Alya Reynolds - Is the Father Involved

20 month old Alya Reynolds of Waterville, Maine has been missing since December 17, 2011. She lived with her father Justin DiPietro, his girlfriend, his sister and Alya's paternal grandmother Phobie DiPietro. According to the family members in home Justin put Alya to sleep around 8pm on December 16th. They think that someone snuck into the home and kidnapped Alya. Age old story for and age old crime. Trista Reynolds (Alya's mom) gave up custody of Alya due to a drug problem and lack of funds to take care of her. Justin had full custody of Alya at the time of her disappearance. Trista feels that the whole story is not being told. Well, there has been a new break in the case as of January 28th. A significant amount of blood was found in the basement of the DiPietro house. The blood was confirmed by the Waterville Police Department as Alya Reynolds' blood. Justin was questioned by HLN's Nancy Grace regarding the blood that was found. His only response was how grateful he was for the public assistance in looking for Alya. He was clearly begging off and the guilt is written all over this man's face. I feel sorry for Trista. She did something a lot of mothers with drug problems would do. She gave away her baby to a person that she felt could be trusted. And now it looks like he had more problems than Trista did. It's so upsetting to find out that a child's parent has harmed them and caused a false alarm to find them. He and all the other family members that live in that house know what happened to Alya. It's sad to think her little life wasn't worth much to them. I hope the police find out what really happened to her and bring everyone involved to justice!

Episode 2 - "Find Our Missing" TV One Special

I would like to apologize to my readers. I know I promised a blog about this episode yesterday. But due to my own user error, I wrote the blog and instead of saving it, I clicked close. But there's no time like the present..so here we go!

A child classified as a runaway and a devoted mother that vanished into thin air. These are stories of Yasmine Acree and Althedia Vaught.

Yasmine Acree - 15 year old girl - Chicago, IL - reported missing January 16, 2008

Yasmine Acree was a young lady who was very involved with school and who enjoyed the company of her friends despite her difficult childhood. Yasmine and her older brother lived with their drug addicted mother who was at times neglectful. Yasmine suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a family member at an early age. She was troubled by these issues as a young child. Later on in life, Yasmine's mother passed away. Yasmine's Aunt, Rose Mae Starnes took her in and raised her as her own. On January 15, 2008, Yasmine left for school and attended a track meet after school. Her YMCA mentor dropped her home around 8pm that night. Rose' boyfriend, Charles Burt, who rented a room from Rose was home that night. Rose was still at work. Charles was know to assist Rose with looking after Yasmine in the evening. Yasmine sat and talked with Charles for awhile and then went down to the basement where she slept to do laundry and get ready for the next day of school.

Rose returned home the next morning and Yasmine wasn't home. Rose thought that she might have left early for school. But when Yasmine didn't return home that evening, Rose went down to the basement to look to see if Yasmine was there. Yamine's bed wasn't made (which was odd behavior for her) and her eye glasses where still on the night stand. Rose also noticed that the door in the basement that faced the outside of the house was kicked in. And the pad lock that always on that door had been cut. Rose called the police to report Yasmine missing. The police dismissed the idea that a 15 year old was missing and classifed this as a runaway child. Rose was bothered by the botched investigation that the Chicago Police Department did. Not only did the not take Yasmine's eye glasses in as evidence, but they never bothered to removed the cut lock! It appeared that Yasmine's disapperance was not important.

Rose Starns and Rev. Ira Acree (Yasmine's cousin) keep the investigation alive. They spread the word about the missing 15 year old as far as Indiana. The police called Charles Burt in for questioning and administered a polygraph test. Charles failed the test and blamed it on his heart condition. The police found no leads in the case and time went by Yasmine's case went cold.

One year later, Rose Starns found Yasmine diary. The diary entries discussed an ongoing relationship with a man named Jimmie Terrell Smith. Jimmie Smith was a former tenant at the Starns home. Jimmie was also 20 years Yasmine's senior! Jimmie and Yasmine met each other often and appeared to be dating. Rose took this information to the police department. These facts gave the police a new lead in the case. At the time when the diary was found, Jimmie Smith was in jail for five cases of kidnap and raping teenage girls. Jimmie wrote letters to the police department. In one letter, he noted that he had information and photograghs that could lead the police to all the missing girls. He told police that he hid the information at his ex girlfriend home. He claimed that they could find the items in air ducts and also the "tether" that could be used for a person, was in the backyard. The police thought that Jimmie was lying and dismissed the information, but later went to the house in question. They left with bags of information but have not disclosed what they found.

Rose didn't know that Jimmie had a pass of criminal activity. But if she had know, perhaps Yasmine Acree would still be alive.

If you have any information in the disappearence of Yasmine Acree, please contact the Chicago Police Department at (312) 746-8365


Althedia Vaught - 41 year old woman, Tulsa, OK - reported missing on January 19, 2009

Althedia Vaught was a hard worker and devoted mother of 3. On the night Althedia went missing, she was talking with the daughter who was 9 months pregnant and due to give birth any day. Althedia was very excited because this was her first grandchild. They said their good nights and Althedia went to her room. Her son recalls hearing Althedia's phone ring. She answered it and then grabbed her purse and jacket and left. Mind you, Althedia was in her pajamas and bed slippers. The next morning, Teanna (Althedia's daughter) was awake and looking for her mom. Althedia's bed was still made and the TV and heater were on. Teanna called the nursing home where her mom worked for over ten years. Her supervisor said that she had not reported for work that day. Teanna called the Tulsa Police Department to report her mother missing. The police investigation did a search and questioned Althedia's boyfriend, co-workers and family. Alithedia's boyfriend said that he had spoken with her in days and he was at work the night before until 5am. Her 1995 green Infinity J30 was later found in the parking lot of the Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa. The police asked for the surveillance tape of the night of January 18, 2009. On the video, around 11pm, Althedia's car was seen driving into the parking garage and not a minute later, a white Chevy pick up truck was seen following behind her. This was odd for this kind of traffic at the hospital after visiting hours. There was a logo on the side of the truck that police later found out was a company truck that belonged to Althedia's next door neighbor of ten years.


 Althedia's cell phone records were traced. The last call was made to her next door neighbor. He was known to be a friend to Althedia who often spent time with her. To everyone around her, he just seemed to care abut her. The next door neighbor's son was talking to Althedia's son and he mentioned that she and his father had been having an affair. Side Note: I have not been able to find the names of the next door neighbor or his son. I believe this man was of African descent. Please refer back to the TV One episode for this information. His son is 28 years old and said that in 1996, his mother disappeared and his father said that she just left and abandoned the family. His mother never wrote letters or called him and his siblings. Now this all made sense to him. He felt that his father had something to do with the disappearance of Althedia Vaught and his mother. The Tulsa Police Department questioned the young man and his father. The police said that he (the father) was unwilling to cooperate and was very evasive. The young man described his father as possessive and manipulative person. It would not have surprised him if he had something to do with Athedia's disappearance.

This case has since then gone cold and this man who I'm knows what happened to Althedia, is still free. Althedia also has a sister named Trina Vaught that has been misisng since 1989. Althedia's family needs answers to what happened to her and her sister.

If you have any information on Althedia Vaught or her sister Trina Vaught, please contact the Crime Stoppers at 596-COPS

2nd Episode - Find Our Missing - TV One Special

Be sure to tune into the 2nd episode of the TV One special "Find Our Missing" 9pm cst/10pm est (Comcast channel 172 and Direct TV channel 328)
I will be posting a blog tomorrow that reviews the cases discussed tonight.

New Info About Item's Seized by Investigators - Jhessye Shockley

Attached is the link from ABC 15 News (Arizona) with the search warrant for over 100 items that were seized from Jerice Hunter's home.


http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/new-details-released-in-case-of-jhessye-shockley

Are the Glendale Arizona Police Department Close to Making an Arrest in the Jhessye Shockley Case??

It's very sad when a missing person case turns into a homicide case. The public awarness dies down and the police begin to look for possible suspects and a body. According to azfamily.com (a news media in Arizona), the Glendale Police Department is close to making an arrest in the Jhessye Shockley case. Media sources say that the police did a search at the apartment where Jerice Hunter lived in Glendale, and collected valuable evidence that would help in making a conviction. They did not state what evidence was found; however, the forensic lab results are in. We are eager to find out what the results will prove. The landfill search is still going to take place this month and hopefully they will find little Jhessye. Scott Maasen (Jerice Hunter's lawyer) does not believe that police have found anything that will convict his client. He said, "Nothing has happened. That tends to make me believe that there isn't enough evidence to go forward with the case or whatever their theory of the case is. Otherwise they would have made an arrest and things would kind of proceed. That hasn't happened." Well Mr. Maasen, if you were really an attorney, you would know that police departments do not disclose that kind of information to the defense unless they can make an arrest. Get the facts and watch Law&Order! If they gave him or the media that kind of information, they could never convict Jerice Hunter or any other criminal. She would be able to fight the charges before she even gets to the court room! It's about having their ducks in a row. And if the Glendale Police Department feel that Jhessye is in the landfill, trust me, I'm sure that they have some kind of eye witness or reason to think so. The police department feel that she was killed long before October 11, 2011 when she was reported missing. And according to her 13 year old sisters' claim, I'm sure that the conclusion is correct. The sad part about all of this is that the Grandmother knows what happened but she is covering for her daugther. If she or another family member comes forward and tells the truth, this little girl can finally be laid to rest.

Review from "Finding Our Missing" TV One Special

The television network TV One aired number one of a ten part special called "Searching for Our Missing" on Wednesday night.

The show will cover the stories of two missing persons cases per episode. Here are the reviews of Wednesday nights episode.

Pamela Butler: 47 year old single woman who lived in Washington, DC, Reported missing on 2/17/2009

Pam was an accomplished Computer Specialist for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in Washington, DC. Pam has a great family and loved to have gatherings with family and friends. However, the key focus in Pam's story was the fact that she lived in a middle class suburb and had surveillance cameras surrounding her home. Pam's nephew sometimes lived there but to the normal persons eye, there would have been no reason (past or present) for Pam to have so many surveillance cameras around her home. Pam met a man named Jose Rodriguez and they were in a great relationship. Pam's family said that they were very happy together. Pam had arranged (with Jose) to take Pam's mother to dinner on Valentine's Day 2009. Pam's mother didn't bother to call her after the dinner was confirmed. Saturday, February 14th came and went and nobody heard from Pam. Pam's family decided to make a trip to her house and upon the entrance to the house, they notice that Pam's cell phone was still there. Which was not normal for her. Also, her bed sheets and blanket were missing from her bed. Pam's mother than reported her missing. The police searched and collected all the possible clues. They noticed that Pam's dinning room window was opened and there were no cameras there to monitor that window. Strange to say the least! Jose was interviewed on the show but his face was blocked out due to death threats.  Jose was the last person seen on the surveillance cameras. He said that the day before Valentine's day, Pam broke up with him because she was very stressed and seemed to be having issues with money. Jose said that he had never taken any money from Pam. So he wasn't clear on her reason for this break up. Jose was upset and told Pam that he would come back to the house to get him personal items. Jose returned on Valentine's day and Pam was not home. He called her cell and work numbers but got no answer. He unlocked the house and retrieved his things and left. He left the house with two large plastic trash bags and one duffel bag. Pam's mother believes that Jose killed Pam and put her dismembered body in the trash bags. But Jose swears that he done nothing wrong and that he loves Pam and misses her too. Perhaps we might never know what happened to her. But I can say this is a strange case. Pam was last seen on the surveillance cameras, at the front door of her home getting her mail. After that, there is no other sites of Pam going or coming. I personally feel that Jose is innocent and had nothing to do with Pam's disappearance. Jose has been investigated by police, has taken a polygraph and passed and is eager to find Pam as well. I think Pam's family needs to look into paying a visit to the White House to get answers. Pam worked for a government agency and was about to loose her job of 10 years! Something was going on in her life that nobody was aware of. The police mentioned that Pam had secured another government job but she was losing some personal propriety due to the housing market crash.

Pam has been missing since February 17, 2009- If you any information on the whereabouts of Pamela Butler please contact  Washington DC Police Department
(202) 727-9099


Hassani Campbell: 5 years old boy with Cerebral Palsy, Oakland, CA, Reported missing on August 10, 2009

Hassani Campbell and his newborn sister were in bad situation with their biological mother Shameka Campbell. Shameka had drug problems and CPS removed Hassani and his sister from his mother and placed them with foster parents. Hassani's Aunt (Jennifer Campbell) and fiancee (Louis Ross) went petitioned in court for Hassani and his sister to be placed in their care. So her petition was granted and according to Jennifer's former co-worker, she was very excited to have her niece and nephew in her care. She and Louis took care of the children while working and attending school. Louis was in the routine of bringing the kids to Jennifer's job (a shoe store on College Ave) everyday around 2:30pm. But on August 10, 2009, something went very wrong. Louis claimed that he parked on the side of the building, told Hassani to stand there and wait for him. Louis took the baby and walked a block to the front of the shoe store. Louis and Jennifer walked through the store to the back where Hassani was supposed to be. Hassani was gone. Louis contacted the Oakland police department to report Hassani missing. Hassani could not have walked very far because he wears a metal leg brace. The police combed the area. They searched lakes, train stations, posted flyer's and made phone calls. But the searched turned up nothing. The police began to suspect Louis and Jennifer had something to do with Hassani's disaperance. Oakland police brought the K-9 division on the scene. The K-9's never picked up Hassani's scent in the car or even in the area. Louis Ross was asked to take a polygraph test and failed. He blamed it on the fact that his mind was on finding Hassani. I don't believe that! Jennifer declined the exam because at the time she was pregnant and felt that the polygraph would harm her unborn child. Later on, the phone requested the cell phone records of Louis and Jennifer. A text message was found that brings some light to this case. Louis sent Jennifer a text message prior to Hassani's disappearance. The text message said that he was finished with her and caring for the kids. And that he was leaving Hassani on the BART ( a local train station in Oakland, CA). When the police got this information they arrested Louis Ross and Jennifer Campbell. They were released less than a month later. Double jeopardy was a risk that the Oakland Police department could not take. Since then there has been no leads in this case. Clearly, Louis had a problem with caring for Hassani and made that very clear to Jennifer. I feel that Louis and Jennifer both know what happened to him. And when TV One contacted them requesting an interview, they had both parted ways and moved out of state. They never returned the call. That sounds like guilt to me. Hassani's sister has since then been adopted by a loving family.

Hassani has been missing since August 10, 2009 - If you any information on the whereabouts of Hassani Campbell or have  please contact  Visit their Facebook page, call 510-517-0785 or citizensforthelost@gmail.com

"Searching for Our Missing" TV One Special

TV One (A Radio One Station) is airing a television special tomorrow night called "Finding Our Missing." This show will be covering the missing persons cases of countless people of color, of all ages, that have gone missing but have not received media attention. I encourage everyone to watch this show. It will be hosted by long time Law & Order cast member, S. Epatha Merkerson. It is an hour long docu-drama and will be premiering at 10pm/est 9pm/central on TV One (Comcast channel 172) and (Direct TV channel 328).

I will be reviewing some of the cases that are covered by the show on Thursday afternoon. I am very excited about the show because hopefully clues and tips will come pouring in about these cases. The families of these people can get some closure or find their missing loved ones.

Tome Joyner interviewed the executive producer of the show and he stressed the need for people to watch the show because this is a ten part series that hopefully will be on TV One for a long time. But in order to keep the show going they will need good ratings.

Please take the time to watch the show.


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Have A Great Day!