Amber Alert: 2-year-old Trenton Duckett in Florida

[Carnut]

Kinda why I think the lady was slow at doing her side of the murder suicide deal.

Still don't think NG did anything to cause the mother to do anything that wasn't already going to happen.

[mrs. red]

Kinda why I think the lady was slow at doing her side of the murder suicide deal.

Still don't think NG did anything to cause the mother to do anything that wasn't already going to happen.

but Car, I have to admit I was channel surfing and stopped on Nancy Grace's show and heard that....

I want so badly for them to find this little boy.... I keep praying an interested relative took him.. and just isn't reporting because they wanted to start over...

I know it's wishful thinking....

[Jacqueline]

Family Friend Says Melinda Duckett Threatened To Hurt Son

POSTED: 6:43 pm EDT September 20, 2006
UPDATED: 7:32 pm EDT September 20, 2006

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Melinda Duckett threatened to hurt her son if her husband didn't do what she said, according to Josh Duckett and a witness who talked to police after an incident involving the couple last Christmas.
The statements are on audiotape obtained exclusively by the WESH 2 I-Team.

According to the Bushnell Police Department, investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI investigators have not heard the tape yet.
 

Melinda and Joshua Duckett's volatile relationship rocked back and forth between Lake and Sumter counties. They had residences in both counties.

According to both Bushnell and Leesburg police reports, Trenton was trapped in the middle of a marital feud fueled by threats.
"She was going to hurt Trenton if Josh didn't stop," said witness Jeffrey Scott on Dec. 27, 2005. "If she doesn't get what she wants, and things not going her way, she likes to make little threats."

In chilling detail, Scott told Bushnell police how he listened in on Josh Duckett's phone as Melinda Duckett threatened to hurt Trenton if her husband would not get back together with her.

"She threatened to, I guess, put her hands on Trenton and stuff like that just so Josh would hear Trenton cry and comply with her and whatever she wanted," Scott said.

The interview was part of an investigation into a suspicious fire at a business owned by Josh Duckett's mother. It was an arson fire where Melinda Duckett was one of several suspects that Bushnell detectives were seriously investigating.

"Me and Melinda were arguing at the time," Josh Duckett told investigators. "I was having problems with Melinda and we were feuding at that time," he said.

Josh Duckett told a fire investigator on the scene that he was sure his wife had set the fire, although he later took that back.

"Melinda wanted child support and stuff at that time. And if she was wanting child support, it wouldn't benefit her or anything to do anything to that because that was where my income was. That was my job. That was our life. That's where every bit of money that we had came from," Josh Duckett said.

On April 16, 2005, Josh Duckett was even more clear to police investigators. In an interview with Bushnell police, he told investigators that "he thought Ms. (Melinda) Eubank (Duckett) was going to hurt their child" and "that Ms.(Melinda) Eubank (Duckett) starts making their baby cry" and "he is afraid that Ms. Eubank will injure their child if he doesn't tell her what she wants to hear," according to police reports.

Melinda Duckett obtained a restraining order against her husband in Lake County, according to court records obtained by the WESH 2 I-Team. In the records, she claimed she was threatened by Josh Duckett.

Both parents were warned by police and by the Florida Department of Children and Families to stop filing false abuse reports concerning Trenton.


To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Stephen Stock.
Copyright 2006 by WESH.COM. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[mrs. red]

I hate to say this, but it doesn't sound to me like either of these guys - the dad or the mom deserved that beautiful child...

that might sound harsh but he just doesn't give me the feeling of he'll do anything for answers...

I mean he was on the same show as Tim Miller and wouldn't respond to Tim who said right then and there he would gladly come in and help... he just said oh you will have to speak to the police.....

[Jennifer34]

Makes you wonder if the dad thinks the mother killed the son.  How old is this guy?  21?

[Easywriter]

Anything new happening with the search for Trenton?

[mrs. red]

Anything new happening with the search for Trenton?

Don't know, Easy... but above I answered the TES question...

and that is nagging at me...

[Easywriter]

Anything new happening with the search for Trenton?

Don't know, Easy... but above I answered the TES question...

and that is nagging at me...

I hear ya!  Looks like they would want all the help they could get.  Maybe someone should contact Joshua Duckett through his myspace page and remind him all he has to do is ask TES to help.

[Jacqueline]

I hate to say this, but it doesn't sound to me like either of these guys - the dad or the mom deserved that beautiful child...

that might sound harsh but he just doesn't give me the feeling of he'll do anything for answers...

I mean he was on the same show as Tim Miller and wouldn't respond to Tim who said right then and there he would gladly come in and help... he just said oh you will have to speak to the police.....

Amen my sweet Sistah!
Agree with you 100%

Of course all children are special , but there is something about this little Trenton that really tugs at my heart...

[mrs. red]

Anything new happening with the search for Trenton?

Don't know, Easy... but above I answered the TES question...

and that is nagging at me...

I hear ya!  Looks like they would want all the help they could get.  Maybe someone should contact Joshua Duckett through his myspace page and remind him all he has to do is ask TES to help.

But Easy... that's my issue!!  Joshua was on Catherine Crier at the same time as Tim Miller and TIM sat there and offered... Josh's answer was to the effect of oh, well you need to talk to the police....I can't say

[mrs. red]

I hate to say this, but it doesn't sound to me like either of these guys - the dad or the mom deserved that beautiful child...

that might sound harsh but he just doesn't give me the feeling of he'll do anything for answers...

I mean he was on the same show as Tim Miller and wouldn't respond to Tim who said right then and there he would gladly come in and help... he just said oh you will have to speak to the police.....

Amen my sweet Sistah!
Agree with you 100%

Of course all children are special , but there is something about this little Trenton that really tugs at my heart...

maybe just such a beautiful little boy... so sweet and innocent ...

[Jacqueline]

Anything new happening with the search for Trenton?

The Latest on the Trenton Duckett Investigation
After days of searching the Ocala National Forest with no successl, members of the Marion County Sheriff's office have called off the forest search for missing 2-year old Trenton Duckett.

Meanwhile, Leesburg police aren't saying much about what Melinda Duckett allegedly threw in a dumpster outside her apartment around the time Trenton Duckett went missing.

Captain Ginny Padgett says they found electronic devices, a computer, and some writings in the trash a few days after Trenton was reported missing.

She did confirm that Melinda Duckett painted her apartment just before Trenton went missing. However, Captain Padgett dismissed the possibility of the painting covering up a criminal act, saying, "Melinda informed investigators about the painting early on in the investigation. She has been characterized as a neat and tidy person by friends and family. When forensic search... Paint was taken into consideration. Nothing was found forensically, that paint covered up evidence of a criminal act."

Investigators say their main focus in the investigation is a timeline for Melinda Duckett in the hours leading up to trenton's disappearance.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office is now following up on this timeline:

Records show Melinda Duckett used an a-t-m in Leesburg at 10:49 AM...
Then a phone record shows her using a cell phone at 12:08 near the Paddock Mall in Ocala.
The same records show she was out of the cell service area by 12:28 PM.
Investigators are asking all gas stations, convenience stores or any other business open in the time frame to review any video or surveillance tape.
Police still hold out some hope for finding Trenton and are still asking for your help. If you think you saw Trenton, or his mother Melinda during the weekend of August 27th, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI.  
 



I would imagine since the FBI are handling the case to a degree, they may be the ones to eventually suggest to josh duckett to call in TES as some point.

Easy, you asked how old he is, I think 22 or 23.

[Jacqueline]

Sorry it was Jennifer who asked the age.

Early 20's, but I'm not exactly sure.

[Easywriter]

Sorry it was Jennifer who asked the age.

Early 20's, but I'm not exactly sure.

His myspace says he is 21.

[Jacqueline]

Sorry it was Jennifer who asked the age.

Early 20's, but I'm not exactly sure.

His myspace says he is 21.

Thanks.

[mrs. red]

Sorry it was Jennifer who asked the age.

Early 20's, but I'm not exactly sure.

His myspace says he is 21.

and his myspace distrubed me.. it read to me like his "friends" didn't know he had a missing child...and I do realize that on myspace anyone can post... but the whole call me biotch was just .. I dunno, maybe I am getting too old for that kind of thing... but it's just so inappropriate...

[Jacqueline]

Sorry it was Jennifer who asked the age.

Early 20's, but I'm not exactly sure.

His myspace says he is 21.

and his myspace distrubed me.. it read to me like his "friends" didn't know he had a missing child...and I do realize that on myspace anyone can post... but the whole call me biotch was just .. I dunno, maybe I am getting too old for that kind of thing... but it's just so inappropriate...

It isn't appropriate, I agree.

But in a way I think 21 year olds today are not as mature or grounded as we were when were in our 20's.  (Gawd I sound old LOL)

I can see it in my newphew and some of his friends who are in their early twenties. Not to a degree of being bad kids, but sort of like the world owes me a living kind of deal....

[Jacqueline]

Police: Accomplice Likely Involved In Central Fla. Boy's Disappearance
Mother May Be Named Suspect In Case
POSTED: 12:35 pm EDT September 21, 2006
UPDATED: 12:48 pm EDT September 21, 2006

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Investigators in the search for a missing Leesburg boy said they now believe that a second person was likely involved in the 2-year-old's disappearance, Local 6 News has learned.

Since the Trenton Duckett was reported missing last month, police have had their suspicions that his mother, Melinda Duckett, 21, may have been responsible for the boy's disappearance, Local 6's Mike DeForest said.

However, Local 6 News learned Thursday that police are getting closer to naming Duckett as a suspect in the case. Duckett committed suicide after she reported Trenton missing.
 

There appears to be evidence that a second person may have been involved in the incident.
"Police are also telling us that
 there is a very likely possibility that there was an accomplice involved -- someone else who helped played a role in young Trenton's disappearance," Local 6's Mike DeForest said.

E-Mail Questioned

Local 6 News also learned Thursday that Melinda Duckett apparently presented investigators with an e-mail that she said she received from her estranged husband Joshua.

In the e-mail, it appears that Joshua threatened to kill the child and Melinda Duckett, DeForest said.

Joshua said that he didn't write the e-mail and that someone else wrote the e-mail.

More information about the e-mail was expected to be released Thursday night.


New Timeline


With newly released ATM and cell phone records, authorities are also getting a better idea of Duckett's travels.

A witness claims to have seen Duckett by herself inside a Leesburg business at about 8 a.m. the day her son disappeared, Local 6 News reported.

ATM records show that Duckett was still in Leesburg at about 10:39 a.m. on the same morning.

Marion County officials said they believe Duckett then traveled within five miles of Paddock Mall in Ocala, where new cell phone records show her leaving the area at 12:28 p.m.

A witness later spotted Duckett back at her Leesburg apartment shortly before 3 p.m. without her son.

Six hours later, when Duckett reported her son missing from his apartment bedroom, the woman allowed police to search her home and a trash bin outside.

"That's when investigators made a bizarre discovery," DeForest said. "Inside the trash, detectives uncovered a box full of unused garbage bags, along with photographs of Trenton, a sonogram and several of the boy's toys."

"It strikes me as very odd," the boy's father, Joshua Duckett, said. "I have all of my photos and all of my sonogram pictures from when she was pregnant. To me, it's a shock that you would want to throw stuff like that away."


Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.


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[Jennifer34]

Thanks for the age answer.  the myspace thing kinda made me wonder too.  Some of the comments made you wonder.  Maybe I am old but, 20s now are not like twenties when I was 20.  There seems to be so many "privilages" with so little responsibility. KWIM?  I am 39 by the way.

[mrs. red]

Thanks for the age answer.  the myspace thing kinda made me wonder too.  Some of the comments made you wonder.  Maybe I am old but, 20s now are not like twenties when I was 20.  There seems to be so many "privilages" with so little responsibility. KWIM?  I am 39 by the way.

What does KWIM mean?

Yes, I agree with y'all on noticing that kids (in their 20's) are much younger than we were... I am only 44 but they seem light years away... like they are 15 or so...

but if they were married at that age and had a baby wouldn't you think they would be a little more mature?? or at least hope so??