FL - Sarah Lunde, 13, murdered, Ruskin, 9 April 2005

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If it was indeed Onstott that did this, he's obviously beyond sick ... he's pure evil. To do what he did to this girl, and then go back to her house & face her brother like nothing was wrong in order to pick up the evidence he left behind ... he makes my blood run cold. :sick:
 
Girl's Body Found - from TBO.com

The simple little church in Ruskin never stopped helping Sarah Lunde.

She sought counsel from the pastor and his wife, dreamed of joining the ministry, went on a church trip the day before she disappeared...



Her brother, Andrew Lunde, 17, told investigators he last saw his sister shortly after midnight, (I thought I read that it was 9 PM), April 10, when he left her home alone to get some food.

When (he) returned shortly after 4 a.m., he found the front door open and Sarah gone and assumed she went to a friend's house.

He said he went to sleep but awoke at 5 a.m. to find David Onstott knocking on the front door of the family's mobile home...



... (Gee) wouldn't say what Onstott told investigators about his activities the night Sarah disappeared. Gee also wouldn't say whether Onstott had submitted to a polygraph test or whether his home had been searched...
 
I had hoped so much that this was a runaway. I feel horrible for this family. They may be flawed, but they sure didn't expect or want this. This is seeming to run rampant again, as it did when Danielle VanDam, Samantha Runion, and Elizabeth Smart all went missing around the same time. It's just too much pain.
 
Why would the guy knock if he was coming back to clean up his mess, ie get the beer bottle. There is more to this story, I am sure of it.
 
gardenmom said:
Why would the guy knock if he was coming back to clean up his mess, ie get the beer bottle.
Click to expand...
I would think that he unintentionally left the bottle behind, and that once he realized it, he just knew that he had to get the bottle back. He seems like quite a nasty chap so I don't think he saw any reason not to knock on the door, act matter-of-factly, and then grab the bottle on his way out. Maybe he didn't realize that Andrew saw him, or would take note of it, etc. I wonder if he tried to get in on his own before actually knocking.

But you certainly could be right - there might very well be more to this story. I don't know if this psycho was in touch with reality enough to think about DNA or fingerprints that he may have left behind. I would think that he'd realize that knocking on the door to retrieve that beer bottle was going to link him to the scene a heck of a lot faster than running DNA tests and fingerprints, (if they could get any). Aside from the door standing open, a few things have made me think that this might have been a spur of the moment thing - like he genuinely offered to take her to get something to eat, for example, and then it occured to him to take advantage of the situation. Either way, the details would be interesting but Onstott doesn't seem the kind to want to talk.
 
Sun Herald - 04/17/05

"... I felt helpless, like there was more we should be doing," said Anne Barkenquast an hour after being called back to the command post. "We were about to be sent back out to ride around the perimeter of the fish ponds and they told us to wait because there was a new update..."
 
Local News
... Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials attended the conference at the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn and announced the formation of the Child Abduction Response Team, a group that sends in additional investigators, helicopters and dog units hours after an abduction is reported.

In the case of 13-year-old Sarah Michelle Lunde, about 15 members of the response team assisted in the search near Ruskin on Florida's west coast...
 
Tampabay: Missing girl's body found in fish pond

... There will be a memorial service Sunday for Sarah Lunde at the church that had become a focal point of her life before she died, First Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, 1820 30th St. SE, in Ruskin. The service begins at 10 a.m., and will close with a memorial to Lunde.
 
Anniegirl said:
Can we please not bash the mother, she assumed her daughter was safe with a church group, she then assumed her daughter was at a friends place.

Yes, poor judgement in not seeking out exactly and precisely where Sarah was, but NO , her poor judgement doesnt mean she's to blame for a sick ,repeated sex offender *advertiser censored* to take her daughter and kill her- :banghead: --

Please people ANY of us as parents are not perfect people and cannot constanly shield our children from harms way , as much as we'd love to!----


The Vandams were "bashed' for Danielle being taken from safety of her bed even, Mark Lunsford had went out to see a friend the night Jessica was taken,and i've read post where he was scruntiized--- its plain that sex offenders take advantage of situations when the believe a parent is not around,they are the low life's not the parents who will no doubt regret for the rest of their lives going out for the night .
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I can appreciate and understand what you are saying Annie - to an extent though. This mother's actions and lifestyle had severe consequences on her daughter. This poor child was left alone alot. She was afraid of being left alone because it was so dark at their trailer site, so she spent many nights at the pastor's house where her best friend lived. I have heard that this Onstatt guy didn't get along with her children, to the point where he would try to pick fights with the older boy. I also believe that from him dating the mother, he knew her routine and knew that when and if she had a new boyfriend she'd leave that girl home by herself. I do feel for this mother, she's lost a child, but I feel that Sarah didn't have the type of life that she deserved. I'm sorry, you don't take off for a weekend with a new boyfriend and not notice your child is missing until mid-Monday. No way. Flame away but sometimes, some parents have to be held accountable in situations like this, when there was never any supervision of her children.

Jessica Lunsford was in her home with her grandparents, Danielle Van Dam was in her home with her father and brothers, Polly Klaas was in her home with her mother sleeping in the next room. Sarah was left home alone for the weekend while her mother went off galavanting. There's a BIG difference there...............
:banghead:
 
Bottles may yield clue about teen

... Gee said he did not know what investigators planned to do with the bottles they found or were turned in from the public. Nor would he elaborate on news accounts of the brother's story.

"It's not totally incorrect, what's out there," he said of the information...

***********************************************************

:waitasec: Odd ...
 
Hope Of Finding Girl Keeps Frustrated Searchers Going: From The Tampa Tribune

Sarah's brother has said he saw convicted sex offender David Onstott take a half-empty beer bottle from the Lundes' home Sunday morning.

Andrew Lunde, 17, said he was startled because the bottle wasn't there when he left the house earlier that morning. He said to his knowledge, no one else had been in the house while he was gone except Sarah.
 
HCSO

Search

... A major search effort by law enforcement officers and hundreds of volunteers will now shift to an intense latent investigation. The focus, the Sheriff said, is to bring to justice the person or people responsible for her death.

The sheriff added that a strategic search of the area by law enforcement officers will continue today and Sunday.

... Sheriff David Gee has cancelled the call for search volunteers.

He extends his appreciation for all those who took the time to volunteer their services. The community support meant much to Sarah's family and extended family.

... Anyone with information related to the case may call the following:
  • 813-247-8200
  • 1-800-873-TIPS or 1-800-873-8477
  • 1-888-FLMISSING or 1-888-356-4774
 
Thanks for the link, kk's mom. This part is so sad:

... John Fontana stood quietly by, arms folded across his chest, taking in the activity. His daughter Leslie was close friends with Sarah and had spent much of the previous week with her. Sarah had asked to spend the night at the Fontana home April 9, but, he said, "we decided she had been with Leslie all week. We figured we would see her at Sunday school."

Now, Fontana said, the family is trying to cope with the hindsight of what might have been. He didn't expect the pain to leave easily. "You're going to have to go through the grief and let time heal."

Hillsborough: Body likely missing Ruskin girl
 
CBS News | Missing Girl's Body Hidden In Pond | April 17, 2005 09:30:03

... Onstott , who is 6-feet tall, weighs 190 pounds, wears a gold tooth and has tattoos on his arm, stomach and back, was charged with sexual battery with a deadly weapon in 1995, the Miami Herald reports.

The charge was reduced to using physical force on a victim over 12 years of age, and he served 5 1/2 years of a nine-year sentence.

He was charged in 2002 with aggravated battery and intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon, but acquitted.

In 2003, his probation was extended after he was convicted of violating it. He was charged this year for failing to register as a sex offender and, last week, for the alleged assault at the bar...
 
JerseyGirl said:
CBS News | Missing Girl's Body Hidden In Pond | April 17, 2005 09:30:03

... Onstott , who is 6-feet tall, weighs 190 pounds, wears a gold tooth and has tattoos on his arm, stomach and back, was charged with sexual battery with a deadly weapon in 1995, the Miami Herald reports.

The charge was reduced to using physical force on a victim over 12 years of age, and he served 5 1/2 years of a nine-year sentence.

He was charged in 2002 with aggravated battery and intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon, but acquitted.

In 2003, his probation was extended after he was convicted of violating it. He was charged this year for failing to register as a sex offender and, last week, for the alleged assault at the bar...
Click to expand...

Yes! If the laws had been enforced she would be alive. However, this little girl was also the victim of neglect. She didn't just fall through a small crack in the support of her family...she fell through a chasm the size of the grand canyon. jmo
 
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