe I just don't appreciate her sarcasm.
Missing L.A. girl found safe, police say
Woman in custody after 4-year-old walks into California health clinic
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 — Jessica Cortez, the 4-year-old girl whose disappearance from a park during the weekend triggered a frantic search statewide, was found at a medical clinic Tuesday, police said. A woman was taken into custody.
JESSICA WAS TAKEN to Children’s Hospital, where she was being examined, said police, who said she appeared to be fine.
“This turned out to be a great day. Our prayers were answered,” said Mayor James Hahn, who announced Jessica’s recovery at Echo Park, where she disappeared Sunday.
NBC affiliate KNBC-TV reported that Jessica walked into St. John’s Well Child Clinic near the University of Southern California on Tuesday afternoon. She was barefoot and dirty, her hair had been cut short and jagged, and she was wearing different clothes from those she had on when she was last seen Sunday at Echo Park, about seven miles away.
Jessica arrived with a woman who asked clinic workers to examine her child. The workers recognized Jessica from her photos and immediately called 911.
Clinic workers asked Jessica if the woman was her mother and she said no, KNBC reported. The 30-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, police said.
The Associated Press reported that crowds gathered at the Echo Park lake after hearing news that the girl had been found.
“Jessica, Jessica,” the crowd chanted as news spread through the community.
GIRL SEEN WITH MAN, DOG
Jessica had been at Echo Park with her parents and brother Sunday. Her mother, Maria Hernandez, often sold tacos from a nearby stand.
The family discovered that she was missing about 7:30 p.m. Police divers spent hours searching the park’s murky lake as hundreds of officers canvassed the neighborhood. The city and the FBI offered a total of $45,000 in rewards.
Police released this sketch of a man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Jessica Cortez.--(I don't know how to post this sketch , sorry..If someone knows how, would you please post it..THANKS!)
Police Chief Martin Pomeroy told reporters earlier in the day that four witnesses had reported seeing Cortez in the company of a man whom police described as Latino, 20 to 25 years old, 5-feet-8 to 6 feet tall, with a tattoo of a cross on his lower left leg.
But no witness reported seeing the man and the girl outside the park — nor did anyone tell the police that they had seen the man taking her from the park.
The arrest of the woman Tuesday did not mean investigators had abandoned interest in the man with the dog. “We still have a suspect out there,” FBI Special Agent Richard Garcia said.
After interviewing several people who recognized a composite drawing of the man, authorities issued a statewide “Amber Alert” asking for the public’s help in finding her.
The alerts, named after a Texas girl who was kidnapped and murdered, are now used in California and other states when police believe quick disclosure of information in a case might lead to a child’s safe return. Such an alert was credited with assisting in the recent rescue of two teenage girls abducted near Lancaster, Calif.
That's an understatement.
I think that the media frenzy has certainly contributed but more confusion has come from the tightness with which LE has held information in this investigation.
I agree with the media frenzy, but the tightness of LE is debateable.
I just don't think MK really got that good of a look at the guy.
I don't know about that..maybe, maybe not. How were they able to get a COMPLETE description of the perp, including; hat, shirt style, pants, shoes, hair on hands, hand on arms, but no facial features, at all? I have to assume that this guy had no mustache. Can you point me to any verifiable sources that the perp had a mask on? I know that I read it on one of the threads, but was it in print anywhere?
If everyone had been looking for guys driving cars that morning wearing a golf hat rather than a baseball hat then maybe they could have got a break. They should have corrected that as soon as they realized they were in error but for all we know maybe they didn’t recognize their mistake until several days had passed.
I couldn't agree with you more.
I might also add that I do not believe that they are trying to railroad Ricci.
I'm not sure about this one...at least, not yet.
If they were, there would be a lot more heat on him right now. Why, for the life of me, weren't they watching Ricci from the 5th, when they first "interviewed" him? If they had been watching him from that day, they would have seen whether or not he dropped that Jeep off, and also, they would have seen the person that supposedly picked him up. They messed up on this on. IMO
They can take their time building a very strong case and at the same time go after anyone else who may be involved.
Yes, they can, but in the meantime, Elizabeth is still missing because of mistakes. And I do think that they made mistakes.
:) I'll take a letter E
Finkelhor said most child abductions involve a family member, often a divorced parent involved in a custody dispute. Nationally, about 350,000 children are taken by family members each year, he said.
A 2000 study of child abductions for the U.S. Department of Justice found that family members were responsible for 49 percent of the kidnappings, and acquaintances were responsible for 27 percent. Strangers committed 24 percent of the kidnappings.
The study found differences in kidnappings that were committed by acquaintances, such as a neighbor or a boyfriend, and a stranger.
Acquaintance kidnappings more often involved female and teen-age victims, and more often were associated with crimes such as sexual or physical assault. They often occurred at home, and a high percentage of the victims were injured. Kidnappings by a stranger occurred primarily outdoors, and more often occurred in the evening or at night.
Despite the popular conception that kidnap victims most often are young children, it is teen-age girls who face the greatest risk, said Ben Ermini of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"At that age they have more freedom, they're out on their own," Ermini said. "They go to the malls without other people, so they are vulnerable to abduction."
I hope you don't want me to give you a run-down on past performances.
There are many things that we don't know because the police see no purpose in broadcasting every detail of their investigation. I've said before and I'll say again, Dinse is very sensitive to police lawsuits. We've been able to glean insight from press conferences and from Boylan, yet many continue to second guess the SLCPD/FBI with a thimble-full of information.
Based upon your and my limited knowledge of the specifics of the case, just because YOU think they don't add up, doesn't mean they don't add up.
Where is the source that states that the perp wore a mask?
Where is the source that stated, that when Ricci returned the Jeep to the shop, all of the windows were rolled down?
It "apparently" doesn't bother you that you don't know what the hell you are talking about. They sure as hell did interview MK - numerous times.
Of course, had she been allowed to do her work earlier, it might have made a huge difference.
You are also totally ignoring published reports quoting police sources who say MK never saw the perp's face. Does that mean that with Boylan's involvement earlier they could have determined earlier that a facial sketch that they still don't have, they wouldn't have been able to produce even earlier?
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