Robert Manwill 8, missing 7/24/09 Boise, Idaho (BODY FOUND)

[pink angel]

March 05, 2009
Boise mom arrested after son's head injury
 - STATESMAN STAFF
Melissa S. Jenkins, 29, turned herself in at the Ada County Jail Tuesday, hours after a warrant was issued for her arrest on a charge of felony injury to child.
Jenkins' 8-month-old son suffered a fractured skull in October and is in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Boise police reports. The child was taken to the hospital one day after he was injured, police said.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/v-print/story/687698.html

They pleaded it quickly down to a misdemeanor. ::shakes head::

[Sister]

March 05, 2009
Boise mom arrested after son's head injury
 - STATESMAN STAFF
Melissa S. Jenkins, 29, turned herself in at the Ada County Jail Tuesday, hours after a warrant was issued for her arrest on a charge of felony injury to child.
Jenkins' 8-month-old son suffered a fractured skull in October and is in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Boise police reports. The child was taken to the hospital one day after he was injured, police said.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/v-print/story/687698.html

They pleaded it quickly down to a misdemeanor. ::shakes head::

Pink, this makes me physically ill.  A misdemeanor - WTH
 

[pink angel]

This forum has educated me about a lot of things -- many of which I have passed on to people in my little rural corner of the world.
But this Amber Alert needs to be changed or something else needs to be in its place that will become as well known.  Does anyone have any suggestions how we could begin to make this happen?

I agree Sister. Marc Klaas just wrote an article about how the Amber Alert system is broken in his latest newsletter.

http://www.klaaskids.org/pg-newsltr.htm

[pink angel]

March 05, 2009
Boise mom arrested after son's head injury
 - STATESMAN STAFF
Melissa S. Jenkins, 29, turned herself in at the Ada County Jail Tuesday, hours after a warrant was issued for her arrest on a charge of felony injury to child.
Jenkins' 8-month-old son suffered a fractured skull in October and is in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Boise police reports. The child was taken to the hospital one day after he was injured, police said.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/v-print/story/687698.html

They pleaded it quickly down to a misdemeanor. ::shakes head::

Pink, this makes me physically ill.  A misdemeanor - WTH
 

Sister, me too! WTH indeed!

If they removed the baby, you think Robert would have been removed too. I am at a loss.

[cartfly]

http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/story/687165.html

A 29-year-old Boise mother accused of fracturing her 8-month-old son’s skull in October is charged with felony injury to child.

Melissa S. Jenkins turned herself in at the Ada County Jail Tuesday, hours after a warrant was issued for her arrest by Ada County prosecutors.

The child survived and is currently in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, according to Boise Police reports.

Boise police began their investigation on Oct. 20, when they were called to a local hospital after medical staff reported a child with a suspicious head injury was admitted earlier that day.

Detectives determine the 8-month-old boy was injured the day before at an East Boise home and determined him in imminent danger.

Jenkins is accused of striking the baby’s head on a hard surface and fracturing his skull on Oct. 19, according to Ada County court records. Neither Boise police or Ada County prosecutors have released any other details on the case, including a possible motive for the injury or why it took four months to charge Jenkins with the crime.

Jenkins posted a $5,000 bond and left the Ada County Jail after being arrested Tuesday. A preliminary hearing on the case is scheduled for March 10.

The maximum possible penalty for a felony injury to child is 10 years in prison.

[Sister]

Pink, thank you so very much for sending me to his site.  He is an incredible man.

[cartfly]

This is from the Idaho Statesman. It is a "user comment" that follows the article.

Replying to skippinalong (July, 27 1:37 PM):
"I agree they need to issue an Amber Alert!!! Also why would responsible parents allow an 8 year old to walk unsupervised to a party at a "un-known friends" house? This all stinks to me, the whole thing.":
The boy is my neighbor. He only stays there in the summer, with his mother and step father. Good kid, great manners. And, YES, there is much that has yet to be told which doth stink.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/273/story/846836.html?commentSort=TimeStampDescending&pageNum=2&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

[cartfly]

Stacks > Eyepiece
Search intensifies for missing 8-year-old
More than 100 volunteers join effort; no evidence of foul play
BY KATY MOELLER - kmoeller@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman
Published: 07/28/09

   Comments (3) |  Recommend (0)

  1/5 
 
Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman
Teams of volunteers join with Boise police Monday in searching for Robert Manwill, missing since Friday night in the area of South Vista in Boise. Officials said the boy could hide in a very small space if he wanted to. "Act like you're looking for a lost baseball," Officer Will Reimers told the volunteers.

ELSEWHERE
Video: Press conference about search for 8-year-old Robert Manville
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Why no Amber Alert?
Amber Alerts get information about abducted children quickly into the hands of media outlets, law enforcement agencies and even highway departments that operate electronic billboards.

The U.S. Department of Justice has some rules, though, about when such an alert can be issued:

- There has to be a "reasonable belief" the child was abducted.

- Police have to believe the child is in "imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death."

- There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction that it will be helpful to release it.

- The child is 17 years or younger.

Have you seen Robert Manwill?
Police are asking anyone with information to call or e-mail them with anything that could help:

- (208) 570-6457

- findrobert@cityofboise.org

Pam Yancey skipped her hair appointment Monday afternoon when a pair of plainclothes FBI agents showed up at her Oak Park Village apartment in Boise.

Yancey answered questions, filled out a questionnaire and let the men search her apartment and her car. It was the third time since Friday that law enforcement officials had come knocking, and the second time she let them search her apartment.

She said she didn't mind because scores of local and federal police officers and hundreds of volunteers are conducting an unprecedented search for an 8-year-old boy who has been missing since Friday night.

"I just hope they find the kid," Yancey said.

Boise police say family and others last saw Robert Manwill on a playground at the apartment complex where his mother lives. He went missing between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, according to Deputy Chief Jim Kerns. Police say there is no evidence of foul play.

The complex is about a half-mile north of Interstate 84, just off of bustling Vista Avenue. It's near the strip mall on Vista that has a liquor store and the Willowcreek Grill, and has three entrances - on Cherry Lane, Targhee Street and Shoshone Street.

Cars were stopped on Vista Avenue on Friday night so police could talk to motorists about whether they'd seen the missing boy. Two motorists complained to the Boise Community Ombudsman Pierce Murphy that the checkpoints were too intrusive.

Byron Ryals was dismayed when the officer asked for his driver's license and called in his license plate.

"I've never been through a checkpoint like this, where I was shaken down," said Ryals, 80, noting that the 40-minute wait meant his wife didn't get her medication on time that night.

The police department underscored the gravity of the situation Monday.

"This is the most important investigation that we have had in a long time," Boise police Chief Michael Masterson said at a press conference Monday.

Kerns said he's been with the Boise Police Department for 27 years and doesn't remember another child going missing for this long. The department took 154 missing-child reports last year and 86 through June this year - and most are quickly resolved. The department said it filed within a few hours of the report the paperwork for an Amber Alert - a fast and wide-ranging notice designed to find abducted children - but it didn't meet the necessary criteria, including a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred.

Police are investigating about 75 tips received since Friday. An Oak Park pond was drained, but no evidence found.

Initial reports indicated that the boy may have gone to a birthday party, but police have since said they found no evidence of a party.

The search area expanded Monday and police asked for public help in the hopes that someone might find the boy in one of the many "nooks and crannies" in or near his neighborhood. Police urged residents to look for any place a boy might hide - under bushes, in cars or garages.

"The family has said that he likes to sneak around and crawl in little places. He's an inquisitive little kid," said police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.

From an Idaho National Guard helicopter, police scanned the New York Canal and nearby railroad tracks and pools. Police interviewed sex offenders registered in the area.

About 126 volunteers from the community teamed up with police officers for a ground search of public areas starting about noon Monday. The search teams were looking beyond the half-mile radius from the apartment where the boy was staying with his mom to about 1 mile away, Boise police Lt. Michael Majors said. A similar police-volunteer effort focused on the inner circle Sunday.

Robert lives with his father in New Plymouth, but was visiting his mother and her family Friday, police said.

Another ground search will be conducted Tuesday, Majors said. He praised Idaho Mountain Search & Rescue Unit coordinating volunteers who showed up to help.

The search-and-rescue workers also responded to a police request for search dogs Saturday and Monday. Spokesman Rick Thompson said they were air-scent dogs; such dogs are good for finding missing people in avalanche debris. A second request seeks tracking dogs, which are trained to hone in on specific scents.

Boise residents Sherry Blanchard and Debbie Pew weren't part of the official search Monday, but they were out in the Oak Park neighborhood with fliers in hand to search for the boy. They looked under trees and bushes as they walked near the Oak Park apartments.

"It's just heartbreaking," Blanchard said.

The pair said they - along with a team of Boise police officers - had already looked in an abandoned house for the boy.
http:// [url]http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/847786.html?commentSort=TimeStampDescending&pageNum=1/url]

[cartfly]

Quote from local in comment section:
http://www.2news.tv/news/local/51696977.html#idc-ctools

Quote by Concerned_GMA:


Robert was not at his father's house, Chuck Manwill, he was at his mother's house, Melissa Jenkins, on visitation who has limited visitation when he went missing. His mom's BF let Robert go outside alone and noticed him missing around 9 to 9:30. No one knows who the BF is. Robert's father & Stepmom has custody of him.

I think this is why LE asked Chuck not to speak anymore.

My prayers for Robert's safe return.

[pink angel]

Day 3 Search For Missing Boise Boy Comes Up Empty
Updated: July 27, 2009 11:26 PM

A search for a missing 8 year-old boy is entering its fourth day Tuesday morning, and despite following over 70 leads police still have found no sign of Robert Manwill.

"This is the most important investigation we have had in a long time", says Police Chief Michael Masterson.

The investigation into the disappearance of eight year old Robert Manwill is more than 72 hours old at this point. Family members reported Robert missing late Friday night from a playground at their apartment complex. Hundreds of volunteers along with police have gone door to door searching for the eight year old boy but nothing has turned up.

"Our hope is to find Robert today and we are very hopeful that will be the outcome", says Deputy Chief Jim Kerns.

Police along with over one hundred volunteers have searched the neighborhood every day expanding the perimeter by a half mile each day. The search also hit the air on Monday. Police still have no idea where Robert is or why he disappeared.

Crews finished draining a pond near the boy's apartment Monday but came up with no signs of the 8-year-old. They've also interviewed residents in the apartment complex a second time as they try to narrow down a possible timeline. They also sent out another plea to the public for help. "Please check area's around your home the sheds garages, abandoned vehicles any place were a little boy might hide," Kerns said at an evening media briefing.

Investigators also questioned sex offenders in the area. The Idaho Sex Offender Registry shows there are 71 registered sex offenders with in a mile of his home.

"We are not ready to say that Robert was abducted we don't not have any indication that Robert was abducted", Kerns said early Monday.

In the meantime family members still holding out hope Robert will be found safe and sound.

"we want you to keep your eye's and ears open pay attention to every little detail and look for robert and bring him home," Robert's Aunt Tricia Burrill said Monday night.

The search will be expanded out to a mile and half radius on Tuesday. Police are not looking for anymore volunteers to help.

 If you have any information on the whereabouts of 8-year-old Robert Manwill call the police tip line, 570-6457 or email findrobert@cityofboise.org.

http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10790517&nav=menu536_9_7_1

[pink angel]

From the sister of Roberts Bio Dad's New Wife - Afton Manwill:

The instance of Robert asking to go to a party was true but he had asked earlier in the day from the way I understand it. The mothers boyfriend had let robert go out to play sometime around seven while his mother was at work. Around nine to nine thirty it was noticed that Robert was gone. Why he was out playing by himself I JUST CAN NOT UNDERSTAND!! I have two sons of my own one is 9 and one just turned 5 on saturday. I NEVER let them go ANYWHERE unattended with the exception of my yard. Now I can't verify that all of what I have been told as true but this is the story to the best of my knowledge. My sister and Robert's father have primary custody of Robert while his mother has limited visitation. Her visitation was revoked a while ago until she completed some time in lock up and several hours of parenting/anger management classes for the fracture in her infants skull.

Mellisa had only limited visitation and robert was at her house durring one of her visitation times.

http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15748&page=6

[Nut44x4]

Originally Posted by annalyzer 
Are there any other children at the mother's home besides Robert when he visits? In other words where is the baby that Melissa was charged with injuring?
---------
Posted by Doitlaynstyle
Charged and convicted. I just want that known. The baby is back in the custody of Melissa.post 73
http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15748&page=8

[pink angel]

Originally Posted by annalyzer 
Are there any other children at the mother's home besides Robert when he visits? In other words where is the baby that Melissa was charged with injuring?
---------
Posted by Doitlaynstyle
Charged and convicted. I just want that known. The baby is back in the custody of Melissa.post 73
http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15748&page=8

Charged with a felony for causing a SKULL fracture to her infant child, pleaded it down, served 30 days total and the baby is back to her with a few months. WTF is wrong with our system???

There is a case in the crimes forum about a mom with known mental problems that chopped up and ate her baby...a baby that never should have been in her care!!

Who is protecting these children because clearly the family around them and the government agencies in place to protect them are NOT doing anything to protect them.

I am praying for Robert, that he is safe and found quickly.

I fear that mom or the step-dad (boyfriend) did something awful to this child or one of the many SO's in the area snatched him from the playground where he was playing for hours unsupervised and has done something awful to him.

I am just heartsick and disgusted.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.idahopress.com/news/?id=25073
The search goes on for missing Boise boy Robert Manwill

Tabitha Keily
tkeily@idahopress.com
Updated 6 hours 53 minutes ago
Tues., July 28, 2009
BOISE — After chasing more than 50 leads, Boise investigators say they still don't know the whereabouts of Robert Manwill, an 8-year-old who went missing Friday night.

Teams volunteers and police, including about 20 agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have combed the Boise area for Manwill, who was last seen about 9:30 p.m. Friday night in the 2800 block of Cherry Lane.

Family told police he may have been headed to a party at an unknown friend's house.

Detectives have created a tip phone line and e-mail for people to report any information they may have about Manwill's location. Police hope that as area residents return home from a busy weekend, more people could provide information.

Boise Police Department detectives said there is no indication Manwill was abducted. Since there is no evidence of abduction, police have limited the search to the Boise area.

Clint Matthews, left, of Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue, and other members of the unit remove a tent and barriers from the command center Monday evening as they wrap up a day of searching for Robert Manwill, 8, of Boise, near his home on Cherry Lane. More than 125 civilian volunteers are expected to continue the search for Manwill today.
Greg Kreller/IPT
Robert Manwill tip line, e-mail

Anyone with information about Robert

Manwill's whereabouts can either:

    * Call the tip line: 570-6457
    * Call Crime Stoppers: 343-COPS
    * E-mail: findrobert@cityofboise.org

Have you seen this boy?

Police say 8-year-old Robert Manwill is 4 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, black shoes and a either a blue shirt with the Superman or Spiderman symbol on it, or a brown shirt that had the words "Andy don't need no mic" on it.

[pink angel]

Boise, Idaho -- The search continues for 8-year-old Robert Manwill.

Family members were the last to see Manwill as he walked out of his Boise Apartment Friday. Boise Police are now saying they've never dealt with a case like this, and they're now very concerned for Manwill's safety. Up until this point, they haven't really said that.

Because of his age and the time he's been missing, 72 hours, they're now very concerned for his safety. As of Monday, the standing pond that is in Manwill's apartment complex, has been drained and there's no sign of him in there. They've also skimmed any standing water or canals in the area.

Police have also been in contact with any registered sex offenders in the area. They're really not telling us if they've got any good leads from them. However, they have told us they've gotten over 75 leads, but whether that means actual legitimate leads they're not saying.

Manwill's aunt, who is acting as a family spokesperson, had this to say at Monday's press conference:

"We want you to keep your eyes open, and your ears open we want you to pay attention to every detail and look for Robert look for him and bring him home that is our main goal. "

We have been told by the Boise Police that all of his family are in the area. Along with over 20 FBI agents, the Air National Guard is also offering its services. They've had helicopters combing the area around Manwill's apartment complex.




http://www.fox12idaho.com/Global/story.asp?S=10800341&nav=menu439_2

[pink angel]

http://www.2news.tv/home/ondemand/15768972.html

Suppose to be a presser shortly. I will take notes. You can watch live at link.

[pink angel]

Crib notes from presser:

Day 4 - Robert is still missing.
Their single focus is finding Robert.
Appreciates all the family support and the family from out of town who are making the trip to Boise daily.
Team ADAM and the FBI are involved.
New Investigators are arriving daily.
Community has been actively involved and thanked them for being so.
100 Volunteers turning out daily to help the search, local businesses donating supplies and such to help support.
100 new leads. They can't discuss the leads because of the nature of the investigation.
They have contacted and interviewed over 100 SO's.
House to house checks will continue.
Often rechecking and re-interviewing is done, so if you see them checking an area again that they checked before or if they re-interview someone, they are just doing what they do in the normal course of retracing steps.
They mentioned they are concerned for Robert's safety. It has been too long.
Asks the community to check their property and all nooks and crannies for Robert. Also to download his poster at boisepolice.org and hang it whenever they can to help get his picture out there.

They are focusing on the timeline.
He was reported missing just after 10 p.m. to LE.
Police are asking all parents to question their children about any contact they may have had with Robert on Friday and if they have had contact, call the tipline. They want to document his movements for the day.

[pink angel]

11:44 AM MDT on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Edgar Linares/KTVB

Robert Manwill went missing Friday night.

BOISE -- Hundreds of police and volunteers are once again spread out across a wide area of the Boise Bench today hoping to find a missing boy.

Eight-year-old Robert Manwill has been missing since Friday night.

At this morning's briefing, Boise Police gave us an update on what Robert was wearing.

He has on faded blue T-shirt, with a Superman logo. He was also wearing blue jeans and dark sneakers.

Police told us there is no evidence of an abduction and family members continue to fly in from across the country for support.

We talked with volunteers from Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue. U sually they're looking for missing people in the mountains, but this week they're helping track Robert in the city.

"In the mountains our usual response may be 16 people," said George Gunn, Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue. "Again we'll have volunteers that will show up for a wilderness search. But here we had over 100 people that wanted to walk the streets and help look for this young man."

Search manager George Gunn says the role they're playing in Robert's search is volunteer organizer.

They're checking people in and making sure the same people sign out.

A small, but important role on an otherwise large search.

Gunn says searching for a person in the city has its own challenges compared to combing a mountain side.

"One of the big challenges with urban situation is this is a clue rich environment. There's all sorts of stuff and information out there that has to be sifted through.  Finding a candy wrapper here in the city it's hard to determine if it's associated with the young man or not," said Gunn.

Gunn says he and his volunteers will stay helping with the search until police no longer need them.

Today more than 100 volunteers are helping in teams -- they will go out with officers.

The search has expanded to a mile-and-a-half radius.

Police want people to know that anyone can print out fliers to hand out to the public and encourage them to do so.

Click on this link to download or print a flyer.

If you've seen anything or have any information about Robert's disappearance call the tipline at 570-6457. It is staffed 24 hours a day.


http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jul2809-volunteers_missing_boy.85a06217.html

[MuffyBee]

I am so worried about Robert.  When he wasn't found in a few hours or even by morning, it's just had me checking back here and checking the news to see if he's been found.  This is very, very bad.  I pray for his safe return. 

[pink angel]

Boise police are working Tuesday to recreate a detailed timeline of what Robert Manwill did on Friday — the day the 8-year-old disappeared and sparked a more than three-day intensive search in his neighborhood around south Vista Boulevard in Southwest Boise.

Police now say the boy was last seen wearing a faded blue T-short with a Superman logo, blue jeans and dark tennis shoes. He went missing from a playground at his mother's apartment complex near the intersection of Vista and Targee Street — about half a mile from Interstate 84 and even closer to the New York Canal.

Police, FBI agents and more than 100 volunteers have scoured the neighborhood, looking for nooks and crannies where the boy may have hid — including tiny places where a small boy could tuck himself.

"Act like you're looking for a lost baseball," Officer Will Reimers told a group of volunteer searchers Monday.

"The family has said that he likes to sneak around and crawl in little places. He's an inquisitive little kid," said police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.

Robert lives with his father in New Plymouth, but was visiting his mother and her family Friday, police said.

Police stopped traffic and searched nearby homes over the weekend. They have interviewed more than 100 registered sex offenders living nearby and chased 100 leads — none of which have panned out.

From an Idaho National Guard helicopter, police scanned the New York Canal and nearby railroad tracks and pools. A pond near the apartment complex was drained and searched.

Police have set up a dedicated tip line and e-mail address: 208-570-6457 and findrobert@cityofboise.org.

The family has thanked the more than 100 volunteers for their aid. But police said Tuesday they no longer need people to offer up their help in the search — although they still want anyone living in the area to take an extra close look at any place in and around their property the boy may be hidden.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/848190.html