Three days have passed since police say Ayla Reynolds, 20-months-old, was last seen. Ayla was last seen sleeping in her bed around 8 p.m. on Friday night. Her father reported her missing the next morning around 9 a.m. The FBI is now assisting with this case and are looking into the disappearance as a possible abduction.
Volunteers, police and firefighters spent the weekend looking for Ayla. She was last seen wearing green and polka dot one-piece pajamas and wearing a soft cast from a broken arm. Investigators say there were several adults inside the home on Friday evening when the toddler went to sleep and at least one of them was not a family member.
Ayla’s pajamas had the words “Daddy’s Princess” on them. She stands 2 feet 9 inches tall, and weighs about 30 pounds. If you have any information, please contact the Waterville Police Department at 207-680-4700.
It has been one week since Lauren Spierer disappeared as she walked home from a night out with friends. Lauren was last seen at 4:30 a.m. She was heading back to her apartment complex, but never made it. Lauren was last seen in Bloomington, Indiana near the corner of 11th Street and College Avenue and investigators feel she is a victim of foul play.
Lauren is a fashion student at Indiana University and was scheduled to start an internship this summer at a Manhattan Anthropologie. Large groups and volunteers have come together in recent days to help with organized search efforts, but so far, there’s been no sign of Lauren.
Lauren’s roommate, Blair Wallach told us that they’ve known one another since they were 9-years-old. Blair and Lauren met at summer camp in Pennsylvania and have been fast friends ever since. The pair, along with two other girls, were living in the Smallwood Apartment complex over the last year and they just signed another lease for the upcoming semesters. Blair says she left to go home to New Jersey and Lauren stayed to take summer courses for a few weeks. Lauren has had a boyfriend for two years, but he was not out with her the night she went missing. Blair said the guy she was with last week, prior to her disappearance, is not someone she had ever met. She thinks Lauren and the unknown male met during summer semester.
The search to find missing nursing student Holly Bobo, 20, will continues. Investigators say Holly was abducted from her home in Parsons, TN on April 13. Tuesday, Holly’s family released a statement as the reward to find her has grown to $80,000:
“We could never thank everyone enough for all the kindness shown to our family during this difficult time,” the family said in a written statement to the media. “Thanks for your search efforts, donations and especially your prayers for Holly and our family.
“I know everyone’s daily life, routines and work must go on, but ours never will until Holly is back with us. Please continue to pray for Holly’s safe return, keep your eyes and ears open and search your own property. Please pray for Holly’s strength and everyone who is still searching for our precious Holly.”
During the first couple of weeks, hundreds of volunteers from Holly’s community joined forces with police to comb the wooded areas and roadways throughout Parsons and surrounding counties. Some personal items have been recovered, like her lunch bag, but none of the evidence has led to her whereabouts.
The search to find more victims and evidence in the Long Island serial killer investigation turned up new crime scenes and bones Monday. Authorities confirm they discovered two separate sets of bones, but they are not sure if the bones are connected to the same body or if they are in fact human. The first discovery appears to be a human skull, located one mile west of the Tobay Beach entrance (north side Ocean Parkway) about 100 feet into the brush. The second discovery was made by New York State Police. Investigators on the ground came across bones, possibly wrapped in plastic about 40 feet into the brush.
Investigators also confirm they have sent the discoveries to the Nassau County Medical Examiner’s office for further investigation. About 150 investigators from Nassau County, New York State and Park police combed a 4.5 mile stretch. The weather will depend what areas and what time they will resume search efforts Tuesday.
Madeline Morris has been searching for her missing son for more than three years, and recently the case received added attention when a $1,000 reward was announced to help find her son. Montgomery County Police say John Morris, 37, went missing from Dickerson, Maryland on July 30, 2007. He was last seen near his home at the 2400 block of White’s Ferry Road standing at the end of the driveway. At the time, John shared his residence with his boyfriend, and police say his vehicle and belongings were left behind when he went missing. In a new press release, Montgomery County Police say, “extensive investigative techniques have been used during this multi-year investigation to try to gain information about what may have happened to Morris. No evidence has been developed to confirm whether or not Morris remains alive. The family believes that he would not have stayed away this long without making contact with his family. His family also believes that he would not intentionally have left and abandoned his dog. At this stage of the investigation, foul play is suspected.”
Although the official Amber Alert to find 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker was canceled, the search to find this cancer survivor is still on. I have confirmed that today for the second day in a row, 15-20 investigators will comb a landfill about 20 miles away from where the child was last seen. Authorities say they are looking for a piece of evidence, as opposed to a body, but it may be a key piece of evidence to help crack this case wide open. Investigators had to track down the trash trucks, the time they pick up the trash and where they drop it off once they arrive to the location. This gives authorities a place to start peeling back the layer on the spots which will hopefully lead to the trash picked up from the Baker home.
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.
*9:00 p.m. – Just received a call from the Oak Brook police, and they tell me Katie was just found. She is alive, and well, and will be reunited with her family before the end of the night.*
Oak Brook police in Illinois are searching for Katie O’Connell, 20, who went missing on Monday, December 21, 2009. Investigators say she attended a birthday party at nightclub Underground in Chicago. Her friends tell police Katie was tired, and she took a cab home by herself, and hasn’t been seen since.
If you have any information, please contact the Oak Brook Police:
Police, family members and volunteers are searching for a woman in Coquille, Oregon. Investigators say Jayme Austin went missing on Monday, November 9, 2009, and hasn’t been seen since. Jayme was reported missing by her mother around 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 9th when she didn’t show up at her home. Police are on the ground interviewing everyone Jayme knows, and actively searching for this beautiful mother of two.
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....
Madeline Morris has been searching for her missing son for more than three years, and recently the case received added attention when a $1,000 reward was announced to help find her son. Montgomery County Police say John Morris, 37, went missing from Dickerson, Maryland on July 30, 2007. He was last seen near his home at the 2400 block of White’s Ferry Road standing at the end of the driveway. At the time, John shared his residence with his boyfriend, and police say his vehicle and belongings were left behind when he went missing. In a new press release, Montgomery County Police say, “extensive investigative techniques have been used during this multi-year investigation to try to gain information about what may have happened to Morris. No evidence has been developed to confirm whether or not Morris remains alive. The family believes that he would not have stayed away this long without making contact with his family. His family also believes that he would not intentionally have left and abandoned his dog. At this stage of the investigation, foul play is suspected.”
