MN MN - LeeAnna Warner, 5, Chisholm, 14 June 2003

Bless you sweetie, wherever you are, I hope you are safe.
 
The parents of Leanna Warner say their daughter was behaving strangely in the weeks leading up to her disappearance in 2003.

Leanna Warner's parents, Chris and Kaelin Warner, told the syndicated TV show "Maury,'' hosted by Maury Povich, that their daughter appeared one day with a case filled with Barbie dolls and their clothes, but would only say she'd gotten them from "a little old lady."

Their daughter, nicknamed "Beaner,'' also packed a suitcase a week before she vanished, saying she wanted to go live at her "new family's house,'' the mother said, according to excerpts released by the show, which was scheduled to air Wednesday.

And they say that two weeks before she disappeared, they found Leanna sleeping in the closet.

"She said there were monsters outside her window,'' Chris Warner told the Duluth News Tribune. "I actually went out and looked, because you never know if there's a footprint out there. The second time, I said: 'They won't get you.' That was a real eye-opener. Our flags kind of went up at that time.''

Leanna was 5 years old when she was last seen June 14, 2003, after walking over to a friend's house to play.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/735071.html
 
I'm from MN and wonder why we are just hearing these things.

If my child said she was going to go live with a new family, I'd certainly ask who this new family was. The story never says if the family responded to the statement. Did they?
 
I would be wondering where the barbie dolls and the case came from and I would for sure be asking about the new family. All the more reason not to let her go anywhere alone at her tender age.
 
I find this alarming. Why after 5 years are her parents telling the public about a strange suitcase filled with Barbie dolls that were not Beaner's? Why didn't LE give that very important piece of evidence creedence? Did they test the suitcase for fingerprints?????:behindbar :doh:
 
philamena said:
I find this alarming. Why after 5 years are her parents telling the public about a strange suitcase filled with Barbie dolls that were not Beaner's? Why didn't LE give that very important piece of evidence creedence? Did they test the suitcase for fingerprints?????:behindbar :doh:

They didn't seem to give it much weight in the investigation. It sounds to me like she was being groomed.
 
SewingDeb,
It certainly sounds that way. I am shocked that this is being reported now. I followed this case and I honestly do not remember that information.
 
If it's true, then I find it promising that she may still be alive...maybe she was abducted by a group of people or a family who just found her adorable, couldn't have kids of their own, etc.
It is weird that that info never came out in the beginning, but maybe it was something police knew and were holding close to the vest.
 
God! That sent a shiver down my spine to hear of the problems just before Leana went missing. I cant believe this has never been made public, or have I just missed it?

At best all we can hope for is that someone took her to love and care for but Im finding that increasingly hard to believe!
 
philamena said:
SewingDeb,
It certainly sounds that way. I am shocked that this is being reported now. I followed this case and I honestly do not remember that information.

Same here. I don't think they released the information at the time, but the police did know all of that. I just hate that her parents didn't walk her to her friend's house and make sure they were home. I guess if some adult was grooming her in preparation to abducting her they could have taken her at another time, but the strange things would have made me even more careful about not letting her out of my sight.
 
I live close to Chisholm and this is the first time I've heard this info. If your five year old came home with a case full of Barbies wouldn't you find out WHO gave them to her???? How is it that she was 'somewhere' alone long enough to meet this person and receive these Barbies??? Who was watching her that she is able to be in contact with a stranger (a little old lady :snooty: ) that her parents don't know and did not see?

This does make any sense at all. My grandson is five years old and I can guarantee you that there is no way in he!! that he would be out of my sight long enough to interact with ANY OTHER HUMAN. I am with him constantly or he is with someone I trust when he visits me. There is no possible way that he would have the opportunity to meet and interact with anyone without me being right there.
 
Was the "little old lady" ever identified? Could the "little old lady" have been an adult or teen dressed as a "little old lady"? (A 5-yo might not be able to distinguish between an old lady and a person (adult or teen) dressed as an old lady.)

If I recall, there was a carnival or festival in the area that ended on June 13th - and that likely attracted outsiders. Maybe from Canada? Could a performer (or associated person) have dressed up with professional make-up to look like a 'little old lady' to try to pull-off this abduction?

Reading about the dolls and "new family's house", I'm thinking Leanna Warner was recruited or groomed.
 
Rle7 said:
The parents of Leanna Warner say their daughter was behaving strangely in the weeks leading up to her disappearance in 2003.

Leanna Warner's parents, Chris and Kaelin Warner, told the syndicated TV show "Maury,'' hosted by Maury Povich, that their daughter appeared one day with a case filled with Barbie dolls and their clothes, but would only say she'd gotten them from "a little old lady."

Their daughter, nicknamed "Beaner,'' also packed a suitcase a week before she vanished, saying she wanted to go live at her "new family's house,'' the mother said, according to excerpts released by the show, which was scheduled to air Wednesday.

And they say that two weeks before she disappeared, they found Leanna sleeping in the closet.

"She said there were monsters outside her window,'' Chris Warner told the Duluth News Tribune. "I actually went out and looked, because you never know if there's a footprint out there. The second time, I said: 'They won't get you.' That was a real eye-opener. Our flags kind of went up at that time.''

Leanna was 5 years old when she was last seen June 14, 2003, after walking over to a friend's house to play.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/735071.html
This part of the story brings a few things to mind:
1. It is usual for someone to give a child toys to keep them quiet about having been molested. Her reluctance to talk about who gave the dolls to her supports that possibility.
2. The monsters outside the window may have been real 2 legged ones or this could well have been her reaction to having been molested by someone, whether this was someone in the home, near the home or a stranger I do not know.
3. What did the case that the dolls were in look like? (I have a reason to ask since I have run into a case of barbie dolls in a yard sale once years ago so this story caught my attention.)
 
docwho3 said:
This part of the story brings a few things to mind:
1. It is usual for someone to give a child toys to keep them quiet about having been molested. Her reluctance to talk about who gave the dolls to her supports that possibility.
2. The monsters outside the window may have been real 2 legged ones or this could well have been her reaction to having been molested by someone, whether this was someone in the home, near the home or a stranger I do not know.
3. What did the case that the dolls were in look like? (I have a reason to ask since I have run into a case of barbie dolls in a yard sale once years ago so this story caught my attention.)
Do the parents still have the case and the dolls? Could there be fingerprints on them?
 
Do you remember at the beginning of the Beaner thread, or after she had been missing a while, Rocky said he was worried her 'light' was going to go out {which would mean she had died}, and time was of the essence to locate her, and that he thought she had been taken by someone from the Carnival that was in town.

Rocky has gifts. We could just never find an obscure person with that carnival as a POI. How were we ever going to find out anything like that!~ lolI wonder if LE ever learned anything more about that. And we had another gal posting here then too who was like the ultimate poster that we all respected so much, and she had clairvoyant or psychic abilities as well. Oh, I just hate that when I forget names! :banghead: ;)


Scandi
 
I wish we would hear something.

Thinking of you, Leanna.
 
wondering22 said:
Hi, the way I remember it, is that the family spent several hours at the beach, and when they came home, Leeanna wanted to see her friend who she played with everyday. Her friend lived a few houses away, just around the corner --- so, no, not a block away, but just a few houses away.

If we could transport you from Australia to the many tiny rural towns of an economically depressed northern Minnesota... where in some respects, it seems that time has stood still for many decades... then you might understand why many small children are permitted to travel such distances by themselves.

Even in larger American cities, I've seen four, five, and six year olds permitted to visit houses of friends "down the block" unaccompanied by any adult.

However, there are also plenty of Americans who'd never permit that until the child was at least 8 years of age.

Unfortunately, I don't think that the public at large really has any idea how potentially downright dangerous it is out there for youngsters.
I will never understand this either. I think that is neglect, pure and simple. My oldest is 10 and I will not let him go to the park 4 houses up from us without an adult. There is to much evil in this world for parents not to watch what thier children are doing.
 
Chisholm, a MN Iron Range town, WAS a city caught up in a time of innocence. It could have probably fit with the 1950's - a place where nearly everyone knew everyone else, and everyone trusted their neighbor. Leanna's parents, in allowing Leanna to venture out alone, did what every other parent did because Chisholm was considered a safe place. Knowing what they now know, I'm sure the parents would have taken a different approach.

Leanna's disappearance has shown us all that there is no safe place, no more innocent towns, no more trusting your neighbor.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
180
Guests online
2,462
Total visitors
2,642

Forum statistics

Threads
590,041
Messages
17,929,260
Members
228,044
Latest member
Bosie
Back
Top