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Could the missing Trenton Duckett actually have been sent to Korea? Investigators into the disappearance of Trenton Duckett are actually looking into that angle. Investigators are looking at flight records around the time of Trenton’s disappearance to see if that nay have actually happened. Police are looking into the over 12,000 passengers who traveled to Korea that weekend. There do not seem to be any solid leads that would have police look in this direction; however, all scenarios need to be investigated.
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Detectives in the search for missing Trenton Duckett are now poring over international airline records trying to determine whether the toddler was whisked out of the country, WKMG-TV has reported. Now, investigators are looking into the possibility that Duckett sent her son to Korea.
“We do have certain individuals who stated that Melinda had talked about her roots and possibly sending little Trenton back to his roots,” Marion County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Chris Blair said. “We are working with customs and issuing some subpoenas. They are aiding us in trying to obtain information on people who were located on certain flights.”
However, Marion County investigators said they believe Duckett, who was born in Korea but was adopted by a New York family when she was a baby, may have handed off her son to someone near a Belleview restaurant last year. (News4)
Trenton Duckett’s Father Gives New Items To Detectives
Local officials said they are working with U.S. Customs officials to check the manifests on every U.S. to Korea flight on the weekend that Trenton disappeared in August. Those manifests include the names of 12,000 people.
Investigators are cross-checking those names to see if anybody connected to Trenton’s mother, Melinda Duckett, match those names. (WESH)
UPDATE I: Joshua Duckett meets with police behind closed doors.
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Leesburg police made new requests for DNA. A hair brush and toys that may have Trenton Duckett’s DNA on them still. Police are making a comparison of a pillow and pillow case found thrown away at Melinda Duckett’s house.
UPDATE II: Could Melinda Duckett’s former co-workers offer any insight into the disappearance of Trent Duckett? Is this the speculation that is causing police to believe that maybe Trenton Duckett was sent to Korea?
Carolyn Kendrick is a chiropractic clinic manager in Sumter County. Melinda Duckett worked there when Trenton was 6 months old.
Duckett is considered the prime suspect in her son’s disappearance. She killed herself in September, just weeks after she reported the boy missing
That same month, Kendrick described Duckett’s desire to find her Korean birth mother.
“The only thing she really expressed to me was that she wanted to go back to her roots, which is Korea,” Kendrick told WESH 2 News.
January 24th, 2007 at 06:39pm
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The lawsuit against CNN and Nancy Grace filed by the family of Melinda Duckett has been moved from Circuit Court to Federal Court.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed against CNN’s Nancy Grace, claiming she pushed the mother of a missing toddler to suicide through aggressive questioning on her talk show, has been moved to federal court.
The case was moved from Circuit Court in the Lake County seat of Tavares to U.S. District Court in Ocala, according to a notice of removal filed Dec. 20.
Lawyers for Grace and Atlanta-based CNN asked that the case be transferred to federal court, a move allowed when opposing parties in a lawsuit reside or are headquartered in different states. The provision ensures a state court will not be biased in favor of a party from its own state. (Gainesville Sun)
The lawsuit also names Joshua Duckett, Trenton Duckett’s father as well. The Eubanks, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Melinda Duckett is also asking for a court ordered accounting of the Trenton Duckett Family Charitable Trust Fund.
Trenton’s father, Joshua Duckett, who was estranged from his wife, also was named in the lawsuit, though he had filed a response in Circuit Court demanding that he be dropped from the case.
The Eubanks want a court-ordered accounting of the Trenton Duckett Family Charitable Trust Fund, which Joshua Duckett established to solicit donations to help him search for his missing son. Their lawsuit said they “seek to ensure that any and all funds donated for locating [Trenton] are used for said purposes and not for any ill-conceived or improper purpose . . .”
The fund is run through helpfindtrenton.com. (Orlando Sentinel)
December 31st, 2006 at 05:13pm
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Did Melinda Duckett conspire with another individual and give Trenton Duckett away to another individual? The Marion County investigators seem to think so. Is it a coincidence or a conspiracy? What are the odds on the very day that Trenton Duckett was reported missing the following occurred:
- Trenton Duckett reported missing on August 27, 2006
- Just before noon, two workers at a Belleview Wendy’s reported seeing her with the boy.
- Minutes later, at 12:08 p.m., authorities confirm that she made a phone call to close friend, Chai Chen, 25.
- Chai Chen works across the highway from the Wendy’s at a Rent-A-Center
“We believe that it was an original location where there was a drop-off,” said Maj. Chris Blair of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. (WESH)
Chai Chen has also been given a lie detectors test.
Marion County investigators call Chen a person of interest but not a suspect. He voluntarily answered investigators’ questions this week and took an FBI polygraph last week.
According to law enforcement officials, the only thing that Melinda Duckett told him during that critical 12:08 p.m. phone call was that she invited him over to her Leesburg apartment to watch videos that night.
Deputies investigating friend of Melinda Duckett
The man is an employee of the Rent-A-Center store across the street from the Wendy’s fast-food restaurant in Belleview, where two employees reported seeing Melinda and Trenton the day the boy was reported missing, officials said.
You can classify it as a person of interest, but every person connected to Melinda Duckett is a person of interest, said Maj. Chris Blair of the Marion County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit. They’re thinking he’s a person of interest because of all the activities in the Belleview area.
Cell phone records indicate that Melinda Duckett called the man at 12:08 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, Blair said. (The Villages Daily Sun)
December 1st, 2006 at 09:37pm
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Attorneys representing the Estate of Melinda Duckett are suing Nancy Grace and her producers for inflicting emotional distress on Melinda Duckett that resulted in her taking her own life.
The attorneys say Duckett killed herself just hours after being questioned, some say grilled, on the show by Grace over the disappearance of Melinda’s 2-year-old son Trenton Duckett. Melinda committed suicide one day after being grilled by Nancy Grace as to whether she killed her missing son, Trenton Duckett.
The lawsuit is expected to be filed Tuesday, and alleges that Grace and the news network inflicted emotional distress on Duckett. Josh Duckett, Melinda’s estranged husband, is also named in the suit. (Central Florida News)
The lawyer that represents the Estate of Melinda Duckett, Jay Paul Deratany, states that Nancy Grace encouraged Melinda Duckett to come on ‘The Nancy Grace Show’ saying “the goal was to draw public attention to help find the boy”.
“It’s not just about the questioning. It’s about the misrepresentation with the knowledge that she was emotionally distraught,” Deratany said. The attorney said Grace improperly took on the role of a law enforcement officer.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. (CBS News)
See copy of the complaint filed here at the Smoking Gun.
Desratany says that was a misrepresentation of fact and that the real intentions became quickly apparent as soon as the interview began.
Please note that Jay Paul Deratany, attorney representing the Estate of Melinda Duckett will be a guest of Dana Pretzer on Scared Monkey’s radio Friday, November 24 at 9:00 EDT.
“We’ve alleged that Nancy Grace and her producers deliberately misrepresented the reasons for wanting Melinda on the show.
Within minutes of Melinda’s phone interview, it became quite obvious that Nancy’s questions weren’t about finding Trenton at all, but rather about impliedly accusing Melinda of murdering her beloved son.” (FOX News)
Melinda Duckett Estate Sues Nancy Grace
Talk show host Nancy Grace, her producers, and C-N-N are named in a wrongful death suit being filed today. Melinda Duckett committed suicide in September, shortly after an aggressive questioning episode on Grace’s T-V show. Kara Skorupa is the attorney for the Duckett estate. Grace repeated asked Duckett about her missing son. Skorupa says it was so aggressive it may have helped lead Melinda Duckett to kill herself. (AM850)
Grace should pay for ‘ambush,’ say boy’s grandparents
The parents of Melinda Duckett will file suit today in Lake County against CNN Headline News talk-show host Nancy Grace, accusing the ex-prosecutor of pushing their daughter to suicide with an insensitive, fist-pounding TV interview.
The wrongful-death lawsuit accuses Grace and her producers of luring the young mother onto the show by misrepresenting their intentions to find her missing 2-year-old son, Trenton.
“I believe it to be an ambush,” South Florida lawyer Kara Skorupa said. She provided a copy of the nine-page complaint and said it would be filed today in Circuit Court in Tavares.
The lawsuit, which claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, seeks an undisclosed amount of monetary and punitive damages from Grace and Cable News Network. (Orlando Sentinel)
UPDATE: Lockport Couple Sues CNN Journalist
Although this may not be criminal it certainly is bad form and is probably one of the biggest determining factors why the family of Melinda Duckett may have gone forward with this law suit. The Nancy Grace Show had to have known that Melinda Duckett was dead when they aired the previously recorded interview. Then they continues to show it over and over in the following months.
Her parents in Lockport were outraged by the talk show hosts harsh, accusatory line of questioning. The segment aired just hours after her death.
Melinda’s father, Jerry Eubank: “It was 3-4 hours after I heard that Mindy died and I’m watching this woman banging the table, and screaming about why aren’t you telling us this, I mean she was judge, jury and executioner.”
Melinda’s mother, Beth Eubank: “She physically makes me ill. The night she aired the show on September 8th, it was less than four hours since Mindy’s death, family members had not even been notified.” (WIVB 4)
November 21st, 2006 at 06:18pm
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The case of missing 2 year old Trenton Duckett keeps getting more bizarre. Now it appears that Melinda Duckett posed for nude pictures and armature adult videos sold over the internet. Could any of this have a connection to the disappearance of Trenton? Or does it show the depths of desperation that Melinda Duckett sunk to in an effort to make money? What it certainly shows is another pressure that was placed upon her during the investigation that may have made her feel like the walls were closing in. Her secret life being revealed on TV …
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Nude photographs of Melinda Duckett, including one image where she is straddling a child’s crib and another explicit video where the sound of a crying baby can be heard in the background surfaced in the missing boy investigation and caused concerns for detectives, the report said.
A case that was already strange, now gets bizarre. Law enforcement recently made comments that Trenton Duckett may still be alive. Now we learn that Melinda Duckett posed naked for amateur videos and pictures. One thing is for certain, this case would be a lot easier to to with if Melinda Duckett was still alive.
Picture Slide show
That’s a risky proposition to place yourself in the position of selling adult entertainment as an individual where it can be traced back to you,” Turner said. “If she is conducting this activity and Trenton is in the home, that would raise questions of who else was available in the home.”
Turner is also trying to determine if Duckett sold adult videos of herself out of her apartment.
“We do know that some of the movies were sold through an out-of-state adult video Web site,” Local 6′s Mike Deforest said.
A source told Local 6 News that the Web site operator paid Duckett to videotape herself nude and even provided the camera equipment for about two years.
One has to wonder who and what types Melinda may have come in contact with in doing amateur adult videos. It is a sleazy, exploitative business. Also, one can get their share of stalkers as well.
November 20th, 2006 at 10:02am
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After months of searching for 2 year old Trenton Duckett, Marion County police on 
Wednesday said they believe Trenton Duckett may still be alive.
Marion County police on Wednesday said they believe Trenton Duckett may still be alive after a witness reported seeing the 2-year-old with his mother hours before his reported disappearance at the end of August.
The witness said she saw Trenton Duckett with his mother, Melinda Duckett, in Belleview hours before his reported disappearance, said Capt. Jimmy Pogue of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (Fox News)
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Officials Say Missing Boy May Be Alive
Melinda Duckett remains the primary suspect, Pogue said.
“He could still be alive, and we need people to start looking for him and stop assuming he’s passed away and that we’re not looking for him,” Pogue said.
The witness reported seeing Melinda Duckett with the boy at a restaurant in Belleview on Aug. 27, Pogue said.
“She believes she saw Melinda and the baby during the time that Trenton is unaccounted for,” he said.
These new details provide hope for Joshua Duckett as he has been stating for a month that he believed his son was still alive.
Trenton’s father, Joshua Duckett, said investigators now share his belief that his son is alive. He also declined Tuesday to release new information about the investigation.
“They’re just going on the same theory I’ve been going on,” he said. “I’m still 100 percent confident he’s alive and well. It’s just a matter of finding him.” (Casper Star Tribune)
New Witness Comes Forward In Search For Trenton Duckett
There’s a new witness in the search for a missing Lake County toddler. Trenton Duckett, 2, was reported missing August 27.
Investigators said the witness is a fast food employee who works in Marion County, but released no further information about the person. (WFTV)
November 15th, 2006 at 12:03pm
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It was hoped that tests on the screen from the window that was cut of Trenton Duckett’s 
bedroom window would shed some light on his disappearance. Melinda Duckett had told police that Trenton Duckett had been abducted through his bedroom window at her Windemere Villas apartment . However, lab results from the screens analysis have come back inconclusive. They were unable to determine what may have cut the screen or whether it had been cut from the inside or outside of the apartment.
LEESBURG — Authorities this afternoon say they are no closer to finding missing 2-year-old Trenton Duckett after lab results analyzing a cut window screen from his mother’s apartment came back inconclusive.
It is still “undetermined” whether the 10-inch slit made in the screen was cut from the inside or outside of the apartment, Leesburg Police Maj. Steve Rockefeller said today.
Police officers turned over the screen and several knives from Melinda Duckett’s apartment to analysts at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Orlando crime lab days after Trenton went missing on Aug. 27. (The Orlando Sentinel)
UPDATE: Mom’s Belongings Hold No Clues About Son’s Disappearance
State crime labs investigating the belongings of a missing toddler’s mother found no evidence of where Trenton Duckett may be.
The state investigated her computer, personal writings and belongings to look for clues about the boy’s whereabouts. (WESH)
October 25th, 2006 at 10:20pm
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Josh Duckett, the father of missing Trenton Duckett, is opening the official “Team Trenton” 
headquarters in Central Florida. The office space was donated to Josh Duckett by a local marketing company.
Authorities continue to search for the 2-year-old, who has been missing since Aug. 27.
Trenton’s mother Melinda was named the prime suspect days after she killed herself. (Florida Today)
Also, Josh Duckett has hired a private investigator to help in the search for Trenton Duckett.
As well as setting up a headquarter and hiring a PI, Josh Duckett and “Team Trenton” have created a web page for Trenton Duckett. As the police department scales back on man power and the media attention wanes, parents of missing children need to get more creative in finding ways to get the information out and to get new leads.
Meanwhile, Trenton’s father, Joshua, recently set up a “Team Trenton” command center in Leesburg in order to help keep the search going. A Web site has been established at helpfindtrenton.com, featuring information about the boy, as well as phone and e-mail contacts for people who may be uncomfortable giving a tip directly to the police. (The Village Daily Sun)
Flyer For Trenton Duckett
Please help bring Trenton home
Anyone with information regarding Trenton’s whereabouts is urged to contact authorities at (800) 423-TIPS.
October 18th, 2006 at 05:00pm
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There are no hero’s in this story. Both Melinda and Josh Duckett should both be ashamed of themselves. Melinda is now dead of an apparent suice and Josh Duckett goes on TV and plays the adoring concerned dad. If both Josh and Melinda actually cared about Trenton Duckett and not themselves, maybe Trenton would not be missing or worse.
During his first two years of life, Trenton has been shuffled back and forth between his parents, his paternal grandmother, his maternal great-grandparents and into foster care. (WESH)
Is it possible by an act of God that maybe someone took this child away from all of these individuals to make a better life for Trenton Duckett? One can hope, pray and dream.
As the search for Trenton Duckett continues, information comes from the family courts as to what had transpired between the two parents and Trenton Duckett. Like with any terrible marriage and divorce between two adults, the child is always pout in the middle. The marriage and subsequent divorce of Melinda and Josh Duckett was no different. Trenton Duckett was and is the only innocent party in this entire matter and is the only one without blame. The court records were released and as usual both parents should be ashamed of themselves for using their child as a pawn. Its always the innocent that suffer the most.
Records: Experts critical of parents Court-ordered evaluation says Ducketts were unfit, another saw child as pawn
Judge reviewing DCF files involving Trenton Duckett
Doesn’t this sound rather familiar in the sad life of Trenton Duckett? On the day that the judge decides to have a hearing, Josh Duckett is off to NYC to appear on TV. If both Josh and Melinda made the situation about Trenton, maybe none of this would ever have happened.
On Wednesday, Hallman agreed with Sentinel attorney Susan Bunch, who argued that the public interest in Trenton Duckett’s DCF case outweighed his individual privacy rights.
DCF does not object to the release of the records in question, said Tim Bottcher, an agency spokesman. He said DCF officials suspect a public release of the records may help investigators determine what happened to Trenton.
Joshua Duckett, the boy’s father, did not appear at the hearing. He was on his way to New York City to appear on television and make another national plea in the search for his son.
But on Tuesday Joshua Duckett told the Sentinel he wants the DCF records revealed to the public.
“There’s stuff in there that should be released,” he said Tuesday. “In my eyes, they [DCF] screwed up. They were passing Trenton back and forth between the families.” (Orlando Sentinel)
DCF Releases Timeline Of Trenton Duckett’s Turbulent Life
September 30th, 2006 at 10:52pm
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The following is the suicide note that Melinda Duckett was to have wrote prior to her taking her life.
Could it be that Trenton Duckett is still alive? From Melinda Duckett’s suicide note:
“He was and always will be my essence and as he grows, I want him to know that.”
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Police say one note they found with her was addressed directly to the public.
“Public:
I’m sorry this is short. Usually I plan things out and am better with my writing.
Your focus came off of my son. I love him and only wanted him safe in my arms. You created rumors and twisted words. Usually I am strong and what others say does not affect me. However I am young, have worked my [explicative] off and still being faced with ridicule and criticism.
I only wish you do not push anyone else. I do not bleed my emotions to the public and throughout this situation you did not understand that. There were many more errors you made in understanding me, but time is short and I have more important people to speak to.”
Police say there was also a second note, which appeared to be a continuation of the first.
“There are so many people I would write to if I could and had the time. This is a last minute idea, but I have felt myself sinking after one week mark of Trent[on] being gone. I love him dearly and he is all I was breathing for. He was and always will be my essence and as he grows, I want him to know that.
I have refrained from any negative comments in the hopes that individuals will realize their wrongdoings. Thank you for your time.” (Central Florida News)
(Melinda Duckett Suicide Note)
September 24th, 2006 at 08:26pm
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