GUILTY VA - Noah Thomas, 5, Pulaski County, 22 March 2015 #1

[websurfer]

sorry...but I would go searching along the way to the father's work place.
This is so early in the morning kids aren't usually going out in the dark unless they have a good reason to do so.
As I mentioned a bit earlier, drain pipes and places like that would be a good place to look/search.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I'm at the hospital waiting for my mom's surgery but I'll be checking in. I hope that something breaks today.


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Hugs & prayers for u & mom vasportsmom!

 

[JeannaT]

My son is 5, so this one hits close. Wandering off would be absolutely out-of-character for him, but I can't say it would *never happen. He loves people and trusts everyone. No matter how many times I've instructed him not to open the door, the fact of the matter is that I can't even step in the shower for five minutes without worrying he's going to disobey...not because he's disobedient, but because he's 5. Once I was in the shower and I heard him say that the ice cream man had come...he'd run out, the neighbor bought him an ice cream, and he was back, within three minutes (I still had shampoo in my hair!) Another time, I shut off the water to hear him chattering at the door...he was talking to a Jehovah's Witness and her two daughters. (I was a mess because then my son reckoned that strangers who come to the door are nice and want to talk about Jesus.)

I don't know what happened to this sweet, innocent child, and I am praying for him and for his family and community. I pray that he is safe and unharmed.

This is hitting home for me. I had two wanderers, although they're grown now. They didn't purposely try to run away, but they'd walk and be gone. I was reading a first grade readiness checklist from 1979, and one of the criteria was if your child was capable of navigating the neighborhood alone, within an 8 block radius, but himself. So it's acknowledged that this is appropriate - and expected - for a 6 year old child to be capable of this, and in fact, it's age-appropriate to want to and be able to do this. I think he got it in his mind to go check something out and then it's a mystery what happened then.

The time frame for anything legitimately having him innocently is long, long gone. They're certainly not going to find him happily playing with a friend a mile away.

 

[JeannaT]

sorry...but I would go searching along the way to the father's work place.
This is so early in the morning kids aren't usually going out in the dark unless they have a good reason to do so.
As I mentioned a bit earlier, drain pipes and places like that would be a good place to look/search.

He didn't leave before about 9, did he? That's full daylight. His mother took his dad to work 7ish, and they all went along. Then, after being home for awhile the mom napped from about 9:30 - 10:30 when she woke and noticed him missing. This at first seemed like a red flag except he has an infant sister - and mothers with infants can be so sleep deprived they do things like that. (frankly, I never did because I knew for a fact my older child couldn't be unsupervised for an hour. Some kids you might think would be okay watching cartoons for an hour, not mine). ;D

 

[alreetlike]

My initial thoughts with these sorts of cases are almost always that the child is fairly close and is just hidden away somewhere unchecked (car, crawl space, etc) but that always dwindles a little with each day that passes. I try not to jump straight to "he was abducted" but in the absence of any more detail about Noah and his life/habits it's difficult to form an opinion.

 

[websurfer]

Police told WDBJ that when Noah’s mother woke up around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, she said her son was watching cartoons in the living room. She told police that she fell back asleep and then woke up around 10 or 10:30 a.m. That’s when she discovered Noah was missing and that the living room door was ajar. She told deputies that she searched for her son before calling authorities around 11 a.m.

 

[Rockfarmer]

This is so early in the morning kids aren't usually going out in the dark unless they have a good reason to do so.

By 9:00 am there, it should have been light out. Possibly foggy? Any locals that can comment? It may have been the first pleasant morning in quite a while, if the weather has been similar to ours in TN.

 

[websurfer]

I am saying the time may or may not reflect the actual time the boy went missing.Sometimes in a frantic situation times are not always correct.The boy had to be up from the time the Father was taken to work before 7 am.
What I am saying is that the time frame could be off.
She recalls going in at 9 -10:30 am.
But she did not say anything about him missing until she went to check on him.
So he could have gone missing before daylight.
Not arguing the issue.
It was early no matter if it was daylight yet or not.
He was left unattended for about 2-2 1/2 hours right?

 

[winterrose]

I hope they've searched houses around there, but doubt they have. Probably just went to their doors. I'd say he was picked up from the yard, or someone might've even come to the door and he answered it. As far as the parents speaking at a presser, LE would make that decision if they wanted them to anyway. They'll probably drain the pond. Was it just rumor or was he really seen with another child outside?

 

[A-Christie]

Being lured to the circus seems feasible... circus folk are very transient, move around a lot, and that lifestyle draws in people that do not want to stay in one place for a reason, if you get my meaning. LE should be checking the circus' employees for RSO, although not sure where they'd be registered, perhaps their winter grounds, sometimes in FL.

 

[JeannaT]

Police told WDBJ that when Noah’s mother woke up around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, she said her son was watching cartoons in the living room. She told police that she fell back asleep and then woke up around 10 or 10:30 a.m. That’s when she discovered Noah was missing and that the living room door was ajar. She told deputies that she searched for her son before calling authorities around 11 a.m.

That info changed yesterday. In the press conference, it was indicated that they had all left the house in the early morning - around 7 - and returned, and then the mom took an hour nap after settling Noah in front of TV cartoons. Or anyway, that's what I remember being said in the press conference.

 

[Zuri]

The archive of the presser has good audio. Don't know why the live feeds are so terrible ...

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/watch-live-backup-livestreaming/25755784

Thanks for posting this link. The Sheriff looks and sounds exhausted and The FBI agent was very somber. I don't have a good feeling about Noah's disappearance at all.

When my daughter was 4 or 5, she got on her little Jeep and drove out of my development into the neighboring development, unbeknownst to me. She drove that Barbie Jeep until the battery was dead. I was frantically looking for her and calling her name. I got in the car and was searching. I was paging my husband 911 and of course he didn't answer. Fortunately, a very nice physician's assistant saw her crying and took her in and called me. She had been trying to call when I was out looking and it was dark out by then, around 5-6 pm. My daughter didn't know our phone number nor our address, despite my teaching her, but she told the nice woman that her dad was a doctor. OMG. Thankfully, the PA put it together.

I aged 50 years that day. I live on a quiet street in a cul de sac and the kids always played well together out front. I had no idea she would do something like that and it was a valuable wake up call. I was panicking and close to hysteria. I just can't imagine how his mother must feel. This was in 1997 and I can't even fathom it happening nowadays. We had a positive outcome and I am praying Noah's parents have the same...

 

[leah]

Or followed mom home from the store and waited.

Feel sick just thinking about that. I'm sure every nook and cranny has been searched, but a five year old still could find a place to play or hide, that may not have been searched. That is, if Noah was an explorer, but we don't know really what kind of little boy he was.

 

[JeannaT]

I guess the people posting saying it's an old story don't know predators are for a lifetime and looking in the morning when kids are outside playing, in the morning or after school at bus stops are their choice times. Have they said Noah has any friends around him he'd walk to closeby? A person could've seen him out and watched him, or drove back by and picked him up.

It would be interesting to cross check owners of that type of neon in the area, with young men who have been in jail the last few years and got out recently.

 

[laura08]

http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/p...cle_9684bd0b-0bc0-5e3f-af68-6b13023d6226.html update

 

[hollye]

Have they mentioned searching the body of water just north of the end of the road that the Thomas house is on the corner of?

Here's a link to the map I started with the pond marked...
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zz5anBtG3nsg.kQV2Jf2FdoUE

 

[Soulmagent]

It would be interesting to cross check owners of that type of neon in the area, with young men who have been in jail the last few years and got out recently.

Also they should check Junk yards for the car. I would guess after your car is put out there like that you might want to unload it quickly and one might not use their own personal everyday car for such a thing. You used to be able to pick up those neons pretty cheap on craigslist. I have a yellow one I got for under 1,000.
Since the guy had a ski mask my bet is it was his first attempt and he took other precautions, which makes me think he is local . I might just be overthinking it.

 

[los2188]

This little boy is still missing. I can't imagine why they don't suspect, at the very least, an abduction. They still don't think that foul play is involved. But damn....his scent ended at the end of a roadway. Am I missing something here? Anyone? Where's the Amber alert? From what I recall, they said that they would release one if he wasn't found by morning...poor little guy.

 

[lillybell]

Have they mentioned searching the body of water just north of the end of the road that the Thomas house is on the corner of?

Here's a link to the map I started with the pond marked...
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zz5anBtG3nsg.kQV2Jf2FdoUE

They said in yesterday's press conference that they had searched a pond. They were 80% certain he wasn't in there, they also said they may need to go back to it to make 100% sure. IIRC.

 

[NCsleuther]

This little boy is still missing. I can't imagine why they don't suspect, at the very least, an abduction. They still don't think that foul play is involved. But damn....his scent ended at the end of a roadway. Am I missing something here? Anyone? Where's the Amber alert? From what I recall, they said that they would release one if he wasn't found by morning...poor little guy.

They cannot put out an Amber Alert without meeting the criteria. It's a very strict system and has to be followed exactly as stated.