GA GA - Tavish Sutton, 3 weeks, Atlanta, 9 March 1993

anthrobones

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http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/634dmga.html

Tavish Sutton
Missing since March 9, 1993 from Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.
Classification: Non Family Abduction




Vital Statistics
  • Date Of Birth: February 10, 1993
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 3 weeks old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 2'0 (61 cm.); 8 lbs (4 kg.)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: Black male. Black hair; brown eyes.
  • Marks, Scars: A quarter-inch surgical incision in his left buttock. (at time of disappearance)
  • Clothing: He was wearing a white flower-print T-shirt and had Grady tags on his wrist and ankle.


Circumstances of Disappearance
Sutton was abducted from his hospital room at Grady's Hughes Spalding pediatric unit in Atlanta, Georgia, sometime between 6:45-7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 9, 1993. He was recovering from minor surgery at the time. He was in the custody of the Department of Family and Children Services. Neither Sutton's mother, who was in a mental institution at the time, nor other family members were suspected of kidnapping him.
 
Tavish is almost 18 now. It sounds like he could also have been kidnapped by someone wanting to raise a child, like Carlina was. Hoping that he will become suspicious about his roots, too, so he can be found safe.
 
Child abducted from Grady in 1993 still missing

Wednesday’s attempted abduction of a baby from Southern Regional Medical Center had a good ending when an alarm system and hospital employees thwarted the kidnapping, but that wasn’t the case nearly 19 years ago when 1-month-old Tavish Sutton was taken from a downtown Atlanta hospital.

Despite a $10,000 reward and hundreds of interviews by Atlanta police and the FBI, Tavish, who was recovering from minor surgery when he was abducted from Grady Memorial Hospital’s Hughes Spalding pediatric unit on March 9, 1993, was never found.

More: http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/child-abducted-from-grady-1290375.html
 
I wonder if whoever kidnapped him knew that he was in the care of the state, that his mother was severely mentally ill, and that parental rights were soon to be terminated anyway. If so, perhaps they felt less guilty kidnapping and raising a child who was essentially without a permanent family, than kidnapping a child that had a loving home. Purely speculation here.
 
I honestly think he is Decatur John Doe discovered in 1999 only 6 miles give or take from Grady Hospital .

The John Doe was an African American boy approx age 4-8 years old who was merely skeletal remains when discovered - his post mortem interval being around 6months average.

He had been buried in a residential area near a church and that area is within the 4-24 mile range that it was believed Tavish’s abductor lived in.

Interesting fact is that the remains showed trace amounts of Tylenol and nausea medication which point to the John Doe feeling ill at the time of his death. We know Tavish had a health complication he was being sought for when he was abducted.

The little John Doe had been well cared for while alive (to an extent) and was buried in a fashion consistent with a guardian or caregiver having buried his remains (near a church/cemetery for “proper” burial as possible). The only reason I can think he would be buried secretly is because He himself was a secret.

There was no sign of foul play.

I believe he died to do an illness that his guardian could need seek proper treatment for.

Tavish is NOT on the rule out list for this John Doe.

Decatur John Doe
 
Tavish Sutton – The Charley Project

Last updated June 30, 2021; details of disappearance updated.

Details of Disappearance
Tavish was admitted as a patient in the Hughes Spalding pediatric unit of Grady Memorial Hospital on Butler Street in Atlanta, Georgia on March 6, 1993. He was in the custody of the Department of Family and Children Services (DCS) at the time.

He underwent minor surgery over the weekend and was recuperating in a semi-private room in the ward during the early morning hours of March 9. His roommate was another infant, and that baby's mother and sister were spending the night in the room also. A nurse checked in on them at 6:45 a.m.; at the time, Tavish's roommate's mother and sister were asleep on a couch in the room. When the nurse checked the room again fifteen minutes later, Tavish was gone.

Tavish's roommate's family was thoroughly investigated by police; their home was searched and all the family members were interviewed. They were eventually cleared as suspects in his case. Tavish's mother was being treated for schizophrenia in a mental institution at the time of his abduction; neither she nor other relatives were considered suspects in his disappearance. In fact, no one in his birth family was ever even aware that Tavish was in the hospital at the time of his abduction.

There were two persons of interest in Tavish's disappearance. One was an "agitated" man who tried to enter the hospital's pediatric wing after 8:30 p.m. the night before Tavish was last seen. Visitors to the children's wing after 8:30 p.m. are required to carry passes that identified them as authorized to be there; this man didn't have a pass and had no legitimate reason to be there. The man is described as tall and thin and was wearing a baseball cap. He disappeared before security could be called.

The second person of interest was a woman aged about 25 years old, described as 5'5 and 160 pounds, with a medium-brown complexion, strong cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes. She wore black pants, a long black coat and large earrings, and her hair was pulled back with a large bow. She was carrying an infant with curly hair. A man saw the woman just outside the hospital and noticed her because she was very attractive. Another witness saw the same woman inside the hospital.

Sketches of two women wanted for questioning in Tavish's disappearance are posted with this case summary.

The DCS has terminated Tavish's mother's parental rights to his three siblings and was seeking to terminate her rights to Tavish as well when he disappeared; they had taken custody of the baby when he was a few weeks old and placed him with a foster family. His mother sued the hospital over her son's kidnapping in March 1995; the suit was settled out of court for $600,000.

Authorities stated that a woman who was pretending to be pregnant may have abducted Tavish in an attempt to raise a child. They speculated she lived between four and twenty-four miles from the hospital. No evidence supporting any theory has been recovered and Tavish's case remains unsolved.
 
Tavish is featured this week on the Charley Project homepage.
Does anyone know if he has been compared to Decatur John Doe mentioned above?
 
Any idea what the medical condition was or what the surgery was for? This might help someone who has the same condition identify themselves as this missing young man.
 
Tavish is featured this week on the Charley Project homepage.
Does anyone know if he has been compared to Decatur John Doe mentioned above?
I cannot remember if I sent in the potential match or not. It’s been so long. I would think I did, but if anyone else can help send in the match that would be awesome. More hands on deck the better.
 
Any idea what the medical condition was or what the surgery was for? This might help someone who has the same condition identify themselves as this missing young man.
Tavish was recuperating from minor surgery to treat an abcess at the time of his March 1993 abduction.

This resulted in a quarter inch scar on his buttock.

Perianal abscesses are fairly common, but causes not necessarily known.
 

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