Found Deceased WA - AMBER ALERT: Zina Linnik, 12, Tacoma, 4 July 2007 *merged*

[Saavy]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288219,00.html

Last seen July 4th approximately 9:45pm. Possibly abducted from alley behind her house.

There is a short blog about the disappearance at www.crimeblog.us

[opme]

I just heard about Zina while I was at the gym.. she is has been on some of the larger media stations already Hopefully this will mean a speedy return home for her.. I am praying that Zina returns home safe and sound.

[Liz]

Here's a little more about Zina from Saavy's link:

Tacoma police said. Witnesses reported hearing a scream and seeing an Asian male get into an older, gray van and drive away.

Linnik is described as a blonde, 4-foot-11-inch tall Ukrainian girl. She weighs 80 pounds and was reportedly wearing a pink T-shirt, capri pants and red flip-flop sandals at the time of her disappearance.

The van's partial Washington plate contains the numbers 1677.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Tacoma police at 253-591-5963.


Poor little Zina, she must have been terrified. Praying for her & her family!

[shdbepaintin]

Please let this end happily.
Please.

[englishleigh]

A friend of mine told me about this and I sped here. What a gorgeous little girl. God, please let her be found safe...please!!!!

[Reannan]

I wish I had access to the DMV records....I would look at thousands of license numbers and cross-reference it to prior arrest and other things trying to find this child. God keep her safe.

[SewingDeb]

Originally Posted by Reannan

I wish I had access to the DMV records....I would look at thousands of license numbers and cross-reference it to prior arrest and other things trying to find this child. God keep her safe.

I hope LE is doing exactly that!

[Liz]

On the Big Story just now they had a guy on from AMW and said they are looking at ALL older model gray vans. And saying the suspect may not have been Asian.

The capri pants Zina was wearing were multicolored - pink, orange and yellow.

Gosh, it's been almost 48 hours. I hope this dear girl is found soon!

[Invisible]

I heard this on Fox News...her father had asked her to go out to the alley to see if there any other family members out there because they had been watching fireworks. That just seems strange to me.

[shdbepaintin]

Has anyone heard anything on Zina?

[Liz]

Originally Posted by shdbepaintin

Has anyone heard anything on Zina?

Unfortunately, nothing on Zina.

I did read there is now a $5,000 reward for her safe return. Think it's offered by the Washington State Police.

[mom3dd]

Why is this not a bigger thing? I had to go to google news and search that way. http://www.kirotv.com/news/13632849/detail.html updated today 15,000 reward. Dear Lord please return her home safely

[Invisible]

Originally Posted by mom3dd

Why is this not a bigger thing? I had to go to google news and search that way. http://www.kirotv.com/news/13632849/detail.html updated today 15,000 reward. Dear Lord please return her home safely

I agree. I hope she is returned safely too. Her father must feel horrible because he sent her out to the alley. Please don't let this turn out badly.

[SeriouslySearching]

Any news yet?

[Socks]

Lord let this child be found soon.

[SeriouslySearching]

Here is the latest from crimeblog and things aren't shaping up too well for the investigation:
http://crimeblog.us/?p=496

[richandfamous]

bumping for Zina. Any news?

[Spazkat9696]

I wonder if the house they searched was the house of the neighbor that the family initially suspected.

[Liz]

Police examine new video, search for witnesses in missing girl case

Two people were seen at a bus stop near the home of 12-year-old Zina Linnik around the time she disappeared, according to Tacoma police.

Spokesperson Mark Fulghum said the two were seen at the bus stop at 25th and South 'J' Street before and after the time the girl disappeared. Police are now trying to find the two people in hopes they may have new clues that could aid the investigation.

Police said they've also obtained video footage that may lend a clue.

"Now we have video to review from neighborhood cameras that may show the suspect or the vehicle for us," Fulghum said, "so everything is still moving forward in a positive way."

On Wednesday, police issued an Amber Alert for Zina, who may have been taken by a man driving a gray van near her home.

Police said Zina was walking in an alley behind her family's home Wednesday night in the 2500 block of South J Street when someone heard the girl scream.

more:
http://www.komotv.com/news/8371577.html


Zina could be anywhere by now.

[Rle7]

Forty federal agents have joined Tacoma police in the search for a 12-year-old girl who was apparently abducted Wednesday, but leads so far — including one that vanished at a neighbor's front door — have yielded no trace of her.

Officers broke into the home of Zina Linnik's next-door neighbor in the 2500 block of South J Street on Friday night after three bloodhounds led them there. Police said they kicked in the door and searched the house but found no one home and no sign of the girl.

The alley where she disappeared, often filled with neighborhood children, was silent Saturday afternoon.

"I feel like my own child is missing," said Joan Harris, who lives across the alley from the Linnik home. "It could have been any one of our children."
She said her children had played basketball in the alley with the Linnik children for years.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...yndication=rss

I wonder if LE ever found the next-door neighbor?

[STEADFAST]

Hilltop, the neighborhood where Zina lives, has been associated with
gangs, drugs and high crime for many years. Community involvement, especially the Hilltop Action Coalition, has done great work in lessening the dangers and moving the gangs out of Hilltop. It's just the sort of neighborhood -- near downtown, beautiful views, affordable single-family houses -- that would make it attractive to recent immigrants and lower-income families. Still, though, it's a relatively dangerous section of Tacoma.

Zina's house is within a couple of blocks of I-5, which leads north to Canada and south all the way to the border of Mexico. She could be anywhere. Also, Hwy 16 splits off less than a mile from her home and leads to the Kitsap Peninsula, which is basically wilderness, about 10 or so miles away.

I have often wondered why this area is so rife with serial killers and kidnappers.

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by LatteDa

I heard this on Fox News...her father had asked her to go out to the alley to see if there any other family members out there because they had been watching fireworks. That just seems strange to me.

It's not all that strange if you think about it. They may have been getting ready to eat or watch a movie. I have been sent outside many times to round up everyone the eat or sing happy birthday. It's sounds to me like the alley in question is not a dark creepy alley like on TV. The neighbors report a lot of kids play there and there is a basketball net.

[Sheromom]

40 registered sex offenders within a half mile of her home! Tacoma in general is one of the more dangerous cities in the state; they couldn't pay me enough to live there. Prayers for the family of this little girl..........I doubt it will turn out with a happy ending.

[Spazkat9696]

For an amber alert it really doesn't seem like this is getting much coverage or attention. This poor girl has been missing for almost 4 whole days now. What's going on? Why haven't they found her yet? Is the family afraid to stir up to much media attention for fear of their immigration status becoming an issue? Is their immigration status an issue? Are they here legally? I know Bryan Dos-Santos Gomes parents were illegal and that case didn't seem to get the attention it warranted either.

[philamena]

spazkat,
I know what you mean. I've rarely heard Zina's disappearance mentioned on tv...... WHY? She deserves to be found. Let's hope and pray she's found and returned home safely.