The abduction of an elderly woman has one small Vermont community on edge. The FBI says Pat O’Hagan, 78, may have been abducted six days ago from her home in Sheffield, and sadly there’s been no sign of her. As investigators begin to piece this mystery together, they’ve learned she most likely went missing last Friday. A friend filed a missing persons report on Saturday when she stopped by Pat’s home to pick her up for her weekly rug-hooking meeting only to discover she wasn’t there.
Pat is extremely active. The grandmother of nine was known to kayak, go camping, help out in her community and be active in her church. Police and the FBI have scoured all nearby areas including abandoned buildings. The Vermont National Air Guard has even flown over the area to see if they can spot any sign of the missing woman.
Authorities aren’t saying what leads them to believe that Pat did not walk off on her own, but they are devoting a lot of resources to tracking leads and information that may find her.
UPDATE – 4:38 p.m. Oregon State Police officials say Issak Glenn was thankfully found safe about 20 minutes ago by two men driving on a dirt road near Big Creek. He has been reunited with his family members who were on the ground searching for him since yesterday. Authorities say he quickly ate a sandwich and drank water.
Investigators in Florence, Oregon are actively searching for 5-year-old Isaak Benjamin Glenn. Isaak was reported missing yesterday afternoon at the Carl G. Washburne Memorial State Park. He vanished around 5 p.m. and hasn’t been seen since. Searchers are currently on foot canvassing the area where the child went missing and are interviewing anyone who was staying at the park last night. The area was chocked to capacity with campers. Local investigators and members from the fire department are also assisting with the efforts.
UPDATE: Sadly, Emmett’s body was found a short time ago about one mile away from his home. Investigators have the area marked off and have not released his cause of death. More to come on this case…
The search continues for two missing toddlers in Arizona. Investigators say Emmett Trapp vanished on Monday night from his home in Dewey, and Sylar Newton disappeared from a campsite near Flagstaff on July 25, 2010. The location of Emmett’s disappearance is a little over an hour from where Sylar went missing. I spoke with investigators and it appears at this point the cases are not connected, but there are many similarities.
Case similarities:
• Both Sylar and Emmett were last seen wearing diapers and both are believed to be wandering in their bare feet
• Both children were discovered missing after their mothers and custodial mothers woke up to find them gone
• The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office is searching and investigating both cases
• Both toddlers went missing in very rural areasThe family dog wandered off with Emmett when he disappeared, but later returned without the child.
Tomorrow will mark the six week anniversary since Kyron Horman went missing, and every single day there is a new development. Usually when a child goes missing, within a week or two the case falls out of the spotlight, but this family’s personal and bizarre life has kept this case alive and the public wanting more. Over the last couple of days investigators in Portland have been seen searching on the ground for clues and re-interviewing witnesses at the school from where the 7-year-old went missing. Desiree Young, Kyron’s mother, spoke out and said she thinks her son’s disappearance was planned and executed by his step-mother Terri Moulton-Horman.
It was March 19, 2004, and Brianna Maitland, 17, was wrapping up her dishwashing shift at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont. The teen had just received her GED, and was looking forward to applying for college. That night around 11:30 p.m. was the last time anyone ever saw her. Police have said all along that she may be the victim of foul play, but her body has never been found. Six long years have come and gone, and now new information is leading investigators to a spot where they hoped to find more clues.
In an effort to breathe new hope into a cold case, investigators in Vermont launched a ground search last week. Searchers focused their sites on an area just a few miles from where Brianna is believed to have gone missing in Richland, Vermont. Investigators say Brianna’s 1985 Oldsmobile was located at a farmhouse only one mile from her job. Personal belongings were left inside, including paychecks that were not cashed, along with her keys. An immediate search went underway at the time, and hundreds of volunteers, troopers and officers came out to look for the teen. According to the FBI missing person poster, they say the accident may have been staged at the farmhouse.
A community in Edgewood, Washington came together over the weekend to raise money for a family who watched their loved one be brutally murdered last week. The killers are still on the run, and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is hunting down the suspects. Investigators say the murder is most likely linked to another attack and robbery on April 25, 2010 in nearby Lake Stevens, Washington.
Investigators say Jim Sanders, 43, posted an ad on the popular Craigslist website to sell a diamond ring. Jim gave his home address to the potential buyers, and on April 28, 2010, a group showed up at his residence. Instead of making a successful transaction, the suspects had another agenda. Investigators say three men and one woman ransacked Jim’s home, tied up his wife and kids, and fatally shot Jim.
Police sketches of suspects
Investigators believe this murder is linked to another Craigslist attack and robbery on April 25th. Police say the same suspects ransacked a house in Lake Stevens, and made off with thousands in money and electronics.
It’s been 60 days today since Aja Johnson was abducted and her mother Tonya was found beaten to death inside an RV. Since then, investigators in Oklahoma have issued a warrant for Lester Hobbs arrest charging him with first degree murder and kidnapping. I spoke with Deputy U.S. Marshal Arthur Templeton out of the Lawton office again today, and he said there has been no activity on the case. A couple of weeks ago he stated that they have, “not had anything viable on the vehicle, Aja Johnson, or Lester Hobbs,” and sadly that is still the case today. Templteton did mention that he has a meeting with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations later today, and they have plans to discuss new ideas to keep this case in the spotlight.
When this case originally broke, there was a massive ice storm that swept through most of the state of Oklahoma. The storm paralyzed the region for 8 – 14 days. During that period, many folks were without power, so some have not even heard about the Amber Alert or the murder. That ice storm is long gone, and there are still no signs of this child.
UPDATE 12:02 p.m. - I just spoke to Kiirsi Hellwell, friend of Susan and Josh Powell, and one of the organizers helping to spread the word about Susan. She says starting next week, February 8 – 15, 2010, they will be getting the public to focus on a week of service in honor of Susan. Susan’s friends and family are asking everyone to lift a needle and donate handmade items to women’s and children’s charities in Susan’s name. This effort will launch across the country. To learn more about this, and what you can do in your own communities, please check out HEARTSKNITFOR SUSAN.
Family friend Kiirsi says that over the weekend, the popular Susan Powell friends and family Facebook page disappeared. But after repeatedly contacting Facebook, it finally reappeared Saturday night. She says a sick troll pretending to be Susan was posting pornographic pictures and sending harassing messages on the group page. Thankfully, the disturbing posts have died down over the last week or two, but it has been a rough month. Kiirsi says her husband picked Josh Powell up at the airport on Thursday night. Josh then came to their home to print out leases in preparation of renting out his house. As far as Kiirsi knows, Josh is still in Utah working on his home to prepare it for rent. When Josh arrived at his Utah home, he was greeted with purple ribbons all over his house in honor of his wife.
Great news to report as we launch into the weekend. Investigators say Brett Smith who has been missing since Monday, was found alive a short time ago. The Aiken County Sheriff’s office said Brett was walking down the side of the road when he was spotted. We don’t know where Brett has been for the last five days, or how he got to that part of town, but investigators are working to put the pieces together. I spoke with Investigator Mack earlier this week from Richland County, and she told me Brett went missing earlier this week when he was riding his bike in the Magnolia Hall neighborhood. His bicycle was found at a nearby McDonald’s, but there was no trace of the 12-year-old. An Amber Alert was not issued at the time because it did not meet state requirements, but investigators all along have treated his case with care and importance. Great work to all who helped find this child.
I spoke with investigators at the North Little Rock Police department this morning, and they tell me tips for this case are slowing down. We need to get justice for Major Philip Wise who worked for the Salvation Army for more than 16 years. He gunned down on Christmas Eve at his Little Rock, Arkansas Salvation Army location. Police say his three children witnessed their father’s murder with their own eyes. I spoke to Sgt. Terry Kuykendall from the North Little Rock police department the day after the murder happened, and he told me Major Wise had just returned to the Salvation Army after bringing bell ringers home. Major Wise and his three children, ages 4, 6 and 8, parked around back of the building and were walking in when two men tried to rob him in the pouring rain.
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....
It was March 19, 2004, and Brianna Maitland, 17, was wrapping up her dishwashing shift at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont. The teen had just received her GED, and was looking forward to applying for college. That night around 11:30 p.m. was the last time anyone ever saw her. Police have said all along that she may be the victim of foul play, but her body has never been found. Six long years have come and gone, and now new information is leading investigators to a spot where they hoped to find more clues. 
