UPDATE:Georgia Bureau of Investigatons confirms remains found over the weekend are the remains of missing mother, Kristi Cornwell. A press conference is scheduled today at 2 p.m. – Stay tuned…
Hard to believe it’s been more than one year Kristi Cornwell was abducted in Georgia. Kristi’s mom, Jo Ann Cornwell, told me over the phone recently, “I am not giving up hope, I have not been given any reason to believe she is not alive… it hurts my heart.”
The last anyone heard from Kristi was one year ago today when she was exercising in Blairsville. Investigators say around 9:00 p.m. Kristi was on the phone with her boyfriend, who was in Atlanta at the time, when a car approached her. There was a struggle, and she was never seen again. A reward of $50,000 is offered for information leading to the safe return of Kristi, or the arrest/conviction of the person responsible for her disappearance.
Kristi’s family is extremely proactive in this case. They started a website, they have frequent, sometimes daily searches of the area where she went missing, and they even auctioned off the family’s lake house property over the weekend to raise money to help find this missing mother. More than 80,000 post cards have been purchased and distributed with Kristi’s face on them. “Somebody out there has got to know something, or someone has seen something and doesn’t think it’s important yet,” said Jo Ann.
UPDATE:Investigators confirm they have found Zahra Baker’s remains in North Carolina. Authorities found the bones earlier this week in an isolated location, dug beneath the earth in a large grave. A “no fly” zone was erected above the area where investigators were searching, that zone would not allow news choppers above.
Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said earlier today at a press conference, “I’ve been dreading this moment [since] early on in this investigation. As investigators we are trained to follow leads, but never give up the hope the evidence may take us in the wrong direction and the outcome may be different. We have recovered enough physical evidence to believe we have found Zahra.” Chief Adkins continued to say that he and his staff are devastated.
Zahra’s mother has arrived in the United States from Australia. Stay tuned for updates on this case…
UPDATE: Investigators in Arizona found skeletal remains about two miles away from where toddler Sylar Newton went missing. Authorities have not released the identity or cause of death, but the remains are believed to be those of the missing 2-year-old. More to come on this case…
Sylar Newton Missing (family photo)
Sylar Newton mysteriously vanished out of his sleeping bag on July 25th at the Beaver Creek Campgrounds in Arizona. The area is about an hour south of Flagstaff. Since then, authorities from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office have poured more than 4,000 man hours into finding the child. Deputies have received additional help from the FBI and forensic specialists,and this is a 24/7 operation. Officials announced today that the case is no longer a missing person investigation, but similar to the Kyron Horman case out of Oregon, it is now an official criminal investigation. Unlike Kyron’s case, authorities have come out publicly and stated that they don’t believe Sylar wandered away from the campground, and they presume he is dead.
Investigators confirm the body they found at the Smith Gap Landfill in Roanoke, Virginia is in fact the body of 3-year-old Aveion Lewis. Police told me they tracked the trash collected along the 2100 block of King Charles Avenue, and that is what led them to the discovery. Thankfully, the trash company keeps very good records, and police were able to locate the truck in route to the landfill before it made a deposit. The truck emptied its contents in an isolated area at the landfill, and investigators sifted through the garbage. At this time, Roanoke police say they have not moved forward with homicide charges against Brandon Lockett, but that may change in the near future. He is scheduled to appear in court in March.
Investigators charged Aveion’s step-father, Brandon Lockett, with improper disposal of a human body, obstruction of justice, and felony child neglect after a false report was filed that Aveion was abducted. Police canceled an Amber Alert for the child after Lockett admitted Aveion was dead before the bogus abduction took place. Authorities say they were able to get this information and come to this conclusion after conflicting statements were given to authorities early on. Although police say Lockett admitted Aveion was dead before the Amber Alert was issued, investigators early on did not know exactly where the child’s body could be.
Police say they’ve found human remains inside the home of Dorice Donegan’s boyfriend, and now they confirm those remains are in fact missing lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare. The body was found in Plant City, FL buried under concrete. Investigator Wood with the Polk County Sheriff’s office told me a few weeks ago they named Dorice Donegan “Dee Dee” Moore of Florida an official person of interest in this case, but she has not been charged. A tip lead them to the area of where her current boyfriend lives. An official cause of death will be determined, and this case looks like it is shifting toward a murder investigation.
Investigators say they are confident the remains found on a Virginia farm are the remains of missing college student Morgan Harrington. Skeletal remains were found earlier today on a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. According to a press release issued on the Virginia State police website, “State police were notified at 9:59 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, by an Albemarle County resident of the discovery. At this time, the remains and scene are being evaluated by forensic technicians.” The location is Anchorage Farms, more than 700 acres of pasture and woods about eight miles away from Interstate 64.
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....
