Abducted 11-year-old Florida girl feared to be dead

[Faygo Kid]

Local news reporting the worst. How tragic. Hug your kids today.
http://www.newsradio610.com/script/headline_newsmanager.php?id=258995&pagecontent=nationalnews&feed_id=59

[trumad]

1. I'm against Capital Punishment

but I'm not against castration and life in Prison for this pig!

[Blitz]

2. Regarding capital punishment

My views on it are not black and white but they start off with a basic premise:

Society has no obligation to house and maintain monsters.

Sounds like this may be a case where that premise applies.

Her poor family.

[Skittles]

3. if you look at this guy's record

he should have been tagged a predator and jailed for life.

[DrWeird]

4. uuuhhh...

I thought he had one count of aggravated battery in '93, and a couple of drug related charges.

[Lindacooks]

14. There was a kidnapping charge

in '97 or '99 where he was found not guilty. That's it, as far as preying on people goes.

[Blitz]

15. I'm afraid not

We don't put people away for life based on a sheet like his. Nor should we. Sometimes it's not the system's fault.

[Skittles]

37. he grabs a woman in the street

knocks her down and threatens her with a knife, yet is aquitted because "she misunderstood him". This is a travesty.

[arwalden]

35. After You Kill Him, The Punishment Has Ended

He's no longer being punished. He no longer cares. He's dead.

Live imprisonment is continuous punishment until he dies. Long punishment. A whole lifetime.

And quite a bargain for the state too. The automatic appeals process and everything else associated with putting someone to death is far more expensive than simply housing and feeding him.

-- Allen

[veganwitch]

5. ugh ugh ugh!

i didnt catch the original story. so she was kidnapped from a car wash? was she in the car and the guy took her out?

i hope she is still alive

[Blitz]

6. I fear that

If she was alive, he would have given her up by now to make a deal. The fact that he hasn't is a very, very bad sign (he may be hoping that the police won't find the body and that he can give up the location in exchange for his life). I sincerely hope that I am wrong and that she will be found alive and not too terribly harmed.

[rocktivity]

10. Originally posted by Blitz

...he may be hoping that the police won't find the body and that he can give up the location in exchange for his life.

Well, you gotta play all the angles--just last week I saw a TV show about a murderer who said he'd reveal the location of his victim's body if the reward money was given to his kids!


rocknation

[trumad]

7. No

She was walking home from school and her route took her behind a closed Carwash.

The guy came out of nowhere, grabbed her arm and led her off.... It was all caught by a security camera at the carwash.

[trumad]

8. The dudes record

He ain't Prince Charming

State records show Smith has been arrested 13 times since 1993 and has served prison time on charges of possession of heroin and obtaining and possessing a controlled substance. He also has been charged with aggravated assault, as well as kidnapping and false imprisonment, but was acquitted of the latter charges.

[Native]

23. Actually, it was Sunday @ 6:20 pm, and she was walking home

from a friends after a sleepover the night before. It was only 1 - 1 1/2 miles from her house, she took a shortcut by going behind the car wash, and her step dad had gotten in the car to pick her up because he didn't want her walking the entire distance - or so the reports say.

[rocktivity]

34. They talk for a few seconds then he takes her wrist and leads her away

She doesn't resist, she doesn't even appear to be put off by his being a stranger. I didn't realize there was anything wrong with the video until the newscaster said she was missing!


rocknation

[SoCalDem]

9. I think she has been dead since a few hours after she was taken

I have always felt that if a child of "speaking/reasoning" age is abducted, that they have a lifespan numbered in "hours" with the abductor.:(

The abductor cannot really just "let them go".. They are predators, and these unaccompanied kids are their prey.. Heartless to say it?? maybe.. but it's the truth.. They want them for sexual gratification, and once they are done with them, they are disposed of..

A toddler or infant is usually taken in a custody dispute, or someone who desperately wants a child, and since they are mentally unbalanced most of the time, they see this as an acceptable way to get one in a hurry.. These kids are sometimes released and if a stranger had them, the kids have a hard, if not impossible time telling enough about their abductor, for them to be caught..

They usually get caught because someone around them turns them in..

Adolesecent and teen children are taken for one and only one thing..:( If they escape , and lots do, they live to tell the tale..) If they are taken away by the abductor and are not found in a hurry, they may never be found :(..)

[Faygo Kid]

12. How sad to agree wholly with your post.

Just tragic. No understanding of these predators here. Coming home from a slumber party? Some things are inexplicable in their horror. This is one of them.

[bleedingheart]

18. I hope I am wrong but I think she is dead

because of the same reasons.

[veganwitch]

19. yeah

if the child (or any person) is not found within 24 hours the chances of finding them alive decreases drastically. and an 11 yo is capable enough of cooperating with the police if she was let free.

[Sapphocrat]

26. My gut says you're right...

One notable exception, of course, was Polly Klaas. There's no relativity in tragedy, but I think the Klaas case will haunt me as most tragic of all; Richard Allen Davis kept her alive -- what? a couple of months, was it? -- and killed her just hours, maybe minutes, before he was apprehended.

That's an anomaly, though -- as is the Elizabeth Smart case. The only thing the two have in common is -- well, I won't fault the police or the general public, but both cases could have been handled differently.

[TexasMexican]

11. I support the Death Penalty...

because of situations like this.

If he killed that girl he deserves to die.

[Muddleoftheroad]

13. Whoever killed that girl

Deserves to die. If it was him, I'd be more than willing to take a role in the process.

[Scurrilous]

16. You might be in luck....

...Florida uses private citizens to administer executions. The pay is $150 per execution and State law allows you to remain anonymous.

[Muddleoftheroad]

17. I don't live in Florida, alas

And I wouldn't keep the money. I'd give it to the family of the young girl to do with as they see fit. Ridding the earth of monsters such as this is a public service.

And trust me, I wouldn't be anonymous about it.

[Mari333]

20. Men who kill children or molest children

Dont last long in prison. Most prisoners hate them, and have families of their own.
This guy wont last a week if hes sent to prison.

[Blitz]

21. Which is not the way that justice should work

If we, as a society, decide that he deserves to die, then we should carry out the sentence in a legal fashion, rather than relying on a criminal act to be our tool.

[Mari333]

24. agreed...but if this was my child

and my child were killed and the guy confessed he did it..Not sure my logic and reason would win out ...
I would probably kill him and face the consequences.
MotherBear.

[ninkasi]

22. This is so tragic...

one of my granddaughters will be 11 in April, another will be 11 in July. To think of this happening to one of them makes me heartsick. Prayers and good thoughts to the family.

[Sapphocrat]

25. This is why...

...I so admantly support self-defense training for kids. Heavens no, I'm not saying any of this was the little girl's "fault" -- but watching that surveillance tape, my heart sank, and my first thought was: If she had been taught what to do, she would have been screaming and kicking the crap out of him as if her life depended on it -- which, apparently, it did.

PARENTS! Please! If your kids have never taken a self-defense course (specifically for young people), then please, please consider doing something about it. Google "BAMM" ("Bay Area Model Mugging") as a starting point; there are other programs across the U.S., but BAMM will give you an idea of what's available for kids as young as five years old. Not only do the kids learn what to do (and not do), but they come out of these courses with a much stronger sense of self, and the conviction that no one has right to bully them, hurt them, or touch them inappropriately.***

There are also some educational films floating around that are being shown in schools -- even if there's no physical practice involved, at least your children can watch numerous techniques they can use if they're ever approached by a would-be abductor. (Somebody tries to pull you off your bike? Don't let go of those handlebars! Somebody blocks you on your walk home from school? Throw your backpack in his face as a momentary diversion while you run like mad!)

There's no way to know if fighting back could have prevented this girl's abduction. But there's no question of the result of failing to fight back.

Please, parents, teachers, caretakers, just think about it.


*** The program was originally designed for women -- and I can't recommend it strongly enough. Yep, I'm a graduate. And you cannot fathom the sea-change of self confidence I've seen in other women who were intially too timid to speak above a whisper. Battered wives, rape victims, abuse survivors, women with crippling physical debilitative conditions, and those of us who have been lucky enough to escape all of the above -- this is for everyone. BAMM even has graduates in their 80s. Send your mom!

Btw, they offer a limited number of men's courses now, too!

[JasonBerry]

27. Thank you!

Excellent post.

[DuctapeFatwa]

28. It's good advice - and DON'T let them walk around alone.

I'm not blaming her parents, it has not been that long since kids could safely walk around the neighborhood alone.

But those days are gone. If they want to visit a little friend, take them there, and watch them go in. When the visit is over, go pick them up, and have them wait for you INSIDE.

For mall and movie excursions, go in small groups, one of whom is an adult relative of one of the kids. Nothing is perfect, but it's the best you can do.

[Iris]

29. They didn't know she was walking around alone, did they?

I thought I saw a report that said she left a friend's home without an adult's knowledge.

[DuctapeFatwa]

30. She wasn't supposed to. I think she was supposed to call, and instead

she just went.

Solution: inform little friend's parent that either they drop your kid off home, or you will pick them up, from INSIDE the house, whichever works better for them, and if you are doing the picking up, set a time, and be there early.

[Iris]

31. which is also another good reason for self-defense training

because you simply can't control their every move.

(Although, I think your solution is just right!)

[DuctapeFatwa]

32. You need BOTH. Self-defense and draconian security and paranoia

which will probably net you neurotic kids, but they will have a better chance of growing up to be neurotic, paranoid adults, which is better than the alternative.

[bicentennial_baby]

33. Or the R.A.D. program

I'm currently in a Rape Agression Defense Systems course, and they offer courses for children as well. It's an excellent program.

[Carolina]

36. excellent post

one other thing, I also always urge friends, family, anyone to be beware of your circumstances, avoid hidden/deserted places (like shortcuts) and never let a stranger come within grabbing distance.

If you look at the video, the poor child appears to be fishing around for something in her bag, totally unaware of the looming stranger ahead. By the time she notices him, he's got her by the arm ...

I was with a friend recently, walking at night to our cars in a dark parking lot. Two men chatting in the lot stood occupying an area between us and our cars. My friend was walking blithely ahead until I grabbed her arm and said I forgot something; let's go back in the building. Once away from potential danger, I told her my ruse and suggested we watch and wait 'til they left, get security or at least wait until they moved so we could get to our cars without having to come within their reach. She actually thought I was being paranoid. But I say better safe than sorry. Follow your instincts especially if something doesn't feel right.

Too many years of forensic work have made me leery of even well dressed strangers (remember Ted Bundy). Avoid alleys, unattended parking garages, dark alcoves, etc. Ladies always have your keys out/in your hand ready to unlock doors of car or home, or for use as a possible weapon.

This is a such a sad case; I cannot imagine the devastation of losing a child.