Previous Page | Next Page
The grandparents of Melinda Duckett have gone on record as saying that they believe that the grilling that CNN’s Nancy Grace gave Melinda Duckett contributed to her decision to commit suicide. Did this interview go too far? It leads to some interesting questions regarding interviewing parents of missing children. What is the media’s role? Does the media have a right to ambush a parent during an interview as police investigate a case? We all want the truth to come out and more importantly Trenton Duckett to be found.
The grandparents of Melinda Duckett say the grilling that CNN’s Nancy Grace gave their granddaughter contributed to her decision to commit suicide.
Melinda Duckett’s grandfather said it was his gun that Melinda used while she was at their home alone on Friday.
During a news briefing yesterday, police shed little new light on their investigation, refusing to speculate as to whether the media scrutiny led to the apparent suicide.
It is hard to comment as to what goes through the mind of a parent with a missing child. The grief, sorrow and anxiety that a parent feels cannot be experienced unless one has lost a child. The media is supposed to ask questions, report the fact of the case and get the word out. Could “shock journalism” have played a role in the suicide of Melinda Duckett? Anything is possible and from the tone of the interview I believe that anchors need to remember they are journalists first, not lawyers. They are not there to solve the case on national TV. Does the media know or care about the emotional or mental makeup of a guest they are interviewing prior?
See the transcript of the Nancy Grace show in questions. Nancy Grace was certainly unrelenting. Granted I agree that questions need to be asked. However, no one in the media has the right to ambush a guest on their show. Nancy Grace is a lawyer. She understands what the term, “asked and answered” means. Guests and especially parents of a missing child have to be treated with a certain amount of deference. Just because a news anchor thinks an individual may be hiding something does not mean they have the right to badger them. Granted Melinda Duckett came on the Nancy Grace program of her own free will. However, I hardly think that she thought she would be ambushed or treated in a manner that she was.
One of the things that is troubling among many in this case is the fact that it is another case of an innocent child being caught in the cross-hairs of two parents in a bitter divorce and custody battle. The child’s welfare is hardly ever an issue when this occurs. Another troubling issue is if Melinda Duckett was somehow guilt-ridden and responsible for Trenton’s disappearance, why did she not leave a note of what she did prior to committing suicide? It is possible that she was just an emotionally unstable person who cracked under the extreme pressure of the case.
The end result is that Melinda Duckett is not alive to answer police questions or provide anymore information into the disappearance of 2 year old Trenton Duckett. That is the most important part in all of this. Trenton Duckett is still missing. Where is he? As Joshua Duckett has stated the primary goal should be on Trenton and any information as to his whereabouts.
The father of missing two-year-old Trenton Duckett talked to reporters yesterday, for the first time since Melinda Duckett’s apparent suicide.
Trenton Duckett’s Father, Joshua Duckett says it is not time to point fingers and everyone needs to work together to find his son.
“Please come forward if you have anything at all. It may not be relevant. Just please come forward because right now is the time. We need anything to go on,” Joshua Duckett said.
(Central Florida News)
Trenton Duckett’s Description:
He’s described as from 2 and a half to 3 and a half feet tall, 30 to 40 pounds and was last seen in a blue and green striped shirt with blue denim shorts, no shoes.
|
UPDATE: Trenton Duckett Missing: Did the Media and Nancy Grace Push Melinda Duckett Over the Edge to Suicide?
September 10th, 2006 at 01:46pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Amber Alert, child welfare, Found Deceased, Missing, Missing Children, Pictures, Trenton Duckett |
73 comments
There is still no sign of two year old Trenton Duckett who has literally vanished. 
According to reports he was last seen in his room on Sunday at 7:00 pm EDT. His parents noticed him missing at 9:00 pm. Police are trying to confirm the alibis of the parents, even though it seems that Trenton’s father Josh Duckett had passed a lie detector test. Authorities are also searching a wooded area on a tip.
VIDEO
“Investigators are asking the public to help verify the whereabouts of the Duckett family the day before Trenton vanished,” Local 6′s Mike DeForest said.
“We have reports of where Trenton was,” Leesburg police Captain Steve Rockefeller said. “We want to get confirmation of where Trenton was. That is the need for the reconstruction.”
The boy’s father, Josh Duckett, was videotaped standing behind police at Tuesday’s news conference.
“I’ve given my whole story,” Duckett said. “I’ve cooperated. Everything that I’ve been doing, and so far they are satisfied with what they found.”
Duckett said he performed well on a lie detector test about the case.
(Local 6)
September 5th, 2006 at 09:38pm
Posted by
Administrator |
abduction, Amber Alert, child welfare, kidnapped, Missing, Missing Children, Trenton Duckett |
no comments
The search continues for the missing 2 year old Leesburg, FL boy Trenton Duckett. 
Authorities in the first time in the case mentioned that “Trenton Duckett is alive and close by.”
Police Capt. Steve Rockefeller wouldn’t say Friday why investigators are encouraged about the fate of the 2-year-old boy, who was reported taken from his bedroom through a window. Despite numerous searches, no body has been found.
“We have no evidence to indicate that he is dead,” Rockefeller said. “This [investigation] is not fruitless.”
Rockefeller said investigators are also looking at all possible answers for the toddler’s abduction — including his parents’ rocky past. Police records released Friday show that the months leading up to Trenton’s disappearance were filled with allegations of abuse and threats of violence.
Poster for Trenton Duckett
Nobody is above suspicion … VIDEO
The search goes on with the efforts of The project Adam team. The questions remain is whether the parents extremely rocky past and history of alleged abuse allegations and mis-treatment have anything to do with the Trenton’s disappearance?
The couple lived in Bushnell and moved to Leesburg last year. Bushnell officers said they responded last year to several of the couple’s arguments and an allegation of Melinda Duckett neglecting her son.
The accusation was determined to be unfounded, a report said.
Last year, police took Melinda Duckett into custody under the state’s Baker Act, which allows authorities to hold people for a mental evaluation if they show evidence of being a danger to themselves or others.
The specifics of the incident that prompted her being held were unclear. Bushnell police would not release their report Friday. They said it was a medical record not subject to the state’s public-records laws.
(Orlando Sentinel)
Police are working with state and federal agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI.
On Wednesday, law-enforcement officers were questioning neighbors in the Windemere Villas apartment complex where Trenton lives and interviewing nearby registered sex offenders.
Andrew Vita, a member of Team Adam, a unit of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said his organization was helping to circulate fliers and talking with Trenton’s relatives and parents, Joshua and Melinda Duckett, both 21.
“It’s a very intense investigative effort,” Vita said. “They [officers] are working all night long. Some people have been here for several days.”
(Orlando Sentinel)
September 3rd, 2006 at 12:25pm
Posted by
Administrator |
abduction, Amber Alert, child welfare, Missing, Missing Children, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Trenton Duckett |
10 comments
Casey Crowder, 17, has been missing since Sunday when she was last seen leaving her 
boyfriends home. Casey was last seen at 5:30 AM, Sunday August 27th, 2006 near 105 Wilbrun Brake in the community of Pickens, south of Dumas. A Level II, Morgan Nick Amber Alert in connection with the disappearance of Casey Crowder.
Crowder’s family says her car later ran out of gas on Highway 65. (See story link for more background information.)
Investigators have conducted polygraph tests on several of her friends and a search of Crowder’s bedroom, but none has offered any help.
(KTHV)
Casey Crowder’s description:
| Name: |
Casey Crowder |
 |
| Sex: |
Female |
| Height: |
5’1″ |
| Hair Color: |
Blonde |
| Race: |
Caucasian |
| Age: |
17 |
| Weight: |
105 Lbs. |
| Eye Color: |
Green |
| Other: |
|
(Project Safe Kids)
If you have information that could help find Casey Crowder please contact the Desha County Sheriff’s Office at (870) 877-2327.
Pine Bluff Mother Cries Out Over Missing Daughter
(Melinda Crowder, mother of missing girl) “Casey, you know how much we love you and how hard we’re trying to find you and we’re going to find you. And we love you very much.”
A mother cries out as her only daughter vanishes along Highway 65 early Sunday morning. Police believe 17-year-old Casey Crowder disappeared somewhere near Dumas early Sunday morning. Crews continue to search and they’re hoping for a safe return.
Casey Crowder just began her senior year at Watson Chapel last week. Tuesday her mother says she feels empty with her only daughter missing.
(KATV)
UPDATE: OFFICERS, VOLUNTEERS CONTINUE SEARCH FOR MISSING PB GIRL
Her vehicle was found abandoned on U.S. 65 near the new Dumas hospital. The gas tank was empty, the doors were locked and the emergency flashers were turned on. The vehicle revealed no evidence of foul play, according to police.
Smith said 30 or 40 law enforcement officers and volunteers searched the farmland, breaks, and a bayou between Pickens and Lincoln County on Tuesday. More volunteers and law enforcement officers joined the search Wednesday when they combed the cotton and bean fields north and east of Dumas.
Two investigators and an FBI agent spent the day canvassing businesses along U.S. 65, from Pickens to Gould, and a volunteer from Dumas distributed flyers in Pine Bluff and Lake Village, and all the towns between, Smith said.
(Pine Bluff Commercial)
FBI seeks help finding missing girl
DUMAS (AP) — The FBI on Thursday joined perplexed investigators from Arkansas in the search for a Pine Bluff teenager who disappeared along a busy federal highway after running out of gasoline last weekend.
Agents put out a notice nationally seeking information about Casey Crowder, a senior at Watson Chapel High School. Crowder, traveling back from a friend’s house in Pickens on Sunday morning, telephoned her mother to say she had run out of gas and would walk to a gas station
(The Baxter Bulletin)
Missing Pine Bluff Teen Update (Casey Crowder)
Casey Crowder disappeared early Sunday morning and has not been seen or heard from since. FBI and other agencies have been searching the “ditches and bodies of water” near Pickens where they believe Casey was last.
Crews were searching ditches and bodies of water. Several agents, including the FBI, spent most of the day in the town of Pickens. It’s believed that’s where Casey Crowder was seen last.
Thursday marks day 4 of searching by air, by foot and by four wheelers. Crews flood the tiny town of Pickens hoping to find any clue as to the whereabouts of Casey Crowder. Sheriff Don Smith says no evidence has been found. And there are no suspects either.
(Sheriff Don Smith, Desha County)”We’ve interviewed her boyfriend two or three times, two of his friends, at least three times. Several polygraph tests, everything comes out fine.” (KATV)
Where Is Casey Crowder? Sheriff Don Smith of the Desha County Sheriff’s Department, Casey Crowder’s mother Melinda and her aunt Cindy Bennett go “One The Record”.
VAN SUSTEREN: Melinda, any idea is there — would your daughter ever take off? It doesn’t sound like a case where she’d take off but any idea would she take off?
CROWDER: No, she would not. She was very close to all of her family and friends and there was no reason at all for her to run off. That’s just not an option. She didn’t have any reason to. She had just tried out for the school’s softball team the Saturday before. All of her clothes were in her room.
She had just called me and, you know, I told her that if — you know, I asked her if she wanted me to come and pick her up and she said, “No, mom, don’t worry about it. I’ll call so and so and get him to get them to bring me some gas and it will be all right” you know. And I said, “OK, are you sure?” And she said, “Yes.” And I said, “Well call me back if you need me” and then I didn’t hear from her anymore.
Full Transcript from Fox News, ‘On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren.
August 31st, 2006 at 11:56pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Abandon, Amber Alert, Missing, Missing Adult, Pictures |
one comment
The search continues for 2 year old Trenton Duckett who has been missing since Sunday 
night. Police authorities in Leesburg, FL are questioning sex offenders and neighbors in an effort to find a missing boy.
On Wednesday, investigators said they were questioning people in the boy’s neighborhood and registered sex offenders in the area.
“In the 21 years I’ve been here, we have never been looking at anything like a potential abduction-type case where it may be a stranger,” Leesburg police Capt. Steve Rockefeller said. “We have had parent involvement, parent interference and other domestic-type situations. Obviously we are looking at all angles in this case, and we just want to get Trenton home.”
The case certainly has its share of oddities. In one of the more strange connections, Trenton’s grandfather, James Duckett, is awaiting lethal injection on Florida’s death row for the rape and murder of an 11 year old girl
VIDEO
Nearly 20 years ago, the Mascotte police officer was convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl.
Prosecutors said they found the girl’s fingerprints on the hood of Duckett’s patrol car and that his tire tracks were near the lake where the girl was drowned.
Duckett has maintained his innocence.
(Local 6)
Trenton Duckett is described as follows: (Have you seen this boy?)
- Asian-Caucasian
- 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall
- weighing 30 to 40 pounds
- brown low-cut hair
- He was last seen wearing a blue-and-green striped shirt (or no shirt) with blue denim shorts and no shoes.
UPDATE (9/1/06): Tip Sparks Search Of Central Fla. Woods In Missing Boy Case
A new tip in the case of a Leesburg toddler who vanished from his bedroom Sunday night sparked a Friday night search of a wooded area near his grandmother’s house, Local 6 News has learned.
Local 6 News reported that federal agents, officers and search dogs were combing through some undeveloped land in Lady Lake just blocks from a gated community where his grandmother lives.
All police would say Friday was that a tip led them to the location, Local 6 reporter Mike DeForest said.
(Local 6)
August 31st, 2006 at 09:47pm
Posted by
Administrator |
abduction, Amber Alert, child welfare, kidnapped, Missing, Missing Children, Pictures, Search and Rescue, sex offender, Trenton Duckett |
2 comments
A statewide Amber Alert has been issued for a missing two year old Leesburg child, Trenton Ducket. Trenton Duckett was discovered missing from his bedroom at Windemere Apartments on Griffin Road on Sunday at about 9:00 pm.
Trenton is described as follows:
- Asian-Caucasian
- 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall
- weighing 30 to 40 pounds
- brown low-cut hair
- He was last seen wearing a blue-and-green striped shirt (or no shirt) with blue denim shorts and no shoes.
Amber Alert Post Flyer
Authorities believe that Trenton Duckett is in danger. It is believed that Trenton was taken through his bedroom window.
Investigators said they’re very concerned, and the FBI has been called in to help search for the boy.
Detectives said they think Trenton was taken through his bedroom window. Investigators said they also found signs of forced entry into the apartment.
“When we were checking out the area, it was discovered that at least one entry point of the apartment has some signs of tampering. I can’t really go into too many details about that, but that did lead us to be extremely cautious regarding foul play or something of that nature in this case,” Leesburg Police Department Capt. Steve Rockefeller said.
(WESH)
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-FL-MISSING.
UPDATE I: (8/29/06) Police still hunt for missing boy
LEESBURG — Police were still searching late Monday for a 2-year-old boy reportedly abducted from his bedroom during the weekend.
The boy is the grandson of James Duckett, the former Mascotte police officer who is on death row for raping, strangling and drowning an 11-year-old girl, according to Jeanne Bragg, a longtime family friend. That crime occurred in 1987, and he was convicted in 1988. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the conviction in October.
Family members said the boy’s parents, Melinda and Joshua Duckett, both 21 years old, had been fighting for custody of the child. The couple filed for divorce in June and live in separate cities, according to court records.
Last month, Melinda Duckett requested a restraining order against her estranged husband.
In her petition for injunction, she said she received an e-mail from Joshua Duckett in July, threatening to hurt her and Trenton, court records said. Her petition stated “Joshua would hunt my son and I [Melinda] down and that he will bury my son with me.”
(Orlando Sentinel)
VIDEO for missing Trenton Ducket
August 28th, 2006 at 11:41pm
Posted by
Administrator |
abduction, Amber Alert, child welfare, kidnapped, Missing, Missing Adult, Missing Children, Pictures, Trenton Duckett |
95 comments
There are some that are pushing for Amber Alerts to include older female students. Presently the Amber Alert system is made only for children under the age of 18. Is the point of Amber to find missing people or only to segment it for missing children?
When Ali Gilmore went missing after Feb. 2, there was no emergency response or immediate coordinated effort to find her. Some say if Amber Alerts included women, the 30-year-old Tallahassee resident’s disappearance may have been solved by now.
Obviously the difference in searching for minors vs. those of adult age is the consent to go missing. There are many cases where an adult just wishes to disappear or take off. That is not the case with minors, except in the case of a runaway. However, law enforcement is responsible for minor’s actions as they are not of the age of consent to make such decisions.
We certainly understand the noble effort to want to include college age females in Amber Alerts; however, it may cause discriminatory issues. What if a male college student is abducted? The important fact is more needs to be done to prevent, search and find missing persons … no matter what age they are. Obviously women seem to be at a greater threat in these matters. Any changes for the positive for missing persons is a good thing.
Bishop Thomas Masters, Gilmore’s former pastor, hopes to change that law.
“We want it for college students and women in general,” said Masters, pastor of New Macedonia Baptist Church in Riviera Beach and president of the Palm Beach County Coalition to Stop the Violence. “We feel they need to have that kind of protection.”
State Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, said she is researching the issue and may craft a bill to change the law.
(Tallahassee Democrat)
August 21st, 2006 at 09:55am
Posted by
Administrator |
Amber Alert, child welfare, Missing College Student |
no comments
An AMBER ALERT has been issued in New York as Percy Williams of Schenectady, NY abducted a black girl who is between 13 and 15 years of age. NY State police say the teenage girl abduction occurred at 345 West 42nd Street about 4:00 PM Thursday.
Description of Suspect Percy Williams:
- Percy Williams is a 39-year-old black man.
- Approximately 6-foot-4
- Weighs about 220 pounds
- The suspect was last seen wearing a dark shirt and pants.
Suspects vehicle:
- Police are looking for a green Dodge Caravan
- New York license plate number DPB-8184.
Abducted teen description:
- They said the child is a black girl about 13 to 15 years old.
- She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and white blouse.
(WCBS-TV)
UPDATE: Amber Alert Canceled, Woman Found
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City police say the teenager who was the focus of an Amber Alert last night turned out to be a
42-year-old woman.
Police say the teenager was actually 42 years old. She was found in the East New York section of Brooklyn last night. She was unharmed.
Police say the woman is helping them in the investigation. Authorities still want to question the man about the incident.
August 17th, 2006 at 10:23pm
Posted by
Administrator |
abduction, Amber Alert, Found Alive, Missing, Missing Teen |
no comments
An AMBERT ALERT was issued late Sunday for missing 5 year old Destiny Norton. An individual reported seeing a child matching Destiny’s description in Farmington at 8:10 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 89 and Shepard Lane.
The child was riding in a black extended-cab Dodge pickup truck, according to police.
The first three numbers of the truck’s license plate were possibly 915 or 519, according to the Amber Alert. A sticker on the rear bumper of the truck read “SPORTS 4×4.”
Police also issued a description of a man seen in the vehicle with the child. He is approximately 40 years old, 5 foot 5 and 160 pounds with black hair. He was wearing black pants, a white shirt, a baseball cap and skater shoes.
Americas Most Wanted: Little Girl Lost
A massive search effort is currently underway in Salt Lake City, Utah for a missing 5-year-old girl named Destiny Norton.
UPDATE: AMBER ALERT CANCELED
Amber Alert Canceled; Destiny Still Missing
Police canceled the Amber Alert for Destiny Norton after the pick-up truck that match the description as the one having Destiny in it was located. Destiny was not in the pick-up, the investigation continues.
(KUTV) FARMINGTON, Utah Police have canceled an Amber Alert that was issued late Sunday after a man told police he saw a girl in a pickup truck who matched the description of missing 5-year-old Destiny Norton.
The Amber Alert was canceled after the truck was found, police said. The girl was not in the truck and investigation was continuing.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:29am
Posted by
Administrator |
Amber Alert, child welfare, Destiny Norton, Missing, Missing Children, Uncategorized |
no comments
Five-year-old Destiny Norton has been missing since Sunday. Destiny Norton went 
missing from her home around 8:30 Sunday night in the area of 720 South and 500 East near Trolley Square. Even though Destiny as not been found, the Amber Alert has been cancelled as it does not meet the requirement. One of the flaws of the system of helping missing children.
Police said that they are missing criteria required for an Amber Alert because they do not have a suspect or direct evidence that the child was kidnapped. They have now changed the status of the case to “endangered child or juvenile”.
Description:
-
She is 3’ 6” tall
-
weighs between 45 and 50 pounds.
-
She has blond hair with green streaks in the back
-
Was last seen wearing an adult-sized black shirt with gray stripes.
Sevkija Ferhatovic was questioned and released by the police in her disappearance. 
He may be re-questioned, there is no evidence that Sevkija Ferhatovic was involved in her disappearance; however, he has been charged in the past of sexual abuse but was found not guilty.
In 2002 Ferhatovic was charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of sexual abuse with a child and one count of sexual abuse of a minor but was found not guilty on all those charges.
(KUTV)
UPDATE: Police ask for help in search for missing girl
Police today, emphasizing their belief and hope that Destiny Norton is alive, issued a passionate plea for residents to scour their immediate surroundings and to reflect back to what they were doing and may have noticed Sunday evening, when the young girl was reported missing.
Meanwhile, searches by volunteers continued in Millcreek Canyon and surrounding areas in hopes of turning up some clue that may help produce a resolution in the case.
(Desert News)
A $15,000 reward has been offered leading to Destiny’s return. Call 799-INFO (4636)
Project Safe Kids: Missing Endangered Child Alert for Destiny Norton
July 17th, 2006 at 11:14pm
Posted by
Administrator |
Amber Alert, child welfare, Destiny Norton, Missing, Missing Children |
one comment
Previous Page | Next Page
