Investigators Release Detailed Info on (Texas and Louisiana) Kidnapping Suspect
Valerie
May 3, 2001, 05:00 PM, CDT
SLIDELL -- FBI officials and Slidell police now believe that the abduction
of Lisa Bruno and that of two girls in Texas is the work of the same man.
Officials today released detailed information about the suspect, his vehicle
and the place where the girls were brought after being kidnapped.
Perhaps the most important piece of information released by authorities is
the license plate number of the suspect's vehicle: Texas plate NYZ53W.
The vehicle is described as a white or light colored 1986 Mazda 323.
Officials believe that the place where the girls were held is a deer hunting
camp in a wooded area somewhere between Shiner and Seguin Texas.
Agents searched such a camp "where the victims were possibly held captive."
Authorities also say that the suspect may be wanted in connection with other
abductions along the Interstate 10 corridor.
Maggie
And does the "two girls in Texas" include the one that was taken Tuesday?
Here's the story from the Houston Chronicle:
May 3, 2001, 4:28PM
FBI joins in search for Houston girl
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
The FBI has joined the search for an 11-year-old girl who disappeared Tuesday
after getting off a school bus near her southwest Houston home.
RESOURCES
Missing poster for Leah Henry. Height: 4ft. 6in.
Weight: 80 lbs.
Eye color: Brown
Hair color: Black
Race: Hispanic
Leah Henry, of the 4700 block of Spellman, was last seen about 3:45 p.m. near a
bus stop at Windwood and Benning -- about a block from her home. An eyewitness
told investigators she climbed into a small, white four-door automobile.
The FBI got involved because the vehicle is similar to the one used in the
abductions within the last month of a girl in San Antonio and another in
Slidell, La., officials said. Those girls are now back home.
"The common thread is the vehicle description," said Bob Doguim, a spokesman
with the FBI's Houston field office. "That might not seem like a very strong
lead, but certainly we're going to run out every lead we get."
Houston police said Wednesday the girl's disappearance was being considered a
missing person's case because they had no hard evidence that she was abducted.
The matter, however, is being investigated thoroughly, said police spokesman
Robert Hurst. "We immediately had officers on the scene within 11 minutes (of
the family's call) to begin gathering information," Hurst said.
Dionisio Villareal, who lives across the street from the bus stop, was the last
person to see Leah. He spotted the girl walking toward her home when the
vehicle pulled into a driveway, blocking her path.
"The guy called to her. She came pretty close to him," he said. "She had a
conversation with the guy. They looked like they knew each other."
Villareal said she apparently got into the vehicle voluntarily, which then left
the scene.
The day after his daughter disappeared, Tim Henry said he was bewildered about
her decision to get inside.
"She didn't seem to be coerced. I truly don't understand why she did it," he
said Wednesday at the nearby Willow Meadows Baptist Church, where the search is
being conducted.
The missing fifth-grader was last seen wearing blue jeans and a red T-shirt
with "Odyssey of the Mind" on the front.
Leah is a bright but shy girl who attends River Oaks Elementary School's
prestigious Vanguard program for gifted children, her father said.
The program attracts students from throughout the Houston Independent School
District. Only a handful actually live in the wealthy River Oaks area.
School Principal Lili A. McRae sent a letter home to parents explaining what
happened.
Before calling the police at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, family members began their own
search after discovering she was missing.
"We thought maybe she went to a friend's house, so we checked (and) started
knocking on doors," Tim Henry said. "After we had done that, and really ran out
of anything we could think to do, that's when we called the police.
"We wanted to rule out all this stuff before we brought in the police. In
hindsight, we should have called the police sooner," he said.
Supporters who had gathered at their home eventually called state Rep. Ron
Wilson, D-Houston for help. Wilson's son is a classmate of the missing girl.
A staff member who answered the phone in Wilson's Austin office Wednesday said
the representative had contacted the Houston Police Department and the Texas
Department of Public Safety about the case.
Houston FBI agents will be comparing notes with agents in San Antonio and New
Orleans.
Lisa Bruno, 11, of Slidell, La., returned April 29 after she was held captive
for nearly two weeks. She told investigators her captor was a chubby man, 30 to
40, with thinning, light brown hair.
San Antonio-resident Nykema Augustine, 9, was kidnapped March 4 and returned
five days later. She told investigators her abductor was a heavy-set man, 30 to
40, with brownish-blond, slicked-back hair.
Doguim said he understood why a family would ask for all the assistance they
could get.
"If it were my child, I'd be calling out the National Guard, the Air Force, the
Marines, anybody who could help," Doguim said.
Maggie
"Many students react to ideas they don´t like as though they were apprentice
members of the Chinese Politburo."--Nat Hentoff on reactions to David
Horowitz's Ad Opposing Slave Reparations
Valerie
> >
> ***Thanks for the info. They must have a name if they've got a license
number.
> And does the "two girls in Texas" include the one that was taken Tuesday?
No, " the two girls in Texas" does not include the one that was taken on
Tuesday.
These two girls live in south Houston and were approached by a man driving a
small white or light gray hatchback. A witness was able to obtain the
license plate number.
More updated info:
The car was traced to a man in Amarillo, who told police that he had sold
the vehicle to a man whose description is similar to that of the suspect in
the kidnappings of Lisa and a girl in San Antonio.
The former owner of the car is not a suspect, Loader said.
The two-door, 1986 Mazda 323 was sold in late December of 2000 and paid for
in cash. Police are now looking for the new owner.
The FBI released a detailed description of the deer lease in Texas hill
country, and appealed to hunters who may be familiar with the area and the
"shack."
There were an abundance of details released, including the following:
The shack is unpainted wood.
There is a door on the left side of the shack.
There is a stove on the porch of the shack.
There are deer antlers mounted above the door of the shack.
There is some kind of tower near the shack.
The shack is located off of a dirt road.
There is a gate with an interwoven cable surrounding the property.
There is a Y-shaped tree with mounted antlers outside the shack.
The authorities said that that they believe that the suspect may be in the
area because the abduction victim from Slidell, La. said that she thought
that they traveled west on Interstate 10. The abduction victim from San
Antonio said that she believed that they traveled east on Interstate 10.
Both girls said that they were able to occasionally watch television and
that they often saw a San Antonio news channel.
Based on information gleaned during two days of interviews with Lisa, the
suspect may be trying to lure girls into his car by telling them that he is
a police officer, investigators said.
A Houston girl disappeared Tuesday after a neighbor saw her get in to a
white car. In addition, WDSU NewsChannel 6 learned Tuesday that DNA evidence
found on Lisa matches DNA found on the San Antonio girl.
As a result, the FBI is focusing its search on the Interstate-10 corridor
that connects the states.
Valerie
KBELL12345
>number.
The car was registered to a man in Abilene who had sold it for cash in
December. The new owner (predator) has not registered the car in his name so
they are still clueless on the name.
Maggie
the plates. Guess it happens.
George Byrd
on "Re: Investigators Release Detailed Info on (Texas and Louisiana)
Kidnapping Suspect"
maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC (Maggie) wrote:
>>>They must have a name if they've got a license
>>>number.
>>
>>The car was registered to a man in Abilene who had sold it for cash in
>>December. The new owner (predator) has not registered the car in his name
>>so
>>they are still clueless on the name.
>>
>***Hard to believe anyone would be dumb enough to sell a car and fail to remove
>the plates. Guess it happens.
Do plates not stay with the car upon sale in TX? They do in CA.
Owner just signs the title and files an "I've sold it to yadayada"
form with the DMV by mail. Purchaser then has a grace period to
register. Car keeps the same plates.
GB
Patty
"George Byrd" <geo...@apan.org> wrote in message
news:3af227bb...@ca.news.verio.net...
: In <alt.true-crime>, 04 May 2001 03:24:19 GMT,
Must be some dumb guy from California.
Patty
Roger Redding
More stuff from the news tonight:
There were FOUR incidents Monday right here in Clear Lake City
(southeast Houston) of a man trying to pick up little girls. In one
case, a 5-year-old was actually in the car when she got suspicious
(smart girl) and jumped out.
The car's license plate is NYZ 53W. The man who bought it was
between 30 and 40, 180 to 220 pounds, light brown hair and glasses.
The deer lease is believed to be Guadalupe county or thereabouts.
between Shiner and Seguin. Problem: There are about umpteen
gazillion deer leases in that area.
On the lookout,
Roger
Roger Redding
Maggie:
>>***Hard to believe anyone would be dumb enough to sell a car and fail to remove
>>the plates.
>
I would be.. It would never occur to me in million years to change or
remove the plates.
George:
>Do plates not stay with the car upon sale in TX? They do in CA.
They do in Texas AFAIK. The one exception would be in the case
of personalized plates, which you get to keep if you want to. I
suppose the purchaser could buy new plates if he wanted, but
like I said, it would never occur to me to. What are the odds
you're going to buy from/ sell to a serial kidnapper, anyway?
I used to see the ex-gf's little Toyota puttering about town, years
after she sold it, with the same license plates. It could have
gone through several owners by now.
Roger
GMSpider
>remove
>the plates. Guess it happens.
>
>Maggie
Depends on the law, Maggie. In Georgia, up until last year, the plates went
with the car. I sold a car to a guy that had an accident in it 6 months later
and the car was still in my name. No problem, I just faxed the cops a copy of
the Bill of Sale.
Notice: Spelling and grammar mistakes left in for people who need to correct
others to make their life fulfilled.
Maggie
***Sorry everybody--I had no idea. Plates are always removed where I live and
it seems like a good thing. Until the new ownership gets registered, any bad
acts/accidents committed by the car's driver gets blamed on the old owner.
Teresa
and
> it seems like a good thing. Until the new ownership gets registered, any
bad
> acts/accidents committed by the car's driver gets blamed on the old owner.
>
> Maggie
Same here, Maggie. In Colorado, the plates should be removed when selling
a vehicle. When I sold my first car to a college kid, he talked me into
leaving
the plates on the car so he could drive it home without getting stopped by
the
police. He returned them to me a couple days later, so I thought all was
well.
Turns out, he didn't bother putting coins in a meter downtown and I got the
ticket in the mail. Fortunately, that lesson only cost me $15 or so.
Teresa
asbest...@my-deja.com
Louisiana plates go with the car... You can tell how old a car is
(okay... when it was first plated in LA) by the plate style, which
changes every so often.
My mother got to sort the legal details of tickets received by cars no
longer owned by the company fleet. No fun.
da boss
Maggie
>to
>>>remove
>>>the plates. Guess it happens.
>>>
>>>Maggie
>>
>>Depends on the law, Maggie. In Georgia, up until last year, the plates
>went
>>with the car. I sold a car to a guy that had an accident in it 6 months
>later
>>and the car was still in my name. No problem, I just faxed the cops a
>copy of
>>the Bill of Sale.
>>
>Louisiana plates go with the car... You can tell how old a car is
>(okay... when it was first plated in LA) by the plate style, which
>changes every so often.
>
>My mother got to sort the legal details of tickets received by cars no
>longer owned by the company fleet. No fun.
***I can't imagine why states don't change this law--what an incredible pain.
Patty
: >
: >>>***Hard to believe anyone would be dumb enough to sell a car and fail
: >to remove
: >>>the plates.
: >>
: >I would be.. It would never occur to me in million years to change or
: >
: >remove the plates.
: >
: >George:
: >>Do plates not stay with the car upon sale in TX? They do in CA.
: >
: >They do in Texas AFAIK. The one exception would be in the case
: >of personalized plates, which you get to keep if you want to. I
: >suppose the purchaser could buy new plates if he wanted, but
: >like I said, it would never occur to me to. What are the odds
: >you're going to buy from/ sell to a serial kidnapper, anyway?
: >
: >I used to see the ex-gf's little Toyota puttering about town, years
: >after she sold it, with the same license plates. It could have
: >gone through several owners by now.
:
: ***Sorry everybody--I had no idea. Plates are always removed where I live and
: it seems like a good thing. Until the new ownership gets registered, any bad
: acts/accidents committed by the car's driver gets blamed on the old owner.
:
: Maggie
And besides that it would put prison inmates back to work.
Patty