WV WV - Aliayah Lunsford, 3, Lewis Co., 24 Sep 2011 - # 4

[believe09]

I can't recall the way this works....who is responsible for contacting TES? Law enforcement or the family? I know LE probably has to allow or approve of their searching but TES seems to have much experience and success in the missing persons recovery field. After several days of fruitless searching in areas like this, I am always hoping they will be called in.

if I remember correctly shefner, either one can contact TES and request assistance

Absolutely yes to both. And Law Enforcement needs to agree to the assistance.

 

[nursebeeme]

Sgt. Mike Posey of the sheriff's department is still calling it a rescue mission, and investigators are proceeding Thursday as if the girl is still alive.
Authorities have yet to declare Aliayah's disappearance a crime. Hambrick told media outlets only that it's a possibility.
Police say the doors and windows of the family's home were secure, and there were no signs of forced entry.
Volunteer coordinator Chris Strader says as many as 1,800 people a day have helped in the search


Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/...-3-year-old-in-W-Va-2194580.php#ixzz1ZLa9fWvN

-------->more at link

 

[nursebeeme]

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has brought in child abduction experts to assist in the search for 3-year-old Aliayah Lunsford, and the family's home on Dennison Avenue in Weston is now being treated as a crime scene, authorities said Wednesday.

The child reportedly was last seen sleeping in her bed early last Saturday morning. The FBI has now taken the lead in the collaborative investigation with the Lewis County Sheriff's Department and other agencies.

"We are gathering information on specific areas to recover," FBI Special Agent John Hambrick said Wednesday. "We are using a methodical approach. We are not discussing specifics of the case publicly. We are focusing on the facts and following the investigation."

Areas are being roped off to allow for the collection of evidence, and officials are asking the public to remain out of those areas.

-----another snip-----

Hambrick said the public has been very forthcoming in making information available to law enforcement regarding the missing girl.

"We are following every lead and making progress in the investigation," Hambrick said. "We have had a good response from the public with information coming into the state police and sheriff's department."

Hambrick said he is confident people in the south Weston neighborhood are safe, and officials are making good progress with the investigation.

He added that some interviews were being conducted for a second time as investigators were "closing gaps" in information.

http://www.theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/546530.html


---------------->more at link

 

[wenc]

The neighbor said they finished pumping the pond out late last night. Was taking pictures. Hundreds of onlookers getting in the way. But, Clarksburg newspaper reporter was there and said he is hoping to get some pictures in today's edition. FBI and other police were going back and forth in a steady stream yesterday, but none today. So I guess they are finished with that site for now. Just saw channel 5, Fox 10 news cars go by this morning. It's actually fairly quiet on this end.

 

[Cubby]

Praying today is the day little Aliayah is found.

raying:

 

[Melanie]

Any news on if the twins were born? Just got up, and baby A was the first thing on my mind

Mel

 

[cluciano63]

Wow, so quiet here...nothing for an hour. Is searching going on right now, do we know?

 

[mamacita]

she was the first thing on my mind too!

i have a few questions for the locals (or anyone who is good at finding this stuff out!)...

1. are there any convenience stores closer to the home that would have made more sense to go to (rather than one a few miles away)?

2. are there any large, unlocked/accessible, dumpsters around town... especially around the areas she's believed to be in? have they been checked?

3. what day is trash day?

4. does mom have a cell phone? i know it might not be affordable, but i use a pre-paid cell that only costs about $15 a month. i have it for emergencies. if i had 5 kids and more on the way, i'd make sure i had a cell phone, just in case! but i'm just wondering if she does have one and maybe there were pings to research?

5. does SD have a cell phone?

TIA.

 

[dsntslp]

I just do not understand why the house was not closed up earlier. With so many parents being involved in their children's abuse and death; wouldn't this be wise. Too many times LE have waited and usually by then whatever evidence is gone or tainted. I know that it is not protocol; but if parents are not guilty, I don't think they would have a problem with this procedure. I'm praying with the FBI involved now that we will have some kind of development.
Too many things that set off the hinky meter:
2 hours of driving-running out of gas (who does this???)
A child being taken from a house FULL of people
A sick child maybe wandering off??? (No sick child wanders from home)
Timeline stinks to high heaven!!
Neighbor did not know child was missing until after LE arrived???(Most people would have asked the neighbors if they had seen her or if they would help look for her).
The only pictures they have show a sad child?? None of her smiling???

Another person posted that they didn't like how people were judging this family and I can understand how they would feel that way; but I also know as well as everyone on WS-that this happens WAY to often to innocent children. I would take any scrutiny and if I had any skeletons in my closet-pull them out! I'd withstand anything in order to find my child!! I'd rather take a bullet than let something happen to my children!
I am so saddened by this: I thought dealing with Haleigh Cummings missing in the same county as I lived and here is this little girl that is missing about an hours drive from where I live now. It is depressing that there are so many children out there that are in danger. This is why my son is hardly ever outside without my being there; it scares me what could happen to him. I wish we could go back to the times of my childhood where we played outside all day and no one ever bothered us; we didn't lock our doors and life was much better. Sorry to babble on and on. This is so depressing and tragic. This little girl has my heart; May God bring her home safe!!! We need a miracle.

Although I certainly understand the frustration I am in no hurry to give up any of my rights. Can you imagine if every time a child went missing the first thing that was done was to remove everybody from the home and call in crime scene tech's?

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and Warrants shall not be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 

[wenc]

http://www.wajr.com/includes/news_items/1/news_items_more.php?id=12481&section_id=1

FBI Staying Optimistic In Search For Aaliyah Lunsford
The FBI says they are still optimistic that they can find Aaliyah Lunsford alive and return her to her family. Special agent Jeff Killeen of the FBI Pittsburgh Division says beyond speculation, they have no reason to believe the three-year old has been hurt. They have no evidence of foul play. Yesterday, FBI evidence collection teams searched for clues in Aaliyah's home. The FBI says it is protocol to investigate as though a crime has been committed, and that makes the home a potential crime scene. Authorities also would not comment on the family's location out of concern for their safety. Last evening they were searching and appeared to be draining a pond down the road from the Lunsford home, near a local business. Killeen says they're searching waterways and everywhere else -- following every possible lead.

 

[cluciano63]

I do think by day two the house should have been closed off; if a small child had gone off on foot, she should have been located within 24 hours, IMO. I think when a child is missing, LE has no choice but to consider the family home as a starting point. It doesn't make sense that it took them 4 days in this case, JMO.

 

[dsntslp]

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=weston,+wv

Today
67 °F
Chance of Rain
30% chance of precipitation

Tonight
50 °F
Chance of T-storms
70% chance of precipitation

 

[FLmom777]

I don't think her eyes are from abuse. They look like typical "allergic shiners".

 

[Atimetostand]

Prayers for Aliayah.

In my opinion mom would be getting some assistance from the state, unless the dad made really good money, therefore she could get a free cell phone with free minutes every month.

Praying that mom is just that, a mom. Not some diabolical monster.

 

[dog.gone.cute]

I have read most of the threads and posts here, and I think this has been posted,

But here is the link for the entire transcript from the NG Show where JVM filled in this past Monday night ... I watched the show but am reading it again to re-fresh my memory to see if there is anything I "missed" ... I hope this helps.


Police Continue Search for Missing West Virginia 3-Year-Old
Aired September 26, 2011 - 20:00 ET

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1109/26/ng.01.html


I really wish HLN was out there covering this story instead of that "other story" they are covering

raying: I hope we have some good news today and that Aliayah is found SOON !

 

[Shadow205]

"VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. I want to go back to Reuben Perdue and ask apparently cops are talking to people. They are even reportedly polygraphing some people. Who are these people? Is it the stepfather? They can`t do the mother because she`s pregnant with twins. Apparently very pregnant. Who are they polygraphing?

PERDUE: The information I got this afternoon was at this point they have no reason to believe that there`s anyone who is to be considered a suspect outside of the home. They are focusing on what they call the immediate search area which is the home, and the surrounding around 1500 yards or so. Basically from the home down to the river.

The information I`ve been given this evening is that they are polygraping and repeatedly interviewing extensively the family members inside the home. Some people being interviewed as many as six times, Jane. They want to give them the opportunity to remember something, to maybe, you know, have something jog in their memory and go back over the story a couple of times now that they`ve had more time. "

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1109/26/ng.01.html

If LE's main focus is the house, the area leading to the river and the river, then what lead them to drain the pond? We know that the mother was observed on a surveillance video "looking" for A. & someone posted that there are several camera's outside of the business near the pond. I would like to know if that is where she was seen on video. I'm sure that she was seen on video when she bought the cigarettes was that the only time? What about the clerk & the person who helped her get gas, did she ask them if they had seen A.?

 

[mamacita]

where does this river flow to?

eta: i read that someone posted that it's a pretty rapid current. that makes me picture someone throwing something in it and it being whisked away quickly ... is it really that strong? ty

 

[dog.gone.cute]

snipped from : http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1109/26/ng.01.html

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And Ellie Jostad, I understand -- you`re a NANCY GRACE producer -- that you`ve determined that there is surveillance video of this mother doing precisely that search. Tell me about that and also about the stepfather who goes off to work. Where does he work if he`s going off so early Saturday morning?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Right. Well, first about the surveillance cameras. What the sheriff department tells us is that they were able to find some surveillance video from nearby businesses along the route where the mother said she searched and they do, in fact, see her doing just that.

Unfortunately there`s no sign of Aliayah on any of those videos. Police also tell us that they were able to confirm that the stepfather was picked up, went to work, was at work. He works at the Stonewall Jackson Resort which isn`t too far from there. It`s a facility that has hotel rooms, a golf course, restaurants, et cetera.


BBM:

I wish we would have learned more info about these "surveillance videos" ...

But I do understand it "may" compromise the investigation ...

I just hope they find Aliayah SOON !

MOO ...

 

[wenc]

she was the first thing on my mind too!

i have a few questions for the locals (or anyone who is good at finding this stuff out!)...

1. are there any convenience stores closer to the home that would have made more sense to go to (rather than one a few miles away)?

2. are there any large, unlocked/accessible, dumpsters around town... especially around the areas she's believed to be in? have they been checked?

3. what day is trash day?

4. does mom have a cell phone? i know it might not be affordable, but i use a pre-paid cell that only costs about $15 a month. i have it for emergencies. if i had 5 kids and more on the way, i'd make sure i had a cell phone, just in case! but i'm just wondering if she does have one and maybe there were pings to research?

5. does SD have a cell phone?

TIA.

Closest convenience store is about 1 mile away. There are many in town which is maybe 2 miles away, but due to road construction, you have to go down a narrow road across the river to downtown or down the interstate to the other Weston exit (there are only 2 exits for the town). The other convenience store is in the other direction down 19 south, probably close to 10 miles away from the home.

There are dumpsters and they have all been checked. There is a state road area with some trucks at the end of the block. They have been checked (I did that one myself). another state road supply across Skin Creek. They have gone over every square inch of the area several times.

Trash day varies for different areas and the dumpsters use a different type of truck to empty, so I think many of them have different pickup days.

I don't know about the cell phones. A lot of the people around here use the prepaid, but for other reasons like they THINK they cannot be traced and they can change numbers frequently.

 

[liltexans]

where does this river flow to?

eta: i read that someone posted that it's a pretty rapid current. that makes me picture someone throwing something in it and it being whisked away quickly ... is it really that strong? ty

The West Fork River is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, 103 miles (166 km) long, in north-central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 881 square miles (2,284 km²) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau.

The river is formed near the community of Rock Cave in southwestern Upshur County by the confluence of small headwaters tributaries known as Straight Fork and Whites Camp Fork. From this confluence the West Fork River flows north through Lewis, Harrison and Marion Counties, through the communities of Weston, West Milford, Clarksburg, Lumberport, Shinnston, Enterprise, Worthington, and Monongah to Fairmont, where it joins the Tygart Valley River from the west to form the Monongahela River. Among other tributaries, it collects Stonecoal Creek in Weston; Hackers Creek in southern Harrison County; Elk Creek in Clarksburg; and Simpson Creek and Tenmile Creek in northern Harrison County.

The West Fork has a low gradient and is slow-moving throughout its course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Fork_River