Found Deceased AL - Heaven LaShae Ross, 11, Northport, 2003 [Archive]

johnny

08-22-2003, 04:47 AM

Girl still missing; FBI joins search

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
August 21, 2003

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Heaven Lashae Ross did not show up at the bus stop before school Tuesday morning.

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• Police search for missing girl

NORTHPORT | Family, friends and police came and went Wednesday, but no one brought the news Beth Lowery was waiting to hear. Lowery sat in the parking lot of her mobile home in Willowbrook Trailer Park for hours, hoping that the youngest of her three children would return.

Last seen by family members at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Heaven LaShae Ross, 11, disappeared somewhere between her home and a bus stop about 50 yards away on Hunter Creek Road.

“It’s like a black hole opened up and swallowed her," said family friend Debbie Rogers.

Lowery said her daughter was abducted and wondered why police had not issued an AMBER alert. Although Shae had not been seen for more than a day, police had not issued an alert as of Wednesday night.

“I don’t think that’s fair that my baby’s missing and they won’t issue an alert," Lowery said. “My baby was abducted. My baby was kidnapped."

Northport Police Sgt. Kerry Card said Wednesday night that police were investigating Shae’s disappearance as a missing person case, not a kidnapping.

“There’s not enough to lead us to that conclusion," he said. “At this time, there’s not enough evidence or probable cause to indicate that this could be an abduction."

AMBER is the communications system that enables law enforcement to use broadcast media to quickly notify the public of a missing child.

Tuscaloosa Police Department Capt. David Hartin said that an AMBER alert had not been issued because the case did not meet the requirements, which include knowledge that the child is in physical danger and having a good description of a kidnapper or vehicle.

However, dozens of officers from the Northport and Tuscaloosa police departments, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI were assigned to work on finding Shae Wednesday.

Card said that FBI agents became involved with the case Wednesday. Family members said the agents were reviewing a surveillance tape from nearby Steve’s Grill & Billiards that would have shown any vehicles in the area of the bus stop. Card said he could not comment when asked about the tape.

Shae’s sister, Alex Ross, 13, had been waiting at the bus stop Tuesday morning and said her sister never made it there. She knew something was wrong when her mother’s boyfriend, who she said the girls think of as their father, showed up to give them a ride to school because it was about to rain.

“She usually walks with someone else. I left a few minutes ahead of her. I didn’t think anything was wrong until they came and got me and didn’t know where she was," Alex said.

Everyone who had gathered at the home Wednesday comforted Lowery as they watched police move from door to door, re-interviewing the neighbors they had talked to the previous day. A team of police officers from every agency in the county permeated the neighborhood.

When asked whether police were questioning anyone in particular, or any sex offenders in the area, Card said police were talking to everyone in the vicinity.

“We’re not excluding anyone. We’re questioning everyone in the area," he said.

Shae’s aunt, Frances Taylor, said she believes that someone Shae knew offered her a ride and she accepted because of the bad weather.

“It had to have been someone she knew. She is under her mama and daddy all the time. She’s always been like that. At parties, we’ll say go play with the kids, but she’d rather be with the adults and near her parents," she said.

Like her aunt, many others who know Shae said it would have been uncharacteristic of the Collins-Riverside Middle School sixth-grader to run away or skip school.

“She’s the baby. She wouldn’t do anything like that," Alex said.

“This is just not something she would do," said Debbie Rogers. “She spent the night with my daughter and wanted to go home."

After a night of pacing and worrying, Lowery was able to take a short nap from 7:30 a.m. until 8 a.m. Wednesday.

“I just feel like it isn’t real. I feel like this isn’t happening to me," she said.

Police patrol cars and unmarked Ford Crown Victorias belonging to plainclothes investigators cruised the streets Wednesday, offering some comfort to the panicked mother.

“It’s good to see them out here. I know that they’re working on finding her," Lowery said.

Shae was wearing a pink out-fit with “Brat" on both the shirt and shorts. She has red hair, is 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 100 pounds.

Police have asked anyone who has seen Shae to call the Northport Police Department at 339-6600 or Crime Stoppers at 752-STOP (7867).

Reach Stephanie Taylor at 722-0210 or stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com.

johnny

08-22-2003, 05:06 AM

Public’s help sought to find missing girl

Staff Report, The Gazette

http://www.northportgazette.com/topstories/article.nhtml?uid=10619

Investigators are requesting the public’s help in finding an 11-year-old girl who was last seen Tuesday morning near Hunter Creek Road in Northport.

Heaven Lashne Ross, a student at Riverside Jr. High School, was last seen around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning while walking to meet her sister at a bus stop near the entrance of Willowbrook. She never arrived at the bus stop or at the school.

Ross is described as having a light complexion and red hair. She is 4’6” and 100 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pink outfit with the word “Brat” on the shorts and shirt.

Anyone with any information can call the Northport Police Department at 339-6600 or Crime Stoppers at 752-STOP (7867).

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johnny

08-23-2003, 12:49 AM

Support pours in for family of missing girl
Mother expresses frustration at lack of AMBER alert

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
August 22, 2003

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Vickey Smalley holds Beth Lowery as she prays for the return of Lowery’s daughter, Heaven LaShae Ross. Ross is the 11 year-old girl who turned up missing after leaving her house for the bus stop on Tuesday morning.
Staff Photo | Robert Sutton

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NORTHPORT | Day three of the search for a missing 11-year-old girl has turned up no clues about where she could be, police said Thursday. When the bus to Collins-Riverside Middle School stopped in front of Willowbrook Trailer Park Thursday morning, Heaven LaShae Ross had been missing for 48 hours.

She was last seen Tuesday morning leaving the trailer park for her bus stop about 50 yards away on Hunter Creek Road.

Police set up roadblocks between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Thursday on Hunter Creek Road, asking drivers if they had seen Shae and handing out fliers.

As news about the sixth-grader’s mysterious disappearance has spread across the country, people in the Northport and Tuscaloosa communities have reached out to the family that is desperately waiting for good news.

“My baby’s been gone for nearly 72 hours. I just don’t think it’s fair that they won’t give her an AMBER alert," said Shae’s mother, Beth Lowery.

Police maintained on Thursday that their investigation has not turned up evidence that Shae is in danger, one of the requirements necessary for an AMBER alert.

“At this time, we cannot confirm that an abduction has occurred," said Northport Police Sgt. Kerry Card. “Until that happens, if that should happen, an AMBER alert cannot be issued."

Card said that the lead investigator in a case would be the person authorized to issue an alert through the statewide AMBER Alert system, which enables law enforcement and the media to quickly notify the public about an abducted child.

The lead investigator in the case is Terry Carroll, a Northport officer in the joint Northport-Tuscaloosa juvenile division.

Even without the AMBER alert, word of Shae’s disappearance spread quickly in the community. Volunteers posted fliers donated by local printing companies at businesses all over the area. Some businesses are collecting donations to be used for reward money for information.

The teachers at Collins-Riverside Middle School posted fliers and banners in Northport and had students write notes to Shae on some of them. Counselors were in classrooms Thursday, talking with students about their classmate’s disappearance.

“We’re all just hoping for the best outcome here," said Principal Glenn Taylor. “We’ve all been very, very concerned. Our thoughts and prayers are very much with her family. One of the students made the comment that it’s just not fair that we’re able to be here at school, and she’s not, wherever she might be."

Winn-Dixie in Northport donated yellow ribbons that searchers and family members wore for Shae. The family was sitting outside their home at Willowbrook Trailer Park Thursday, inside two screen tents that a church had provided to shield them from the sun.

Buddy’s Food Mart has offered a $5,000 reward to anyone responsible for Shae’s safe return to her parents, Tuscaloosa Police Chief Ken Swindle said Thursday.

Olive Garden employees brought by food, K-mart brought snacks, Kinko’s, Office Max and Kwik Kopy ran off fliers and Home Depot donated ink jets for printing. Many other neighbors and concerned people brought by food, drinks and words of encouragement.

Inside one of the tents, the family watched news updates on a television that had been brought outside and talked with the constant stream of friends and neighbors who were stopping by.

A videographer working for Dateline NBC followed Lowery’s boyfriend, Kevin Thompson, as he passed out fliers in Northport.

Shae’s photo and information was added to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children list Tuesday. Card said that the organization has distributed 33,000 fliers across the country.

Investigators were working through lunch Thursday at a command center set up at the Northport Police Department.

“We’ve received sightings of children who fit this description from quite a number of states," Card said.

FBI agents were still working to enhance a videotape obtained from Steve’s Grill & Billiards Wednesday, Card said. The camera was facing the bus stop and could reveal clues about traffic on Hunter Creek Road Tuesday morning.

Shae is one of the 18 missing kids from Alabama in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Web site. Most of those are runaways or are known to have been abducted by family members.

At least two abductions from bus stops have been reported in the South in the last few months.

Johnny White of Nashville, Tenn., is the head of a task force formed to find 13-year-old Tabitha Tuder, who disappeared there on April 29.

Their disappearances are strikingly similar, White said, adding that his group is considering traveling to Northport to assist in the search for Shae.

Both girls were last seen on a Tuesday at 7 a.m. at their bus stops. They have the same hair color and style, freckles and were even wearing the same color shirt in their school photos.

White said that Tabitha’s family and friends were frustrated when an AMBER alert was not issued and that police were treating the case as if Tabitha had run away. It was only recently that the FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation became involved, he said.

“We believe that she was stalked," he said. “It may be someone that she would have recognized, but didn’t know, someone who was familiar with the area. They groom’ their victims, watch them, maybe say even, for months before they actually strike."

Maria Isabel Solis, 16, disappeared in Houston on March 3 at a bus stop. Since then, police have found a woman’s boot but no sign of the girl.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at 722-0210 or stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com

johnny

08-23-2003, 06:32 AM

It looks like a group of Volunteers from our Team Tabitha (Tuders)will be going down to help assist in the search for Shea tomorrow 8-23-03 I don't know what all we can do but at least we'll show our support.

Wish us luck and Pray for Shea, Tabitha, and the other missing children.

johnny

08-23-2003, 06:48 AM

Northport girl still missing after three days
By Heather Henderson
Metro/State Editor
August 22, 2003

Police continue to probe for information on the whereabouts of a Northport girl missing since Tuesday morning.

Heaven LaShae Ross, 11, a student at Collins-Riverside Middle School, was last seen walking to a bus stop on Hunter Creek Road at the entrance to Willowbrook. She was supposed to join her 13-year-old sister at the stop, but they never crossed paths.

Sgt. Kerry Card with the Northport Police Department said a task team composed of Northport and Tuscaloosa police officers, Tuscaloosa County sheriff's deputies, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are working around the clock to find any sign of "Shae."

Task force members spent the day Thursday following up leads received by phone. They have questioned residents of Willowbrook Trailer Park where Shae lives, as well as businesses near the area from which she disappeared. The Tuscaloosa police helicopter scanned the region while the task force and tracking dogs searched woods near the area Shae was last seen, Card said.

In addition, police set up a roadblock Thursday morning on Hunter Creek Road to hand out missing person fliers and to check cars for any signs of the sixth-grader.

"We haven't ruled out any scenario," Card said, and added that at this point investigators have not confirmed that an abduction occurred, or if a stranger or an acquaintance was involved.

Asked if questioning is being focused on known sex offenders in the area, Card said everyone is being questioned.

"All of that has been investigated," he said.

Card said the disappearance will not trigger an AMBER alert, an alert system designed to send immediate information to the public when a child is abducted.

Guidelines for an AMBER alert include confirmation that an abduction has taken place, evidence the child is in immediate danger of serious injury or death, as well as information about a suspect, vehicle or car tag, Card said.

No such information is available about Shae's disappearance.

"It's like a black hole opened up and swallowed her," Debbie Rogers, a Ross family friend, said in a Wednesday interview with The Tuscaloosa News.

According to information provided by the Tuscaloosa Police Department, Shae is a white girl with fair skin, red hair and brown eyes. She is 4 feet 6 inches tall, 80 pounds and was last seen wearing a hot pink shirt with "Bratz" printed on the front, capri shorts with "Bratz" printed across the back and light blue suede tennis shoes.

Buddy's Food Mart is offering a $5,000 reward for Shae's safe return.

Anyone with information that could lead to her recovery should call the Northport Police Department at 339-6600, Metro Juvenile Division at 349-0445 or Crime Stoppers at 752-7867

johnny

08-23-2003, 07:52 AM

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now helping Northport police find a missing girl. It’s been 34 hours since her parents have seen Heaven Lashae Ross and they are demanding an Amber Alert be issued.

Heaven Lasheae Ross, known as Shae by family and friends, never showed up at a Riverside Junior High School yesterday morning. She was last seen around 7:00 a.m. walking between mobile home units to the bus stop on Hunter Creek Road. “Her father left at about 7:06 to go get ‘em because it started raining and the baby didn’t make it to the bus stop,” said Beth Lowery, Shae’s mother.

Lowery says investigators told her they are working on some new leads and police say the FBI is helping create a profile of her abductor. Beth Lower says she want police to issue an Amber Alert. “I don't think it's fair that my baby can't get an Amber Alert and she's been abducted,” said Lowery. She said police told her it doesn’t meet the two of the criteria for an Amber Alert. “They don’t think she’s in immediate danger, we don’t have a suspect, but my child was abducted from this trailer park,” said

Babcat

08-23-2003, 08:20 AM

She's not in "immediate danger". If she was abducted she's dead.:mad:

Alabama ought to have the snot slapped out of them. I have an eleven-year-old and if she was missing they would release an Amber Alert if it had to be done at gunpoint! :D

I haven't yet looked at a picture of Tabitha Tudors but this little girl looks almost identical to my daughter's best friend who is also eleven! Are girls that look like this disappearing from more states than Alabama? Because if they are I'm actually going to alert this girl's father... that is how much she looks like this little girl.

Since the man they call "dad" is not actually their dad, I wonder if they have attempted to locate her natural father and see if he took the child.

johnny

08-23-2003, 09:03 AM

I just expressed those sentiments about this eleven year old girl, she is in danger, she is out of her circle of family and friends.

Type in Bus stop abductions for search and see for yourself how many children are abducted or attempted. Also try bus stop kidnappings.

Ghostwheel

08-23-2003, 12:09 PM

OK, that's creepy. That's the exact same hairstyle as Tabitha, and the same length.

Now to find out how far this is from where Tabitha went missing.....

Babcat, I'd tell the dad of your daughter's friend, anyway. Ted Bundy went from one end of the country to the other.

wwwxxyyzz

08-24-2003, 02:13 AM

Something needs to change in the laws of the Amber Alert. This is ridiculous! If a child is not with their parents, whether that be a runaway or abduction, it simply DOES NOT matter they still aren't with their parents where they should be!! This is absolutely WRONG! These babies need every opportunity available to them to be brought home safely. UGHH!! :fuming: It just makes me sick...why do more innocents have to be taken before laws change?! Children need our protection why does that have to be so difficult to give to them?! :dontknow:

I'm praying for little Shae and for all those not with their mommies/daddies. It just breaks my heart....there's far too many. :(

Babcat

08-24-2003, 11:19 AM

I believe there DOES need to be limitations on the Amber Alert. I have always believed this. My rationalization on this is the sheer number of children that come up missing each year. The numbers are staggering. If an Amber Alert was issued for EVERY SINGLE CHILD they would become so commonplace that motorists and others would become immune to their presence and simply learn to ignore them, which would defeat the purpose of the system. It is a classic case of "desensitization" and "conditioned response".

A huge percentage of these missing kids are KNOWN to have been taken as "Custodial Interference" or "Family Abduction". Even though this is against the law, in most cases the custodial parent would agree that the children are in no danger from the other parent. MOST parents sue for custody because they simply want their children, and feel they are the primary parent... not because the other parent is dangerous.

But in cases where no evidence exists that the non custodial parent:

had made threats to take the children
had filed any court motions for custody review
are known to have abused the children while the marriage was intact
have a restraining order against them
are known to have been in the area

or... where some of these circumstances may exist but police have checked into it and confirmed an alibi...

an Amber Alert SHOULD be issued as soon after the disappearance as is practical, REGARDLESS of the police department's suspicions and hunches regarding the missing child. This is especially true if the child is less than 15 years of age.

Statistics will tell us that runaways, and children who willingly go with a person they know, are in just as much danger as children who are snatched by strangers. "Stranger on stranger" child deaths make up only a small percentage of the whole... and a great majority of children are killed by someone they know (though most of these killers are NOT members of the child's immediate family).

The need to have a description of the abductor or his vehicle requires the presence of eye witnesses, something skilled abductors successfully seek to avoid. Just getting the child's picture out there would be a tremendous help. Someone attempting to flee in a vehicle eventually has to get gas, has to use a public restroom, or is likely to be seen taking a child into his residence. The photo of the child broadcast to the masses could significantly put a dent in the number of successful abductions that end badly.

johnny

08-25-2003, 05:01 AM

search for missing girl
Reward money surpasses $60,000

By Scott Parrott
Staff Writer
August 24, 2003

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Members of the Tuders family gather Saturday morning at the search headquarters for 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross, who disappeared from Northport last Tuesday on her way to her school bus stop. In the center is Debra Tuders of Nashville, whose daughter, 13-year-old Tabitha, disappeared in a similar case April 29. The Tuders family said they wanted to join the search for Ross because so many people came to help them search for Tabitha after her disappearance.
Photo | Carmen Sisson

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Members of the Texas-based Laura Recovery Center joined the search Saturday for Heaven LaShae Ross, dispatching more than 60 people to comb areas in Northport and Tuscaloosa for any signs of the missing 11-year-old.

But as evening came, and the final teams returned from the field, there was still no clue about what happened to Shae, who disappeared Tuesday while walking to her school bus stop.

A neighbor last saw Shae on Hunter Creek Road at about 7 a.m. Tuesday. The bus stop is on that road, not far from her home in Willowbrook Trailer Park in Northport. She is the daughter of Beth Lowery.

Police investigators also had not uncovered any leads in the case, authorities said Saturday.

Meanwhile, a $50,000 reward was offered Saturday by a private donor for the girl’s safe return ó bringing the total reward to more than $60,000 ó and search organizers said they still need more volunteers.

“We’re trying to cover as much ground as possible," said Gay Smither, co-founder of Laura Recovery Center, a national organization that helps families find missing children. “Even if someone comes and does one search, that would allow us to cover one more area that we wouldn’t have."

Smither and Bob Walcutt, the executive director of LRC, flew to Alabama early Saturday morning at the request of Shae’s family. During the next few days, they will train and dispatch searchers, then step away, Smither said.

“We hope to leave the search in the capable hands of this community, where it belongs," she said.

While some volunteers searched from early morning until night, others made fliers inside the makeshift search headquarters at 1439 McFarland Blvd., the former Gateway computer building. More than 40,000 missing-person posters, with a photo of the missing brown-eyed, red-haired girl, have been distributed. Anyone who wants to help in the search, or has any information about Shae, should call (205) 752-0383.

“We rely on the community and the volunteers, and we’ve never been let down," Walcutt said.

Laura Recovery Center trains volunteers and helps organize searches. The foundation has helped with several national cases, including that of Elizabeth Smart in Utah.

The group debriefs searchers upon their return and passes any information it gets to law enforcement, Walcutt said.

“We are searchers," he said. “We’re not police, we’re not detectives. Our job is to simply come in and help find this missing child."

Police investigators are attempting to check every lead. Many calls have come in from Alabama and other states from people who think they might have information about Shae.

A K-9 team from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida aided the investigation Saturday, as did a police helicopter that surveyed the area surrounding where the disappearance occurred, said Sgt. Kerry Card of the Northport Police Department.

Investigators have turned up very little that could guide the case in one direction or the other, Card said.

“We’re still at ground zero," he said.

The parents of a Nashville, Tenn., girl who disappeared April 29 visited Shae’s family Saturday to offer their support.

Investigators are talking about possible links between the cases of Shae and the missing Nashville girl, 13-year-old Tabitha Tuders. Although both girls look similar and vanished while walking to a school bus, no connection has been made between the cases.

Reach Scott Parrott at scott.parrott@tuscaloosanews.com or 722-0200.

johnny

08-25-2003, 05:19 AM

Tuderses provide comfort to family

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By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

The mother of a missing 11-year-old girl in Northport, Ala., said yesterday that it was both comforting and painful to meet with the family of Tabitha Tuders, the 13-year-old east Nashville girl missing since April 29.

Tabitha's parents, Bo and Debra Tuders, went to Alabama yesterday to meet with the mother of Heaven LaShea Ross, who disappeared Tuesday between her home and a school bus stop about 50 yards away.

The Tuders family was not available yesterday to discuss the journey.

Investigators in Nashville and Alabama have been discussing similarities between the cases, and exploring the possibility that the cases are linked, said Sgt. Kerry Card of the Northport Police Department.

Both girls have fair skin and light hair, they are similar in age, and both disappeared on the way to a school bus stop, Card said in a telephone interview.

Heaven's mother, Beth Lowery, said the similarities between the cases were striking but said the distance between the disappearances — about 250 miles — had led her to doubt any connection.

''Part of me wants to say yes, there's a connection, and part of me wants to say no,'' Lowery said. ''But it was a comfort to see the family and talk about what they've been through. I let them do my TV interviews for me, because people down here don't know what happened to their daughter.''

The other similarity between the cases is that both have been classified as missing persons, not abductions. Because there are no suspects or witnesses in either case, police in both states have said they cannot issue an Amber Alert, a program that signals the state's law enforcement agencies, media outlets and the public with specific details about a child thought to be endangered and missing.

''We have to have some evidence that the child is in imminent danger of serious injury or death and we have to provide a description of the person or vehicle seen near the abduction,'' Card said.

Canine units and dozens of Northport and Tuscaloosa police officers joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Alabama Bureau of Investigation in searching for Heaven yesterday, but no trace of the child had been found by late afternoon. More than 100 community members also joined the search, Card said.

Babcat

08-25-2003, 06:57 AM

If it weren't for the fact that I have my location listed (and most people know my full name) I would post a link to a picture of my daughter's best friend. It would literally give you "shivers" to see the resemblance. When I first saw the picture of Heaven I almost fell off my chair. :eek:

AussieSim

08-26-2003, 12:20 AM

I wonder if there is a connection.

How wonderful that Tabithas parents have been comforting Heaven's parents.

I hope the Perp is caught ASAP.

Babcat, tell your friend, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Aussie

wwwxxyyzz

08-26-2003, 01:39 AM

Babcat,

You make some excellent points. I hadn't really thought about it that way. I guess the parent in me just gets so upset thinking about how scared these poor babies have to be that I just want to see everything done that can be. But you are very right if a alert was issued for every child it would very easily become a case of desensitzation...and that would be a true crime against these children.

Hopefully they can find a good solution one of these days that at least gives these "missing" (not proven to be in danger) children something more than what they can give them now. Something that gives them a better chance at being found.

Thanks for giving me a different angle to look at. :)

Babcat

08-26-2003, 06:55 AM

...and nice to meet you. I always appreciate kind words. :wavy:

This was emailed to me by a person who is registered but cannot post here yet. It is quite interesting. She/He wanted me to share it.

These links are about another 11 year old girl who only lived 90 miles away from
Heaven Ross in a trailer park in Prattville, Alabama. It is a straight shot up US Hwy. 82.
She disappeared August 16, 2001 (almost 2 years ago to the day that Heaven disappeared on August 19).
Her body was found two months later by hunters and her killer has never been caught.

I know the Ross case could be a link to the Tuders case
( though Nashville is 248 miles from Northport also a straight shot just up I-65), however, I
thought Shannon Paulk's case could be just as likely a link especially considering the age,
distance, date of disappearance, trailer park connection, and photo of the child.
They may have been built differently though.
Both children are described as friendly and could be likely to accept rides.
Both had older sisters.

In some links, Shannon's hair is longer but in the first one, she had a "bob" that
was just above her sholders. Her hair was sandy and her eyes were green. They look dark.

http://www.amw.com/site/thisweek/P/PaulkShannon/paulkindex.html

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=1405939&nav=0RdEHVtP

http://www.geocities.com/shannonpaulk/

http://www.bannerkids.org/states/alabama/SHANNON_NICOLE_PAULK.htm

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?s=%20%20899337

I just thought it might be a good idea to throw this case in the mix and see what we got.

johnny

08-26-2003, 01:32 PM

Great links Babcat! We were talking about the Paulk girl while we were in Northport, sounds like the second anniversary could've got the guy worked up and caused him to strike again? I'll make some calls and let them know where to look. We saw some areas that met the same desciption as in the Shannon Paulk case.

This is really curious!

stormonster

08-27-2003, 12:27 AM

Hi all, look I'm posting!
I'm the one that emailed Babcat yesterday. I'm glad you're going to point out the case to the authorities Johnny. It has really been bugging me.

Shannon was dumped on Public Hunting land about 15 miles from her home at the intersection to two roads that ran off US hwy 82. There is some Public Hunting land off 69 that runs straight off 82 near Northport.

The killer in the Shannon Paulk case had all day and likely knew it. The killer in the Ross case may have assumed he had all day because big sis would think little sis got a ride and the parents would assume that little sis made it to the bus stop. The dad showing up to give them a ride may have changed the killers plan to some degree.

Another thing, as I said earlier, both had older sisters that were somewhat watching them. Could it be someone both sisters know? You know ... "can't go anywhere today, gotta watch my little sister, blah blah etc."

The coincidences bother me a good deal. I was prepared to call someone myself so please make these points when talking to the authorities. I think the anniversary is significant. I always thought it strange that Shannon was the only one. This is a very unusual crime in this area and it seems that when something like this happens anywhere there is usually more somewhere, sometime.

Thanks for the help Babcat.

johnny

08-27-2003, 01:59 AM

Hoping for Shae’s safe return
August 26, 2003

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Barbara Matthews, a friend of the family, and daughter Samantha Balderson were among about 150 people attending a at a candlelight vigil for Heaven LaShae Ross Monday night at Willowbrook Trailer Park. They are looking at a paper containing a “prayer of hope," which was distributed at the vigil along with yellow ribbons and pictures of Shae that many people pinned to their shirts.
Staff photo | Michael E. Palmer

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Heaven LaShae Ross was last seen walking to the bus stop on Hunter Creek Road from her home in Willowbrook Trailer Park.

Investigators had no new leads Monday, said Northport Police Sgt. Kerry Card, but they continued to search the area of the Willowbrook park with tracking dogs from Escambia County in Florida.

Nearly 70 volunteers helped search for Shae Saturday and Sunday, but the number of volunteers dropped to about a dozen Monday.

“We’ve got to get the numbers up so we can search all possible areas," said Kathy Martin-Spakes, director of the Red Cross of West Alabama. “It’s important for everyone who can to come out and do this because it could be their child."

Anyone who wants to volunteer, whether to help search or to answer telephones, can go to the volunteer headquarters at 1439 McFarland Blvd. in the former Gateway computer building.

Businesses and individuals have offered money for Shae’s safe return for a total reward that stands at $65,000.

Call 752-0383 to reach the volunteer headquarters. Investigators can be reached at 469-1380.

Sharry

08-27-2003, 08:57 AM

Many join search
Missing girl's mother keeps vigil in tent
By ERIN SULLIVAN
BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD

NORTHPORT — Beth Lowery hasn't slept inside her house since her daughter vanished.

http://www.postherald.com/me082503.shtml

Sharry

08-28-2003, 05:47 AM

Hoping for Shae’s safe return
August 26, 2003

Heaven LaShae Ross was last seen walking to the bus stop on Hunter Creek Road from her home in Willowbrook Trailer Park.

Investigators had no new leads Monday, said Northport Police Sgt. Kerry Card, but they continued to search the area of the Willowbrook park with tracking dogs from Escambia County in Florida.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030826/NEWS/308260344/1005

Sharry

08-28-2003, 05:49 AM

Missing girl's location still evades authorities
By Samantha Hall
Senior Staff Reporter
August 27, 2003

A week after 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross vanished from Willowbrook Trailor Park in Northport, police are still searching for clues of her whereabouts.

http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/08/27/3f4c43fc59274

johnny

08-28-2003, 09:43 AM

I have spoken to persons involved in all three cases and was told that persons involved will be meeting to discuss the similarities in the cases, Shae Ross, Tabitha Tuders, and Shannon Paulk.

Shannon was located approx.17 miles north in the Autauga County Wildlife Refuge off Posey Road (6700 acres) on Oct. 6th by hunters.

Shae and Shannon both lived only blocks from Highway 82 just 90 miles from one another.

If you go 15 miles south on highway 82 you have the Talladega National Forrest (larger than Autauga)

Two days after the family of Shannon Paulk have a candle light memorial for Shannon then Shae comes up missing, Shae on a Tuesday and Shannon on Thursday, Both in August less than a week apart from the date.

OK people help fill in the blanks!!!

Sharry

08-28-2003, 09:55 AM

Why isn't there a thread for Shannon Paulk? Can we dig up some material on this girl, and start one for her?

Ghostwheel

08-28-2003, 11:06 AM

Probably because she was found nearly a year ago. Although one could be started in the "Found" or "Unsolved and Mysterious" sections, since it has not been solved yet.

stormonster

08-29-2003, 05:53 AM

Shannon was lost and found two years ago. There never seemed to be much of a story, much less national attention. It was tragic in the area though and she will not be forgotten.

There was one arrest of someone in her neighborhood for child porn as indicated in one of the links in Babcat's post that the officials thought important. They never charged him in Shannon's dissappearance and I don't know where he went. Nothing more was ever said and it was definitely not considered solved.

It was as if she fell off the face of the earth for two months. I don't even know if it would go under "unsolved" because there are so few clues. I never even heard a c.o.d. That may be their only clue and they are holding it close.

The Ross case was just too close in proximity and similarity. I too think that Hwy 82 and national forrest or public hunting land is significant. The trailer park connection is there, older sisters, same age victims. You name it and it is Shannon all over again I'm afraid.

As I pointed out earlier, Shannon dissappeared on August 16 and Shae dissappeared on August 19. One was born in May the other in June. Both went by nicknames. Who knows how people think.

I will keep searching for similarties.

Sharry

08-29-2003, 07:41 AM

Parents Of Shae Ross Pass Lie Detector Test
Mother Hopes Results Will Shift The Focus Of Police Investigation

POSTED: 11:34 a.m. CDT August 28, 2003
UPDATED: 1:46 p.m. CDT August 28, 2003
NORTHPORT, Ala. -- The parents of a missing Northport girl have passed a lie detector test.

http://www.nbc13.com/news/2440409/detail.html

johnny

08-29-2003, 10:01 AM

Good news about the lie detector tests, because they seemed to really be looking hard at Kevin the mothers boyfriend. While we were there they were looking for possible blood in his vehicle and the mother was very upset and defensive of Kevin, she stated that they would find blood in his car but that it would be hers because she had hit her head....uhh eye.

My belief is that if they aren't questioning you as a family member than they aren't doing there job! Everyone is a suspect until the child is found! EVERYONE!

johnny

08-29-2003, 11:22 AM

Paulk Family Reacts to Arrest in Prattville
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He has been a suspect in the disappearance of Shannon Paulk, almost from the beginning, and the Paulk family knows him. Jack Gibson lived just yards away from Shannon Paulk, the 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered last year. Gibson could face upwards of 1,000 counts of child pronography, after a search of his home by Prattville Police. He was known as the "Rootbeer Man" because he gave Rootbeer to children who would come over to his house, including Shannon Paulk. Beth Jett talked with Shannon's mother about the arrest:

Marie Paulk/daughter murdered: "I always had an uncomfortable feeling about him, being single and all the kids going over there, and I would tell Shannon not to go over there by herself, but she liked the Rootbeer.."

Marie Paulk says she didn't know Jack Gibson very well, but her children knew him. Marie's other daughter used to clean his house. Gibson is in jail charged with child pornography and Marie is relieved.

Marie Paulk: "I feel more comfortable knowing he's not in the trailer park, because I'm still scared that whoever did this to Shannon is going to try it with somebody else's child."

Meanwhile, holidays are still tough for Marie, especially Easter and the special tradition she had with Shannon.

Marie Paulk: "I used to buy her baskets with porcelain dolls in it and I couldn't do that this year. Instead I had to start her with her porcelain doll collection."

She is Marie's granddaughter, Michaela Nicole, named after her late Aunt Shannon Nicole and born a few days after Shannon was laid to rest. Already, Marie has Michaela's Easter basket, trying to carry on a tradition that tragically ended when Shannon died at only 11-years-old.

Gibson has not been charged in the death of Shannon Paulk. The child pornography cases against him will be presented to the next Autauga County Grand Jury. The Paulk family is trying to move on with their lives, praying whoever killed Shannon, doesn't get to another child. Gibson, who worked in the maintenance department at the VA Hospital in Montgomery, is being held on $410,000 bond.

johnny

08-29-2003, 11:37 AM

August 16, 2002 10:10 P.M.
Candlestick Park Remembers One Of Its Own 1 Year Later

One year ago 11-year old Shannon Paulk disappeared from her Prattville home. Hunters found Shannon's body 2 months after she vanished in rural Autauga County. Investigators are still trying to find out who murdered her. Tonight, Shannon's neighborhood held a candlelight vigil to remember her.

"We're going to find the person who did this to our community and who did this to Shannon Paulk," says Prattville Mayor Jim Byard who stood before a crowd of about 150.

Joe Davis, a local minister, gave the family hope, hope that justice will eventually prevail. "We know eventually they will find him, and even if they never do, we also know that God gets the last word," says Davis.

Edna George doesn't even live in Candlestick Park and never knew Shannon, but she felt the needed to be here. She understands a mother's love. "I have a little girl and if I were to lose her it would kill me. I just had to come out to help support the Paulk family," says George.

For Paulk family members, they'll wake up tomorrow morning to begin their second year without Shannon, knowing the person who killed her is still free. "It's been a year and that makes me think they're not going to catch him, but I know eventually he'll slip up or she.. I don't know who it is, but they'll eventually get caught," says Tiffany Ferrell, Shannon's sister.

One person who stood out in tonight's vigil was Prattville Police Chief Alfred Wadsworth. The chief declined an interview about the status of the investigation but says he was there to support the family.

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?s= 1158691

October 9, 6:50 p.m.
Shannon Paulk Update: Identification of Body Difficult, FBI Suspect Profilers Arrive

Investigators in the Shannon Paulk case say they're trying to avoid going to DNA testing to prove the identity of the body found this weekend, but it's clearly a struggle.

Detectives say the records a local dentist gave them yesterday weren't enough to make a positive ID, so they're asking him for more detailed information.

At the same time, investigators gave medical examiners nine new pictures of Shannon Paulk to see if they might help. If doctors can't make a positive identification, they may have to go to the DNA testing, but that would take 4 to 6 weeks to complete.

More help to find the killer arrives.

Investigators brought two specially trained search dogs to the crime scene at Posey's Crossroads. Handlers say the dogs were trying to find any trace of the victim, and equally important, anything that might tie into the killer. Any evidence they find will go to medical examiners in Montgomery.

More expert help came in at almost the same time. Two FBI behavioral scientists arrived in Montgomery this afternoon to look at the evidence. They say they'll try to find behavior patterns to get inside the mind of the person who committed the crime. They'll be in the lab and at the crime scene for the next two days.

Local Suspects Targeted

Local agents targeted several possible suspects in the area again today. They say they're eliminating people based on some facts they're not sharing with us.

However, they say the profilers who just came into town will help them zero in on a suspect that much more.

No Funeral, Memorial Planned

As for Shannon Paulk's family, a Eufaula newspaper reported today that Paulk's family was preparing for a funeral.

We spoke with Danny Paulk, Shannon's uncle. He says no such arrangements have been made.

Paulk says he recognizes it's a 99 percent chance the body is Shannon's, but the family is holding onto the one percent chance that it's not.

johnny

08-29-2003, 11:39 AM

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?s= 500869

Click on this site to see the place where they found Shannon Paulk!!!

October 8, 7:05 p.m.
Shannon Case Investigators Move on Several Fronts; Profilers Called

Police looking into the disappearance of Shannon Paulk say they've made good progress in checking new leads on possible suspects. The news comes less than two days after hunters found the remains of a young girl that they believe is the missing 11 -year-old from Prattville.

The field where the body was found is just off County Road 66 near Posey's Crossroads, seventeen miles from Shannon's home.

Police hoped they might use dental records to determine if the body is the missing girl's, but Shannon Paulk didn't have much dental work done. They now hope to use x-rays done on Paulk two years ago. If those x-rays are detailed enough, medical examiners could positively identify the body. If not, DNA testing may be needed, which could take six to eight weeks.

Investigators say this is a chess game they're playing with a suspect. But slowly, they're winning the game because they're getting more information each hour. And that's closing the loop on whoever killed the little girl. Investigators are putting several pieces in motion.

Detectives spent more time with the two men who found the body, and others are revisiting people on their list, checking old alibis and rumors. They think they're close to the killer. Really close.

"Most definitely," said Prattville Police Sgt. Robert Furlong, "We still think he's in the area, which is why we're working so hard to find him."

The public is coming through, too.

Furlong says they've gotten a number of calls about the crime scene and the trailer park where Shannon Paulk lived. "We've had sightings, people who were in the area who weren't normally in the area, people who were familiar with the trailer park, just putting pieces of the puzzle together, basically," Furlong said.

Part of that puzzle includes getting psychologists to look at the latest evidence. Officers booked plane flights for two FBI behavioral scientists to examine things like the rope and plastic found at the crime scene. Those specifics could shed some light on the suspect's background.

Montgomery FBI Agent Margaret Faulkner explains how that might work. "They may be able to tell how the rope was tied, what we talked about earlier. They may tell how tight the knot was, where the knot was positioned, things like that. They might be able to make a judgement call or a suggestion on how the person was feeling when he did this."

The FBI expects those scientists to come in the next couple of days. To get ready for that, agents are putting together a comprehensive package of all the evidence they've found, such as photos of the scene, the autopsy, and a list of people who may or may not be suspects, and their backgrounds.

Unofficially, these two people will spend a couple of days on the Paulk case, and we hear they will then return to working on wartime projects

johnny

08-29-2003, 11:54 AM

Police Closing In On Suspect In Shannon Paulk Case

FBI agent Margaret Faulkner says they know who they're looking for in the Shannon Paulk case. All they need now is a name that matches the behavioral profile of a white male.. a loner.

"That may be a hard concept for the public to grasp, but it's not a hard concept for the people doing the investigating. Everyone leaves their signature at a crime scene," says Faulkner, a 24 year veteran in law enforcement.

11-year old Shannon Paulk turned up missing August 16th in Prattville. Last weekend, rabbit hunters found a body in rural Autauga County. Police believe it's Shannon, but a positive identification is needed to clear up all doubt. Faulkner knows what it takes to solve a crime and who has to help solve it.

"The public is going to be the one to solve this case for us because they are the ones that'll know these characteristics that we put out and make the public aware of," Faulkner says.

Investigators believe the suspect is probably acting a little strange right now. Police think he's acting nervous, irritable and may have left town, giving friends or family an unusual excuse. They also believe he's developed an intense interest in the status of the Paulk investigation by paying very close attention to news reports on TV and in the newspapers.

Trying to solve a case like this one is emotionally draining for investigators like Faulkner, but that's nothing compared to what Shannon's family has gone through. They are still waiting for answers.

"I pray. I watch the hurt and pain. You get emotional. You learn to deal with it." says Faulkner.

August 17, 11:00 p.m.
Shannon Paulk's Family Marks Unpleasant Anniversary

About 35 friends and relatives met at the grave of 11-year-old Shannon Paulk, marking the second anniversary of the Prattville girl's kidnapping and death. Shannon was abducted from the Candlestick Park neighborhood in Prattville.

At the ceremony Saturday, Shannon's aunt, Janette Davis, says the last two years have been very, very hard as the search for the killer continues. Says Davis: "Every day we wake up and hope today's the day that they'll catch him."

Marie Paulk, Shannon's mother, says they light candles for Shannon, wanting to keep her memory alive. Prattville police officer Bob Furlong, in charge of the investigation, keeps in touch daily with the Paulks. But there have been no arrests.

Two years ago, hunters found her body in a public hunting range in north Autauga County two months later. This was the second year the family held a candlelight vigil for Shannon.

Oct. 16, 2001/10:11 P.M.
Positive identification On 11 Yr. Old Missing Girl's Body

The Alabama Department of Forensics today officially identified the human remains found by hunters that of 11-year old Shannon Paulk.

It was no surprise to the people of Prattville and investigators involved in the case. Paulk's body was discovered Oct. 6th by 2 rabbit hunters in rural Autauga County. Paulk turned up missing August 16th. There was a feeling all along the body was Shannon, but only forensics could clear up all doubt.

The Shannon's Task Force has yet to turn up any definitive leads.. no suspect in custody, but they have an idea how the suspect might be behaving right now. Investigators believe he is a white male who is probably acting very nervous. He may've changed his normal routine, which might include missing work. He probably has developed a keen interest in the status of this investigation by paying very close attention to broadcast news reports and newspaper articles.

If you have any information that might be of some help to authorities, call the Prattville Police Dept. at (334) 358-4809

johnny

08-29-2003, 11:57 AM

It's one of the most emotionally draining murder cases in central Alabama history - the death of 11-year-old Shannon Paulk. Her killer remains free nearly a year after the little girl disappeared.

One reason officers have had such a hard time fingering a suspect is the focus of part II of Chris Holmes' investigative report on sex offenders.

We've heard a sex offender tell us he'd like to move away from other offenders because it's too easy for him to get into trouble. But Alabama law and political pressure from potential neighbors won't let him.

Bill is a convicted sex offender. He says it just isn't right to lump all offenders into one category, or one small neighborhood.

"If a bad seed comes along and says let's go down this bad path, there's probably some weak ones who would follow just because they want to be part of a group."

Police say when sex offenders live too close together it makes the job of finding and charging crime suspects a lot tougher.

A point FBI Agent Margaret Faulkner agrees with. Faulkner is one of Alabama's most experienced sex abuse investigators. She says it doesn't matter if an offender is involved in child porn or has assaulted someone. One thing is constant.

"There is no rehabilitation for sex offenders. It's like an alcoholic. They most likely are going to offend again, unless they all have the same agenda, and that is to not offend," says Faulkner.

This is why officers say when sex offenders live near each other, problems follow. Typically, investigators say, offenders find each other, and become friends. They network and sometimes share sex related materials. Then, it progresses to something worse.

Lt. Robert Stone of the Montgomery County Sheriff's department says, "I t becomes a way of life for them. The next step logically is to step right into molesting children."

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation's Cpl. Lynn Rhodes says, "People normally don't just wake up one day and decide 'I'm going to rape a 12-year-old child.' It is something that progresses to that."

While it should be simple to solve such a crime, things change dramatically when there's more than one suspect in a small area. Officers say sex offenders will close ranks, even provide alibis for each other and that increases the possibility of violent crime.

Bill says, "I think a crafty individual would use that. The person actually doing something would be using that for cover to make it more difficult to find him."

Which leads us to one of the most preferred areas in Central Alabama for sex offenders - Prattville. According to public records, 38 convicts live here. One small mobile home park had at least three sex offenders living in it when someone murdered another resident, Shannon Paulk. Investigators haven't solved the case, despite several promising leads. Officers say it has been extremely difficult to investigate the little girl's murder because so many suspects lived nearby.

We don't want anyone to think we're singling out Prattville or central Alabama. This is a problem authorities all over the state know about and are talking about. What should we do about this problem? Law enforcement officers say they need to talk to lawmakers about a solution to protect innocent people, but it's going to be very hard to strike a balance between keeping sex offenders away from kids, yet providing enough room so offenders don't congregate, re-offend, and put others at risk

johnny

08-29-2003, 12:02 PM

October 7, 2001 11:00 p.m.
FBI Investigating Young Girl's Death

FBI agents have joined local authorities in investigating the discovery of a young girl's body in Autauga county. Two hunters made the discovery Saturday near Posey's Crossroads in an area of the Autauga County Wildlife Refuge. The hunters say the girl was dressed in clothes similar to the ones 11-year-old Shannon Paulk (pictured) was wearing the day she disappeared from a Prattville neighborhood.

Authorities caution that they have not yet made a positive identification. That could take several days. But they are hot on the trail of a suspect. "Whoever was there, whoever left that body there, has left some evidence and that's what we're looking for," says FBI Agent Margaret Faulkner.

Investigators are trying to link the girl to her killer with the help of hair or fibers from clothes found at the scene. The examination is so complete, detectives can tie the smallest speck of evidence to a single person. "We can also tell a lot from how the body was left," says Faulkner. They'll be looking at the rope and plastic used to hide the girl and track where it was made and then sold.

Officers are also interviewing people who live near where the girl was found, asking them to search their memories for anyone or anything unusual. They're asking anyone who has even visited the area to call the Shannon Paulk Task Force at (334) 358-4809.

Paulk disappeared from Candlestick Mobile Home Park August 16th. Since then, her story captivated much of central Alabama. Her photos started showing up on T-shirts and posters and her friends and family held a candlelight vigil. Paulk was also featured on the national television program, America's Most Wanted.

Upon hearing news of the discovery, Paulk's family was obviously shaken. Their home was surrounded by friends and family over the weekend, but they did not speak with reporters. Some relatives still hold out hope the body found was not Shannon's

johnny

08-29-2003, 12:04 PM

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?s= 491947

Investigators now have descriptions of the cars they say were seen around the area from which Shannon Paulk disappeared. They say they have known about the specifics of the vehicles for some time, but they didn't want to go public with the descriptions until they conducted a search on their own, and they were sure the information was correct.

The task force is looking for a red Jeep Wrangler similar to the one pictured at left (IMPORTANT: This is not THE Vehicle, only one that looks like the vehicle). Investigators say it has a black interior, a soft black top and round headlights. They say the man they're looking for was seen driving the Jeep through Candle Stick Mobile Home Park two weeks before Shannon disappeared. They're also looking for a white or cream colored, compact car that has a license plate frame that looks braided. Those looking into the case say the witness was seen driving this light colored car near Shannon's trailer on the day she disappeared.

Investigators have also released more photographs of Shannon. The one of her sitting down was taken just two days before her disappearance.

Meanwhile, the F.B.I. says it's important to teach young people about stranger danger. Margaret Faulkner who is an F.B.I. agent says anyone who talks to a youngsters, even for a few minutes is no longer a stranger to them. "Our definition of acquaintance and stranger is where a lot of people have problems. Because to a child, a stranger is someone they don't know or have not spoken with... Someone who comes up to you and carries on a conversation with you for a while... they're no longer a stranger to you. They maybe a stranger to your parents but not to the child."

The Task Force says it's important for parents who live in the area to ask their youngsters if anyone has approached them recently, even if the kids were somewhere they weren't suppose to be. There just might be a clue there to help investigators find the witness they're looking for.

Authorities also have a description of the man they want to talk to about Shannon's disappearance. He's a white man with hazel eyes, brown hair and a brown mustache. He is believed to be around 35 to 45 years old. If you have any information that may help in this case, you are asked to call 358-4809...

johnny

08-29-2003, 12:17 PM

Sorry for all the postings in a row I just think everyone needs to look at the increasing similarities....and also Shae's task force can have everything together the name for the group is "Heaven's Team"

Web site for Shae is www.Heavenross.com

tthoman

08-29-2003, 03:09 PM

JOHNNY:

Thank you for your posts......please explain to me the Federal criteria which will enable a state to go ahead and issue the Amber Alert. Thank you.

Sharry

08-30-2003, 02:49 AM

Shae’s mother defends stepfather
Missing girl’s mom says he passed polygraph

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
August 29, 2003

NORTHPORT | The stepfather of a missing Northport girl passed a polygraph test given by police Thursday morning, the girl’s mother said.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030829/NEWS/308290402/1007

johnny

08-30-2003, 03:36 AM

Shae’s mother defends stepfather
Missing girl’s mom says he passed polygraph

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
August 29, 2003

Email this story.

Volunteer Don Horne of Northport searches a wooded area in Northport on Thursday for clues to the whereabouts of 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross.
Staff photo | Jason Getz

• Discuss this story

NORTHPORT | The stepfather of a missing Northport girl passed a polygraph test given by police Thursday morning, the girl’s mother said.

“They said that he’s been eliminated ó finally, after 10 days of Shae being gone," said Beth Lowery, who is scheduled to take a polygraph test at Northport Police Department at 9 a.m. today. “They’ve wasted a lot of time focusing on him."

Police would not confirm whether they believe Lowery’s common-law husband, Kevin Thompson, knows anything about 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross’s disappearance, and would not confirm that they gave him a lie detector test.

“We can’t make any comment on that at this time," said Northport Police Sgt. Kerry Card.

Lowery said that a private investigator working for the family administered polygraph tests to her and Thompson Wednesday night, which she said they passed.

Thompson took a test at the Northport Police Department for 2½ hours Thursday morning, Lowery said.

She said that they took a private test because the investigators had not yet given them one and because they believed they were being treated as suspects.

“We took it because, for one, the police were taking too long to administer our tests; two, because we wanted to go ahead and have ourselves cleared; and three, I was scared that they were going to try to trip us up and make us fail on purpose," she said.

Tracking dogs and volunteers on Wednesday searched property that Thompson’s mother and grandfather own in Fosters, Card said.

A team of search dogs and their handlers from Slidell, La., were searching the Brookwood area Thursday, he said.

“They were following up on a lead that led them to that area. This is just one of the hundreds of leads that we’ve received," Card said.

Lowery said she thinks her husband has been unfairly scrutinized since Shae disappeared.

“I think people have focused on him [Thompson] because he is a stepfather and because he is black," said Lowery, who is white.

Thompson was not available to comment Thursday afternoon. He was at his family’s house in Fosters checking on Shae’s Rottweiler, Princess Sheba, Lowery said.

Lowery said that police have questioned Thompson and his family members every day, but have not questioned anyone on her side of the family.

“No one’s interviewed me," her sister, Mary Battle, said.

Friday will mark the 11th day that Shae has been missing. She was last seen on her way to the bus stop on Hunter Creek Road, near her home in Willowbrook Trailer Park. Reward money contributed by local businesses and individuals has risen to $65,000.

“Whoever has her, please do the right thing and drop her off anywhere ó Wal-Mart, a convenience store ó anywhere ó and call to let us know where she is," Battle said.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at 722-0210 or stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com.

Ghostwheel

08-30-2003, 02:20 PM

tthoman,

You didn't ask me, but I'll butt in anyway.
From http://codeamber.org/

What is an Amber Alert?

Each program establishes its own AMBER Plan criteria; however, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children suggests three criteria that should be met before an Alert is activated.

law enforcement confirms a child has been abducted
law enforcement believes the circumstances surrounding the abduction indicate that the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death
there is enough descriptive information about the child, abductor, and/or suspect’s vehicle to believe an immediate broadcast alert will help

If these criteria are met, alert information must be put together for public distribution. This information can include descriptions and pictures of the missing child, the suspected abductor, a suspected vehicle, and any other information available and valuable to identifying the child and suspect.

As I have said, everyone makes their own rules, and they can be subjective

johnny

08-30-2003, 04:36 PM

Glad to bow down and watch you do your work Ghost!:bigthumb:

Ghostwheel

08-30-2003, 04:42 PM

I thought you might need a well deserved break.

johnny

08-30-2003, 04:56 PM

Working on my Silver Ghost!!

A former neighbor snatched 7-year-old Tyra Knox off a Frayser street as the child played with a scooter, dragged her into a vacant house and suffocated her, according to police.

Tobias Johnson, 23, who formerly lived across the street from Tyra's home at 3567 Mountain Terrace, was charged Wednesday night in her abduction and slaying.

SOME OF THESE COMMENTS ARE BOTHERSOME

Memphis police charged Johnson with first-degree murder, first-degree murder in perpetration of an aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder in perpetration of aggravated child abuse. He also is charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated child abuse.

Tyra was riding on the sidewalk in front of 3558 Mountain Terrace Saturday afternoon when she was pulled screaming from the scooter, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday evening by Homicide Sgt. Tim Helldorfer.

Johnson covered Tyra's mouth to prevent her from screaming as he dragged her and the scooter to a rear door, the charges state.

Once inside a rear bedroom, Johnson put his hand over Tyra's mouth and nose until she suffocated, the charges say. Then, according to the charges, Johnson concealed Tyra's body in the attic.

....running information down and some new leads in the Tabitha Tuders case .....I'll post some information that maybe we can get some help with. :D

tthoman

08-31-2003, 02:50 AM

GHOSTWHEEL:

Many thanks.....appreciate it !

Sharry

08-31-2003, 08:48 AM

Mother says she passed polygraph

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
August 30, 2003

NORTHPORT | The mother of a missing Northport girl passed a police-/sadministered polygraph test Friday morning, she said.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030830/NEWS/308300313/1007

Up2theminute

08-31-2003, 12:38 PM

On AMW right now.
(it's a brief feature and they give the AMW tip line)

johnny

08-31-2003, 03:09 PM

http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/08/25/3f49bbd47fea5

http://www.tuscoema.org/

johnny

08-31-2003, 03:37 PM

The Other Missing Kids
They quickly faded from headlines and public attention

BAY AREA -- You have never heard much about Toni Clark, the 17- year-old girl who vanished mysteriously off the Bay Bridge eight years ago. Or Clark Handa, the 3-year-old snatched from his Fairfield bedroom 14 years ago under his parents' noses.

They were not like Polly Klaas or Amber Swartz-Garcia, or any of the dozens of others who became unlucky poster kids for the plight of missing children in the past decade or so.

Toni and Clark were just as gone, just as loved. But the difference is that they were largely ignored by the public and media. And they still are -- like most of the 150 other children snatched by strangers each year in America.

What makes one missing kid a headline when most others get nary a mention on the nightly news is a quirky, often infuriating mixture of luck, race, class and judgment. When everything works right, in those rare instances when a missing child gets publicity and is actually rescued from the horror of abduction, it all works well.

Most often, though, nothing works and the ending is grisly, as with the discovery of 12-year-old Polly's body in 1993 and, just last month, that of 15-year-old Lisa Norrell of Pittsburg, found dead after a one-week manhunt. Lisa's killer is still on the loose.

Or there is no ending at all, just endless waiting year after year.

And it is one thing to wait, with reporters or police coming to your door at least on special dates, as was the case with 13-year-old Christina Williams of Seaside, snatched last June, and with 9- year-old Michaela Garecht of Hayward, kidnapped 10 years ago. But it is quite another to wait alone. Like the parents of Toni and Clark.

``I don't care what anyone says, what anyone does, I am never giving up looking for my baby,'' said Gwen Clark of San Bruno, whose daughter Toni is 26 if she is still alive. ``I think she was abducted, by somebody wacko.

``My daughter's story never got the kind of notice it should have, but that doesn't stop me. I will never give up. She is alive.''

Toni was driving home after visiting a cousin in Oakland on March 16, 1990, when her Chevrolet Camaro stalled on the Bay Bridge just before midnight. Another car rammed the stopped Camaro, and when police came to check it out, Toni was gone.

The Coast Guard dragged the bay and found nothing. Police eventually phased out the case, figuring that Toni must have been knocked off the bridge by the car that rammed hers, then disappeared under the waves.

But to this day, at least five local and national missing-children organizations still carry her poster and take calls with tips. Quietly. Otherwise, she is mostly forgotten outside her family.

``I know she was taken off that bridge because she called me a week later,'' Gwen Clark said. ``I picked up the phone and for 40 seconds, I heard a female voice -- my daughter's -- crying and crying. I kept saying `Hello, hello,' and then the line cut off.'' The phone company could not trace the call.

A few newspaper articles were written about Toni, and then no more. But Gwen Clark, a struggling single mother with another daughter, 15-year-old Clarissa, kept hunting between shifts as a retail store manager.

She soon found, like the parents of other missing kids who are either minorities -- the family is black -- or older than 13, that public interest wanes fast.

``Gwen would put up posters around town, then come back later to find them ripped down,'' said Chris Wilder of the Vanished Children's Alliance in San Jose, which keeps Toni's case file open. ``Newspapers wouldn't write about it. People didn't pay attention, and law enforcement didn't act as diligently as we wish.

``We're convinced she was abducted. We think everyone else should have been convinced, too.''

Police in San Bruno, Toni's hometown, say they did everything they could. They helped bring the driver who hit Toni's car up on manslaughter charges in 1991, but without a body or conclusive evidence, he was not convicted.

``We can understand Mrs. Clark's grief, but we disagree with her,'' said Sergeant Craig McKee- Parks. ``We think Toni's body was swept out past the Golden Gate. It tears your heart out.''

It would be easy to blame the lack of community or media response to cases like Toni's on race, class, age and capricious media indifference, say law enforcement and other experts. And to some extent, the blame is justified. But it is not that simple.

``The most important thing is the community response,'' said Marylin Adair, manager at the Amber Foundation for Missing Children, formed after 7-year-old Amber Swartz-Garcia vanished from Pinole in 1988. ``If they pull together and start printing posters and putting out the word, organizations like ours start coming in, and it's like a storm gets going.

``But I can never figure out exactly why some kids get known and others don't. I think it's luck.''

Paula Fass, author of ``Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America,'' studied disappearances dating to the 1800s and concluded that -- in descending order -- the factors that determine publicity are attractiveness, race, age, and economic class.

``Attractive children, like Polly Klaas, will become a sort of poster child for missing kids,'' said Fass, who teaches history at the University of California at Berkeley. ``So do white kids, and anyone under 13 or 14. These children become the means by which our society shows it cares, and the fact is that kids who don't fit these descriptions don't fill the bill as easily in our society.''

She said that although missing girls seem to hit the news more than boys, both are equally likely to be publicized, as evidenced by the case of Kevin Collins, 10, of San Francisco, who was never found after disappearing in 1984. And the minority bias seems to be abating as the media and public get more sophisticated about missing-child cases, she said, pointing to the huge searches for Christina, a Filipina, and Lisa, a Latina, as examples.

Class comes into play because people who are middle-class or higher are more accustomed to working the system, experts said. This does not mean poor people never get publicity -- Michaela Garecht's parents were unemployed, for instance -- but they need community support more.

The cases that get the most media coverage are the most simply defined -- where it is clear that a bad guy snatched a nice little child. ``Any ambiguity, and it starts slipping down the charts,'' Fass said.

That is why runaways and parental abductions, the vast majority of child disappearances, do not get much notice, even though police and child-search groups treat them seriously. This is not automatically bad, said Ben Bagdikian, former dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

``Journalism is a matter of selecting a few things out of an incredible multitude of possibilities,'' Bagdikian said. ``There are hundreds of crimes every day, hundreds of accidents, hundreds of missing children cases, and it's impossible to cover them all.''

Most police agencies say they treat every missing child equally, as they are required to under a 1990 federal law that mandates that officers immediately launch searches. But the reality is that they cannot: Every year, there are at least 125,000 missing-child reports in California alone.

``We can't make a big deal to the media out of every case. It's impossible,'' said officer Patrick Mahanay of the Oakland Police Missing Person's Unit. ``If we did that, with all the runaways and other kinds we get, nobody would notice anymore.''

According to the California Department of Justice, only 81 of last year's 130,605 children reported missing were confirmed as snatched by strangers. Some 120,180 were runaways and 2,793 were abducted by relatives. Nationally, stranger abductions are pegged each year at about 150.

The stranger-kidnapping figures are vigorously disputed by groups like the Vanished Children's Alliance, which contends that the national figure is closer to 3,500. But even they agree that the stranger cases are always just a sliver of the total -- and very few get publicized widely.

Regardless of the number of cases, the other thing everyone agrees on is that only a fraction of child kidnappings get solved. And in most, a body is never found.

Sometimes the parents never give up, like Toni's. Sometimes grief consumes them, like the family of Mitchell Owens.

Mitchell was 5 in 1983 when he walked into his mother's room in their Menlo Park home and found a man raping her. Ora Owens screamed at Mitchell to hide as the rapist strangled her, but when she woke up two days later in a hospital, her son was gone.

``People didn't take much notice of that case either, maybe because they were black,'' said Wilder of the Vanished Children's Alliance. ``Ora kept looking for Mitchell for so many years, and then finally we just lost contact. The grief was very heavy on her.''

And then there are those who struggle to put the past behind them without forgetting.

Clark Handa's parents do not really talk about their son's disappearance anymore. The pain cuts too deep, said his uncle, Earl Handa, -- especially with the boy's birthday coming up tomorrow.

Clark was kidnapped Aug. 22, 1984, in the same way that Polly Klaas was: Some thug broke into his bedroom and took him. Clark's abductor left a ransom note but never followed up to collect.

``He's 18 now, if he's still alive,'' Earl Handa said with a sigh. ``We all miss him just as much as we ever did, but we don't talk about it. All we can do is mark his birthday in our hearts. We won't gather around and light candles.''

johnny

08-31-2003, 03:42 PM

"continued article from above"

``He's 18 now, if he's still alive,'' Earl Handa said with a sigh. ``We all miss him just as much as we ever did, but we don't talk about it. All we can do is mark his birthday in our hearts. We won't gather around and light candles.''

Clark disappeared before there was the concern there is today -- it was nearly a week before posters and wide notice spread throughout the area. A few news articles bubbled up and faded fast.

``The search just kind of fizzled out, and then years went by, and they were never able to solve it,'' said Handa. ``This was all before the Polly Klaas case made everyone so aware, and my brother and his wife were shy, the last people in the world to talk in public. That all probably made a difference.

``But that's in the past. We try not to blame anyone. It's hard.''

johnny

08-31-2003, 03:51 PM

Abduction cases are also kept so low because of the missing persons cases that are never solved.

Cases like Tabitha's etc. where they are believed abducted but are listed as missing......

More accurate statistics of childhood abductions could reach into the thousands...wouldn't want anyone to panic.....

Ghostwheel

08-31-2003, 05:16 PM

I get very angry when people try to blame race, or economic background for lack of media attention. Jahi Turner got tons of media attention in San Diego, and he was a little African American kid, from a not rich family (I'm not going to dig all those links up and post them a third time, though). What makes the media grab hold is an unusual case, some skeletons coming out of a family's closet, or something that could happen to anyone. AND it takes the family following up-and I'll buy that a poor family doesn't have the monetary resources like an affluent one does, but I don't think Shawn Hornbeck's family was really rich, and look at them go.

People seem to forget, if the family won't grant interviews, or is too distraught to talk to anyone, the media isn't going to go too far, where's the interest?

Cases from six or more years ago didn't have the high speed internet going for it(it was still on the upsurge), and the cities just didn't share as much information. Over 20 years ago I posted flyers everywhere, trying to get information about my friend who was murdered. Her mother got on the news, printed flyers, offered rewards, everything possible (her father kind of ignored everything), but there was only so much you could do back then. (But I'll tell you, we did it)

Add to all that, when the police decide it's not an abduction (they are convinced Toni fell off the bridge and was killed or vice versa-they aren't looking for any killer), the family is lost. Many just give up and go away. Again, with the above friend who was murdered, the police decided it must have been this person who died a couple of years later, and pretty much closed the books. No real evidence, BTW, I think they just wanted the case gone.

Don't tell me it's race. That's crap.

johnny

08-31-2003, 05:42 PM

What is true is that while one city categorizes a child one way another will treat a seemingly similar one like a runaway, and does a child deserve less attention because the family doesn't have the mental ability to push forward .............while I agree the Shawn Hornbeck people have done a great job, initially there were a lot of problems, etc. etc. etc.

And the group has quite a few intelligent persons who have lots of abilities that many don't (Craig and Chris both are computer programmers) Also the public many times isn't aware of what they can do or even if thay can do something and as you know we are allready behind and getting farther behind as time races forward in these cases.

While every case is somewhat different and some are similar ..I wonder why we can't have some common ground , such as the Missing Childrens Law Enforcement Guide which gives guidelines on how to handle these cases..........

Each case has to be judged independently of how it is was handled not lumped together.

Yet more importantly that we not be blinded by hindsight, but instead use foresight to insure that everything be expedited to insure that these missing persons are brought home as soon as possible and that whatever the cause for there missing that it be dealt with as swiftly as possible.

Ghostwheel

08-31-2003, 06:17 PM

Unfortunately, unless the LE is willing to tell the family what they should do, and what rights they have, there will always be gaps.

All of my family own computers, yet few of them know what an Amber Alert is, or the criteria for one. Most wouldn't even know how to find it on the internet.

No, a child does not deserve less attention because the family doesn't have the mental ability to push forward, but children do not deserve to die because parents neglect or abuse them, and that happens, too. Life sometimes stinks.

But to blame it on race/economic/attractiveness(get real, here) is not realistic, and non-productive. It causes dissention where there should be none.

tthoman

09-01-2003, 03:26 AM

JOHNNY:

Thanks for the postings.....and the Crimson White & TusCcEMA sites.

johnny

09-01-2003, 04:10 AM

As far as the race card etc. that never was my intention and not my torch to carry , moot point.

My intention was to post information so that others can provide there on editing not me. In order to have the best understatnding we have to look at all issues and decide for ourselves what needs to stick. We hopefully improve our views and abilities as we recognize improvements and quality. Of course some people may still be stubborn enough to be using Commodore computers.

As far as Shae's family I believe the mother is being overly critical of the police department and too defensive of Kevin and herself. While we were in Northport asssisting in the search efforts we noticed several problems but kept our focus on finding Shae. The mother seems offended that she and Kevin are being questioned and say it is because he is black, ?? The mother says her children think of him as there father? The sixteen year old brother who was physically abused and Kevin was arrestesd last year may not think of him that way (also they have had many arguements)

Even while the Tuders were at the trailer park talking to the family there were multiple incidents. The police came and took Kevin in for questioning and the mother got very angry making threats that she'd give the police a reason to arrest her pulling a knife from her pocket. Police were not present but five members of the Tuders family were in shock. Also when they said they were looking for blood in his car she was quick to point out that they would find blood but that it was hers (the mothers) blood that they would find because she had hit her head uhh eye.....now the story is Kevin and her may have fought in the car?? And it goes on and on and on... so the reason for them being suspects is one because as the statistics show most of the time it is a family member or friend and in this case there are some concerns..........still we aren't looking for the mother and Kevin but Shae an eleven year old child.

Again you have to start from the beginning and those who are around ...everyone is a suspect.....unfortunately thats one of the many tragedies that accompanies a missing child

tthoman

09-01-2003, 05:12 AM

JOHNNY:

Thank you very much for filling in the details.....

Ghostwheel

09-01-2003, 04:03 PM

Originally posted by johnny
As far as the race card etc. that never was my intention and not my torch to carry , moot point.
I was commenting on the article, not you posting it, BTW. I appreciate that you find these articles, and post them for us. I do find it sad that these articles exist.

It seems so odd that a mother would place her boyfriend/whatever before finding her daughter. Again, it is a shame that the mother should try to cloud the issue with racism, as that detracts from what is really important. Although I can understand the fear that someone might try to blame you for something you have not done.

At least everyone is still looking for Shae, and that's what counts.

johnny

09-02-2003, 03:36 AM

Still searching!

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030901/NEWS/309010322/1007

johnny

09-02-2003, 03:41 AM

Candlelight vigil held in honor of missing child

http://www.northportgazette.com/topstories/article.nhtml?uid=10624

Anniegirl

09-02-2003, 06:53 AM

Am praying for this little girls safe return-

That mother breaks my heart- as they all do- I CAN NOT imagine what that family is going through.

Sharry

09-03-2003, 02:22 AM

Red Cross to place paper angels near Shae's home
August 31, 2003

TUSCALOOSA | The West Alabama chapter of the American Red Cross is asking area residents, schools and church groups to assist in a new program created in the disappearance of 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030831/NEWS/308310361/1005

johnny

09-03-2003, 02:26 AM

Information about the Amber Alert in Alabama

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030902/NEWS/309020329/1007

tthoman

09-03-2003, 10:49 AM

JOHNNY:

Thank you for that article and the Amber Alert information contained therein regarding Alabama.....Also interesting Tuscaloosa County was the first county in the state...

Bailey1

09-04-2003, 06:35 AM

I'm sorry but I disagree with Babcat on this one. I believe that an 11yr old CHILD that went missing from her door to the school bus all in a matter of minutes SHOULD HAVE WARRANTED AN AMBER ALERT? This is a child with her sis waiting for her and never makes it...her family should be the judge if she is a run away and/or has a custodial issue.

SINCE WHEN DO WE SEE ABDUCTERS TAKE OUR CHILDREN. leanna Warner deserved an Amber Alert - no mistake. I dont' believe these alerts would be ignored...but they sure as HELL will be ignored if they are never issued? I have one comment for those that believe otherwise...WHY TAKE THE RISK WHEN IT COMES TO A CHILD?! For petes sake...we care more about a missing animal than a child.

johnny

09-04-2003, 06:49 AM

Seems there are some definite problems with the "Amber Alert" possibly they should look at levels of Amber alert such as our homeland security uses. Obviously the Police were notified soon enough and they had a description of the girl and reason to believe she was in danger. As always though hindsight is 20/20!

Why is it that after a few weeks certain people start wondering if they should have done some of the things others suggested from the beginnning!

Ghostwheel

09-04-2003, 05:16 PM

It would appear that too many times the Amber Alert is not used because there is no car to identify. It's heard to just send out an alert for "11 year old girl, InsertNameHere, blond shoulder length hair, might be wearing a t-shirt and jeans." That covers too many people. To hear that on the radio, or see it on a freeway sign would be near useless.

There should be some alert required for the general area for anyone missing, though. At least people should know someone is missing.

johnny

09-05-2003, 05:09 AM

Rumors of Shae’s whereabouts false

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030904/NEWS/309040345/1007

Bailey1

09-05-2003, 05:20 AM

The most important aspect of an Amber is to follow up with A PICTURE. I have seen news reports and articles in papers that have no picture. I agree just stating age/height/color of eyes is not enough..so it is our job to list identifiable attributes that may stand out...

1) PICTURE, PICTURE, PICTURE...on tvs, newscasts, media outlets
2) Detail of where last scene and SPECIFICS. I hate those vague reports..missing child since 8:00a this morning? Puleeze. Detail where the parents were, what the circumstances were, interview the parents...color of pjs, details, details. **otherwise people tend to brush off as out of detail/out of mind.

Personally I was very frustrated in the Leanna Warner case w/no details. Just the parents last saw there 5yr. old Saturday at 5??????? People tend to think it could just be a case of being lost "innocently" or a custodial situation with those details. WHAT PARENT LEAVES THEIR 5YR. OLD OUT THE DOOR and just says "bye bye" talk to you in an hour..like she is an adult? Anyway...don't get me started on that one..

3) Immediately get the info out...don't wait. These are children for God's sake.

Bailey1

09-05-2003, 05:24 AM

One more point , I don't believe that an Amber Alert will numb responses if used on every case..it is the LACK OF DETAILS that numb people's receiving the info.

When I hear vague circumstances, I immediately think here is another slime case of abusive parents or neglect. Obviously a concerned, legitimate crime the parents would provide more detials. Van Dam's are a good example for doing this.

All children are important..that is not what I am saying but to just say " they woke up to her gone"..."last scene at 4:00p w/no shoes" is not enough.

Put it out there the circumstances, what the parents have said, how they feel, if THEY think foul play involved..then PEOPLE AUTOMATICALLY BECOME INVOLVED AS IF IT IS THEIR CHILD AND HENSE....MORE ALERT AND MORE CONCERNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

johnny

09-05-2003, 10:36 AM

The surge of media attention
surrounding the apparent increase
in child kidnappings has many
thinking that we are facing a
boom in child abductions.
According to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, child abductions in the
United States have actually
declined. The FBI’s National
Crime Information Center reports
that there was a 4.1 percent
decrease in kidnappings from
2000 to 2001.
In 2001, 840,279 people
were reported missing. The FBI
estimates that of those missing, 85
to 90 percent were juveniles.
Approximately 98 percent of
child abductions are committed
by the abducted child’s parent,
according to the Department of
Justice. A small percentage of
kidnappings are randomly
perpetrated by a stranger.
Overall, 94 percent of
abducted children are re-turned
safely.
Jacqueline Taylor, acting
director of career services and
mother of two daughters, says she
has been slightly unnerved by the
media reports of recent child
kidnappings but has always made
it a point to talk with her children.
“I’ve continually taught my
kids to be aware and close to us at
all times,” Taylor said. “No matter
who pulls up in the driveway, [my
children] are to come in the house
immediately and let us know.”
Stacie Herr, wife of Dan Herr,
resident director of McAffee
Residence Complex, lives on
campus with her husband and three
boys.
“It’s not that it scares me that
we have all the students on
campus, it’s that we live so close
to the bypass,” Herr said. “A lot of
different people travel through
there.”
“We have boundaries,” said
Herr about how she talks with her
children about safety.
Ernie Allen, National Center
for Missing and Exploited
Children President and CEO,
advises parents to know who their
children are with and where they
are. He also suggests that parents
talk with their children about safety
and put their a safety plan into
practice.

Many communities have
adopted a plan to aid in the search
and rescue of missing children
when prevention fails.

The AMBER Plan is named
for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman of
Arlington, Texas, who was
abducted and murdered while
riding her bicycle in 1996. AMBER
is an acronym for America’s
Missing: Broadcast Emergency
Response.

READ THIS AGAIN!

“The AMBER Plan is one
more life saving tool to help
recover abducted children when
time is the enemy,” Allen said in a
released statement.

The AMBER Plan uses local
media to help make an abducted
child’s community aware of the
kidnapping by putting out
information on the child’s
disappearance.

In order for the AMBER Plan
to go into effect, the child must be
younger than 18. Law enforcement
must confirm that the child is
missing and that he or she may be
in danger.

Sixteen states are currently
using the AMBER Plan. New York
Gov. George Pataki instated the
plan on Sept. 2, making New York
the most recent state to join the
ranks.

Parts of Tennessee have or are
in processes of adopting the
AMBER Plan. The plan is already
in existence in Memphis and will
soon be put into place in East
Tennessee.

By Kari Jones
World News Editor
Adopting AMBER: Search and
rescue of missing children

johnny

09-05-2003, 10:51 AM

Although the Amber Plan is named after Amber Hagerman, this national program is dedicated to all children nationwide who’ve been abducted.

How often does it happen? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, up to 4600 children are abducted by strangers every year (about 12 children nationwide every day).

Whyis this 4600 figure so different than the FBI's they say its around 300???? I keep finding a lot of variances in statistics? Possibly the reason for the difference is because the level of panic etc. Just recently a boy was found in Athens Tennessee who was reported as a runaway (15 years old) and he was found locked in a trunk with his hands and feet tied with his mouth gagged and partially clothed, I believe he was from North Carolina.

So help me with this he ran away and was trying out his magician act which he was going to use to support himself?

Because children are 14 and older they almost always get the runaway label. Rougher times folks...using old out dated laws and technology aren't going to solve these problems.....

Sharry

09-07-2003, 02:19 AM

Postal Service joins search for missing Northport girl

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
September 06, 2003

NORTHPORT | The U.S. Postal Service on Friday joined the roster of agencies working to find a Northport girl who has been missing for almost three weeks.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030906/NEWS/309060342/1007

johnny

09-07-2003, 02:48 AM

This is great news, if this could be implemented sooner in other missing children cases this could really get the awareness out, we will find out if our post office will do the same here for Tabitha Tuders......... Great information!

johnny

09-08-2003, 02:54 AM

Letter to the Editor from Tuscaloosa news.

Let’s see if I got that right: in the three incidents mentioned in Tuesday’s news article where the Amber Alert was sounded, everyone was recovered safely. In the case of little Heaven Ross, and also the Tennessee girl whose situation is so similar to Heaven’s, the Amber Alert was not sounded, and guess what? They are still missing. What does that tell you? The criteria should be changed so that any time a child goes missing, police should issue an Amber Alert. If she’s not at home with her family, she’s in danger. Even if she did run away, which has been so strongly hinted, she is in danger.

ó Tuscaloosa County

Sharry

09-10-2003, 02:22 AM

Search For Shae Ross Scales Down
Parents Plead For Public To Continue Search For Missing Northport Girl

POSTED: 4:00 PM CDT September 8, 2003
UPDATED: 4:30 PM CDT September 8, 2003
NORTHPORT, Ala. -- The search for missing 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross is scaling down.

http://www.nbc13.com/news/2464321/detail.html

johnny

09-12-2003, 11:59 AM

BREAKING NEWS: Riley issues reward in Northport case

Sept. 11 2003

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030911/NEWS/30911001/1007

tthoman

09-12-2003, 01:01 PM

JOHNNY:

After trying to foist the biggest most horrendous tax increase on the good citizens of this state, that goodwill gesture is the LEAST he can do! Why so late in coming? And I am a Republican.......

johnny

09-12-2003, 01:06 PM

Yeah the Proposed Tax Increase is getting National Attention ...so much so that other southern states are upset!

tthoman

09-12-2003, 03:38 PM

JOHNNY:

He lost the tax referendum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By two-thirds vote!

Sharry

09-13-2003, 03:35 AM

Questions remain unanswered in search for Heaven LaShae Ross
By Heather Henderson
Metro/State Editor
September 12, 2003

Many people search for a place called heaven.

Beth Lowery continues to search for a girl called Heaven. Lowery, mother of Heaven LaShae Ross, an 11-year-old Northport girl missing since Aug. 19, spoke out to "Shae" at a news conference last Friday.

http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/12/3f615ac218b7b

johnny

09-13-2003, 04:41 AM

Great article with some really scary statistics, funny how they can vary so much from the National Missing children's?

Most abducted children are abducted within three blocks of there homes, within there safety zone.

Bailey1

09-13-2003, 04:50 AM

It really bothers me that these links have NO PICTURE of the child or the mother? How are people supposed to get emotionally and intimately involved without face to face contact? 1) to recognize the child and 2) to promote empathy with the mother.

Why isn't this news national? This Mother's plea is very real and heartfelt. My heart and prayers go out for her daughter and her family. How tragic.

mindys

09-13-2003, 01:14 PM

Bailey, that is a major pet peeve of mine with the media. 9 times out of 10 I follow a link posted to an article about one of these missing kids and there's no picture!! Its senseless, that's the most important thing!

tthoman

09-13-2003, 08:07 PM

BAILEY:

There have been MANY pictures of little Heaven in the Tuscaloosa News which is the local newspaper which serves Tuscaloosa and Northport (which is located right across the Black Warrior River from Tuscaloosa. The Black Warrior River divides the two cities).

I think that the student newspaper (the CRIMSON WHITE) of the University of Alabama has also carried her picture. There has been a lot of interest, locally there. People care.

More than likely, the Birmingham News, (the newspaper of Birmingham which is only around 60 miles away from Tuscaloosa/Northport), has also carried her photograph at some point in time.

Many have done their best to locate this child.

johnny

09-14-2003, 02:08 AM

Police command center used in search for Shae Ross closes

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73147139091094&Avis=TL&Dato=20030912&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=309120342&Ref=AR

Gov. Bob Riley authorized a $5,000 reward on Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the disappearance of Shae.

“I am very pleased that Gov. Riley has issued the reward. Hopefully, this will prompt those with information about Shae’s disappearance and whereabouts to come forward so that she can be found and returned home safely to her family," Tuscaloosa County District Attorney Tommy Smith said in a press release announcing the reward.

johnny

09-14-2003, 11:40 PM

Wonder why no thanks were given to Stan Pate who gave $50,000.00 and a local grocer who gave $5000.00 and another who gave $10,000.00. Not to mention the businesses who made donations....sounds like the Chief is doing a little political butt kissing!!

tthoman

09-15-2003, 12:10 AM

JOHNNY:

Don't know the answer to that one Johnny.....am not familiar with the politics of the chief. It's possible Riley was the latest person to donate and the others have already been recognized in the Tuscaloosa News.

johnny

09-15-2003, 12:31 AM

Actually while we were in Alabama helping with the search the police were upset when Stan Pate donated the money for the reward. As far as any other thanks ...thanks hopefully aren't the reason Stan and the others made the donations.

johnny

09-15-2003, 12:38 AM

A family snapshot of Heaven LaShae Ross

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030914/NEWS/309140362/1007

johnny

09-15-2003, 12:50 AM

Some really strange quote from the boyfriend ??? He'd check her out from school and they'd ride around etc.

tthoman

09-15-2003, 11:24 AM

JOHNNY:

Yep....fishy business going on....don't like it. Abnormal relationship with Thompson.

I don't remember who Mr. Pate is (we used to live there)....what business is he in and why would the police chief object to his donation?

johnny

09-15-2003, 01:02 PM

Apparently he is very wealthy and owns several businesses and property, not sure what his main line of work is though.

Also he has contributed in at least one other missing persons case and while we were in Northport the police seemed upset that we had came down to volunteer as well. Probably more of the normal turf war thing.

tthoman

09-15-2003, 01:14 PM

JOHNNY:

There are so many millionaires who reside in the area you would be amazed!

The whole area is beautiful, as is the campus in Tuscaloosa. Love the river.

Bailey1

09-15-2003, 04:26 PM

tthoman, I don't live in the local area so what good do those pictures do to those outside the area? What I am referring to is National coverage? Danielle Van Dam lived in San diego but I saw pictures of her everywhere all through the time she disappeared to the trial and conviction of her killer. Samantha Runnion was on our local news in NEW JERSEY time and time again even though she was abuducted in CA.

I guess if I was aware of the local sites I'd go there but was wondering why there isn't more coverage of her picture elsewhere. It's not just this case its alot of cased.

I agree with Mindy's it is so frustrating to see a write up of missing child and be on the lookout but no picture? Whos' to say these children are even in the area any more.

And one more thing...I AGREE THIS STEP DAD IS SUSPICIOUS! Taking her out of school to go joy riding? Preferring the urban areas...spending a couple days a week with him and him alone? He had an UNUSUAL connection with her too? That is Pedaphile material all over it. Had to have her by her side all the time.

Please let this mother do her homework on this guy. The fact she has been with him so long tells me if he is the one responsible..how tragic this mother knew nothing?

tthoman

09-15-2003, 06:19 PM

BAILEY:

You're right........it reeks of big time child abuse, sexual as well as other. The police probably suspected him from the beginning.

stormonster

09-16-2003, 11:01 AM

I'm not saying it's plausible or not but ... Shae left the house shortly after seven, the boyfriend came to the bus stop to give them a ride. I don't know what time that was, but it would presumedly be before 8:00. Our school starts at 7:50.

What would he, or could he have done during that time, where was she? Maybe in the trunk? What scenarios could be in play here? I know we all like to brainstorm.

Why would he call attention to the fact that she was missing that early in the day. He could have had all day to do whatever and cover it up and then report her missing after school and then find out she never made it to class, etc.

At this point, I just don't see him doing it. The window of opportunity was so small.

If she grew up thinking of him as a father and he raised her like a daughter, they would spend a lot of time together and it wouldn't be odd. The only thing that I think even could make it look funny is that she is missing. I'd like to know about his relationship with her older sister. The family spoke about him spending time with Shae, riding with her, etc. trying to shed a good light on him. You just never know how something will sound until it's said. Also, it said that they spent the days during the week with his family. That would be ok wouldn't it. Well I guess it depends on the family ... his mama, neices and nephews, etc. sure ... just his brothers, nephews, etc. well, maybe not so sure. See what I mean, it just really could go either way.

Ok, enough rambling, I don't even know where I was going with this. Just random thoughts I guess.

tthoman

09-16-2003, 01:03 PM

STORMONSTER:

All good points.
Northport is full of woods..is rural.......she's probably there somewhere.....

johnny

09-16-2003, 05:49 PM

Some additional points:

The mother told us that the morning Shae came up missing that when her alarm went off she (the mother) turned the alarm off and went back to sleep. She never saw Shae that morning.
Shae apparently had a stomach ache the previous night and also was upset with her step father for not being at a party. She went to bed early that night.
Her and her 13 year old sister used to fight over the remote, Alex wanted to watch CMT (Country Music Television) and Shae BET (Black Entertainment Television) seems they had normal differences.
The 16 year old brother didn't live at the same home because of his bad relationship with the step father. Step father was arrested for child abuse against the brother the previous year.
??? Did the sister actually see Shae that morning? The mother didn't.......he says he left about 6 minutes after her to pick her and her sister up because it was going to rain???

wwwxxyyzz

09-16-2003, 06:14 PM

Johnny,

You said exactly what I was thinking.
Was she really seen that morning?

tthoman

09-16-2003, 06:47 PM

JOHNNY & KIRA:

That changes everything.......inside job.

johnny

09-16-2003, 06:54 PM

Also the mother and step father had a discussion about Shae having cramps

Her last night at home

Two nights after that was Shae’s last night at home. She had returned from school that day, went straight to her room and finished her homework, Thompson said. She came back into the living room at 5:30 or 6 p.m. and fell asleep, he said.

Thompson said that he and Alex locked up the trailer and left Shae sleeping inside while they picked Beth up from work at Partlow. She didn’t wake until they returned home, he said, and she skipped dinner, complaining of an upset stomach. Lowery and Thompson were worried that it might be Shae’s first bout with menstrual cramps, he said.

Shae woke the next morning feeling fine, Thompson said. Her parents said she chose a hot pink shirt with matching capri pants and her new light blue suede tennis shoes, her favorites, to wear on an overcast Tuesday morning. This would be the outfit described on the thousands of fliers distributed since that morning.

Also the quote's ...Kevin saying "There wasn't a place she hasn't been with me"
'Recently she was beginning to behave more like a teenager"
"Shae was eager to begin her adolescence"

“She had just started shaving her legs ' on the sly. She’d come in and I could see where her legs had been bleeding,"

johnny

09-16-2003, 07:03 PM

AMBER alert was needed for Ross

Carl E. Lett III
Northport
September 16, 2003

Email this story.

• Discuss this story

Dear Editor: In The Tuscaloosa News for Sept. 2, the following reason was given for neglecting to issue an AMBER alert concerning the disappearance of Heaven LaShae Ross: “For an AMBER Alert to be issued in Alabama, the child must be younger than 16, and police must have evidence that the child was kidnapped, is in danger and be able to provide a description of the abductor."

This prompts me to ask two questions: When an 11-year-old child disappears from a bus stop, doesn’t show up to school that day and isn’t known to be with anyone whom her family would consider “safe," would it not be correct to assume that she is, in fact, endangered?

When a person is kidnapped, isn’t it obvious that the abductor would make all possible attempts to remain hidden and unidentified?

I take pride in the fact that I live in a community that bands together in times of despair to aid total strangers in any way that they can. It’s ridiculous, however, that our state fails to issue AMBER alerts unless the abductor is a monument to ineptitude and actually snatches a child during broad daylight in front of a crowd.

Assiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem saepe vincit. ' Cicero

tthoman

09-16-2003, 07:17 PM

JOHNNY:

Interesting letter from Mr. Lett. However, aren't there some discrepancies now about when she was or was not last seen? And on what day?

I'll bet the police are watching Thompson like a hawk...it's all very weird. You know she was probably being sexually abused by that man. Maybe she ran away.

It would be interesting to hear what the 16 year-old brother has to say about him.....

johnny

09-16-2003, 07:25 PM

People seem to get offended when they are questioned like they may be a suspect...I'm offended when they don't question everyone .....down to the postman, family, volunteers, pizza delivery men, and websleuthies......
until the missing person is found everyone is of "a person of interest"

tthoman

09-16-2003, 07:30 PM

JOHNNY:

You are right.....everyone is suspect. I don't think the brother has anything to do with it, though.

I don't like the very personal things that Thompson seems to know about her and is so free and easy with the information. It's not so innocent I don't think.

johnny

09-16-2003, 07:49 PM

Me personally, thats a mother thing, not something to just be talking about, and if you are going to talk about it, it seems the daughter would be the one being asked and instructed how to deal with her cramps, Not the stepfather.

tthoman

09-16-2003, 09:37 PM

JOHNNY:

You are absolutely right. And actually, he really isn't her stepfather in the strictest sense. Her mother and he are in a common- law marriage.

johnny

09-17-2003, 12:54 PM

After watching a program last night "New Detectives" I heard them use the term "significant other" when referencing the boyfriend or girlfriend.

tthoman

09-17-2003, 01:32 PM

Where children are involved that is not a wholesome situation.

stormonster

09-17-2003, 02:17 PM

Johnny, points well taken. I missed the child abuse charges and the statements about her adolesence. Just a tad weird.

About her being seen, is the neighbor that saw her considered reliable?

Admittedly not a wholesome situation but under normal (child not missing circumstances) it would be viewed as such but not an indication of sexual abuse.

On an unsavory note, could the cramps have been indications of abuse in one way or another that would bring such to light? Could be motive huh?

I also don't think the brother was involved. I did consider him hiding her if abuse was involved, but again where was the opportunity?

johnny

09-17-2003, 03:34 PM

I also don't believe the brother was involved, as he didn't live in the trailer with his sisters and because of the poor relationship with Kevin. Also I agree about the normal....

As far as "could the cramps have been indications of abuse in one way or another" I'm not sure about such matters?

tthoman

09-18-2003, 12:24 PM

JOHNNY: Maybe she had been molested and was bleeding and hurting.........

stormonster

09-18-2003, 12:42 PM

That was kind of what I was thinking. Maybe she was getting old enough that someone would be worried that abuse would become obvious ... std's or pregnancy can both cause cramping. I hate think that way but if abuse was involved it could explain somethings.

I still hate to think that at all. I'm hoping that he was just making those references because he was sincere in finding her abductor and putting forth theories that were plausible and her growing into a young woman could support the theory that she was taken for awful reasons. He could not possibly know how things sound, guilty or not.

tthoman

09-18-2003, 01:20 PM

STORMONSTER:

I know how you feel but there have been things he has said and done which are red-flag in-appropriate I think. Maybe someone has helped her run away.

johnny

09-18-2003, 04:24 PM

Possible Sighting of Heaven Shae Ross!

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73147655394601&Avis=TL&Dato=20030918&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=309180350&Ref=AR

johnny

09-18-2003, 07:00 PM

According to Northport police the mother Beth Lowery was asked for permission to adminster lie detector tests on her other two children 16 year old son and 13 year old daughter. Beth Lowery denied permission stating that they had been through enough.

tthoman

09-18-2003, 09:12 PM

JOHNNY:

That's interesting......according to the article in the Tuscsloosa News she has relatives down at the Gulf.........I hope this turns out to be where she is.

Actually, The Flora- Bama is a world famous & really NEAT place.....they have never had any trouble there and if you are ever down at the Gulf, you should go. It is right before the Florida state line at Perdido Key. They have fantastic entertainment, especially on Sunday afternoons. Great food.

johnny

09-19-2003, 12:07 PM

Police to question man with Ross connection

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030919/NEWS/309190354/1007

tthoman

09-19-2003, 12:32 PM

JOHNNY:

The Foley sighting would make sense as it's very close to the Gulf.

Sharry

09-19-2003, 10:26 PM

One month later, hopes higher in missing Northport girl investigation
Sighting reported near Gulf Coast
By Cassandra Mickens
Senior Staff Reporter
September 19, 2003

It has been one month since an 11-year-old Northport girl vanished while walking to her school bus stop on a Tuesday morning.

http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/19/3f6aa741c2c6f

tthoman

09-23-2003, 12:55 AM

JOHNNY:

What's the latest on this child? Heard anything?

johnny

09-23-2003, 02:54 PM

Haven't heard anything new......another case of "Societies Acceptance"

We get involved so others don't have too!

tthoman

09-23-2003, 04:35 PM

JOHNNY:

Don't feel that discouraged.......you do good work.

Doyle

09-26-2003, 05:59 AM

Fire Breaks Out In Bedroom Of Heaven Shae Ross
http://www.nbc13.com/news/2511307/detail.html

stormonster

09-26-2003, 10:43 AM

Maybe I watch too many movies but this is just freaky.

The logical side has to ask though, do you think the fire was set to cover up evidence of something? If so, why now when the search has been scaled down and it isn't frontpage news anymore.

Still checking for anything on the area papers but just like with so many missing people, no leads/gossip -- no story -- no publicity.

Sharry

09-26-2003, 12:09 PM

Fire burns Shae's room; rest of house unaffected
By Heather Henderson
Metro/State Editor
September 26, 2003

A fire erupted Thursday morning in the room of Heaven LaShae Ross, an 11-year-old Northport girl missing since Aug. 19.

http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/26/3f73ecc7c3324

Doyle

10-01-2003, 05:50 AM

Volunteer Center Calls Off Search for Missing Girl

http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=1462990

mushyb

10-01-2003, 10:50 PM

oops, doyle posted what i did.

Doyle

10-02-2003, 06:17 AM

Search Ceases for Missing Girl due to Money Dispute

http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=1465536

johnny

10-02-2003, 04:31 PM

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73149055751045&Avis=TL&Dato=20031001&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=310010333&Ref=AR

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73149055842849&Avis=TL&Dato=20031002&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=310020316&Ref=AR

There was an argument Friday when Lowery and her common-law husband, Kevin Thompson, met with Channell Friday in the office of developer Stan Pate, who has contributed more than $4,000 to the search. Pate said later it was appalling “that all we heard about was '$500 of my baby's Daddy money.’

tthoman

10-02-2003, 04:55 PM

JOHNNY:
We used to be members of Christ Episcopal Church there and I posted a recipe in the Thanksgiving thread which was our rector's great little recipe for Ham in a Bag. I know who Stan Pate is now.....will finish reading the article now! There is NO WAY any $ was stolen. THANKS....

tthoman

10-02-2003, 05:19 PM

JOHNNY: I have now read both articles. Stan Pate is a good guy.....don't know the Channell lady......she's probably not connected to Christ Church.....read the last article first and in haste, so thought she was accusing Christ Church of theft......

johnny

10-05-2003, 01:01 PM

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031005/NEWS/310050372/1007

Here's the article ...but check out the background picture??? what is that of??

Family of missing girl finds scorn, little solace
Interracial couple says prejudice is behind criticism

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
October 05, 2003

Email this story.

Beth Lowery has found at least one person to come to her defense -- her son Blake, 16, who said that she has always worked hard to support the family.

• Discuss this story

A mysterious fire at their trailer and, more recently, accusations of theft against volunteer searchers have spawned speculation that the parents of Heaven LaShae “Shae" Ross know more about her disappearance than they are letting on.

“It’s gotten to where it’s almost unbearable for us to go out in the public, because we know we’re going to be scrutinized," said Shae’s mother, Beth Lowery.

Lowery and her common-law husband, Kevin Thompson, reported Shae missing on Aug. 19, a Tuesday morning, saying that she left their home in Willowbrook Trailer Park headed for her school bus stop at the end of the road but never made it.

Lowery, 34, said she believes that prejudice has led some people to disbelieve her and Thompson about what happened to Shae and that, as a result, hurtful rumors have circulated.

“I think it has to do with the fact that we’re a mixed couple and we live in a trailer park," Lowery said. “And it’s not the best looking trailer, but it’s mine. I’ve worked to pay for a roof over our heads."

Although Thompson, 33, said the family has had some problems, he believes, like Lowery, that racism and classism are at the root of the rumors.

“We haven’t been through more than your average, working-class couple has been through," he said.

During the first few days after Shae’s disappearance, police repeatedly questioned them and searched his family’s property in Fosters, Lowery and Thompson said.

They said they understood police were being thorough by checking them out, but felt like 11 days was too long to focus on them.

“We feel like it took them too long to clear us -- we don’t know to this day if we are," Thompson said. “They spent too much time on us."

“If we had done anything to Shae, why would we have even gone and told the police about it?" Lowery said. “I do understand, though, you’ve got to think about how many parents murder and hurt their children every year."

Lowery and Thompson said they have heard rumors that they sold or traded their daughter for drugs or drug money.

“That is just the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. I am so shocked about that one," she said.

Lowery also denounced a rumor she has heard that Shae was pregnant by a 20-year-old boyfriend, and that Lowery had taken her out of town to have the baby.

“What kind of mother would let their 11-year-old have a 20-year-old boyfriend?" she said.

Family problems
Both she and Thompson admit that they have, over the course of their 11-year-relationship, had fights with each other that turned physical. And Lowery’s son, Blake, and Thompson had a fight several months ago that involved shoving, but blows weren’t exchanged, Blake said.

“Show me a step-son who hasn’t fought with his step-father. That’s what they’re going to do. There’s no perfect home," he said.

Blake, 16, said he believes that some people look down on their family because Thompson and Lowery are a mixed-race couple.

“Just because we have a black step-dad -- you shouldn’t criticize that. I’ve never had my real dad in my life, I respect Kevin," he said.

Blake defended his mother, and said that she has always worked hard to keep him, Shae and their sister, Alex, 13, clothed and fed.

Beth Lowery said that a social worker from the Department of Human Resources did visit their home once, in 1997.

“That was a vendetta call. She even told us that when she came out and found nothing wrong," she said. “Someone was mad at me."

A DHR spokeswoman said that case files are confidential.

Lowery said that Shae was always the peacemaker during arguments in their household, and that her absence has brought them closer.

“It’s making us stronger. We’ve got nothing but the four of us left, we’ve all come closer together. One of our fears was 'Oh God, Shae is gone, what’s going to happen to us,’ but we’ve put everything aside to survive and bring her back," she said.

Thompson said that being a father had caused him to stay out of trouble.

“I’ve had some problems in my life. That was back in my 20s. As you get older, you get wiser. I don’t go around that environment any more," he said.

“If it hadn’t been for Shae-Shae, I would’ve probably ended up in places I shouldn’t have been in, doing things I had no business doing."

He said that he has been arrested before, and has a drug possession case from last year still pending.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. “I think people are judging me because of that. There’s nothing going on in our lives that the police and the FBI don’t know about."

Rift with volunteers
A rift between the family and volunteers last week left the volunteer center that had been set up to coordinate searches closed and both parties not speaking. Pam Channell, who has headed volunteer efforts, said she would never speak with family members again.

Lowery accused Channell of stealing a $500 check from Christ Episcopal that was intended for the family. She also accused Channell of taking donations intended for a family trust fund and keeping the money for herself.

Channell said that she has cashed several checks and given the cash to Lowery, and adamantly denies taking any money. She also said that she never set up a trust account for the family, as Lowery claims.

The Northport Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is still looking into the report on the $500 check, Sgt. Kerry Card said.

The fight about the money escalated to a shouting match at the volunteer center last week that the police were called to resolve, and prompted the volunteers to completely sever ties with the family.

It was a split that had been coming for about two weeks, Channell said.

She said that the volunteers were unhappy with the parents’ participation during a trip to Orange Beach. A couple had reported to police that they saw a girl that might be Shae at the FloraBama Lounge.

A group, including the volunteers and parents, left Northport for the coast on Sept. 10, a Wednesday, and passed out fliers and talked to people in the area.

The volunteers said that they were out searching the following Friday morning and couldn’t get in touch with the parents. When they did, Lowery and Thompson were on their way back to Tuscaloosa.

“The mother and daddy should have been the ones still down there," Channell said.

Beth Lowery said that Channell was lying. She said that she and Thompson were searching that morning, and had called the volunteers several times. When they heard that the volunteers were in Foley, they headed back north also, she said.

A fire in the family’s trailer the next week created an even greater divide between the volunteers and family.

“After the fire, the volunteers got together and decided that there was something suspicious," Channell said.

A Northport Fire Department spokesman said that the Alabama deputy fire marshal is expected to release a report stating the fire’s cause early next week. Right now, the cause is listed as undetermined.

Channell said that she believes that Shae’s disappearance is not a stranger abduction, as Lowery and Thompson have claimed, and she believes people in the community know that something is not right with the picture the parents have painted.

“I think that the general public knows that we have done for the child," she said.

Channell said that she had pledged $10,000 of her money to a reward fund that has grown to $75,000, but that she would withdraw that pledge if it is legal for her to do so.

“I don’t know what to think."

Justin Hamilton works at Movie Gallery in Northport. The store has had a flier with Shae’s picture in their window since she was reported missing.

“I don’t know what to think. One minute I think one thing, the next I thing something else," he said. “However it comes out, it’s a sad situation."

Beth Green of Tuscaloosa has followed the case since the beginning. She said she is surprised that Northport would be the scene for such a missing child case.

“I’m not surprised that with money coming in from so many places that eventually there would be a conflict. Still, the little girl is gone," she said.

Shae’s face has become a familiar one, here and statewide. Stores in Northport and Tuscaloosa continue to display fliers in their windows and drive-throughs. Her image has been shown on the Jumbotron at University of Alabama football games and the EA Sports 500 race in Talledega.

Northport McDonald’s manager Sheryl Jones said that the business had a collection jar on their counter a few weeks ago, and that the money was used to feed the volunteer searchers who came in. They removed the jar when the volunteers set up an account with B.F. Goodrich, but Jones said McDonald’s will continue to help in any way needed.

“Some of the crew who work here knew her and know her mother. Since it’s so close to the community, we wanted to help anyway we could," she said. “Regardless of what’s being said, we’ll still try to help anyway we can."

Reach Stephanie Taylor at 722-0210 or stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com

tthoman

10-05-2003, 03:29 PM

JOHNNY:

I cannot believe she's playing the race card......Look at everything so many people have done for her......

Rocky

10-05-2003, 04:29 PM

Johnny,

without registering we can't read that last link, would you mind pasting a few of the important parts?

Thanks...

tthoman

10-05-2003, 05:38 PM

ROCKY:

I don't think you have to register with the Tuscaloosa News in order to access Johnny's link. To get a clear and fair picture it's best to read the entire article....there is a lot in it.

Leisa

10-09-2003, 04:38 PM

Has there been any more information available about the whereabouts of this little girl? I live in Mobile and have been thinking about her and wondered if she was ever found.
It is so sad.

stormonster

10-10-2003, 10:49 AM

Hi Leisa,
I'm a little north from you and there hasn't been much coverage here either. Unfortunately, we won't hear anymore until there's something to hear (I know that sounds stupid, but you know what I mean). Bowhunting season is upon us and then full blown hunting season and I suspect that is when she will be found.

johnny

10-10-2003, 07:26 PM

New twists, no new leads in Ross disappearance
By Cassandra Mickens
Senior Staff Reporter
October 10, 2003

Despite a terminated relationship with volunteers, a house fire and widespread rumors, the family of 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross continues to search for their red-haired, brown-eyed girl.

Beth Lowery, Shae's mother, said that since her family has parted ways with Heaven's Team, a missing children's foundation created for Shae, a "closer" relationship has formed between the family and police officials.

Lowery said communication with the police was strained while Heaven's Team was an active organization.

"There is not a middle person anymore since the center's closing," Lowery said. "If I knew this was going to happen, the center would have been closed a long time ago."

Heaven's Team closed its doors last month because of a money dispute between the organization's founder and the missing girl's family.

Pam Channell, founder of Heaven's Team, was accused by Lowery of stealing $500 that Christ Episcopal Church donated to her in August.

Channell denies the allegation.

Channell was Lowery's shoulder to lean on since Shae vanished while walking to her bus stop on Hunter Creek Road in Northport on Aug. 19. Heaven's Team was created solely to provide families with hope that their missing children will be found. Channell went through a similar ordeal when her daughter was reported missing. After five days, she was safely returned home.

Lowery said the development was just one of many "boulders" thrown her way since her daughter was reported missing. On Sept. 25, a blaze ignited in the family's home, causing severe fire damage to Shae's bedroom. The fire's cause has not been confirmed.

The dispute disheartened Lowery greatly. She said she believes some volunteers were trying to gain something from her daughter's disappearance.

"I did not realize that when people have tragedies, that everybody wants to earn something off your tragedy," she said. "Everybody's trying to get something off Shae's name. Everybody's trying to get something out of Shae, and Shae ain't even here."

Lowery filed a police report over the church donation and said Northport police investigators are looking through filed documents associated with the case.

In recent weeks, rumors have circulated about Shae's family, accusing Shae's parents of knowing more about their daughter's disappearance than they are letting on.

Lowery said those rumors are completely false.

"If any of these rumors are true, how come the FBI and the police have not done anything about us by now?" she asked. "These rumors need to be stopped. It's not true."

Leads are slowly trickling into the Northport Police Department about Shae's disappearance. Lead investigator Terry Carroll said there are no updates.

Meanwhile, Shae's family and close friends are not giving up on finding their loved one. Every night this week, they will make a trip to the West Alabama State Fair and place fliers on every single vehicle at the fairgrounds.

Lowery said she and her entourage were kept from entering the fairgrounds to pass out fliers because a few of the fair officials were also volunteers at Heaven's Team, but she said that will not put a damper on the search for Shae.

Efforts to reach Channell to address the charge were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the Northport community is trying to remain optimistic about the prospects for Shae's safe return home.

Sandra Williams, manager of Beautiful Beginnings in Northport, has posted a flier of Shae on the front window of her business. She has read the newspaper stories and thinks the whole situation is "very odd." Her instinct tells her Shae is not alive and well.

"My gut tells me no, but it's possible," she said. "There's always hope."

Taqui Mohammed, a cashier at the Parade gas station in Northport, said Shae and her family were frequent customers at the station. He said it is unfortunate the volunteers have ceased their search efforts and said he thinks Shae will be found. Mohammed can only think of one word for Shae's return home.

"Hopefully," he said.

Anyone with information on Shae's disappearance is asked to call Northport police at 349-0420

tthoman

10-11-2003, 12:26 PM

Very peculiar case....

Leisa

10-13-2003, 01:44 AM

I sure hope they find this little girl. I personally have heard some very disturbing rumors about this family and I hope they are not true.
I would hope to god all the many awful rumors I have heard are not true. It makes me sick to my stomach to think the parents have something to do with the disappearance of the child, Shae.
The things I have been told come from a Winn Dixie employee who works at the Northport store right there at Willowbrook Trailer Park.

I will be so glad when all of this ends. As a mother of a young girl, I cannot imagine doing anything to jeopardize her life as I love her more than life itself.

alpharee

10-13-2003, 09:58 AM

What type of rumors have you heard?
I think this case is strange myself.

johnny

10-21-2003, 12:21 AM

Two months later, Ross remains missing

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
October 19, 2003

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A family friend wears a picture and ribbon of Heaven LaShae Ross Aug. 21, after the 11-year-old Northport girl turned up missing on her way to the bus stop. Today marks the two-month anniversary of her disappearance.
Staff file photo | Robert Sutton

• Discuss this story

NORTHPORT | After Heaven LaShae Ross disappeared on a hot August day exactly two months ago today, volunteers and family members went on daily searches through the green, overgrown wooded areas near her home in temperatures that pushed 100 degrees.

The 11-year-old’s parents, Beth Lowery and Kevin Thompson, would sit in the yard of their home at Willowbrook Trailer Park, spending the long days dodging mosquitoes under donated shade tents cooled by industrial-sized fans. Volunteers, friends and family members from out of town stayed by their sides.

Two months later, the tents are down and the crowds are gone. Both Lowery and Thompson have returned to work, and their family members and friends check on them through phone calls and occasional visits.

Northport police and fire investigators are still waiting for a report from the state deputy fire marshal on a late September fire in Shae’s bedroom that destroyed many of her belongings.

And a rift between the volunteers and the family has left Lowery and Thompson on their own -- working daily to distribute fliers and keep their daughter’s face in the public eye.

Now that the leaves have begun to fall and the woods are thinning out, Lowery hopes details about her daughter’s disappearance will surface. She spent Friday afternoon delivering fliers to game wardens in the area.

“We’re just hoping that somebody will find her backpack or something that belongs to her, not a body," Lowery said.

Northport Police continue to investigate the disappearance. People from Alabama and other states regularly call the department with leads, but none so far have put them closer to finding Shae.

Investigator Terry Carroll is spending 100 percent of his time on duty working the case.

“We still pursue every bit of information that comes in," Northport Police Sgt. Kerry Card said. “We had many tips come in from the Gulf coast area, in addition to leads and tips nationwide," he said.

“As of yet, there has been nothing conclusive from the information we have received. A lot of this is helpful, because if nothing else, it narrows the focus of the investigation. Even if it’s not proven or productive, we can take that particular bit of information off the list and focus elsewhere."

Lowery remains confident that the police will locate her daughter.

“They have told me that they do have people that they’re looking at and they’re not stopping," she said. “I’m not either. I still make fliers, put them up and talk to people every day. I think it’s important that she still be up there and that she’s still being thought about every day."

Lowery talks with officers two or three times each day. She said that she sometimes struggles to remain optimistic, especially when she reads so many stories about missing children that have unhappy endings.

“I read things and imagine the worst-case scenarios. I still feel that she’s alive, but then I sometimes feel like she’s going to be a statistic," she said. “We have to think about both sides of the situation."

Lowery said that many of the leads called in to police are of possible sightings that occurred days before the person called.

“If you have a lead, don’t wait so long, call them," she said.

The reward fund for information about Shae’s disappearance has grown to at least $70,000. Lowery wasn’t sure Friday, but she believes someone else had donated $10,000 last week.

“We are still urging the public to come forward with any information that they might have," Card said.

tthoman

10-22-2003, 08:36 PM

JOHNNY:

Do you think she has gone off to have a baby? Or was murdered because she was pregnant by the "step-father" ?.....(and I use that term loosely).

johnny

10-23-2003, 10:59 AM

One thought is that the mother is so wrapped up in "Her man" that she could be blind to his possible involvement. Almost certainly someone very close to Shae is involved, regardless of what the outcome turns out to be.

Maybe someone here could give some input on other cases where children are seemingly put secondary to the spouse.

tthoman

10-23-2003, 12:20 PM

That summary sounds pretty accurate to me too.....maybe the child just got sick of it all and left? To me, even more gauling is the fact that the guy has never even bothered to marry the mother.

jat

10-23-2003, 05:24 PM

Originally posted by johnny
Maybe someone here could give some input on other cases where children are seemingly put secondary to the spouse.

The only reason I post this is because sometimes it is hard for people to see a situation unless they have personally witnessed it, so I am just posting my experience to testify that this does happen. I do not definitely believe this is what happened in this case, but my inclinations are leading me in this general direction.

When my mother married my stepfather, she was so into making sure nothing ever came between them that she totally abandoned any bit of trust or companionships between us (my mother and me). She had been a single mom with me and she and I were best buddies. As soon as he came along, she didn't necessarily drop me, but, I guess you could say she forsaked me.

My stepfather was an alcoholic, drug abuser, and drug dealer. My mom worked 3 jobs including one pretty much overnight. Strange people trapsed through our house all the time at odd hours going up to their bedroom which was their drug office. I heard my dad personally asking someone if anyone had a cocaine, etc. I saw the cocaine one time while doing some sleuthing in their bedroom. They smoked and dealt pot right in front of us. He was also really volatile. Sometimes he would come down to my room and scream hideous things at me that no young girl should hear period let along from her father. I would tell my mother about it and she would tell me one of several things: a) that I am lying and he didn't do that, b) that I took what he said the wrong way, c) he didn't have control over what he was doing and it wasn't his fault, or d) what did I do to provoke it and I need to stay our of his way.

Thank goodness my stepfather was not a molester or physical abuser, because I have no doubt in my mind that if he was and he did abuse me, and I told her about it, she would have told me to shut up and how dare I make accusations like that. I guarantee it. I have no hard feelings towards my mom. That is just who she is. She wasn't a bad mom. She was just uneducated and felt trapped in her situation with so many kids, etc.

She recently remarried after the death of my stepfather. And now she molds herself to this man's personality too. It is all over again, me dealing with a new person called my mom.

Not only have I witnessed this type of codependence with my mother, but with countless numbers of friends in my neighborhood and their parents. Now that I am an educated adult with my own family living 1500 miles away, I meet regular families without dysfunction. I attribute this codependency on lack of education and low socioeconomic status. Sometimes that man is all the mother has to keep her feeling like a woman. It is sad, but true.

johnny

10-23-2003, 07:52 PM

Thank you jat

Doyle

10-24-2003, 07:05 AM

Welcome Jat, and thanks for sharing...

johnny

11-04-2003, 03:59 PM

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73152353461119&Avis=TL&Dato=20031019&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=310190333&Ref=AR

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73152353790133&Avis=TL&Dato=20031025&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=310250364&Ref=AR

johnny

11-08-2003, 11:56 AM

Domestic dispute lands pair in jail
Missing girl’s mother, stepfather have been released on bond

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
November 05, 2003

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TUSCALOOSA | The mother and stepfather of missing Northport girl Heaven LaShae Ross spent Monday night in the county jail after a domestic dispute in Fosters.

Beth Lowery said that the argument between her and her common-law husband, Kevin Thompson, who was charged with drunken driving, was not related to her 11-year-old daughter, who was last seen Aug. 19 while walking to a bus stop near her home.

“It was a personal conflict between me and Kevin. It was nothing," she said.

Sheriff Ted Sexton said that Lowery called 911 and paged a Sheriff’s Office supervisor who met her on Dry Creek Road in Fosters. She was on foot.

Thompson drove by while the deputies were talking to Lowery. A deputy followed and pulled him over.

“It was just a fight between us. It was nothing at all," Lowery said. “It has nothing to do with Shae at all."

Thompson and Lowery were arrested because Alabama’s domestic violence law requires that all parties in a dispute be arrested. Both were charged with second-degree domestic violence/harassment. Thompson was charged with driving under the influence.

They were booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail at 9:45 p.m. Monday. Lowery, 34, was released on a $300 signature bond. Thompson was released on two $300 signature bonds -- one for each charge.

Shae has been missing for nearly/stwo months. Northport Police Department Investigator Terry Carroll said that there have been no leads in the case recently.

A neighbor was the last person to report seeing Shae. The neighbor saw her walking from her home at Willowbrook Trailer to her bus stop on Hunter Creek Road in Northport.

tthoman

11-08-2003, 03:59 PM

Thanks for the update Johnny. I bet he had put her out of the car and had driven off.....maybe there was so much family violence, this child just left? Or maybe she was a victim of it. Very troubled family.

johnny

11-08-2003, 07:24 PM

maybe the police should check the area immediately around where they had there trouble?

tthoman

11-08-2003, 10:02 PM

I'll bet they are sniffing around pretty good.....they are nobody's fools up there.......

stormonster

12-01-2003, 09:56 AM

I'm afraid there hasn't been much statewide info lately. That's what's so sad about these cases. If there aren't any leads or anything to keep it in the news besides it being a missing child, we tend to move on. I guess, however, the news would be completely covered if they just repeated the same missing people over and over. Maybe there should be a cable channel that just shows posters. I know I've seen this done for a hour or so in the past but a whole channel dedicated to missing loved ones and maybe a ticker across the bottom telling about found people. Just a thought, and a rambling one at that.

Doyle

12-01-2003, 10:31 AM

Good thought Stormonster... I would like to see that also.

johnny

12-15-2003, 11:13 PM

One that wasn't posted but should have been, and if I missed it.......then it deserves to be posted again anyways!

http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/11/19/3fbb1e35af24d?in_archive=1

johnny

12-28-2003, 07:25 PM

Missing girl has presents waiting for her

Today marks four months since Heaven LaShae Ross disappeared without a trace.

The 11-year-old was reported last seen walking to her bus stop on Hunter Creek Road on a rainy summer morning during her second week of middle school. Since then, 121 days have passed, and Shae would now be on winter break from school and preparing for Christmas.

A Christmas tree with lights and garland sits in the den of her parents’ trailer in Willowbrook Trailer Park. One of the few ornaments on the tree is a photo of Shae. Her mother, Beth Lowery, said that she couldn’t put many ornaments on the tree this year.

“That was always Shae’s job," she said. “I almost didn’t even put the tree up."

Lowery and her husband, Kevin Thompson, have been shopping for their other children Blake, 16, and Alex, 13. Shae has just as many presents under the tree as they do. Lowery bought items for Shae while shopping for her other daughter Alex.

“It’s just can’t shop for one and not the other. You know?" Lowery said. “It just doesn’t feel right with her gone."

“Even though we know it’s Christmas, it seems like a piece of the puzzle is missing," Thompson said.

Blake has had his sister’s name tattooed on his arm. Alex dyed her hair red, which Lowery said “makes her look like a tall Shae."

Both Lowery and Thompson said that they believe Shae is alive somewhere, although they are becoming more discouraged because she hasn’t been found.

Lowery says she believes that she is here in the Tuscaloosa area.

“I believe my baby’s right here in Tuscaloosa and can’t nobody find her. I believe they would have found her by now if she were dead," she said. “Either whoever has her doesn’t don’t have a phone or she otherwise doesn’t have access to one."

Lowery still wears her shirts with Shae’s picture almost every day.

“I don’t wear anything but my Shae shirts. We just feel closer to her when we have them on," she said.

Northport Police Investigator Terry Carroll said that he has received a few leads in recent weeks, but none that have panned out.

Shae’s parents said that they are surprised that no one has provided police with useful information in four months.

“That’s the hard part to believe. You know that somebody knows something," Thompson said.

Last Sunday, he spent much of the day watching newscasts about the capture of Saddam Hussein.

“I had to turn it off finally, it was making me mad," Lowery said. “I can’t believe they can go find a man in the ground but they can’t even go find one itty bitty 11-year-old redheaded child."

johnny

12-28-2003, 07:28 PM

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73157769997036&Avis=TL&Dato=20031225&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=312250311&Ref=AR

The message of Christmas shines through trying times
December 25, 2003

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In many homes across West Alabama, crumpled wrapping paper and loose ribbon lie scattered about the house. Families are gathered. There is a mood of contentment perhaps fringed with a bit of disappointment.

Disappointment that someone we love is not with us this year. Disappointment that the season of excitement is giving way to the challenges of a new year. Disappointment for a gift wished for but not received.

Where is the promise of Christmas?

Certainly there are reasons to be unsettled. We are a nation at war. Many of our finest citizens are in dangerous, distant places. Our federal government warns us of an imminent threat that may rival the attack on the World Trade Center’s twin towers. Any such calamity, beyond the human tragedy, would snuff out the promise of an economic recovery.

Where is the peace of Christmas?

Closer to home, we wish for the safe return of Heaven LaShae Ross, missing now for four months. At her home in Northport, an ornament with her photograph hangs on a Christmas tree. We remain saddened and perplexed by the suicide of Gregg Davis, who seemed to be so successful as a downtown businessman and owner of DePalma’s. This is a year that has brought many losses, including the untimely death of journalist and educator Bailey Thomson.

There seems to be no end to the disagreements over where to build a third city high school and how that should be accomplished. Each step seems to bring more discord.

Many families already have been touched by shortfalls in state funding that have caused layoffs and cut services. We see darker clouds gathering on the horizon as the impact of funding shortfalls will only get worse, particularly for education.

Where is the joy of Christmas?

This is a holiday that promises not peace, not even joy, but hope. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the coming of one who is seen as the savior of humanity. It is Jesus the baby, born in humble circumstances in a land under occupation. It is not the triumph of Easter. It is the birth of hope.

For Christians and non-Christians alike, there are plenty of reasons for hope. There are signs that a pluralistic, democratic nation may yet arise in Iraq. Saddam Hussein no longer roams free. No nation in the world dares openly to sponsor terrorism.

Many of our soldiers soon will be rotating home, even as others take their places. As a nation, we have averted another major terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001. Also, as a nation, we know from painful experience that we can survive any blow terrorists may somehow deliver.

As a community, there is no reason to doubt a solution can be found for Central High School. The debate may make us stronger.

It is hard to imagine that the citizens of Alabama and its leaders will allow public education and other essential services to fail. It may take a crisis to convince some people we need the fundamental fiscal and constitutional reforms championed by Thomson. And until we see evidence that Shae Ross won’t return safely, we will continue to hold out hope.

For those who celebrate Christmas, the greatest reason for hope was a child sought by wise men who followed a star. Jews observing Hanukkah rededicate themselves to God. Families gathered for Kwanzaa recognize the values that build communities. Through all of this is the message of the season -- hope.

johnny

01-03-2004, 01:10 PM

4. Searching for Heaven

An 11-year-old girl disappears while walking to her bus stop at the end of her block.

On Aug. 19, Heaven LaShae Ross, called “Shae” by friends and family, seemed to vanish in a case that attracted an outpouring of community and national attention — not all of it positive.

From the start, relatives criticized police for not issuing an AMBER Alert, a relatively new tool letting the public know about missing children. But police defended their refusal to do so, citing the lack of evidence of a kidnapping.

Some scrutiny fell on the girl’s mother and her boyfriend. Each said they passed lie-detector tests, but a public quarrel with volunteer searchers and a fire at the family’s home added to the story.
Leads have dried up in recent weeks, but as family members marked Christmas without Shae, they remained hopeful that she would return safely.

johnny

01-03-2004, 01:12 PM

Police search for Shae after receiving tip Wednesday
January 01, 2004

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TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa Police searched in and around a shopping center on Skyland Boulevard for about two hours Wednesday evening after someone reported possibly seeing Heaven LaShae Ross in the area.

The 11-year-old Northport girl, known as “Shae,” has been missing for more than four months.

Sgt. Drake Jones, supervisor with the Tuscaloosa Police Department, said after the call came in at about 5:30 p.m., officers fanned out over the old Service Merchandise shopping center on Skyland Boulevard to talk with people and search the area for Shae.
Jones said it is standard procedure to follow up a reported sighting of a missing person by sending officers to the area. He would not characterize how credible the tip was.

He said he talked with the person who reported seeing Shae but declined to say who it was.

Jones said all the information from the search would be turned over to the Northport Police Department, which is heading the investigation into Shae’s disappearance.

Shae was last seen walking to her bus stop on Hunter Creek Road from her home in the Willowbrook Trailer Park on Aug. 19

johnny

01-03-2004, 01:13 PM

Fayette County deputies find body in abandoned well
January 02, 2004

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Fayette sheriff’s deputies suspect foul play after finding an adult female’s body in an abandoned well.

Barry Corkren, chief deputy of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, said the body had been at the bottom of the 15-foot well for weeks. It was discovered between 10 a.m. and noon Wednesday, Corkren said. He did not disclose how the body was discovered but said that authorities believe the woman may have been murdered.

Authorities are waiting on the return of forensic evidence to identify the woman. Corkren said deputies are still collecting evidence at the site, which he would only say is in the eastern part of Fayette County.

He said the body is definitely not that of Heaven LaShae Ross, the 11-year-old who has been missing from Northport since Aug. 19, as has been a rumor in Fayette County since the body’s discovery.

“We want to make it clear that it’s not going to be that child," Corkren said

johnny

01-03-2004, 01:16 PM

Father’s search for daughter ends

By Scott Parrott
Staff Writer
January 03, 2004

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BERRY | When Amy Files disappeared in September, her father, George Files, hoped she just moved away without leaving word.

The family posted fliers with her photograph throughout the area. The days passed, then a month, then two. Still, Files remained hopeful.

But when Christmas came and went without a phone call, the worry grew greater, and Files intensified his search. The search, he said, ended this week, down a narrow dirt road on the outskirts of the town, in the bottom of an abandoned well.

“I don’t know if we would’ve ever found her, if it hadn’t been for word of mouth," Files said Friday, two days after Fayette County Sheriff’s investigators found a woman’s body in the shaft off Flat Creek Road, submerged in about 6 feet of water.

The sheriff’s department is working to positively identify the woman, who apparently was killedd. The state Department of Forensic Sciences is performing an autopsy.

But Files said he is sure it is Amy, who would have turned 34 next month.

Sheriff Hubert Norris said the woman appeared to be in her 30s. He said cables were tied around her neck, and the cables were weighed down with two concrete blocks.

“We have suspects in the case," he said.

Files said someone who knew his daughter led him to the property where the well is located.

When he came to the well, he said, he didn’t want to look inside.

“I told the kid, 'I can’t look down there, I just can’t do it,’ " he said.

But he had been searching for months. He looked. It was dark, and he could see little.

It wasn’t until later, after the sheriff’s department deputies came, that he said his search for his daughter ended.

Now he is searching for justice.

“I just want them to find the people that did this," he said. “They shouldn’t have done this."

Reach Scott Parrott at scott.parrott@tuscaloosanews.com.

johnny

01-08-2004, 11:47 PM

Ross case files reviewed
January 07, 2004

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NORTHPORT | Retired police investigators working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are in Northport this week to review the case of Heaven LaShae Ross, the 11-year-old who has been missing since August.

Consultants Dennis Weaver, a retired special agent for the FBI, and Dave Hatch, retired from the Las Vegas Police Department, will review files and revisit people and places that were of interest at the beginning of the investigation.

Northport Police Department spokesman Lt. Kerry Card said the consultants are not here because of any particular development.

“We want to actively keep working the case. It’s been planned for weeks," he said.

Weaver was here in August when a task force comprising members of the Northport and Tuscaloosa police departments, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the FBI worked the case around the clock.

WasBlind

02-05-2004, 07:27 PM

For Heaven

johnny

02-19-2004, 01:20 PM

By Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
February 19, 2004

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Beth Lowery, Heaven LaShea Ross’s mother, looks at items she has assembled in Shae’s bedroom. The bedroom burned recently and has been refurbished. Shae has been missing for six months.
Staff Photo | Michael E. Palmer

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NORTHPORT | Candy, gold initial earrings, a Valentine’s Day balloon and a vase of roses sit on a table in Heaven LaShae Ross’ bedroom -- holiday surprises for her if she comes home.

But after six months with no sign of Shae, family members are beginning to consider the possibility that they may never see her again.

“It’s getting worse," her mother, Beth Lowery, said this week. “Reality is slowly setting in. There’s a strong possibility that she is not going to walk in that door any second like we think."

Shae, 11, disappeared six months ago today, on Aug. 19. Her sister last saw her walking to the bus stop at the entrance to Willowbrook Trailer Park at Hunter Creek Road.

Months after her disappearance, Shae is still getting nationwide exposure.

Several organizations continue to profile her, which gives her family hope that someone somewhere will recognize her.

In March, Shae will be the missing child featured in Project Jason’s 18-wheel Angels program. Project Jason is a program started by a Nebraska family whose son disappeared in 2001.

Truck drivers who volunteer to participate will post Shae’s picture on the sides of their trucks.

Shae’s photo is also being circulated on envelopes sent from Sen. Richard Shelby’s office. The Laura Recovery Center, a missing children’s group from Texas that traveled to Tuscaloosa in August to help search for Shae, recently featured her on their nationwide postcards.

Lowery and her husband, Kevin Thompson, said they were devastated to watch the story of Carlie Brucia on television earlier this month.

Carlie was the 11-year-old in Sarasota, Fla., whose abduction was caught on surveillance video as she took a shortcut through a car wash.

Five days later, she was found dead behind a church just a few miles away.

FBI investigators here contacted agents working the case in Sarasota, who determined that the suspect had not been in Tuscaloosa when Shae disappeared, said Northport Police officer Terry Carroll, the lead investigator on the case.

Carlie was the same age as Shae, and their appearance was similar.

“There for a minute, watching this on TV was like reliving this all over again," Lowery said. “Since they found her so close, it made me just go outside so many times, looking, looking.

“Looking for what, I had no idea."

Shae’s room was damaged in a fire at the family’s mobile home in September. The state fire marshal has turned over results of the investigation to police, who have not made them public.

After keeping the bedroom door closed for four months, Lowery and Thompson went in last month and replaced the carpet and repainted.

“For four months, we kept that door closed, but it was like we were closing her off. We couldn’t do it anymore," Thompson said.

And the family has not forgotten Shae during the holidays.

Besides the Valentine’s Day gifts, the family’s Christmas tree is in the corner of her room, with wrapped gifts underneath.

Halloween candy sits on her dresser along with other gifts.

A lamp on her table has been burning constantly for several weeks.

“I feel like the lamp is going to bring her home," Lowery said. “Maybe it’s an old wives’ tale, but I’ll never turn off that light."

Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 722-0210.

Doyle

03-03-2004, 04:35 AM

stormonster

03-03-2004, 09:16 AM

This makes me think that the perp is close enough in proximity to worry about possible evidence. What was in that room? Any speculations?

Juliana

03-03-2004, 10:04 PM

Last week a 14 year old girl in Arkansas was reported missing. A Morgan alert was issued and she was found later that day. Police believe she was abducted. After she was returned home that evening, a fire broke out in her family's trailer, and the girl was killed. Sounds like the fire may have originated or been worse in her room. Her parents tried to save her. Her mother was severely burned in the process. Sounds kind of like the situation with Heaven Ross and her family's home cathing on fire, starting in her room.

They have a man in custody in connection with the Arkansas situation. Wonder if he has any ties to Heaven's case?

http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2004/02/25/news/news4.txt

babylove

03-04-2004, 01:38 PM

A fire that started in the bedroom of a missing Northport girl may have been intentionally started, the state fire marshal said.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040302/APN/403020846

The fire investigation report showed the fire started in a small hole in the floor at the foot of the bed and at the foot of a recliner. Investigators found a cigarette butt and trash in the hole.

Lowery and Thompson said they had never seen it before.

When they say "trash" do they mean paper? What kind of trash?

Whoever started the fire must have had access to the home. The mother said that Shae's brother usually sleeps in her room, but wasn't home the night of the fire. To me, that says someone was trying to cover something up, but either didn't want to be caught attempting to start the fire by her brother, or didn't want her brother to be hurt in the fire.

I read in a previous article that all of the windows were screwed shut, with the exception of the one in the top of the trailer. Whoever started the fire put the lit ciggarette in this small hole with some paper trash to get it going. Fine. But wouldn't they have had to be in the home, I mean, even if they did try to say they came in through the top window, how big can a trailer home top window really be?

Someone that knew the family and had access to the home or someone who was in the family had something to do with this. What were they trying to hide? Unless it was the brother smoking in his room and maybe he put the cigg out in the hole, not realizing there was paper in there also... and maybe he took off once he couldn't get the fire out to avoid getting in trouble, but why would he leave his family in danger if they were sleeping?

http://www.rinokids.com/Children/Ross/

Who is this Evin Ryland person? It gives no further info about him other than he is wanted for questioning.

dannyodie

03-04-2004, 03:59 PM

its good to know that the police down there have not given up on heaven, this child disappeared somewhat the same way that tabitha tuders did in april of 2003, to this date there are some leads, but for now it seems to be a still puzzling case. the link to the article that babylove left in her post takes you to a interesting subject, in that he helps runnaway children, yea right! to me I can't see a adult offering out help to runnaways unless they are licensed in some way. does any one know if the police have ever talked to this man? if he has come up un-accounted for since she disappeared than I would say that the police have a good person of interest to continue persueing.. this man to me just looks the type, " one that would pray on children " but thats just my own gut feeling about him. if he is the one than he either ran away with her. I hold out hope for that to be the case. to many times these children are abused and murdered...

johnny

03-05-2004, 01:07 PM

Sounds like the hole was, or could've been drilled from beneath the floor of the trailer. Most trailers have underpinning but it is usually only sheet metal (which this home has) and that would be easy to move out of the way. Electric drill, a cigarette and some paper. And by the time the fire catches on the perp is long gone.

Of course this fire could've been started by someone like her brother or Common Law step father from inside the home as well.

Doyle

03-23-2004, 05:04 AM

It's been seven months since Heaven LaShae Ross vanished from her Northport trailer park, yet investigators and family members said they're no closer to finding her.

"I'm still pretty mystified," said Northport police detective Terry Carroll. "She just disappeared. I don't know what happened to her."
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1079950589317070.xml

johnny

03-23-2004, 10:35 AM

Seems odd the mother was sleeping and the so called "Common Law husband" jumps up after Shae heads to the bus stop, two blocks away. To many things point to the step father. No doubt she loved him, but what was she to him?

WasBlind

08-13-2004, 03:23 AM

For Heaven

Kelly

08-19-2004, 11:38 PM

Family Marks 1st Anniversary Of Child's Disappearance
Thursday August 19, 2004 9:44pm

Northport (AP) - The mystery of what happened to Heaven LaShae Ross has only grown deeper in the year since she disappeared.

The redheaded 11-year-old was last seen a year ago today, when she was reported missing after failing to show up at her school bus stop.

Since then, rumors and questions have swirled about how a child could seemingly vanish during the day in the middle of the community where she lived.

For mother Beth Lowery, her common-law husband Kevin Thompson and the rest of their family, the year has brought heartache, false leads, bitter disputes and public scrutiny.

For police, it's been a perplexing mix of suspicions and tips - none of which has led them to the girl friends knew as Shae.

Lowery believes her daughter saw someone she knew and accepted a ride to avoid ominous weather the morning she was last seen.

Lowery says she firmly believes that here daughter will come home one day.

http://beta.abc3340.com/news/stories/0804/167382.html

dannyodie

08-21-2004, 01:00 PM

this little girl disappeared about 4 months after tabitha tuders went missing in april. team tabitha, " the search group which was formed after she went missing " travelled to northport for a weekend to help in locating the child. tabithas parents I remember went with the group to console " shaes " mother and family in her disappearence. at one point the investigators from nashville travelled to the northport alabama police station to see if there were some connection with the two cases. I believe they concluded that there were no link to the disappearence of " tabitha and shae." when I look at the two cases in my mind I feel that shae and tabitha both got into vehicles with someone that they at least could identify and feel comfortable with getting into a car with someone. I feel that the tuders girl was offered a ride with someone from the immediate area. 2 weeks or so after she went missing an individual that worked at a nearby business, and lived in the nearby vicinity, moved to new york. I don't know if for sure the police have talked to him in person or not, at one point I think they did talk to him over the phone. hopefully they are still persuing him. Shae, if I recall, lived in a trailer park I am not sure of how many people lived in it, but I believe she got in a car with someone that possibly lived in the same park, that offerered her a ride to school. I sure hope that the families of these girls don't give up there hope of finding out what has happened to there child. may god bless each of them

Kelly

09-19-2004, 12:21 PM

Heaven Ross, Missing Over 1 Year Now
Heaven LaShae Ross is now 12 years old and has been missing from Northport, AL for over a year.

Heaven's mother Beth, provided us with some never before seen photos of this precious child, plus some reflections about her daughter, We took what she sent and built her a website, as she had no true website and not the means to build one for her.

I just finished talking with her and this is the message she wanted me to relay to you:

"We ask for constant prayers for Shae. We feel that that's what going to bring her home. That's what we want and that's all we ask for. Thank you all."

Beth will make a trip to the library today to see the site for the first time, so please do go and sign the guestbook to show you care.

You can also print posters, mailing labels and business cards on the site.

Keep coming back to the site as Beth will be sending baby photos and more writings.

Thank you.

http://www.findheaven.net/

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org

Kelly

10-09-2004, 11:18 AM

Heaven has been added to Project Jason's Adopt a Missing Person program. Please consider helping reunite Heaven with her family by wearing her photo button and sharing her story with others. For more details on how you can make a difference, please see:

http://www.projectjason.org/adopt.html

Thank you!

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org

englishleigh

10-10-2004, 08:09 PM

I live in Alabama, about 2 hours from Northport, and if it were not for this site, I would never have known about Heaven Shae Ross' disappearance. I have e-mailed Kelly to tell her I would like to adopt Shae...my daughter and I will put her buttons on our purse/backpack. I pray she is found soon.

Kelly

10-11-2004, 01:49 AM

Thank you, EL. We just started with Heaven on the Adopt program and her buttons are flying out the door. Her mother wil be thrilled. Be sure to stop at her website and sign her guestbook.

God bless,
Kelly

Kelly

10-22-2004, 09:46 PM

Heaven's photo appears in the current issue of Family Circle magazine along with several other missing children and a story about one who was found.

Kelly

ShowerSinger

10-22-2004, 11:02 PM

TisHerself

10-24-2004, 08:12 PM

Is there anything new on Shae?

fourboys

10-24-2004, 08:30 PM

It is very troublesome to see this site, and notice her name is mispelled. I am disappointed that the DA feels there is not enough evidence to charge the person(s) that police think are responsible. This case has been in the news for some time, and I hope the guilty party(s) will soon be brought to justice. Recently, while visiting the area, I only saw ONE poster of this young child, a tattered flier, almost unnoticeable at a convenience store.
If you are talking about websleuths, yes it is mispelled. Please change this mods!
As for her website http://www.findheaven.net/ her name there is spelled correctly, and the site is very nice.
fourboys

Kelly

01-07-2005, 10:54 PM

englishleigh

01-07-2005, 10:56 PM

Heaven Ross' mother called me tonight and told me that Heaven will be featured on AMW on Saturday, January 8, 2005. Most likely, this will be a brief airing of her photo and information.

There are no other updates to report in Heaven's case.

Kelly

Heaven is my girl....we are still wearing her buttons....prayers for her and for all who love and miss her.

CaliKid

03-21-2005, 08:19 PM

Any news? I thought I saw an age-enhanced photo on a website for Heaven, but now I can't find the link. The picture was supposedly aged to 12 years for her, but it actually looked older than 12.

johnny

03-21-2005, 09:23 PM

I wonder where the family is living now? And the boyfriend where is he and the older sister and brother?

While we were down there searching they found blood in his car and the mother said that it was her from when her and the boyfriend got into an altercation.

Kelly

03-21-2005, 09:58 PM

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC970206e1.jpg

Yeah,me

03-21-2005, 11:44 PM

CaliKid

03-22-2005, 04:43 AM

Did they check out the boyfriend?

carolina

03-22-2005, 08:39 AM

jaybird

05-07-2005, 01:46 AM

Has anyone heard any recent news on the Heaven Ross case? This one tugs on my heart and I think about her all the time.

Also, any news on Rosa Sandoval? I know the positively ID'd her remains, any other info?

joys4world

06-07-2005, 12:21 PM

The last I heard about Heaven was that they had a medium come out to where she lived and did a reading. I don't know if it was ever made public what that reading was. I know her birthday is coming up on June 11 maybe there will be more about her then.

fourboys

08-19-2005, 03:47 PM

Two-year search for missing Northport girl frustrating

August 19, 2005
The Associated Press

On the second anniversary of his daughter's disappearance, Kevin Thompson remains heartsick and just as frustrated over the lack of clues as police, who continue searching for the child.

Heaven LaShae Ross, who would now be 13, went missing on Aug. 19, 2003, as she walked to a school bus stop in Northport.

"To think that it's been two years," said Thompson, 35, "it's just hard to swallow."

The girl, called "Shae" by family and friends, vanished on a rainy Tuesday morning as she walked the 50 yards from her front door to the bus stop at the edge of Willowbrook Trailer Park.

"I'm always thinking about it in the back of my mind," said police investigator Terry Carroll of the Tuscaloosa Metro Juvenile Division. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about or do something on the case."

Carroll said Thursday police still get leads about the case.

Last month, someone reported seeing Shae at a school in Crossville in north Alabama, and another said she'd been seen with a relative in the Gulf Shores area. Neither tip proved solid.

"It's frustrating not to be able to resolve this for the family or for anyone," Carroll told The Tuscaloosa News for a story Friday.

Thompson said someone "definitely knows what happened to her, and to know someone would take a child and do something to her . . .. She wasn't a bother to nobody. She was just a little girl going to school that day."

Thompson replays the dreadful day over and over in his mind.

He said he offered to drive Shae to school the day she went missing because her book bag looked heavy. She declined the offer. She had only been out the door a few minutes when a loud thunderclap made Thompson go out the door after her.

"She doesn't like thunderstorms," he said. "They scare her....

"But when I came out the door, I didn't see her at all. It's like she just vanished."

Thompson said life hasn't been the same for him and Shae's mother, Beth Lowery, since Shae disappeared. No one visits much anymore, and Thompson said he stays at home when he's not working.

Thompson sits in his living room that's still adorned with memorabilia of Shae's disappearance.

"As far as I'm concerned, my baby's still alive, and I know for a fact that she wants to come home," he said. "I will never, as long as I'm living, I will never give up on Shae."

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050819/APN/508190918&cachetime=3&template=dateline (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050819/APN/508190918&cachetime=3&template=dateline)

Kelly

08-19-2005, 04:28 PM

Heaven's website has been revamped and will have some new updates and photos posted soon. Please come and sign the guestbook. Thank you.

http://www.findheaven.net/

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

Bobbisangel

08-20-2005, 06:53 AM

What a beautiful little girl. Beautiful website too, Kelly. I wish more people would go in and sign the guestbook. It would probably mean a lot to Shea's mother. The chance of this little girl still being alive are slim but if she were my daughter I would have to hope in order to survive. I can't even imagine being in the shoes of a parent with a missing child. I don't know if I could survive that.

I wish we could wave a wand and bring all of these missing children back home. It is just so sad to come into this site and read about another missing person or another murdered person. So many families in horrible pain. To many.

Kelly

08-20-2005, 11:29 AM

I know for a fact that Beth is very comforted by the messages in the guestbook. I also know from my own experience that these mesages give hope.

We'll be adding some new photos soon too. Last night we added a new page with poems and remembrances.

Until we know the truth, I will have hope that Heaven is still alive.

Thank you for your kindness.

Kelly

dannyodie

08-21-2005, 10:07 AM

did the police ever do dna test on the blood that was found in the car? if not they should have. it is my strong belief that the boyfriend is the most likely one to have done this. if not him then someone in that trailer park knows what happened, remember little jessica, abducted and killed just 150 yards from her home across the street. 50 yds to her bus stop! did no one see her? just to strange that the boyfriend got up as soon as she left, if it was to give her a ride to school because of a storm, why only offer her a ride to school and not the others which were awaiting the bus as well? I think the police have a good idea he is the one, but for them to not really work hard at proving this is an injustice to this childs family. either the hole in the bottom of the trailer was to dispose of ciggerettes or a place a small camera could have been inserted to view the inside of the bedroom. anything is possible, there is a common person that is involved in this case and he knew the family very well and she knew the person that picked her up.

Kelly

09-25-2005, 05:13 PM

Heaven's mother, Beth, has been informed me that Heaven, along with 12 other children, will be featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show this Friday, September 30th.

The Oprah site indicates this day's show is about sexual harassment, so we are not sure if the listings of the missing children will be included on this show, or if it has been bumped. Little information has been provided to Beth.

Thank you.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Voice for the Missing
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

Bobbisangel

09-25-2005, 06:38 PM

Thanks for the info Kelly. I'm glad that this little girl's picture is still being shown. Shea has been gone for a long time without anyone seeing her somewhere. I wonder what became of LE talking to the guy that helped Shea's brother run away?

I still find it strange about the fire starting in Shea's bedroom. I believe the article said the fire was started in two places...the hole in the floor and in front of a recliner. It's odd that Shea's room was the only place that was set on fire. I can't really see a stranger going into the house with the family at home and setting a fire in Shea's room. To big of a risk of getting caught.

I'm surprised that someone in the trailer park didn't see the car that Shea got into that morning. Mobiles are usually fairly close together but it seems that no one saw a thing unless it was a vehicle that was familiar so they didn't really pay any attention.

I wish that something would break in this case and Shea would be found.

Kelly

10-01-2005, 10:22 PM

Heaven's photo will be shown on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show this Tuesday. The topic will be sexual predators, and Shasta Groene's father will be interviewed.

Kelly

Bobbisangel

10-01-2005, 11:31 PM

Heaven's photo will be shown on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show this Tuesday. The topic will be sexual predators, and Shasta Groene's father will be interviewed.

Kelly

Thanks Kelly. I'll be sure to watch that even though I don't often watch Oprah.

Kelly

10-13-2005, 10:55 PM

Heaven's family and her story will be featured on a segment of the Montel Williams Show on Friday, October 14th. Please check your local listings as the time and station vary. Thank you.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

mysteriew

12-23-2005, 06:15 AM

WITHOUT A TRACE: Eleven-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross left home on Aug 19, 2003 to walk a few blocks to the bus stop, but she never made it. She vanished without a trace. EARLY SHOW correspondent Melinda Murphy takes us inside the search for the missing girl.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/10/04/broadcasts/main64925.shtml?CMP=ILC-SearchStories

PrayersForMaura

12-23-2005, 03:07 PM

The Search For Heaven

If you watched the hit CBS drama "Without A Trace" Thursday night, you may have seen the profile of a missing girl from Alabama, Heaven LaShae Ross (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/without_a_trace/missing_person/ross_heaven.shtml).

As The Early Show correspondent Melinda Murphy reports, Heaven disappeared more than two years ago, and police are no closer to solving the case.

Heaven, nicknamed Shae, has been missing since Aug. 19, 2003, from Northport, Ala. She was last seen at her home at approximately 7 a.m.

She left home en route to a nearby bus stop, but vanished within 50 yards of her front door. Born on June 11, 1992, she was 11 years old at the time of her disappearance and is now 13.

..."You can't really explain it. It's not even like death. It's so much worse. It's so much more intense. Because you don't know," says Heaven's mother Beth Lowery. "I don't know if she's being beat up. I don't know if she's being sexually molested. I don't know if she's hungry. I don't know if she's warm. You just can't describe it."

...Heaven's older sister, Alex, was waiting at the bus stop near some mailboxes. But because it was pouring rain that morning, their stepfather decided to drive them to school.

"I probably left at 6:56, 6:55 and she left around like 7:00 and my step dad got there around 7:02, maybe, and he just came around there and was like, 'Where is Shae?' And I was like 'I don't know,' " Alex Lowery remembers.

The family called police almost immediately and they have been searching ever since, with no clues and no evidence.

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/23/earlyshow/main1161706.shtml

PrayersForMaura

12-23-2005, 03:09 PM

http://www.cbsnews.com/images/2005/12/23/image1160902g.jpg

Heaven LaShae Ross was last seen on the morning of
Aug. 19, 2003. (CBS/The Early Show)

_______________________________________________

Quote:
"She was like my shadow and I don't have my
shadow no more. She's gone."

Beth Lowery
Heaven's mother

________________________________________________

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005...in1161706.shtml (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/23/earlyshow/main1161706.shtml)

johnny

02-27-2006, 08:25 AM

What ever happened to the moms boyfriend?

strach304

02-27-2006, 11:20 AM

I haven't read all 9 pages of this case but something did occur to me when I saw Shannon's name and pic so I don't know if it's been brought up here. Have they looked at Carlie Brucia's killer for any of these girls? On the website for Shannon there is a drawing of a poi seen in the area the day she went missing and that resembles the one that was issued for Carlie's killer at the time.

amandab

02-27-2006, 11:41 AM

On the website for Shannon there is a drawing of a poi seen in the area the day she went missing and that resembles the one that was issued for Carlie's killer at the time.

OMG strach - that gave me chills. Where was Carlie's killer at the time Shannon was abducted? Does anyone know any kind of timeline? My apologies for possibly diverging from Heaven's thread here; it is worth considering if Joe Smith is responsible for more than we know, though....

strach304

02-28-2006, 03:07 AM

I know at the time of his arrest he was being looked at for other crimes in the south not just Florida so that's why I posted hoping someone here more familiar would know if he was looked at. I clicked on a link here and got Shannon's info from Heaven's thread and I also wonder about him with Tabitha Tuder and Heaven as well. Carlie was 11 and grabbed off the street in broad daylight. You can bet with his background he's good for more than just Carlie so I hope someone here knows if he was looked at if not I may try and dig into it to see what areas he was in. It was definitely southern states.

Johnny do you know? Look at the police sketch on Shannon's site, it is very much like the one they released for Joe Smith, Carlie Brucia's killer in Florida.

missacorah

07-26-2006, 04:33 PM

Heavens case has really struck a chord with me - such a beautiful child and a gorgeous name too!

Is there any new news? Are the mother and step father still together? I feel certain that the fire was started by someone who either lived at the van or was a comfortable visitor there?What was it that needed hiding?

Kelly

12-19-2006, 12:53 PM

It is with great sadness that we announce that Heaven's remains have been found. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time.

Condolences for the family may be left in her guestbook at Find Heaven (http://www.findheaven.net/cgi-bin/guestbook.cgi)

Kelly

AP Wire | 12/19/2006 | Remains of missing 11-year-old Northport girl found in Holt house (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/16274494.htm)

Posted on Tue, Dec. 19,

Remains of missing 11-year-old Northport girl found in Holt house

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The remains of an 11-year-old Northport girl who disappeared in 2003 have been found in an abandoned house in Holt, authorities announced Tuesday.

Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ted Sexton said the remains were those of Heaven LaShae Ross, who went missing Aug. 19, 2003, while apparently walking on a rainy morning to a school bus stop near her home in Willowbrook Trailer Park.

SewingDeb

12-19-2006, 01:04 PM

Prayers for the family.

Mrs_Norwood

12-19-2006, 01:41 PM

How sad that she has been found so close to Christmas. I can't imagine how sad they must be, but it also must bring closure to know that Heaven is at peace. RIP Heaven.

englishleigh

12-19-2006, 01:43 PM

I saw this under LOCATED and I was sure I was seeing things...how very, very sad. Prayers for her family...at least they KNOW now. I hope someday there will be justice for little Heaven...such a pretty little girl. :(

amandab

12-19-2006, 02:31 PM

Oh how sad.............sincere condolances for her family..................that sounds so trite, but I mean it.

Waterlily

12-19-2006, 03:58 PM

How sad, but her family now has closure and can lay her to rest properly. Thoughts and prayers are with them at this time.

Usher737

12-19-2006, 05:05 PM

How very sad. This whole time she was only 6 miles from her home. I wonder if LE every searched that area. I hope there is still evidence that LE can use to bring this perp to justice. My prayers go out to her family.

Ang50

12-19-2006, 06:43 PM

How sad. Hopefully it is some comfort for the family that she was found.

2sisters

12-19-2006, 08:22 PM

My thought are with the family. What a terrible end to this.

blue06

12-19-2006, 09:51 PM

Thoughts are with Heavens family. The only good thing is that she can now be rest and her family have somewhere to go ad see her. Now there can be a certain amount of closure, and Heaven`s family don`t have to worry about where she is cold at night or hungry. A big hug to them for their love and commitment to their baby girl.

johnny

12-19-2006, 11:17 PM

julianne

12-20-2006, 12:14 AM

dannyodie

12-20-2006, 07:10 AM

I hope they find enough at the house where she was found that they can get the person responsible.

Several things bother me about Kevin Thompsons comments, that aren't consistent from his previous comments 3 years ago.

Also Kevin Thompson is from Fosters, Holt is about half way between Heavens home and Fosters.

All of this is in previous postings.

How was she found? What type of neighbor hood is this? Anyone have an address?
when you look at the dates that julianne posted it does seem as if there is one person involved in all these disappearences, makes me wonder if this kevin thompson could be the one, maybe the disappearences stopped after heaven went missing cause the police had been questioning him about heaven so he decides to stop because he might have began to think that the police might be watching him? anyway it does seem odd that the time frames are all in august and the dates are very close together. I wonder if kevin had reasons to travel back and forth in areas near where heaven was found and areas where the other kids went missing. I think shannon paulks abductor was not a black man, but someone with a dark sun tan. not sure about the other childs abductor. hopefully police will search the area where heaven was found to see if there could be any other items that might help tell who this could have been, it might appear to me that heaven was taken there as soon as she was taken and raped and murdered there, who ever took her there knew that the house was there and that it would be a remote enough area to commit a crime, he must have known that that area didn't have many people stopping and lurking around that old house, after all these years she is just now being located, so the area she is found makes me think that it is a spot that people don't go or bother much or otherwise she would have been found much sooner.

SchnauzerMom

12-20-2006, 08:27 AM

Prayers for the the family. Horrible time of year to have hope she might be found alive ripped from your grasp.

As for speculation on a connection between Heaven Ross and Tabitha Tudors, my first thought was, how close Northport, AL is to Tuscaloosa and University of Alabama, and Nashville also has several colleges and universities (though the area where Tabitha lived is about as far as you can get from them and still be in Nashville).

And as for connections to other little girls who dissappeared in mid-August, might LE look into a person with acedemic connections that might have been involved with instatutions in all the places Even a textbook sales person or something, given Aug is when school is about to start.

Just a random thought for somone more familiar with the cases to possibly factor in - I admit, I'm not up on all these cases.

englishleigh

12-20-2006, 08:41 AM

Sad. My thoughts go out to the family.

I was reading the newspaper article in the link posted by Kelly on the page before this thread. Says they have been trying to determine if Heavens case is also linked to the kidnapping/murder of Shannon Paulk, and the kidnapping of Teresa Dean, who hasn't been found yet.

Heaven, Teresa and Shannon were all 11 years old. Another thing I found curious was the dates that they each went missing....

Teresa - Disappeared on August 15th in 1999.
Shannon - Disappeared on August 16th in 2001.
Heaven - Disappeared on August 19th in 2003.

Maybe it's already been mentioned in this thread, but does anyone else see the dates of these girls going missing as something that is more than just coincedental? I think it's screaming out to us that the same perp is responsible. And why August? Also, there is a span of 2 years between each girl disappearing. So, if this creep had some bizarre "system" as to WHEN he kidnapped these girls, the next logical timeframe would be in August 2005.

So, my next question is: Was there any 11 year old girl who disappeared in the month of August (mid-month) in the year 2005???

I don't know, Julianne. I thought about all this, too. I am from an area in between where Shannon lived in Prattville, AL and where Teresa lived near Macon, GA. I have been racking my brain and I can't think of anyone who went missing in August 2005 from this area. Here's an article about it from AMW:

http://www.amw.com/missing_children/brief.cfm?id=40316

I haven't read this first, maybe some answers are in here.

christine2448

12-20-2006, 09:20 AM

Prayers for the family, my heart just breaks. I just sent out Heaven's labels last week to all of our drivers, my heart just breaks.

christine2448

12-20-2006, 09:36 AM

Sad. My thoughts go out to the family.

I was reading the newspaper article in the link posted by Kelly on the page before this thread. Says they have been trying to determine if Heavens case is also linked to the kidnapping/murder of Shannon Paulk, and the kidnapping of Teresa Dean, who hasn't been found yet.

Heaven, Teresa and Shannon were all 11 years old. Another thing I found curious was the dates that they each went missing....

Teresa - Disappeared on August 15th in 1999.
Shannon - Disappeared on August 16th in 2001.
Heaven - Disappeared on August 19th in 2003.

Maybe it's already been mentioned in this thread, but does anyone else see the dates of these girls going missing as something that is more than just coincedental? I think it's screaming out to us that the same perp is responsible. And why August? Also, there is a span of 2 years between each girl disappearing. So, if this creep had some bizarre "system" as to WHEN he kidnapped these girls, the next logical timeframe would be in August 2005.

So, my next question is: Was there any 11 year old girl who disappeared in the month of August (mid-month) in the year 2005???
Hiya Julianne, great question and great observations, authorities are thinking as you are:

Authorities in August said they were investigating the possibility that Shae's disappearance was linked to the disappearance of two other girls, one in Alabama and one in Georgia.

Shannon Nicole Paulk, 11, was snatched from her Candlestick Park neighborhood in Prattville on Aug. 16, 2001. Investigators on a task force formed shortly after Shannon disappeared said in August they believed her case was linked to those of Shae and Teresa Melissa Dean of Twiggs County, Ga. They said there was no direct evidence tying together the three disappearances. But all three girls were 11 years old. All three were abducted from trailer parks where they lived. All three disappeared two years apart - but within days of each other in August.

christine2448

12-20-2006, 09:42 AM

NCMEC lists for all female children who went missing in 8/05

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1021769c1t.jpg BASYL TESSEMA ADRIAN-PETTY (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1021769&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/25/05 Age Now: 15 Missing from:BLACK RIVER FALLS, WI View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1021769&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1030973c1t.jpg LATEAFA CALVIN (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1030973&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/14/05 Age Now: 16 Missing from:CHICAGO, IL View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1030973&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1032384c1t.jpg JOCELYN GRACE FABER (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1032384&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/20/05 Age Now: 2 Missing from: ALLENTON, WI View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1032384&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1025455c1t.jpg AMERICA GABRIELLA GARCIA (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1025455&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/10/05 Age Now: 17 Missing from:NAPLES, FL View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1025455&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1035933c1t.jpg MARICELIA GARCIA (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1035933&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/7/05 Age Now: 16 Missing from:ATLANTA, GA View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1035933&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/USMD05p011465c1t.jpg TAMEKA HUNT (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=05p011465&orgPrefix=USMD&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/10/05 Age Now: 17 Missing from:
LAUREL, MD View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=05p011465&orgPrefix=USMD&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1032863c1t.jpg GERTRUDE V. JEAN (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1032863&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/2/05 Age Now: 18 Missing from:WEST PALM BEACH, FL View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1032863&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1023265c1t.jpg ELIZABETH J. JOHNSON (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1023265&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/29/05 Age Now: 17 Missing from:CHICAGO, IL View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1023265&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/USMDR05045483c1t.jpg MARIA YOLANDA MENDEZ (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=R05045483&orgPrefix=USMD&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/23/05 Age Now: 14 Missing from:ROCKVILLE, MD View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=R05045483&orgPrefix=USMD&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1027072c1t.jpg ROBYN TANYA LYNN PENEGOR (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1027072&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/31/05 Age Now: 16 Missing from:PINEVILLE, KY View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1027072&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

(http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=998760&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

christine2448

12-20-2006, 09:48 AM

2004 8/1-8/31 missing females

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC1004402c1t.jpg SKY DAWN CREEK (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1004402&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/19/04 Age Now: 16 Missing from:FORT WAYNE, IN View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1004402&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

http://www.missingkids.com/photographs/NCMC998760c1t.jpg CONNIE LYNN MCCALLISTER (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=998760&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US) Missing Since: 8/15/04 Age Now: 18 Missing from:WAUSAU, WI View Poster (http://javascript:MM_openBrWindow('/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=998760&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US', 'Poster','alwaysRaised=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbar s=yes,toolbar=no,location=yes,menubar=yes,status=y es'))

johnny

12-20-2006, 09:53 AM

I found this in the Tuscaloosa Times Paper

Posted 20 December 2006 08:38 AM Hide Post

quote:
Originally posted by Buckeye:
I saw the news last night and the interview with the Paternal Grandmother said tons. Did anyone else pick up on her comments about how she should have done something and might have saved her granddaughter? That wasn't the exact wording but the impression she gave was that if she had interceeded and tried to get custody of Shae things could have been different. She was not only a Grandmother in pain at the loss of her Granddaughter but she also seems to have regrets that she didn't interceed before this tragety.

Wow, I thought it was just me.

"...that is if it's ok with Steve!"

Posts: 163 | Location: 3rd star to the left, straight on till morning! | Registered: 26 November 2006

englishleigh

12-20-2006, 09:55 AM

I know at one time they were looking at Joseph P. Smith, the guy who abducted and killed Carlie Brucia in Tampa, FL in 2004, for the murder of Shannon Paulk. I assume he was ruled out, but I never heard otherwise. He would have been in the correct geographical region to fit in with Heaven, Shannon & Teresa, the same basic time span (although I think Carlie was killed in Feb. 2004), and Carlie was also 11 years old. However, she was abducted from a car wash parking lot as she walked home from a friend's, not a trailer park, but still...anyone know if he is still a suspect in Shannon's murder?

johnny

12-20-2006, 09:56 AM

Member
Picture of RipsGracie

Posted 20 December 2006 08:49 AM Hide Post

quote:
Originally posted by nenegoose2005:
Well I have a personal friend that lives in Vestavia Hills that went and bought food, drinks, and other items and personally took them to Shae's mom and her other daughter Jamie and my friend expressed her sadness and asked Shae's mom, "If there's anything that I can do, please let me know" and Shae's mom said "Um yeah, how 'bout going and picking me up a carton of Newport 100's" and the other daughter said "yeah, and a jar of pickles too". My friend said that she couldn't believe her ears. True Story!!

I would have told the mom to get up off her butt, get a job, and purchase the cigarettes herself! She may have a job, but sheesh, to expect someone to purchase something that is detrimental to her health is just not right/proper! I just hope this event now doesn't bring in more proceeds for the mom to think she should have control over the funds.

The more I read and hear things going on, the madder I get.

The shortest distance between a problem and solution is the distance between your knees and the floor

johnny

12-20-2006, 09:58 AM

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061220/NEWS/612200331/1007

y Stephanie Taylor
Staff Writer
December 20. 2006 3:30AM

(advertisement)
Members of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigate an abandoned house where remains thought to be those of Heaven LaShae Ross were found Monday. The house is near the Holt community in Tuscaloosa County.
Staff photo | Dan Lopez
# Click here to buy a picture.

TUSCALOOSA | A grim discovery Monday afternoon provided some answers to the three-year-old mystery of what happened to Heaven LaShae Ross.

But the discovery has also raised more questions.

Police found human remains in the crawl space under an abandoned house on a rural dirt road in Holt on Monday afternoon.

The girl, known as Shae, was last seen walking to her bus stop on a rainy Tuesday morning in August 2003, just yards from her home in Willowbrook Trailer Park in Northport.

The news left her family and the community, who had been praying for her safe return, heartbroken.

“This has given us some kind of closure from not knowing anything," said Shae’s grandmother, Carol Rowell. “The only question we have now is why? Why would someone do this to her?"

Shae’s mother, Beth Lowery, and stepfather, Kevin Thompson, weren’t ready to talk publicly Tuesday afternoon.

The family said Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ted Sexton and two deputies visited their home at midnight Tuesday to let them know they had found skeletal remains that were possibly that of the missing girl. Rowell said that they had found a backpack with Shae’s name written inside.

Sexton released few details about the case and the crime scene Tuesday.

“It’s extremely important that we protect the crime scene," he said. “At a crime scene that old, possibly up to three years old, we have to do anything we can to preserve everything that is there."

Sexton said only that someone called investigators after finding skeletal remains in the house, but he gave no details. Family members said a man walking his dog found the bones after the dog ran into the house.

Sheriff’s deputies closed off Creek Road Tuesday while homicide and forensic investigators combed through the house. Creek Road backs up to Hurricane Creek and is located off 44th Court in Holt. Before moving to Northport, Shae’s family lived in Holt.

Members of the public provided police with possible leads in the case Tuesday, a family friend said.

Donald Pearson has lived near the site for 33 years and said the tree-lined dirt and gravel road has long been a magnet for questionable activity.

He said people go there to use drugs, and prostitutes occasionally visit the isolated road.

“It’s gotten worse in the last 10 or 15 years," he said. “There is all kinds of stuff going on down there."

He said he recently walked down the road and looked inside the abandoned house. The porch had collapsed and the floors had fallen in, he said.

Carl Ledlow, 24, said he sometimes does target practice on the road. He works at C&C Marine in Holt and drove down the road to see why the police were there Tuesday.

“I was just in there. Half the floors were rotted out," he said.

Ledlow lived in Willowbrook Trailer Park earlier this year and said he had heard about Shae’s disappearance.

“I’m surprised that they found her in there," he said. “It’s terrible."

Friends and family members crowded the family’s mobile home in Willowbrook Trailer Park, offering comfort as Lowery shed tears and waited for updates from investigators.

A pile of wrapped Christmas presents by the door included gifts for Shae, who would have turned 14 in June. Lowery has purchased gifts for her missing daughter every Christmas and birthday since she disappeared three years ago.

A joint operation center was established at the Sheriff’s Office patrol division at the Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport. Members of the task force who were assigned to look for Shae in 2003 have regrouped to continue the investigation.

Investigators with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences are examining the remains. The family will not be able to plan a memorial service until they are released.

Shae’s disappearance baffled police and community members, who organized search teams and made donations to the family. Rewards for information climbed to $70,000. Volunteers posted fliers of the smiling redhead on storefronts and windows across the county.

The case was featured on NBC’s “Dateline" and Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted." Producers for the Fox television program called Tuesday and may broadcast an update on the case soon.