Print Page - Arrest Made in 2004 Abduction of Baby Miguel Morin-Found Safe

What happened here? A "fall through the cracks"? This child was missing for eight years!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8580013
Arrest made in Houston boy's 2004 abduction
March 13, 2012

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In 2004, Auboni Champion saw her infant son for the last time. Then on Monday, she found out Krystle Rochelle Tanner, the woman accused of taking him, was arrested in San Augustine County, close to Lufkin.

Authorities said Tanner is being uncooperative, but Eyewitness News received word late Tuesday night that her sister called Houston police to say the boy is safe and with her here in the Bayou City.

Champion says she was shocked to get the phone call about the arrest on Monday.

"Overwhelmed, because it's been eight years; he made eight on the first of March," she said.

Investigators in San Augustine County arrested the woman caring for Champion's son eight years ago when they both disappeared. Champion says Tanner was her son Miguel's godmother.

"I came back, he was gone," Champion said.

It was a case that seemed to fall through the cracks until now. The coordinator for the Houston Regional Amber Plan says they were never contacted on the case in 2004. New developments late last year after a CPS report led investigators to Tanner.
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The Saint Augustine County Sheriff's Office says it received word from Houston police that they were contacted by the suspect's sister, who said she has the child with her in Houston. Child Protective Services was notified and are now making arrangements to pick up the child so he could reunite with his mother.
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http://www.ktre.com/story/17147678/according-to-the-san-augustine-co-sheriffs-office-the-child-that-was-allegedly-kidnapped-8-years-ago-has-been-found-safe
Child missing since 2004 found safe, babysitter in custody
March 13, 2012

SAN AUGUSTINE CO., TX (KTRE) – According to the San Augustine Co. Sheriff's office the child that was allegedly kidnapped 8 years ago has been found safe.

A woman suspected of kidnapping her neighbor's then 8 month old baby has been arrested in San Augustine.

According to authorities, at 8:45 p.m., Tuesday, they received a call from the Houston Police Department homicide division, saying the child, Miguel Antonio Morin, was found safe.

HPD said, the suspect's sister called them and stated the child was safe with her in Houston.

Authorities said Child Protective Services has been notified and arrangement were being made to pick up the child.

Investigators say the kidnapping case has come full circle.

San Augustine County investigators say Krystle Rochelle Tanner, 26, has evaded law enforcement for 8 years. In 2004, Tanner lived in Houston and was babysitting a neighbor's child when both the child and Tanner turned up missing.

The baby's mother Auboni Champion-Morin, who still resides in Houston, contacted Houston authorities for help. An investigation was launched to try and locate the missing child who was identified as Miguel Antonio Morin. Tanner's family was uncooperative with the investigation, according to a report by Houston police.

In February 2005, HPD detectives took the case to the Harris County District Attorney's office. The D-A accepted the kidnapping case but due a technicality a warrant was never issued. The case fell through the cracks and was closed in 2006, according to Gary Cunningham, Chief Deputy, San Augustine Sheriff's department.
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http://www.cbs19.tv/story/17149111/suspect-in-houston-kidnapping-case-arrested-in-east-texas
East Texas woman arrested in Houston kidnapping case
March 13, 2012

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In November 2004, police say Tanner was asked to watching her neighbors baby at her Houston apartment complex.

"The mother returned at some point, and Krystle Tanner and the baby were not anywhere to be found," Chief Gary Cunningham with the San Augustine Sheriffs Office said.

Cunningham said after a police investigation for two years the case was closed.

"The Harris County District Attorney never arranged for the arrest warrant to be issued. The Assistant D.A. asked for some clarification on one element of the case at hand. There was some discrepancy about when the child turned up missing," Cunningham said.

Police continued investigating until 2006 when they closed the case. The child's name was taken off the database for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children even though the child was still missing.

"They closed the case and listed the biological parents lack of cooperation as the reason for closing the case," Cunningham said.

August of last year, Cunningham said Child Protective Services was called to Tanner's home in San Augustine after a report Tanner and her boyfriend were negligently caring for her baby and 8 year old.

"CPS began their investigation and could not locate the child. They were stone walled, given false information, contradictory information and essentially mislead by Miss Tanner and her boyfriend," Cunningham said.

CPS turned to the sheriff's office for help. On March 7th, CPS uncovered the name of the missing child, and investigators traced the child back to the 2004 kidnapping case in Houston.

Monday at 4 p.m., the San Augustine County Sheriffs office arrested Tanner for kidnapping. The sheriffs office says Tanner is not cooperating with the investigation. She is held without bond.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57397919-504083/texas-boy-kidnapped-in-2004-reportedly-found-alive-reunited-with-mother/

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Sheriff's deputies had no records for the boy and little information to work with, but they began investigating it as a missing child's case in January 2012. Neither Child Protective Services nor law enforcement knew about the 2004 Houston kidnapping case at the time because the boy had been removed from the national missing children's database.

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How or why was he removed from the missing children's database? This story doesn't exactly bolster my hopes for Hailey Dunn and Gabriel Johnson but I am so happy to hear that this little boy missing for so long can finally be reunited with his mother and family. ::MonkeyDance::

Quote from: 4getUnot on March 15, 2012, 10:22:33 AM

I understand what you are saying. Someone needs to be held accountable for removing this child from the data base. It will be interesting to see how this is played out.
Thank goodness he is safe!

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas mother whose infant son vanished eight years ago will soon be reunited with him, after authorities found the boy living with his godmother and her family in another part of the state.

Krystle Rochelle Tanner was arrested Monday on a kidnapping charge in the late 2004 abduction of Miguel Morin. The 26-year-old Tanner was being held in jail in San Augustine, about 140 miles northeast of Houston.

Auboni Champion-Morin told Houston television station KPRC that she may be reunited with her son this week. Authorities said she must first undergo DNA testing, even though they're sure of his identity.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57397986/mom-to-be-reunited-with-son-who-vanished-in-04/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cbsnews%2Ffeed+%28CBSNews.com%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVpNkZwOrULME9BroXJTI1wqyf2Q?docId=8065662b311845c49b379a6ff302df89
Boy who vanished in 2004 may soon rejoin family
By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press
March 15, 2012

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Miguel, now 8 years old, is in foster care in the Houston area while investigators sort out his complicated story. At a court hearing Thursday, a child-welfare investigator testified that he was healthy physically and emotionally but had apparently not attended school.

Lisa Rose, an investigator for child-protective services, said the boy is a normal height and weight and that he's well-mannered but cannot read or name the school he attends. He believed he was 6 years old and identified a photo of the accused kidnapper as his mother.

Miguel's parents agreed in court to provide DNA to confirm that the child is theirs. The whole family is eager to have him back, including the couple's five other kids ranging from 7 to 14, the mother said.
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When the boy was reported missing, Houston police declined to issue any sort of alert that might have drawn tips from the public. Champion-Morin said officers told her she would have to pay $500 for that step, and she didn't have enough money.

Instead, she put up fliers and constructed a website about her son's disappearance.

In San Augustine, a community about 140 miles northeast of Houston where Tanner was jailed, police said evidence against Tanner had been presented to Houston prosecutors in February 2005, but no charges were filed because authorities could not verify the exact date the boy was reported missing.

Further complicating matters were unconfirmed claims by Tanner's relatives that Champion-Morin asked Tanner to keep Miguel indefinitely and may even have had a written agreement to that effect.

With no charges filed, Houston police closed the case in 2006.

Gary Cunningham, chief deputy of the San Augustine Sheriff's Department, did not know why the case was abandoned.
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Victor Senties, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, said the case was handled as a suspected kidnapping and was therefore assigned to homicide detectives. He said the department is now investigating why the matter was closed, but he would not elaborate.

The case got new life last summer, when Tanner took the boy to the hospital for some kind of leg injury. She could not provide his name or Social Security number, which raised doubts among the hospital staff, who contacted child welfare investigators.

Tanner told authorities different stories about the child: He went by different names and she had been asked to keep him for an extended period of time for a woman that she had met in a park. She told investigators she did not know the women's last name and had only been given a cell phone to contact her but that the number had since been disconnected, Cunningham said.

In January, sheriff's deputies began investigating the matter as a missing child's case. Neither Child Protective Services nor law enforcement knew about the 2004 Houston kidnapping case because the boy had been removed from a national database of missing children.

Caseworkers kept digging and told police on March 7 that Tanner's older child may have been reported missing in Houston years earlier.

On Monday, officers arrested Tanner, who admitted she was keeping the boy "off the radar" by not sending him to school. Authorities located Miguel a day later, when Tanner's sister called to say she had seen reports of the arrest and offered to turn over the boy, whom she believed was her sister's stepchild, Cunningham said.

Tanner was expected to appear in court next week. She does not yet have an attorney, and jailers were not making her available for interviews.
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http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Mother-of-kidnapping-suspect-arrested-in-2004-3430436.php
Mother of kidnapping suspect arrested in 2004 disappearance
By Brian Rogers
March 23, 2012

The mother of kidnapping suspect Krystle Tanner is being held on $250,000 bail after being arrested Friday at her home in Manor, a small town outside of Austin.

Gloria Jean Walker, 50, also has been charged with kidnapping for her alleged role in the 2004 disappearance of 8-month-old Miguel Morin in November 2004.

Authorities are also investigating other children living with Walker.
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A psychologist testified in a hearing this week that the boy has not been told he has different parents and four siblings in Houston. State District Judge Mike Schneider is expected to hold a full custody hearing next week.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/manor-woman-arrested-in-2004-kidnapping
Manor woman arrested in 2004 kidnapping
Mother of first suspect taken into custody
March 23, 2012

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"We're still looking for any definitive information concerning how Krystle Tanner and her mother, Gloria Walker, came into actual custody of the child," Cunningham told the AP. He said other people also may be sought in the case.

Cunningham said Walker was taken to the Travis County Jail and would be arraigned. He said she was being held under $250,000 bond, and will be transported to San Augustine, where her daughter is being held.

The boy's parents in Houston are seeking to regain custody of Miguel, while authorities are investigating disclosures that the couple gave up guardianship of their four other children.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Houston-couple-whose-baby-disappeared-in-2004-3441172.php
Houston couple whose baby disappeared in 2004 will undergo therapy
By Brian Rogers
March 28, 2012

A Houston couple whose infant son disappeared in 2004 and was found earlier this month living in East Texas will have to go through therapy, as will the child, before they can be reunited, a judge ordered Wednesday.

State District Judge Mike Schneider ruled that 8-year-old Miguel Morin, who does not know he was separated from his biological mother and father when he was 8 months old, will be under a therapist's care until further notice.

That therapist will help court officials decide when the parents - Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin - are even allowed to visit their son, who still believes he will return to the care of Krystle Tanner, the woman accused of kidnapping him.
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Slide show with 3 images at link.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-16/kidnapped-texas-boy-not-meeting-parents/55030134/1
Kidnapped Texas boy not ready to meet parents
May 16, 2012

HOUSTON (AP) – A Houston boy kidnapped eight years ago is still not ready to meet his parents after being in foster care since authorities found him in March, Texas child welfare officials said Wednesday during a court hearing.
Officials with Child Protective Services told state District Judge Mike Schneider that a therapist who has been working with 8-year-old Miguel Morin believes the boy is not yet ready to be told who his parents are or to have visits with them. Authorities allege Miguel was taken as an infant, and his baby sitter and her mother are now jailed on kidnapping charges.

The boy will remain in the state's care at least until a Sept. 12 hearing, said Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for CPS in Houston.

"His parents have gotten photographs (of the boy) and bought him toys and clothes to be given to a caseworker to provide to him," Olguin said.

CPS officials said there are a few options for Miguel's living arrangements: He could be reunited with his parents Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin, live with another family member or live with a Houston couple who are taking care of the Morins' four other children under an agreement between the couples.

Olguin said CPS plans to conduct a review of the home of Juanita and Joseph Aguillard, where the Morins' other children, ages 7 to 14, are living, to see if it would be a good environment for Miguel. Juanita Aguillard said she had a bed ready for Miguel in case he comes to live in her home.
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Quote from: MuffyBee on May 16, 2012, 11:00:50 PM

Holy schmoly, so the eight year old's four siblings are not being cared for by their biological parents? Sounds like another voluntary placement issue again -- where CPS comes in and says tell us who you want your kids to live with or we will get a court order to remove them and place them where we want to.

So the eight year old, who thought he had a mother, at least, really has biological parents who have put the responsibility of raising their four children in the hands of another. Now that person is going to responsible for the eight year old who is a stranger to them and them to him.

Eeeegads...........what a revolting development! ::CowboySmiley::

http://www.khou.com/news/neighborhood-news/Judge-Boy-kidnapped-as-infant-to-remain-with-foster-family-169582756.html
Judge: Boy kidnapped as infant to remain with foster family
September 13, 2012

HOUSTON -- A judge decided Wednesday that a Houston boy found in March after being kidnapped as an infant needs to stay with his current foster family for now.

Child Protective Services officials said 8-year-old Miguel Morin remains in foster care. They said he has not had visits with his parents since authorities found him living in East Texas.

His former baby sitter and her mother remain jailed on kidnapping charges.
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In May, CPS officials said Miguel was working with a therapist but wasn’t ready to be told who his parents are.

Officials have said Miguel’s parents, who live in Houston, are being understanding.

The judge said he should stay in foster care at least until January 9, which is the next court hearing.

Quote from: MuffyBee on September 15, 2012, 04:55:10 AM

So glad his parents are rushing the process.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/Animation1b.gif)

http://www.khou.com/news/local/CPS-to-give-update-on-case-of-kidnapped-Texas-boy--186161552.html
Judge rules kidnapped Houston boy, Miguel Morin, to live with siblings
January 9, 2013

HOUSTON – A judge decided Wednesday that Miguel Morin, a Houston boy who was kidnapped eight years ago, will now be reunited with his siblings for good. The boy has been in foster care since authorities found him living in East Texas with his former babysitter, a woman he believed was his mother.
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Miguel was placed in the custody of Children’s Protective Services while authorities worked to sort out details of the complicated story. Authorities were trying to decide if Miguel should be given back to his biological parents, Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin, or if he should be given to Joseph and Juanita Aguillard, a couple caring for four of the Morin’s other children. Those children -- Destiny, Fernando, Mariah and Raghim – wanted their long-lost brother to live with them.
Miguel was not initially told his true identity, but began working with a therapist and slowly introduced to his family members.
He had joint therapy sessions with his biological parents, and had weekend visits with his brothers and sisters. A judge decided he will be released from CPS custody and will join his siblings with the Aguillards on Friday.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8947213

Updated January 9, 2013

HOUSTON -- A boy who was snatched from his Houston home when he was 8-months-old and moved around Texas for eight years before he was found will be removed from foster care and reunited with his siblings, a judge ruled Wednesday.
State District Judge Mike Schneider ordered that 8-year-old Miguel Morin be placed in the custody of a couple caring for his four siblings, Juanita and Joseph Aguillard. Miguel has been in foster care since authorities found him at the Houston home of his former baby sitter's sister in March. Authorities say Miguel spent most of the time he was kidnapped in East and Central Texas.
Miguel's former baby sitter, Krystle Tanner, and her mother, Gloria Walker, have been charged with kidnapping and injury to a child in his 2004 disappearance. The women have pleaded not guilty and are jailed in San Augustine, about 140 miles northeast of Houston.

Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services in Houston, said the ultimate goal is for Miguel's parents, Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin, and the Aguillards have joint custody of him "so that Miguel can still have a relationship with his parents and stay with his siblings."

Miguel is expected to be reunited with his siblings by Friday after paperwork is completed, Olguin said. CPS and the boy's parents have declined to say why the Aguillards -- friends of the family -- have custody of the four other children, citing privacy issues.
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Miguel's parents will be allowed to visit the boy at the Aguillards' home and have requested that Miguel be allowed to visit them on weekends. CPS officials plan to review the Morins' home before deciding whether to approve the request for weekend visits.

Miguel has been told about the true identity of his parents and his siblings, and he has been having weekly joint therapy sessions with his parents. Miguel has also been visiting his siblings at the Aguillards' home and stayed with them during the Christmas holiday, Joseph Aguillard said.

"He bonded with his brothers and sisters from day one," Juanita Aguillard said. "He loves the family."

Miguel's parents, who live in Houston, said after Wednesday's hearing that they were pleased with the judge's decision.

http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Jury-to-soon-get-case-of-kidnapped-Texas-boy-4289068.php
Jury deliberating case of kidnapped Texas boy
February 19, 2013

SAN AUGUSTINE, Texas (AP) — An East Texas jury is deliberating the fate of two women accused of kidnapping a Houston boy when he was 8 months old and hiding him for eight years before he was found.

Jurors got the case Tuesday after closing arguments in the trial of Krystle Tanner and her mother, Gloria Walker. Each is charged with kidnapping and injury to a child in the 2004 disappearance of Miguel Morin, now 8.
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Prosecutors told jurors Tanner and Walker abducted the boy and denied him proper medical care and schooling.

Defense attorneys argued Miguel's parents didn't care for him and that his biological mother sold him to Tanner

Tanner and Walker shouldn't ever be allowed to see Miguel again, nor have any other child in their care. The Morin's (Miguel's parents) shouldn't have custody of Miguel or their other children or any children again. If the Aguillard Family are willing and able to take care of him along with his four siblings as they've done for the past 10 years, he should be with them. JMHO

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/jury-deliberating-in-trial-of-2-women-accused-of-kidnapping-texas-boy-hiding-him-for-8-years/2013/02/19/c57aca66-7ab7-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html
Jury deliberating in trial of 2 women accused of kidnapping Texas boy, hiding him for 8 years
February 19, 2013

SAN AUGUSTINE, Texas — Two women accused of kidnapping a Houston boy when he was 8 months old neglected him during the eight years they hid him from authorities, denying him appropriate medical care and keeping him out of school, prosecutors told an East Texas jury on Tuesday.

But defense attorneys countered there was no abduction because the boy’s mother sold him to the women and his parents never showed any concern for their son and refused to cooperate with authorities.
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Authorities said Tanner, who used to babysit Miguel, took the boy from his Houston apartment complex when he was a baby and that she and her mother kept him hidden in homes in Central and East Texas, renaming him Jaquan.

San Augustine County District Attorney Kevin Dutton said in his closing argument that claims by Tanner and Walker that Miguel was given to them by his mother are not supported by their actions.

“If Ms. Walker and Ms. Tanner had a right to little Miguel, why wasn’t he in school?” he said. “Why didn’t you get the rest of his immunizations? Why didn’t you take him to the dentist? They knew they didn’t have that right. They knew they couldn’t put that baby out in the public eye.”

Miguel remained missing until March 2012, when Tanner and Walker were arrested. Authorities began investigating Tanner in 2010 after her newborn son tested positive for marijuana. Investigators later determined that she had the missing boy.

San Augustine County Attorney Wesley Hoyt, the other prosecutor in the case, told jurors Miguel stayed missing for years in part because of a flawed investigation by Houston police, which closed the case in 2006.

But Rudy Velasquez, Walker’s attorney, told jurors Miguel’s parents, Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin, didn’t cooperate with Houston police after the boy was reported missing and never really showed any concern for their son.

A Houston police investigator testified during the four-day trial last week she thought this was not a kidnapping case but one about interference with child custody because she believed the boy’s parents and Tanner had an agreement related to his custody.

“This is not a kidnapping. What has happened is you have a young lady who gave her child away,” Velasquez said. “Ms. Morin was willing to sell her child for $200.”
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A Houston judge last month placed Miguel with Junita and Joseph Auguillard, who have also been taking care of Miguel’s four siblings for nearly 10 years under an agreement they have with the boy’s parents.

Miguel has been told about the true identity of his parents and his siblings, and he has been having weekly joint therapy sessions with his parents.

http://www.khou.com/news/crime/2-women-convicted-of-kidnapping-Houston-boy-hiding-him-for-8-years-191895431.html
2 women convicted of kidnapping Houston boy, hiding him for 8 years
February 19, 2013

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Jurors in San Augustine, Texas, deliberated for about two hours before finding Krystle Tanner and her mother, Gloria Walker, guilty Tuesday of kidnapping.
Walker also was found guilty of injury to a child, while the jury found Tanner guilty of a lesser charge of reckless injury to a child. Miguel Morin is now 8 and disappeared in 2004.
Authorities say Tanner, who used to baby-sit Miguel, took the boy from his Houston apartment complex when he was a baby. They say she and her mother moved the boy from homes in Central and East Texas to avoid detection, keeping him out of school and renaming him Jaquan.
After Tanner's newborn son in April 2010 tested positive for marijuana, authorities began investigating her and later determined that she had the missing boy. Tanner and Walker were arrested in March 2012.
San Augustine County sheriff's Chief Deputy Gary Cunningham testified this week that during his investigation, Tanner lied about who the boy was, saying he was the son of a woman in a nearby town. After her arrest, Tanner indicated her mother had instructed her to make up a name for Miguel or "she would be in trouble," he said.
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Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Missing, Exploited and True Crime => Missing Found Safe => Topic started by: MuffyBee on March 14, 2012, 12:06:50 AM