Missing and Murdered Children

Updates:

Date: May 18, 2008
Amber Alert Issued for: North Carolina
Victim’s Name:Siraj “Raji” Davenport
Suspect’s Name(s): Unknown
Siraj Davenport was with his mother at the Brightleaf Flea Market on Brightleaf Boulevard in Smithfield, North Carolina on the morning of Sunday May 18. According to Siraj’s mother, Rosa Davenport Rosnah Hassan Thomason , Siraj accompanied her to the Flea Market to purchase some fruit. When they were finished with their shopping they returned to the car. Rosa Rosnah only looked away long enough to place her packages in the car; when she turned around her son was gone.
There have been a few different accounts regarding how long Siraj was missing before police were called to aid in the search.
This account from The News&Observer:

He was last seen around 11:45 a.m.
She and others at Brightleaf Market, 2320 South Brightleaf Boulevard, searched for the boy for about an hour, and then called the police.¹

However, local ABC affiliate WTVD Raleigh-Durham, NC reports the following:

Detectives tell Eyewitness News that the boy was at the Brightleaf Flea Market with his mother around 10 a.m., when she says she turned to load her car with groceries and turned back around to find the boy gone.
Investigators say the mother and other customers searched for two hours on their own before calling police around noon.²

I hope this little guy is found alive. Police are not sure if this is a stranger abduction case at this point, but the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has classified it as such.
The is also the problem of the steep, 20-foot drop-off into the Nuese River that borders one side of the flea market.
The police performed an exhaustive search of the area including closing the open-air market and searching the cars as they left.
Siraj goes by the name ‘Raji’ and he speaks both Malaysian as well as English. He is 3 years of age. He stands 3′ tall and weighs 35 lbs. Raji’s hair and eye color are brown. When last seen Raji was wearing a light blue shirt with a yellow truck on the front, dark blue sweatpants, and blue Adidas tennis shoes.
If you see Siraj ‘Raji’ Davenport or have information regarding his disappearance please call 911 or the Smithfield North Carolina Police Department at 1 (919) 934-2121.

Updates:
May 19, 2008:

Police have set up special tip lines for anyone who might have information on Davenport’s whereabouts. Tipsters can call 989-5729 or 989-5740.

The FBI has joined the search this afternoon for Siraj. Police are still not calling Siraj’s disappearance an abduction and they are still treating it as a missing persons/abduction case at this point. A friend of the family has indicated that it would have been highly out of character for the 3-year-old to walk away from his mother as he asks her permission for everything. Also, plans for Sunday evening had included a cookout with friends and Rosa Davenport was at the market to pick up vegetables for that planned cookout. Instead of the cookout they stood underneath a covered awning in the pouring rain hoping that Siraj would be found. There is a vigil being planned for tonight and Sirja’s father is on his way home from his overseas business trip.³

May 20, 2008:

Investigators so far have been unable to find any witnesses who recall seeing Raji or his mother at the flea market before the child went missing, Gillikin said. On Monday, police spent several hours interviewing Thomason.⁴

ABC affiliate WDTV Raleigh-Durham, NC is reporting that Siraj Davenport has been located unharmed. Details to follow later.

And this information from WCNC:

Johnston County 911 supervisor Jason Thompson says Smithfield police contacted them around 12:35 a.m. Tuesday to say Siraj Munir Davenport had been found.

But Thompson says police have not given any other details.⁵

I waited to go to bed until early this morning hoping I would be able to read more details about Siraj’s safe recovery. When no new details came forth I finally decided to call it a night.

Now, I am feeling angry after reading the details. There was no kidnapping and the child was never at the Brightleaf Market or even in Smithfield on Sunday morning. The police are calling it a ‘hoax’. They are not calling it a misunderstanding. It appears that the mother made up the whole story. She lied to police. She told people her child was snatched when he was not. She knew where he was and that he was safe.

I added the thoughts after the word hoax. Those thoughts were not voiced by the police. The police however, are still investigating this case.

This is what I think happened for what it is worth. Mrs. Davenport’s husband recently left on a business trip to Viet Nam. He went with a few colleagues and some of his students. Maybe Mrs. Davenport did not want to be left with the responsibility of caring for their son alone or maybe she just wanted to do something to make her husband have to return home. Well, this kidnapping hoax certainly worked because the media reported he was on a flight home as soon as he heard about his son’s disappearance.

So much for the illogical reasoning for creating a kidnapping hoax.

Now I can address the anger I feel for all of the wasted resources used. How many hours of media coverage were devoted to this case? How many law enforcement hours were devoted to the search? People who did not even know this family came out to search; some bringing their own young children in tow. The FBI was brought into this case for crying out loud. But still Mrs. Davenport did not mention that she had made the whole thing up. With age should also come wisdom. Mrs. Davenport is 41-years-old; not 21.

May 21, 2008:

There are a few more twists and turns to this story. The object of the Amber Alert who was reported as missing was not even in the country. He was in another country with family members. Now authorities are saying the young man’s name may not be Siraj Davenport and the two adults identifying themselves as the mother and father, well they may not be this child’s parents. It is not even clear at this point who made the 911 call that started this whole search.

According to the media the FBI is investigating and had no comment at this point. Local authorities are also investigating to see if criminal activity has been ongoing.

I will keep following this story and will make entries as more information comes available.

News reports have indicated that authorities have searched the area around the Brightleaf Market, the last place 3-year-old Siraj Davenport was seen by his mother. There is also concern about the river that runs next to the shopping area.

I was wondering if there are any registered sex offenders living in the area. There was a really nice picture of the market posted on the  WDTV-Raleigh-Durham NC web site. The area looks relaxing. I would imagine that most people living in the area shop at the Brightleaf Market.

I visited the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry and did a search for registered sex offenders within a 3-mile-radius of the market. Below is a screen shot of the search. ¹

There are eleven registered sex offenders living within area. Note the yellow-colored square - that is the location of the Brightleaf Market and two registered sex offenders live in close proximity to the market.

Could one of the registered sex offenders have been on a shopping trip and set his sights on Siraj? The news accounts for today indicated that mothers in the area were searching for Siraj, including talking to people living in a close-by trailer park.²

I wonder if those women know that most likely several of the men then spoke with are registered sex offenders. Most have convictions for lewd acts against children.

I also performed a search of the area for RSO’s within a five-mile area and that search picked up an additional 7 more. At least one of the RSO’s live in the same town as Siraj. What if he followed mother and son to the store knowing the husband and father are out of the country? Mrs. Davenport may have even seen him or recognized him from her town and thought nothing of his appearance at the market. She may have even said ‘Hello’ in passing;

The other alternatives for Siraj’s disappearance is he did fall into the river or his mother is not being totally honest at this point and she harmed her son before she arrived at the market. My guess is this is not a possibility because people who know the family have spoken to the media and police and have never mentioned not seeing Siraj at the market.