UPDATE: Investigators arrested Harvey without incident this morning in Niagara Falls, New York. Authorities in North Carlonia are on their way to NY to interview the suspect. More to come…
An all out manhunt is underway for a man wanted for allegedly killing 23-year-old Valerie Hamilton. Her body was found early Sunday in a storage unit in East Charlotte.
Valerie was the daughter of Concord, North Carolina Police Chief Merl Hamilton. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say a convicted sex offender may be the person responsible for her murder and they have issued a warrant for 34-year-old Michael Neal Harvey. He was originally convicted of a rape in New York in 1996. Valerie was reported missing last week. Investigators were looking into surveillance tape from the Thomas Street Tavern where Valerie was last seen with Harvey last week.
Authorities believe Harvey could be driving a stolen 1996 Chevrolet Blazer with a possible tag: ZXE-1756.
If you have any information on Harvey’s whereabouts, please contact investigators right away: 704.336.7600
Amber Dubois vanished as she walked to school in February 2009. Investigators did not think Amber was abducted, so the case was treated as a runaway early on. Earlier this year, Amber’s body was found in California because another young girl, Chelsea King, had vanished in the area. A convicted sex offender, John Albert Gardner, was linked to both of the cases and arrested. In April 2010 Gardner confessed to killing Amber and Chelsea, and he will remain behind bars for life.
This week Amber’s mom launched a new website, TEAM AMBER RESCUE. According to the site, its mission states:
“Team Amber Rescue was formed to train volunteers in the proper search and rescue techniques so missing children can be found as quickly as possible. It was founded by Carrie McGonigle in loving tribute to her murdered daughter, Amber Leeanne DuBois.
Reported missing, the police declined to issue an Amber Alert and maintained that she was likely a runaway although possibly she could have been abducted. Carrie knew her daughter was someone’s victim, and, praying that she was still alive, worked with family, friends and volunteers to find her with searches on foot, on horse, door to door, websites, mailers, posters, media, psychics, and, even knocking on doors of known sex offenders.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr. was convicted Thursday for fourth-degree burglary stemming from a September 11, 2009 incident where he allegedly broke into a woman’s home in Ocean City, Maryland. The victim claims she never gave the convicted sex offender permission to enter her house and she woke up in the middle of the night to find a naked Leggs standing at the end of her bed masturbating. He was given a three year maximum sentence from the judge.
On April 18, 2011 Leggs will be on trial for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell. Sarah’s body was found on Christmas morning and he is facing the death penalty in that case. If Leggs is, in fact guilty and responsible for Sarah’s death, there is an obvious escalation in sexual attacks between the alleged September 11, 2009 incident and the abduction of Sarah. Either before, or in the interim, police fear there may be other victims who have not yet come forward. Leggs was given a three year sentence from the judge on Thursday.
UPDATE: Investigators say a person of interest in the Alisa Maier abduction shot himself yesterday when authorities closed in on him. Police were tipped off to convicted sex offenderPaul S. Smith’s whereabouts when a relative told them where he was staying. Reports are conflicting, but now indicate that Smith has died at the hospital. Investigators are searching for physical evidence to positively link Smith to Alisa’s abduction. More details to come on this case…
Stranger abductions are not as common as we think, but when they happen it feels like the entire nation knows about it through the news and social media. If there is a car description, an Amber Alert is usually attached to the announcement along with a suspect description. That was the case with little Alisa Maier from Missouri. She is only 4-years-old and investigators say she was snatched from her front yard two days ago by a stranger. Alisa was playing in her front yard with her brother when the abduction occurred, and their mother jumped into her vehicle and tried to chase the abductor down. The FBI from St. Louis and investigators from surrounding counties quickly joined forces to create a command post and follow up with every lead to help find Alisa. Members of the community met at the local Elk’s Lodge and volunteered their time going door-to-door passing out fliers with Alisa’s face and information on them. The first 48 hours in an abduction arethe most crucial. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, since 1997 the Amber Alert program is credited with the safe recovery of 502 children. There are 120 active amber plans in check across the country.
This swift effort by the community and the authorities in and around Louisiana, Missouri should be commended, because their efforts worked. I received an e-mail around 3:45 a.m. this morning from FBI S.A. Rebecca Wu that said Alisa was found late last night wandering around a car wash in Fenton, Missouri. Someone saw a small child, they believed to be a boy, and made contact with “him.”
Investigators say DNA analysis confirms the remains found in Mount Cobb, Pennsylvania are in fact those of a missing aspiring dancer from Texas. Authorities say Laura Garza, 25, vanished from a Brooklynnightclub with a registered sex offender. Her body was found earlier this month. Although she has been positively identified, we are waiting to learn the official cause of death in this case. We will also learn if Laura was killed in New York, or in the rural area of Pennsylvania.
Investigators say Michael Mele is not charged in this case at this time, although he was the man seen leaving the Marquee club with Laura 16 months ago. Reports indicate Mele’s body had scratches and a possible bite mark after the attack, and patches of carpet were missing out of his apartment.
Thoughts and prayers go out to Laura’s family and friends, and hoping her killer will be brought to justice soon.
Hundreds of young athletes gathered yesterday to help raise money for the Chelsea King Memorial Scholarship fund. Chelsea was raped and murdered as she jogged in San Diego by convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III. Gardner pleaded guilty earlier this month to her murder, and the murder of 14-year-old Amber Dubois.
Nearly 60 teams played in baseball games around the county and paid entry fees hat raised more than $20,000 for Chelsea’s fund. The money will go to a student at Poway High School where Chelsea would have graduated this year.
Gardner issued a public apology over the weekend. The note was given to CBS News 8 in San Diego by an unnamed source and says, “I’m sorry. I wish I could take it back. I know that it doesn’t mean anything to anybody but I really am sorry for everything. I wish that I was able to get help when I tried to get help. I tried to seek out help and was not able to get any.” News 8 also says just days before Chelsea’s murder Gardner claims he tried to admit himself into a mental hospital, but was denied.
In light of the recent tragedy in San Diego where 17-year-old Chelsea King was raped and murdered, the fact that convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner could be the man responsible is sparking an outrage across America. The big question is how can a man who should have spent 10 years behind bars, servefive and be on probation for merethree?
Gardner was convicted in 2000 of sexually assaulting and attacking a girl in his own home. He punched the 13-year-old in the face numerous times during the attack. If Gardner is guilty of murdering Chelsea, one has to wonder if giving him the maximum sentence could have prevented this horrific incident.
Then, over the weekend, the bones of Amber Dubois were found. This teen went missing more than a year ago, on February 13, 2009 as she walked to school. We are waiting for the autopsy and toxicology reports to come back, and if this is, in fact, a murder, there may be evidence linking Gardner to her death as well. Gardner wasalso charged with assault for an attack he allegedly committed on December 27, 2009 on a woman in the same park whereChelsea was found. Investigators throughout the area are opening up cases on women who say they were attacked to see if Gardner could be linked to them as well.
Investigators confirm the skeletal remains found in a remote area of San Diego County are those of Amber Dubois. Amber went missing on February 13, 2009 as she was walking to her high school in Escondido, California. Investigators will not say if convicted sex offender, John Albert Gardner is responsible for her death, or if he has any connection to her case. Gardner is currently behind bars, and is charged with the murder and rape of 17-year-old Chelsea King. Chelsea went missing a little more than a week ago as she was jogging through a San Diego County park. Gardner is also charged with a December 2009 assault of a woman in the same area. As we learn more about the investigation… we will bring it to you.
Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner is charged with murder in the disappearance of missing teen Chelsea King. The District Attorney filed the charges and the complaint was read at an arraignment earlier this week when Gardner made his first appearance. Gardner entered a plea of not guilty. I spoke with the District Attorney in San Diego, and he tells me that a status hearing will take place next week, and a preliminary hearing is set for March 18, 2010. At the preliminary hearing, the court will decide if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial. The charges come after a body was found earlier this week in Lake Hodges, an area near where Chelsea King went missing while she was running through the Rancho Bernardo Community Park. We are still waiting for a positive ID on the body. Investigators say thatChelsea, 17, was a runner for her high school, and parked her car nearby as she went to exercise. Inside her vehicle, police found a cell phone and other personal belongings.
The FBI works hard to prevent crimes against children. Their intelligence units are constantly combing the Internet in search of child predators. Many times, agents come across videos of suspects engaging in sexually explicit activity with children, and these videos and images are often sold or distributed around the world. Sometimes these videos are easy to find, but the suspects in them are hard to identify. This is one of those cases. Agents have proof that this unknown man is abusing a young girl. Please take a good look at this white male’s picture. You can view webcam of the suspect (with no sound) right here (you will only see basic images).
On January 2, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted this person for knowingly transporting, or aiding in the transportation of, visual depictions via interstate commerce of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Please contact the FBI if this person looks familiar to you, and help agents get this predator off the streets.
Michelle Sigona is a crime fighting, victims advocate extraordinaire, but for Michelle -- the good fight doesn't stop there. In her spare time, she is a volunteer firefighter -- and now, she is tackling the issues and cases that mean the most to her....
