A 13 year old runaway girl from Long Island, NY has been found safe as 22 year old John Vertrees was arrested and hauled off a western bound Amtrak train in Rochester after 11 p.m. and was charged with unlawful imprisonment.
Vertrees, of Sacramento, Calif., traveled to Rocky Point and climbed into the girl’s bedroom window to spend a few hours with her on Wednesday, Suffolk County police said.
The girl used the window to slip out of her house at 4 a.m. Friday and left with Vertrees in a taxi, investigators said.
Suffolk police said they used phone and computer records to identify a suspect. Investigators said they believed Vertrees was headed back to California with the girl.
John Vertrees was nabbed on a train bound for California as he lay sleeping in a car with a 13 year old Long Island girl he had met on the Internet.
After the two met in an Internet chat room in January, Vertrees traveled to the teenager’s home last week, police said.
April 4th, 2010 at 11:49am
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Kudos to the Feds & NY State Police.
Chalk another one up for the good guys. Federal authorities and New York State police have arrested eleven people in upstate New York in connection with an investigation into child pornography distributed over the Internet.
The arrests this week followed an investigation that led to 17 federal search warrants, U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter said Friday. The defendants, ranging in age from 18 to 58, are charged with receipt of child pornography. Some are charged with distribution. All could face at least five years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
Authorities said computer images depicting sex with prepubescent children, including toddlers, were posted and downloaded on an Internet file-sharing server. They declined to discuss other details or explain exactly how they identified the 11 suspects.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter went on to say that every image of child porn and every image downloaded depicts a crime scene of abuse of a child.
“One of the things I don’t think people necessarily realize is that every image of child pornography depicts a crime scene of abuse of a child,” Baxter said. “Child pornography is created by the abuse of real live people, real live children. So that the demand for those images created by people downloading and trading pornography triggers abuse down the line.”
July 25th, 2009 at 05:30pm
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abused, Exploitation, Exploited, Internet, Rape, sex offender, sexual assault |
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An AMBER ALERT has been issued for 12 year old Brooke Bennett from Braintree, VT. Brooke Bennett has been missing since 9 am Wednesday, June 25, 2008. An uncle dropped her at a Cumblerand Farms convenience store in nearby Randolph, VT. Brooke had told her parents that she was being picked up by a female friend and visiting a sick relative at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, NH. It is now believed by police that the story was a lie.
(Brooke Bennett)
Description
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Bennett is 4 feet, 11 inches tall
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weighs 98 pounds
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brown hair
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blue eyes
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she was last seen wearing a pink sweater, blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers with pink lettering.
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Her hair has purple streaks and both of her ears are pierced on the top and bottom.
Police fear that 12 year old Brooke Bennett may have been taken by someone that she met online through the social networking Web site MySpace
Surveillance footage from the Cumberland Farms store, which police have so far declined to release, showed the girl being dropped off. Instead of meeting the friend, she is seen walking away from the store, alone, toward the village of Randolph, police say.
She was not reported missing by family members until 9 p.m. Wednesday night.
Early Thursday, clothing similar to what the girl had been wearing was recovered in Brookfield, 10 miles north of Randolph.
The discovery triggered an intense ground search of the area by the state police search and rescue team and dogs from two different departments. “The items have been sent to the Vermont Forensic Laboratory for examination,” according to the release. 
Dive teams will search Sunset Lake today, a body of water near where the clothing was found, according to the State Police .
There are two MySpace account profiles. Talk about a contrast:
Missing Vermont girl linked to MySpace activity
To further discuss the case and get updates, go to Scared Monkeys, Missing Persons forum; Brooke Bennett, Missing 12 Year Old
UPDATE I: Pictures from Surveillance video of store that Brooke was in with her uncle
VIDEO
Authorities haven’t identified the person she was communicating with, but state police computer experts were analyzing the computer in a bid to learn more. They don’t know if it was a woman or a man.
The girl established her first MySpace account under her father’s supervision, but he later pulled the plug on it a couple of months ago after they learned about some of her activity on it, according to Bennett, 41, of Bethel, Vt.
“We told her when we set it up there that’s things you’re not gonna’ do,” he said. “We had a little respect problem after a month or so, so we shut it off. There was an issue, and we decided it was not appropriate for her to have it. We changed the password so she couldn’t use it,” he said.
She later set up an account from another computer, which Bennett said he didn’t know until a week ago. The girl lives with her mother in Braintree, not with Bennett.
UPDATE II: Brooke Bennett Missing Persons Press Conference VIDEO
America’s Most Wanted
But after Brooke Bennett was dropped off at the store by her uncle and cousin, she never made it to the hospital, and hasn’t been seen since.
Surveillance video from that day shows Brooke walking away from the store by herself towards the town of Randolph. When a family member in Brookefield found items of her clothing near her uncle’s home — the house where she was supposed to spend the night — it prompted an intensive search by police dogs and helicopters.
The investigation led by Vermont State Police has uncovered that MySpace, a popular social networking site, may have had something to do with her disappearance. After analyzing her computer, authorities learned that Brooke had been in contact with someone on the site days before she went missing. Investigators have not yet released the identity of that person.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Circumstances: Both photos shown are of Brooke. She was last seen on June 25, 2008 at a gas station in Randolph, Vermont. She may travel north to the Royalton, Vermont area or she may travel out of state. Brooke has a mole under her chin, a birthmark on her upper right arm, a scar on her calf, and her ears are double pierced. Her bottom teeth are discolored. When Brooke was last seen, she had purple highlights in her hair. She was last seen wearing a pink sweater, blue jeans, and white sneakers with pink lettering.
The logistics of where Brooke was last seen and where her clothes were found, the Floating bridge at Sunset Lake is actually about 7-8 miles away from the Cumberland Farms in Randolph where Brooke was last seen, so it’s doubtful she could have walked there.
UPDATE III: Witness Updates of disappearance of Brooke Bennett
According to reports, witnesses saw Brooke Bennett outside of a laundromat and Dunkin Donuts between the hours of 9:30 and 11:00 am in Randolph, VT. Police have also stated that some of her clothes were found lying beside Route 65 near the floating bridge. The clothes have been sent to the state forensic office.
Witnesses saw Brooke outside a laundromat and Dunkin Donuts in Randolph Wednesday morning between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. She wasn’t seen again– but some of her clothes were found along route 65 in Brookfield.
Bennett was last seen on surveillance at Cumberland Farms. She enters the store with her uncle, he purchases coffee and some cigarettes, and they leave the store. Brooke walks left, her uncle goes right.
“We know she stayed in that area for a period of time… because we have witnesses that put her in that area,” says Vt. State Police Col. James Baker.
Police found several pieces of Brooke’s clothing lying beside Route 65 near the floating bridge Thursday. That prompted a search Friday of Sunset Lake– but that search turned up no new clues.
UPDATE IV: In Wake of Brooke Bennett Disappearance, Local experts warn of Internet dangers
As police work to piece together the online correspondence that prompted Brooke Bennett of Braintree to arrange a meeting with an apparent stranger, experts are warning parents to keep tabs on their kids’ Internet use.
Gary Kessler, who teaches digital forensics at Champlain College, said a very low-tech approach can help prevent problems.
“You show an interest in kids’ lives, and you communicate those interests,” he told The Burlington Free Press. “It comes down to what kind of relationship you have with your kids.”
UPDATE V: Fliers posted for Brooke Bennett in VT (Video)
UPDATE VI: Search for missing 12-year-old girl widens
The search for a missing 12-year-old girl broadened Friday as the FBI joined in and police investigators turned to officials at MySpace.com, the online social networking site through which she had been communicating with an unknown person prior to her disappearance.
Experts in missing children say the Internet can be a dangerous place.
“The reality is that the internet is the predator’s new playground. They don’t have to lurk in bushes anymore, they can lurk in cyberspace,” said Marc Klaas, founder of the Klaaskids Foundation, of Sausalito, Calif.
“It provides them with a much greater degree of anonymity. It enables them to create any kind of a fantasy or fake life they want so they can use their well-honed manipulative skills to get close to the particularly vulnerable,” said Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly Klaas was abducted from a slumber party in 1993 and later found slain.
UPDATE VII: Michael Jacques, Uncle of Missing Brooke Bennett Arrested for Sexually Assaulting a Minor
June 27th, 2008 at 08:50pm
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14 year old Saddie “Elaine” Julian is considered an endangered teen in Boise, ID.
Police in Boise, ID are asking the publics help for missing 14 year old Saddie “Elaine” Julian, who is believed to be an endangered runaway. It is believed that the 14 year old ran off with 27 year old Morgan Douglass Jones of Birmingham, AL. The two are believed to have met on-line on the internet. Investigators believe their last known location was Eastern Washington.
Saddie is described as 5-feet tall, 90 pounds, light/pale skin, long red hair, and a thin build.
Jones is described a 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, shoulder length red hair, with light/pale skin. He was last seen clean shaven
Boise Police believe that Saddie Julian, 14, left town with Morgan Jones, 27, on May 28th. A felony kidnapping warrant has been issued for Jones’ arrest.
Julian went missing after meeting a 27 year old Alabama man while playing a game on the internet.
Police believe Morgan Jones, developed an on-line relationship with the girl and then drove from his home in Birmingham to Idaho to meet her.
It appears he picked Julian up Wednesday morning and may have left the state with her.
Investigators believe their last known location was Eastern Washington.
Jones is now wanted on a felony kidnapping warrant.
Jones was last seen driving a bright yellow, 2008 Chevy Aveo, with Alabama license plate OMGROFL.
Police Ask for Help Finding 14-Year Old Missing Girl
UPDATE I: A teenager missing since last Wednesday has been found unharmed at a remote campground in Franklin County, Washington.
Morgan Jones is currently only charged with kidnapping, awaiting further investigation.
June 1st, 2008 at 03:16pm
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Found Alive, Internet, kidnapped, Missing, Missing Teen, Pictures, Runaway |
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Is it possible that the mystery picture that surfaced on the internet is that of missing Tionda Bradley? Lois Gibson, a forensic artist with the Houston Police Department, said the online photo is that of Tionda Bradley, who disappeared at age 10 on July 6, 2001
10 year old Tionda Bradley and 3 year old Diamond Bradley have been missing since July 6, 2001. They were left home by their mother when she went to work. When their mother returned home at noon she found a note written in Tionda’s handwriting stating that the girls were going to the store and going to play at a near by school.
Friday night, Tracey called authorities and reported Diamond and Tionda missing. During their investigation, cops say several neighborhood children came forward and told cops they saw the girls playing outside of their complex around noon on Friday. Police say no one has seen them since.
The search was on for the Bradley sisters. Police searched the areas surrounding the girl’s home and lake. Police even dug up the cellar of the abandoned New Hope church–but found nothing. Investigators searched steel mills, thick woods, and the murky bottoms of small lakes and big ponds. (AMW)
Family web site: Find Tionda and Diamond.com
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Other recent stories:
UPDATE I: Mystery Internet Girl Is Not Missing Bradley Girl
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The parents of a girl some thought was Tionda Bradley have come forward to say she is not.
An image of Bradley and a picture of a girl found on the Internet had a forensic artist thinking the mystery girl had to be Tionda, but an investigator now tells CBS 2 that her parents say she is not the missing girl.
May 3rd, 2008 at 07:31pm
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12 year old Tiffany Tyson was reported missing and had not been seen since 11am Thursday, April 10, 2008. It was reported that she had run off with 19 year man she had met on the internet. What exactly is a 19 year old guy doing with a 12 year old? This 19 year old does not even know how he has just ruined his entire life.
Parents … Please monitor your children’s actions on the Internet!!!
James Linch – Tiffany Tyson
Tiffany Tyson has been found safe and 19 year old James Lynch was arrested on Friday, April 11. Linch will be charged with one count of interference with child custody and his bond was set at $50,000.
Police in the northern city of Quincy say Tiffany Tyson was found Friday at the home of James Lynch. Authorities say Linch had driven about 270 miles to pick her up at her home in Port St. John in central Florida.
Linch has been arrested on a warrant from Brevard County on a charge of interference with child custody.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:12pm
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14 year old, high school freshman Diana Janna Karasev has been missing since Friday when she is believed to have met a man that she met on the internet. She was last seen at 2:30 pm on Friday afternoon. When will teens ever learn about the dangers of meeting people that they have met on-line?
Police said late Saturday night they believe Diana Janna Karasev, a freshman at Etowah High School, left the school with an unknown male she may have met online. Karasev, who goes by “Ester,” was last seen at the school at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Karasev is white, 5-foot-3, weighs about 105 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a red shirt and black hooded sweatshirt.
Anyone with information should call the Cherokee sheriff’s office at 678-493-4080. (AJC)
UPDATE I: Missing 14-year-old found at boyfriend’s house
A 14-year-old girl missing for two days was found Sunday afternoon at her boyfriend’s house. Police said fears that she may have gone to meet someone she met online were unfounded.
The girl, Dianna Janna Karasev, who goes by the name of Ester, was charged with a misdemeanor for running away, according to Sgt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
August 18th, 2007 at 11:15pm
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19 year old, San Diego State University student Donna Jou has been missing since June 23, 2007. Donna Jou was last seen at a party held at a Los Angeles home rented by John Steven Burgess. Burgess is a registered sex offender.
Investigators believe Burgess, a registered sex offender, picked Jou up on a motorcycle earlier that day near her Rancho Santa Margarita home, Amormino said.
Jou met the man on the Web site Craigslist.org, Amormino said.
The day after Jou left for the party, her mother received a text message from Jou’s cell phone saying she was coming home, Amormino said.
Jou, however, never arrived. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Men Sought In Case Of Missing Teen
Police said they are looking for a man named Kyle who is also known as Skinny Puppy. One of Jou’s family members identified him as the man who rode away with Jou on June 23, according to authorities.
The other man they are looking for is John Steven Burgess, a registered sex offender who rented the house where Jou was last seen.
Family members are very worried about Jou’s well-being.
Sex Offender Sought for questioning in the disappearance of Donna Jou
On Friday, Sheriff’s investigators narrowed their search to John Steven Burgess, a convicted sex offender who calls himself SinJin Stevens. He drives around in a blue 1998 Ford Ranger pickup with the vanity plate SINJIN 1 – and a 1981 Yamaha motorcycle with license plate of 14X1224. He disappeared the same day Donna did – and authorities want to talk to him.
“He’s wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Donna Jou,” Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Burgess, who was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child and of sending harmful material to a minor using the Internet, never registered as a sex offender. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. (OC Register)
Missing Persons Forum: Donna Jou
July 7th, 2007 at 06:30pm
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Donna Jou, Internet, Missing, Missing Teen, sex offender |
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41 year old Theresa Parker, who lived in LaFayette, GA has been missing since March 21, 2007. She was last seen by her husband, Sam Parker. The couple was in the midst of a divorce.
Age: 41
Race: White
Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
Height: 5′ 07″
Weight: 125
Theresa Parker and her husband, Sam Parker, were in the midst of a divorce when she vanished. Sam Parker has been suspended from his job as a sergeant with the LaFayette Police Department during the investigation. Sam Parker was not staying at the couple’s home when Theresa disappeared, and Theresa was packing up the house and moving to a home she found to rent in Fort Oglethorpe.
Investigators say Sam Parker has been cooperative but now label him as a “person of interest.” (FOX News)
Authorities in Georgia are hoping a new Web site started by the family of missing Theresa Parker will bring in fresh clues leading to the whereabouts of 911 operator. The site is called www.findtheresaparker.com.
If anyone has any information regarding Theresa Parker’s whereabouts please call the police 24-hour tip line at (706) 639-2255.
Investigators Ask for Help in Theresa Parker Case
Theresa Parker Update: Personal Property Search
June 29th, 2007 at 11:44pm
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When will these teenage girls ever learn? Conversations on the web are hardly ever what they are made out to be in real life. Such seems like the situation for 17 year old missing Amanda Mespelts of Boise, Idaho. Mespelts was last seen on February 15, 2007. It is feared that she ran off with someone that she met on the internet.
(Amanda Mespelts)
They say it began with a conversation the girl had with someone on the Internet.
There are more questions than answers as to Amanda’s whereabouts.
She was last seen around noon six days ago.
NewsChannel 7 talked with Amanda’s mom who says she’s pretty sure that wherever her daughter is — there’s sure to be a stranger she met online with her. (WKTB)
Amanda Mespelts apparently left early from school the day of Feb 15. with supposedly someone she met on the internet. Amanda failed to show for her usual ride home.
“Like we said, we know she’s been online. We know there’s an individual, possibly from Georgia, that is somebody they’re looking at, somebody from Horseshoe Bend that we’ve learned about, that the police are aware of,” said Emory.
Judging by the date that Amanda went missing, we can surmise how the conversation on-line went between Amanda and the person she ran off with. The Valentine connection is too much a coincidence to overlook as to why she ran off with someone who may have been feeding her a line to especially meet for Valentine’s Day.
Amanda Mespelts’ Open Pal page
Blonde in Boise looking for you!!
Im just a fun girl looking for fun! i like to go out and have fn and if i sound like the type of person u want to be friends with then you should email me or whatever!!
February 21st, 2007 at 12:07am
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