Missing and Murdered Children

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This guest post is contributed by Brooklyn White, who writes on the topic of Forensic Science Technician Programs. She can be reached at brookwhite26-AT-Gmail.com.

It’s one of the worst things that could happen to any parent; it’s sometimes a fate worse than death because while death brings closure, knowing that your child is missing and not knowing what happened to them torments more than you would think possible. Parents of missing children are in a quandary of the worst kind – they are in a sort of limbo that is hard to get out of. They don’t know if they must mourn the loss of their child or continue to hope that they will be found soon, and this dilemma tears them apart and does not let them heal and go on with their lives. If you know someone whose child is missing, you can help in various ways, some of which are detailed below:

• Don’t intrude: There are times when people whose children are lost want to be left alone; they don’t want to repeat the details of the horror they have faced to every person who comes calling, whether out of curiosity or even if it is to help. So know when you’re intruding on their privacy and when they need to be left to themselves. Also, don’t take it the wrong way when they ask you to leave because they wish to be alone with their thoughts and misery.
• Don’t judge: People have different ways to cope with grief, so just because your idea of coping does not coincide with theirs, don’t judge the parents of missing children. Be of help in any way you can, but don’t think that this gives you the right to decide if what they do is morally or ethically right or wrong. Be supportive without judging what they say or what they do.
• Help out: There are various ways you can help parents of missing children – by looking after their other children, taking care of routine activities like cooking and cleaning, driving their kids to school and other activities like soccer or softball, and others. In short, your time and efforts spent on helping to provide them with a sense of normalcy will go a long way in alleviating their anxiety.
• Understand: Parents of missing children are bound to behave irrationally, have extreme mood swings, and sink into a depression because they are worried about their child and because they are under a great deal of stress. So understand their psyche and don’t take it personally if you’re at the receiving end of their bad moods.
• Cooperate with law enforcement: And finally, you must cooperate with law enforcement officials without hiding any information, even if it means people you know are going to be accused or come under suspicion. You must do all you can to help find the missing child at the earliest, because the more time goes by, the less the chances of finding him/her alive.

Original Post: Tuesday July 21, 2009Last Updated: July 24, 2009View Sources

This AMBER Alert sounds very serious. Diana, 14, was outside in her front yard Monday evening when two masked men came out from behind some trees, grabbed her and dragged her into a black car. Officers came quickly to the home off Carver in the town of Primera, Texas. It has been determined that one of the suspects is Victor Garcia, an old boyfriend of Diana’s sister. When she broke up with him he began making threats that he would ‘do something bad’ to the family. It appears he is making good on his threat.¹

Victim: Diana Izaguirre

Diana is a 14-year-old Hispanic female with black hair and brown eyes. She is 5FT tall and weighs 120LBS. When last seen Diana was wearing a white sleeveless shirt and gray shorts. She has a tattoo on her right ankle.²

Suspect 1: Victor Garcia

Victor Garcia is a 27-year-old Hispanic male with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5′5″ tall and weighs 170LBS. At the time of the abduction Garcia was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. He has a tattoo on his neck. Garcia is considered armed and dangerous.³

Suspect Vehicle

Black Mercury Grand Marquis. There is no information about year or license number at this time.⁴

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Primera Police Department at 1-956-544-0860. If you see Diana or the suspect do not approach. Call 9-1-1.

Updates

July 24, 2009: 10 p.m. PST

Now I am confused about what really happened with this case. What is confusing me is the following quote from Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique of Brownsville Police:

“It’ll be a very difficult case to defend against when you’re 27 years old and you’re having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old.”⁵

Garcia has not only been charged with kidnapping, he is now charged with sexual assault of a child. From the comment above it sounds as if there was an ongoing relationship between the victim and the suspect. Of course that does not excuse the behavior on Garcia’s part. Diana is still under the age of consent.

Maybe that is why he was denying the kidnapping allegations when he appeared in court. Although authorities have evidence in the form of text messages allegedly sent by Garcia stating he was going to kidnap Diana. There is also evidence indicating Garcia planned to go to Mexico after the kidnapping. The article does not mention whether he planned to flee with Diana.

July 21, 2009: 4:40 p.m. PST

Diana was located safe earlier today after someone phoned in a tip to CrimeStoppers. Diana was located in a motel room at the Plaza Square Motel off Central Boulevard and Price Road in the city of Brownsville. Police say Diana appeared to be unharmed. Initially the abductor, Victor Garcia, was taken into custody by the FBI. However, later custody was transferred to Primera and Brownsville Police so Garcia can faces state kidnapping charges.⁶

Sources

1. Search Under Way for Girl, CBS11TV.com, Last Accessed: July 21, 2009. [↩]
2. AMBER Alert: Diana Izaguirre, NCMEC, Last Accessed: July 21, 2009. [↩]
3. Ibid. [↩]
4. Ibid. [↩]
5. Katie Lopez, Kidnapper Faces Another Charge, Valley Central.com, Last Accessed: July 24, 2009. [↩]
6. Kidnapped Primera Girl Found in Brownsville, ValleyCentral.com, Last Accessed: July 21, 2009. [↩]

Original Post: July 18, 2009Last Updated: July 19, 2009View Sources

According to Jennifer’s mother, Minorva Murillo, she was doing laundry in the laundry room of a mobile home park near Ironwood Drive and Apache Trail while her children played outside nearby. It was approximately 11:30 p.m. Friday night. She heard Jennifer cry out and she ran outside to check on her. Jennifer was not with the other children, when asked where she was, the children said they did not know. Police were called and they searched door-to-door within the confines of the mobile home park. Pinal County Sheriff’s came to aide in the search. Bloodhounds have been used to search the area for Jennifer without results.

According to Police Chief Jerald Monahan:

“This young person has been missing for a long time now.”…”She was in an open area. Foul play hasn’t been ruled out.”¹

Pictured to the left is the area where the children were playing at the time of Jennifer’s disappearance. Although, admittedly, not a very great place for children to be playing at 11:30 p.m. there are not too many places she could be hiding. I can’t imagine someone coming along and snatching her without at least one of the other children seeing it happen. I keep looking at that picture and I wonder if she is trapped behind or underneath that dumpster on the left. Surely searchers must have looked there. I suppose someone could have snatched Jennifer and took her somewhere without the kids seeing the abduction. The other alternative is the mother is lying about what happened to her daughter. However, I am sure police have verified that Jennifer was in fact outside playing with them at some point last night.

Victim: Jennifer Murillo Perez

Jennifer is a 2 1/2-year-old Hispanic female with brown hair and brown eyes. She is 2′5″ tall and weighs approximately 30lbs. Jennifer was last seen on Friday July 17, 2009 at 11:30 p.m. in the vicinity of the laundry room of a mobile home park near Ironwood Drive and Apache Trail. When last seen Jennifer was wearing a blue dress and pink sandals.²

Anyone with information about Jennifer’s disappearance is asked to call the Apache Junction Criminal Investigation Department at 480-982-8260.

Updates

July 19, 2009: 10:30 p.m. PST

There is more information regarding the alleged kidnapping and molestation suspect and how he was located. Jennifer’s mother went to the laundry room at about 10:30 p.m. Friday to put clothes in the washer and dryer. At that time she noticed a man hanging around the laundry room area talking on a cell phone. When Jennifer’s mother returned to the laundry room at 11:30 p.m. she no longer saw the man in the area. Holtz was at the mobile home park attending a party that night. He was asked to leave and that is when Jennifer’s mother saw him hanging around the laundry room. During the course of the investigation police suspected Holtz was the male spotted in the area. When shown a photograph of Holtz, Jennifer’s mother identified him as the male hanging around the laundry room. Police went to Holtz’ home located a mile away from the mobile home park and they located Jennifer in a back bedroom. Police say Holtz has given them no good or plausible reason for his actions. They have had contact with him in the past but not for such a serious offense. Holtz has been charged with kidnapping, molestation and child endangerment. There is no information about his arraignment. He is being held without bond in Pinal County Jail.³

July 19, 2009: 4:30 p.m. PST

Police announced today that the suspect, Alec Holtz, molested Jennifer while she was missing. She was taken to the hospital to be examined after she was located. I am guessing the examination revealed evidence of molestation. I doubt the suspect confessed to the molestation. I wonder if he drugged her. I am only saying that because when Jennifer was found police said she was in good spirits when they located her on Saturday. The news sources keep stating that Holtz is known to the family but not a relative. You just can’t trust anyone to be around your children nowadays.⁴

July 18, 2009: 10:30 p.m. PST

The identity of Jennifer’s alleged kidnapper has been released to the press. He is twenty-one-year-old Alec Holtz. There is no further information about this individual.I checked the sex offender registry and he does not appear on it. I checked on MySpace and there is one Alec Holtz, age 21, who says he lives in Apache Junction, Arizona. There is no photograph. He says he is in a relationship but leaves his text number if you want to get to know him. The most disturbing part is he states he is a firefighter. It is disturbing to think that a firefighter would abduct a child. Of course, that is if the Alec Holtz on MySpace is the same Alec Holtz who is currently facing kidnapping charges.⁵

July 18, 2009: 6:30 p.m. PST

Jennifer was found late this afternoon unharmed in the home of a person known to the family but not a family member. The suspect was taken into custody. There is no further information at this time regarding the identify of the suspect.⁶ If there is further information I will be sure to post it here. Thank God, she was found safe.

Sources

1. Deborah Stocks and Tim Vetscher, Apache Junction Toddler Goes Missing with Mother Nearby, ABC15.com, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
2. Missing Poster: JENNIFER MURILLO PEREZ, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
3. Mike Sakal, A.J. Man Arrested in Kidnapping, East Valley Tribune, Last Accessed: July 19, 2009. [↩]
4. Deborah Stocks, Tim Vetscher and Brent Roulier, PD: Kidnapped Apache Junction Child Molested by 21-Year-Old, ABC15.com, Last Accessed: July 19, 2009. [↩]
5. Possible Alec Holtz MySpace Page, MySpace.com, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]
6. Deborah Stocks and Tim Vetscher, Missing Apache Junction Girl Found Safe, Suspect Arrested, ABC15.com, Last Accessed: July 18, 2009. [↩]