Law enforcement continues searching for Alpha Sabbithi, 27, of Oak Lawn, Illinois after discovering his locked car at 4:00 A.M. Sunday morning. The vehicle was located near Maple Lake forest preserve, and his cell phone, car keys, and wallet was sitting on the seat inside.
Alpha Sabbithi is described as being 5’11, 160 pounds, and having brown eyes with matching colored hair. When he was last seen, according to the alert, he was wearing a black T-shirt and brown cargo pants. His shirt reportedly had “Hollywood” written on the front in white letters.
The division chief of the Oak Lawn police stated that the area would be further searched by one of his officers as well as officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department- the officers holding jurisdiction. The search was also aided by police searching the lake in boats while a police helicopter surveyed the surrounding area by air.
According to the alert posted by Oak Lawn police, a bloodhound search dog was used from the Joliet police department; the dog was said to have caught Sabbithi’s scent at a boat launch at Saganashkee Slough, but Alpha was not there.
It is known that Sabbithi suffers from depression; however, his brother informed police of Alpha’s two week stay at a Michigan monastery recently, which he had learned of when seeing his brother for the last time on Saturday. His brother went on to say that Alpha seemed more relaxed and that “It was a personal thing for him”.
If you have any possible information in regard to Sabbithi’s whereabouts, please contact the Oak Lawn Police at (708)-422-8292.
Elizabeth Gill was only 2 ½ years old when she vanished from her family’s home, in the area of the 300 block of south Larimer Street in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The little blonde haired toddler had been playing in the front yard with a sand pail on June 13, 1965, at approximately 4PM. Decades later, the family has never given up the faith that they will find her alive.The family has long believed a group of drifters that had been staying at a hotel in the area of Elizabeth’s residence may have kidnapped her. A witness reported seeing the individuals on two different occasions try to lure Elizabeth into their vehicle. The drifters had been selling purses close to the house, and early on in the investigation considered persons of interest, but could never be located.
Detective Jim Smith reopened the cold case in 2003. Smith told the Associated Press, “What do they think about every night, every holiday, every birthday? Their family has never been complete. They are always going to wonder what happened to Elizabeth. If I could give them an answer, it would be one of the greatest things that’s has ever happened to me as a law enforcement officer.”
Recently, the family hired a private detective who visited with Smith and Elizabeth’s sister, Martha Gill-Hamilton. Mike Neverett, a Florida private investigator, and Smith believe it may only be a matter of time before they solve this mystery. Neverett traveled to Missouri this April to meet with Elizabeth’s family and the detective to research the case.
Taking an interesting approach, Neverett, who has been involved in the case for over seven years, recently visited the old Gill home on Lorimar Street and began taking pictures of what he describes as “pictures through the eyes of a child.” Clicking pictures of surrounding homes and the neighborhood from the height Elizabeth would have been at time of her disappearance. He hopes this may jar the memory of a woman who would now be 49 years old, and the youngest of ten children. Elizabeth’s father passed away in 1970 never knowing what happened to the youngest apple of his eye, but Elizabeth’s mother and remaining siblings have never given up hope of being reunited.
Having worked alongside law enforcement for nearly two decades with many cold cases, I agree this case had all the potential elements of a solvable case. With increased national news exposure, law enforcement and private investigators working cooperatively, and especially utilizing the power of social media, there is a good potential of bringing Elizabeth home to her family. The pictures could be the key to jogging the memory of a woman who has never truly known who she is.
Even I have memories of standing in my crib calling out to my mother because I had an earache. I could not have been more than a year and a half old. The mind stores everything and things decades old like a smell, a sound, and yes, even a picture can take us back. We also know in every case of a suspicious disappearance of a child or adult, someone out there knows something.
We can all take a part in reuniting Elizabeth with her family by sharing her information. Let us all unite as a real social community and bring Elizabeth home!
For additional information, please visit www.missingkids.com. If you have information or believe you may be Elizabeth Gill, please call Det. Jim Smith at the Cape Girardeau (MO) Police Department at 573-335-6621, ext. 1120.
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder, National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Advocacy Network
According to the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as of May 1, 2012, there are 47,673 active missing adult cases in the United States. Many of these cases date back decades.
Madeline Anna Babcock was 35 years old when she vanished from Venice, CA. The beautiful young woman who went by the nickname Lynn, had been employed as a barmaid at Fred’s Tavern and worked a second job on an assembly line at a local factory, in Santa Monica.
According to Patricia Foy, Madeline’s sister, the last time anyone heard from Madeline was the afternoon of June 11, 1968 at approximately 4:00pm when she called her mother from a payphone in Venice. She told her mother that she planned to have a friend drive her to her mother’s home the following day, approximately 20 miles away; she never arrived.
In July, Madeline’s mother and sister travelled to Venice in search of her, and they were told by the owner of the tavern that Madeline had not reported to work the first week of July. Madeline’s property owner at her apartment on Flower Street permitted her mother and sister entry into her apartment, where they found all of her personal belongings were gone. It appeared she had moved out, though the property owner had not been aware of any activity at the residence. The identity of Madeline’s friend who she indicated was going to drive her to her mother’s home was never identified. Foy and her mother proceeded to attempt to make a missing person report with Venice Police Department, but they were told by police that Madeline probably left willingly; her family disagrees.
In 1968, law enforcement’s handling of missing person cases was very different than it is today. The FBI’s NCIC system did not exist and families were lucky to get police to accept a missing person report. Currently, Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the case, but leads have grown cold in the years following. She would be almost 80 years old today.
In 2007 a person came forward and said they may have possible information that Madeline had been located, but unable to speak for herself. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS), Madeline was born with hydrocephalus, an often disability condition that can cause swelling of the brain. Madeline’s mother has since passed away but Foy provided a DNA sample to cross-reference with the DNA from the unidentified woman but it was not a match.
Often long-term missing person cases fall through the cracks and sadly, decades can pass without resolution for surviving family members. Many families have turned to private investigators for help. With any cold case, private investigators focus on reviving leads by interviewing individuals who knew the missing person at the time of their disappearance, former coworkers, friends, and family. Working cooperatively with law enforcement, private investigators bring with them a new set of eyes to review details of the case and the ability to spark the interest of media providing exposure necessary to potentially generate new leads. Advocates caution families to check the work history of any private investigator they plan to hire to avoid becoming victims of financial and emotional exploitation, but also agree hiring a private investigator may be their only hope to find the fate of their missing loved one.
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder, National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Advocacy Network
On April 5, 2012 the Alaska state medical examiner confirmed that human remains found in the frozen Matanuska Lake, were that of missing barista and abduction victim, Samantha Koenig. Her cause of death has not yet been released, but investigators did state that they believed that Samantha was murdered within the first few hours of her abduction
Matanuska Lake is located about 35 miles northeast of Anchorage, where Koenig was last seen on video surveillance being abducted by an armed and masked man on February 1, 2012. Law enforcement officials, including a FBI search team, used snowmobiles and ATVs to navigate across the frozen lake. They used chainsaws to cut a four-foot hole in the ice to allow divers access to the lake’s water. Diver’s then began their search of Matanuska Lake, where Samantha’s remains were eventually recovered.
The recovery of Samantha Koenig’s body came just a couple of weeks after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested their “one and only person of interest” in the Koenig disappearance, Israel Keyes. Keyes had fled Alaska shortly after Samantha Koenig was abducted. At the time of this publishing, Israel Keyes has only been charged with one federal count of access device fraud. However, the FBI has ensured the public that authorities are preparing criminal charges against Israel Keyes for the abduction and murder of Samantha Koenig.
The access device fraud charge that Keyes has been charged with is because the FBI alleges that just hours after Koenig’s disappearance, Keyes burglarized a vehicle and stole someone’s debit card and used it to make several unauthorized withdraws. Keyes used the stolen money to fund his escape from Alaska, which led him through California, Arizona, New Mexico, and finally ended with his arrest in Texas. Keyes has since been extradited back to Alaska to face the access device fraud in federal court. It is also expected that he will face a list of charges regarding the abduction and subsequent murder of Samantha Koenig. The exact charges that Keyes is going to be charged with regarding Samantha’s disappearance and murder have not yet been released by authorities.
Mary Rook, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Anchorage Division, is asking for any additional information about Israel Keyes to please be reported to the FBI’s Anchorage Division. They are specifically looking for any information regarding a white Chevrolet pickup truck that Keyes used for his company, Keyes Construction. They are also seeking tips from anyone who helped Keyes remove a large utility rack from the aforementioned truck. Authorities are especially interested in speaking with anyone who seen Keyes driving his white work truck in the vicinity of Matanuska Lake and/or anyone who seen him driving the same truck on February 1, 2012 around 8:00 p.m. in the area of the Common Grounds Espresso stand on Tudor Rd., near Gambell St., in Anchorage, AK.
Anyone with any of the information mentioned above, any other information regarding Samantha Koenig’s abduction and subsequent murder, and/or any additional information about Israel Keyes is strongly urged to contact the FBI’s Anchorage, Alaska Division at (907) 276-4441 or the Anchorage Police Department at (907) 786-8900.
Original Post (February 20, 2012):
Police say Samantha Koenig, 18 year old from Anchorage, AK disappeared from her place of business around 8pm Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Samantha worked as a barista at a popular coffee shop at a busy intersection. Police say Samantha was on camera being forced to leave the coffee shop by a man dressed in all black, but are unsure if this was the same man Samantha had filed for a restraining order against earlier this year.
It is believed that the man was armed, and headed toward the Old Seward Highway. Samantha’s boyfriend, Dwayne, had planned on picking her up that night when she got off work at 8pm, but was held up by his own job, states her father. Along with Samantha missing, so was the money that had been in the cash drawers that evening.
Melanie Ornelas, Common Grounds barista, said that when she arrived in the morning, it was apparent that no one had cleaned, but it did not immediately raise any concerns. She noticed that Samantha’s things were still in her cubby in the back and she had left a note asking if she was scheduled to work that Saturday.
Background on Samantha Koenig
Determined to get a job, James Koenig Jr, Samanatha’s father, stated that he did not want her to work there in the first place. He wanted her to explore other options such as nursing or veterinary school, as they had previously talked about. Keonig also says that Samantha had filed for a restraining order against a man that she did not know for very long, but then was scared to show up to the court date for fear of he might do something. Samantha had only worked at the coffee shops for a few months before she went missing. Co-workers describe her personality as bubbly and energetic.
Rewards have been offered.
Description of Samantha Koenig
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Complexion: Medium
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 160
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nearly 6 years ago, Roxanne Paltauf went missing on July 11, 2006, from a Budget Inn motel in Austin, TX. She was staying at the hotel with her boyfriend Lewis Walls. The hotel was located near Interstate 35 and Rundberg. Walls reported that Roxanne had left the hotel after they had been arguing and that she never came back. He claims the last time he had seen her was around 8:30pm that evening.
Being close with her daughter, Roxanne’s mother, Elizabeth Harris, says they talked frequently at least every other day, and to not hear from Roxanne is unusual.
Police suspect Roxanne’s disappearance could be linked to her boyfriend.
Background on Roxanne Paltauf
Roxanne was the oldest of 5 children, and she was finishing up getting her GED when she went missing. Roxanne’s mother says she was always helpful around the house and was very talented and artistic. Her dream was to study fashion and interior design.
Description of Roxanne Paltauf
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 124
Hair Color: Light Brown
Eye Color: Green
Clothing: Pink or peach tank top, light blue shorts, flip-flops.
Identifying Characteristics: Double pierced ears, pierced navel, quarter size scar on left knee, mole on right side of neck, false upper front tooth
If you have any information about Roxanne, contact the Austin Police Department at (512) 974-5750 or CrimeStoppers at (512) 472-TIPS.
Alexis Mills is a Volunteer for the MissingPersonsNetwork.org and a recent graduate of Purdue University
Mary Rook, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Anchorage Division, is asking for any additional information about Israel Keyes to please be reported to the FBI’s Anchorage Division. They are specifically looking for any information regarding a white Chevrolet pickup truck that Keyes used for his company, Keyes Construction. They are also seeking tips from anyone who helped Keyes remove a large utility rack from the aforementioned truck. Authorities are especially interested in speaking with anyone who seen Keyes driving his white work truck in the vicinity of Matanuska Lake and/or anyone who seen him driving the same truck on February 1, 2012 around 8:00 p.m. in the area of the Common Grounds Espresso stand on Tudor Rd., near Gambell St., in Anchorage, AK.
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