Found Safe TX - SS, 8, Fort Worth, kidnapped while walking w/mother, 18 May 2019

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gitana1 said:
Hmm. Not good.
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Hey, I'm all for LE. I always take food, water, drinks, etc. when these searches take place. I've searched locally for missing kids. I've never seen anything like this.

I am so glad, that the family statement made it clear the folks, private citizens found her.

This has made me more conscious of how important volunteering and being boots on the ground is, no matter the size of the city.
 
mistivon said:
'We owe a debt that can never be repaid': Salem Sabatka's family thanks Fort Worth community in statement

The family also shared photos of SS to show she is doing well. One picture shows the girl in the hospital with two police officers. The other shows the girl wearing bunny ears Tuesday in a car.

Full statement from the family:

We would like to begin by thanking the Fort Worth Police Department, the FBI, and the numerous other law enforcement agencies involved in bringing SS back home. The biggest thank you goes to the people of Fort Worth and surrounding areas that made her return possible. We feel we owe a debt that can never be repaid. We do hope one day to personally thank as many of those involved as possible. We hope Fort Worth will get to know SS over time and come to see the strong, articulate, intelligent 8-year-old girl they saved.

Things will never be the way they were, but they will get better. SS has been surrounded by family and friends ever since she returned. As time goes by, she will be making more and more friends in this amazing city.

And to Jeff King, a man we haven’t seen in 15 years, your name will forever be etched in our hearts.

Riz, Rachel and SS
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Wow, great statement. I got goosebumps reading.... in a good way..
 
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Simply Southern said:
Hey, I'm all for LE. I always take food, water, drinks, etc. when these searches take place. I've searched locally for missing kids. I've never seen anything like this.

I am so glad, that the family statement made it clear the folks, private citizens found her.

This has made me more conscious of how important volunteering and being boots on the ground is, no matter the size of the city.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm with you. But when there are such crucial mistakes made, there needs to be accountability. Everyone here posting their disbelief and concern about how the case was handled have good reason to feel that way even those she was found alive.

The next kid might not be so lucky.
 
While I am annoyed at how everything happened I hope they learn from where the mistakes were made. No way is it a shot at LE as this is not a normal everyday thing where you can monitor any foreseeable problems. With that said next time we might not be so lucky. We keep getting told different things as to why the alert didnt hit phones first it was the time, then it was no plate number and finally the fax issue. It might have been a combination of everything. Not sure if it really matters now what the issues were just as long as they make sure they learned from this and also help other LE agencies by showing where their faults lie. Heck even use this as a way to make changes to the Amber Alert itself if need be. The guidelines were set up yrs ago and might need to be updated.
 
the fact that she was calm indicates shock and/or the freeze/fawn part of the fight or flight response. In no way does this indicate she was unharmed. He had her too long.

PommyMommy said:
SS Kidnapping: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com
[...]

“I can’t go into the full details of what they did here but I can tell you they did breach one of the doors here and were able to locate SS safely,” Calzada revealed, adding that SS was rescued and found safe at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Police were at the hotel investigating throughout the night and witnesses reported Webb’s car being towed by police around 6 a.m.

Calzada indicated that SS appeared to be unharmed but was transported by MedStar to a nearby hospital where she was reunited with her family. He described the little girl’s demeanor as “calm” when police found her.

Calzada recounted how he and other officers were listening in on a radio as the police entered the hotel room and discovered SS. “It put a huge smile on my face and it took alot of darkness off of my heart, just knowing this young girl is going to be ok,” he said.

[...]
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moonlessnight said:
the fact that she was calm indicates shock and/or the freeze/fawn part of the fight or flight response. In no way does this indicate she was unharmed. He had her too long.
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Also she is an 8 yr old and it was 2 am. She must have been exhausted with everything she had been through.

I also wonder if the kidnapper told her to be quiet or he would kill/hurt her the first time the police were in the room and she remembered that when they came in the second time.
 
gitana1 said:
Yes, I'm with you. But when there are such crucial mistakes made, there needs to be accountability. Everyone here posting their disbelief and concern about how the case was handled have good reason to feel that way even those she was found alive.

The next kid might not be so lucky.
Click to expand...
Yes, there was a bunch of mistake made. Police going to his room and doing an observation and not finding her could have turned deadly if he decided to run off (I presume most perps would have). I also believe she was in the room at that time, hidden. Otherwise how did the witness see him with a girl? And did they really look for the car at that time? Seems unlikely he would have parked the car far away from the hotel. Thankfully he stayed put with the girl in the same hotel room. Again, I am pretty sure most perps would have taken off.
 
MsFacetious said:
I believe the report was a man matching the suspect description with A YOUNG GIRL. Not THE young girl. I don't think we know if the guest who reported it did so as they were checking out, or leaving the hotel for the night. Maybe they were not there to talk to.

If they believed S was in the room they would have gone in. Maybe they did totally screw it up. I'm just glad we have a happy ending for once I guess.
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From what has been reported, it was the other way around. Girl matched SS' description. As far as I can tell he didn't open the door right away, I bet he hid her during that time.

"As authorities were working through the night to find Salem, a desk clerk at the WoodSpring Suites in Forest Hill had called local police to say a girl matching Salem's description was with a man in a third-floor room."
Did Cops Miss a Chance to Rescue Kidnapped 8-Year-Old Sooner?
 
jjenny said:
From what has been reported, it was the other way around. Girl matched SS' description. As far as I can tell he didn't open the door right away, I bet he hid her during that time.

"As authorities were working through the night to find Salem, a desk clerk at the WoodSpring Suites in Forest Hill had called local police to say a girl matching Salem's description was with a man in a third-floor room."
Did Cops Miss a Chance to Rescue Kidnapped 8-Year-Old Sooner?
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Ah ok first time I've seen it reported that way.
 
mpnola said:
And regardless.... if he was reported being seen with "A" young girl, no ot "the" young girl, but you get to the room and there is NO young girl
... well, we still have a problem that requires not closing the call.
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We have to remember that the tipster didn't know what room they were in.
So the receptionist guessed it would be this guy in this room.
So the cops show up and check. No girl.
This could easily be a mistake on the part of either of the reporting parties.
It's not enough to justify a warrant, unfortunately.

We have to remember how inaccurate sightings are in missing cases. This one appears to have been correct... but it wasn't definitive enough to get a warrant on. I'm just glad it turned out in the end.
 
MsFacetious said:
We have to remember that the tipster didn't know what room they were in.
So the receptionist guessed it would be this guy in this room.
So the cops show up and check. No girl.
This could easily be a mistake on the part of either of the reporting parties.
It's not enough to justify a warrant, unfortunately.

We have to remember how inaccurate sightings are in missing cases. This one appears to have been correct... but it wasn't definitive enough to get a warrant on. I'm just glad it turned out in the end.
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Yes. SS is very lucky to be alive imo. I really think he would have killed her given more time. I wonder how long he rented the room. Was he checking out in the morning or did he get it for a few days?
 
They are learning

After Fort Worth kidnapping, changes to Amber Alert process coming

City Councilmember Ann Zadeh and Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus were on hand, as was Lt. Robinson. Robinson explained the requirements of an Amber Alert and went step-by-step through what happened on May 18th.

That night, Amber Alert information was shared through social media outlets and through press releases to local news organizations like WFAA. However, no cell phone alert was sent out and the emergency broadcast system was not activated because of the problem with that fax machine.

Neighborhood Where Girl Was Kidnapped Meets Seeking Answers

Where do we go from here?" Keith said.

The city is looking into starting a new app where citizens could get messages and share information about cases like this.

They're also urging people to register their security cameras with the city to access video faster, and they're encouring more volunteers to sign up for citizens on patrol, to act as an extra set of eyes for police.

Fort Worth police have also spoken with people from the regional and state Amber Alert systems about possible changes, like to the rule that they don't send phone text alerts between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
 
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Man accused of girl's brazen kidnapping in Fort Worth now faces 6 sexual assault charges | Crime | Dallas News
 
I am catching up on this so forgive me for bringing up the initial “search” of his hotel room again.... wouldn’t ‘exigent circumstances’ (whatever it’s called) cover them to do a more thorough search since they had reason to believe she was there and in danger?? IMO
 
PajamaSleuth said:
I am catching up on this so forgive me for bringing up the initial “search” of his hotel room again.... wouldn’t ‘exigent circumstances’ (whatever it’s called) cover them to do a more thorough search since they had reason to believe she was there and in danger?? IMO
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I am not a lawyer so don't know. But if there was a witness who saw him with the girl, presumably they could have located that witness and one would think that should have been enough to get a warrant to search his room.
 
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