Elizabeth Johnson (mom) – Baby Gabriel Johnson

UPDATE:  A couple in Arizona who tried to adopt baby Gabriel are now persons of interest in his case.  Tempe Police say Jack and Terri Smith, a couple who met Elizabeth Johnson about seven months ago in an airport, may have more information about this baby’s disappearance then they have given to investigators.  Elizabeth Johnson, Gabriel’s mom, spoke out earlier this week and says she gave the child to a couple she met in a San Antonio park, even though she sent the baby’s father text messages saying she killed him.

Gabriel Johnson is only 8-months-old, and has been missing since December 18, 2009.  He was last seen with his mother Elizabeth Johnson.  Police say Johnson missed a custody hearing scheduled on December 28, 2009, and a felony warrant was issued for her arrest for custodial interference.  Johnsons custody rights were revoked, and the Gabriel’s father, Logan McQueary, was awarded full custody.  I spoke with Logan earlier this week, and his heart is breaking.  All he wants is to find his child alive, but it is hard for him to remain positive when he was told that his son was dead.  On December 27, 2009, Logan says Johnson sent him a text message saying she killed the baby, and in a phone conversation she allegedly told Logan, “I suffocated him (Gabriel) until he turned blue, put him in a diaper bag, and put him in a dumpster.”  Although this information is quite troubling, investigators have reason to believe Gabriel could still be alive, and the child may have been given to a couple.  Authorities do not want to say why they believe this to be true, but they are working off information that the child is somewhere and needs to be found. 

On January 5, 2010, the car belonging to Elizabeth Johnson, Gabriel’s mom, was found in Texas.  Although the vehicle was located, investigators say there was no sign of Gabriel.  The baby was last seen with his mother in San Antonio, Texas between the dates of December 22 – 26, 2009. 

Last week, Elizabeth Johnson was found in Miami, FL.  Investigators believe she purchased a bus ticket from Texas to Florida.  Johnson arrested and waived extradition back to Arizona, and is currently sitting in a jail cell.  We need to find this child, if you have any information, please help Logan find his son and call Tempe Police:  (480) 350-8311 or Silent Witness at (480) 948-6377 with any information