Trinity Mount Ministries© assists in helping to find Missing Children and to stop child abuse. Child Safety Resources are presented on this blog. Parents - keep your children safe!
Written by Brenden Harris on Friday, 26 July 2013
Seven individuals are leaving Kenora today, as they continue to Tears 4 Justice Walk across the country. The goal of their campaign is to raise awareness for the amount of missing and murdered women and children in Canada. This is the fifth walk of it's kind taking place, with three of the individuals taking part in all five.
They arrived in Kenora Thursday, and held a meeting at the Ne Chee Friendship Centre where they each shared there stories. Alayna McIvor was one of those who shared their reasons for getting involved in the walk.
"I'm here in honour, and walking in honour of my cousin Roberta McIvor who was brutally murdered in my home community two years ago. Next week, July 30 will be the second anniversary of her death," she said.
"I'm not only walking in honour of my cousin, I'm walking in honour of two-spirit transgender people because that's who I identify as. My friends have been murdered in Winnipeg," McIvor added.
"I myself was taken and sold, at 12 years old, across this country," she said.
McIvor added that the men who are caught abducting women often face an easier time in prison, than the women who are at risk or have been abducted. Gladys Radek has taken part in all five walks. She says although their walk is not only about First Nations women, there are too many misconceptions when it comes to the missing and murdered women in the country.
"When we hear about a First Nations woman that goes missing we hear they're nothing but a drug addict, or a prostitute, or a drunk, or just another dead Indian. It's not right, we're human beings, all of us," she said.
She says it's their goal to give voices to those who can not be heard.
"We want to make a difference. We want to bring those families voices forward. We want justice. There's some of those cases that are 40 and 50 years old, and we're saying enough is enough," she said.
McIvor, Radek, Mabel Todd, Aleck Clifton, Becky Big Canoe, William Dick and Allision Manitowabi will continue walking for the next two months, towards their destination of Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
The walkers had received much support from those in Kenora, as the issue hits close to home. Unsolved murders of women have been reported for years across the district, including three in Kenora since 2000.
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 15, 2013
Justice Department Statement on the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman Case:
"As the Department first acknowledged last year, we have an open investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin. The Department of Justice's Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, as well as the evidence and testimony from the state trial. Experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction, and whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the Department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial.”
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/July/13-opa-788.html
Fire officials: Body of missing Akron 12 year-old boy believed to be found Sunday at Mud Brook:
AKRON, Ohio - Akron police and fire officials confirm they have found the body Sunday of what is believed to be the missing Akron boy who fell into Mud Brook creek.
Police released a statement Sunday:
After three days of extensive searching the Akron fire department water rescue team along with the assistance of the Cuyahoga Falls water rescue team found what we believe to be the remains of Nicholas Shaffer in Mud Brook Sunday morning at 11:21 a.m.
We would like to thank everyone who helped in the search.
Shaffer went missing Thursday after falling off of a wall and into the creek while sitting with his mother.
Several good Samaritans jumped in to try and locate him but they were unable to find him.
One of those good Samaritans, Kameron Williams, said Sunday, “It's just sad to hear that he's gone. I wish it would've turned out different. I hope the family's okay.”
Mark Farrar also said Sunday, “It's a tragic situation and, you know, my heart goes out to the family.”
But just as unfortunate, added Farrar, is if those with autistic family members ignore this tragedy.
Farrar is a Sergeant with the Akron Police Department who teaches first responders how to work with autistic children. He’s also a member of the Autism Society of Ohio, but speaking to NewsChannel5 as a parent of an autistic child, he said Sunday, “…unfortunately, this type of thing happens all too common because this, children with autism are often drawn to water and the problem is they don't recognize the danger that's recognized with that.”
Farrar told NewsChannel 5, “Children with autism, they have a brain imbalance and they respond to different senses different than typical children do. So often times, is sudden behavior that we as parents might not be able to anticipate because we don't know what they're thinking.”
Authorities are now working to determine 12-year-old Nicholas’ cause of death.
Fire officials tell NewsChannel5 that the last time someone drowned in a similar area, it took four weeks to located the body.
http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_summit/fire-officials-believe-body-of-missing-akron-12-year-old-boy-was-found-sunday-at-mud-brook
MENIFEE, Calif. (AP) — Terry Dewayne Smith Jr. had been living with his mother for two years in Southern California when, a few months ago, the 11-year-old boy with sandy blond hair called his father in West Virginia and asked to come home.
So when the boy’s mother called from California on Sunday, Terry Dewayne Smith Sr. assumed it was about a plane ticket — until his ex-wife started asking some worrisome questions.
‘‘She asked me if I was in California and I said, ‘No, I'm still in West Virginia. Why?’ She said, ‘‘Cause your son’s missing,'’’ a shaken Terry Dewayne Smith Sr. recalled Thursday outside his Charleston, W.Va., apartment.
‘‘And just the way she talked and the way she expressed it and all that, I knew something bad happened.’’
His worst fears were confirmed Wednesday when authorities in this Southern California town 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles announced they had found a body matching Terry Jr.’s description in a shallow grave under a tree behind his mother’s house.
The boy’s 16-year-old half brother was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder and could be charged as early as Friday, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.
The suspect’s name has not been released.
Initial reports from the mother, relayed by law enforcement, described Terry Jr. as an autistic boy who took special medication and answered only to his nickname, ‘‘JuJu.’’ His father, however, insisted that his son was not autistic.
The boy lived with him until 2011, when he went to live with his mother, and was a normal kid who loved video games and baseball, he said.
‘‘He was a very bright, well-adjusted child, at least he was when he left here,’’ said Terry Smith Sr., a 62-year-old retired truck driver. ‘‘He pushed buttons and would aggravate you. But, other than that, it was just the typical way ... of a typical boy trying to get his way.’’
A phone listing for the boy’s mother, Shawna Smith, was disconnected. Messages left at a second number associated with her address were not returned.
Hundreds of volunteers searched for Terry Jr. for more than three days in abandoned trailers and campsites tucked into the scrubby hillsides of rural Riverside County, where horse ranches dot the landscape and large stretches of land remain undeveloped. Sheriff’s deputies fanned out on horseback and with bloodhounds in the triple-digit heat and helicopters buzzed overhead, searching for clues.
Now, Terry Smith Sr. just wishes he could see his son one more time. He hopes to have his remains cremated and sent back to West Virginia for burial, he said.
‘‘All I want to do is get Terry Jr. back here because that was the last thing he told me on the phone,’’ he said. ‘‘He wanted to come home.’’
REPORT ABUSE
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) is actively involved in investigating suspicious behaviour online with or towards a child.
The Report Abuse button is an effective mechanism for reporting suspected sexual predator behaviour.
Sexual predator behaviour includes:
Making and downloading images of children being sexually abused.
Approaching a child online for sex (e.g. sexual activity via text or webcam).
Grooming – this is the deliberate actions taken by an adult to form a trusting relationship with a child online, with the intent of later facilitating sexual contact. This can take place in chat rooms, instant messaging, social networking sites and email contact offending – once contact has been made with a child online, child sex offenders then move towards meeting up in person for sexual purposes.
If you or a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police.
If there is no immediate danger to you or a child, you can report directly to the VGT:
http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com
Texas currently has 4,400 active missing-children cases, and 147 of them are in El Paso County, Robert R. Almonte, U.S. marshal for the Western District of Texas, said Thursday.
Almonte provided other statistics during a news conference on missing children at the federal courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
"Each year, about 800,000 children are abducted nationally, and some 97 percent of them are recovered," he said. "About 56,000 of the abductions are non-family abductions. And in Texas about 46,000 children are abducted each year."
At the news conference, Almonte and other law enforcement officials and advocates highlighted "Take 25," a new national campaign designed to prevent child abductions.
David Boatright, executive Texas regional director of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, stressed the importance of child safety measures and awareness of how predators are using online media to target youths.
He said "Take 25" encourages families to take 25 minutes to talk to their children about safety and abduction prevention. It was launched to commemorate National Missing Children's Day on May 25.
"Teaching kids about safety online and in the real world plays a critical role in helping them to make safer choices," Boatright said. "In view of the recent recovery of three young women in Cleveland, who were kidnapped as children over a decade ago, providing simple yet effective child safety education becomes all the more important."
Authorities said the three young women who were rescued in Ohio allegedly were abducted by a man in their neighborhood who held them captive for 10 years.
Almonte said he still vividly remembers the 2001 disappearance and slaying of 5-year-old Alexandra Flores. The girl was abducted by a stranger in a Wal-Mart in the Lower Valley. Though security cameras helped to identify the abductor, and despite a huge mobilization of law enforcement, Alexandra's body was found the next day in an alley in West El Paso, her head covered with a plastic bag.
The killer was arrested, prosecuted and convicted.
The regional National Center for Missing & Exploited Children partnered Thursday with the El Paso Independent School District to provide child safety training to 10,200 students from 15 middle schools. Advocates said they would like the training to reach the rest of the schools.
Almonte, Boatright and nearly 20 law enforcement officers and advocates stood at the news conference to demonstrate their support for the campaign. The presentation took place against a backdrop of oversize pictures of El Paso's missing children.
Experts at the news conference, including El Paso's FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan, said families can use resources such as child identification kits and the FBI's child ID phone app.
"The worst criminal offenders are those who prey on our children," Morgan said.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials said new training has helped DPS officers who conduct traffic stops to detect potential child abductions, adding it has resulted in more than 20 arrests and the recovery of 78 missing children, including in El Paso.
Experts said parents should have a current photo of their child available, along with basic information about the child so authorities can launch a timely and effective search.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Texas DPS and National Missing and Unidentified Persons System run websites devoted to finding missing people.
Find child safety resources at ncmec.org and fbi.gov/stats- services/parents
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_23358447/147-children-missing-el-paso-county
147 children missing in El Paso County - El Paso Times
