March 28, 2024, 10:39:44 AM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: NEW CHILD BOARD CREATED IN THE POLITICAL SECTION FOR THE 2016 ELECTION
 
   Home   Help Login Register  
Pages: 1 2 »   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Arrest Made in 2004 Abduction of Baby Miguel Morin-Found Safe  (Read 9335 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« on: March 14, 2012, 12:06:50 AM »

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

 ::snipping2::
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.
 ::snipping2::
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.
 ::snipping2::
« Last Edit: March 14, 2012, 12:09:58 AM by MuffyBee » Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2012, 12:12:16 AM »

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.
More...

Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2012, 12:14:56 AM »

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

 ::snipping2::
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.
 ::snipping2::
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
Sister
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 8648



« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2012, 08:53:49 AM »

Wow!  Wow!
Wonderful news . . . but "falling through the cracks" . . . now who is responsible for this?
Logged


cookie
Monkey Mega Star
******
Offline Offline

Posts: 15663



« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2012, 09:52:05 AM »

Amazing story! The kidnapper would have only been 16 when she took the baby if my math is correct. How did a 16 yr old support and take care of a baby without help from someone? Hopefully for the child's sake he will be reunited with his family and he will have a great life.

Logged

4getUnot
Monkey Junky Jr.
**
Offline Offline

Posts: 653



« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2012, 10:22:33 AM »

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57397919-504083/texas-boy-kidnapped-in-2004-reportedly-found-alive-reunited-with-mother/

 ::snipping2::
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.

 ::snipping2::

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. 

Logged
Sister
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 8648



« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2012, 10:24:36 AM »

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57397919-504083/texas-boy-kidnapped-in-2004-reportedly-found-alive-reunited-with-mother/

 ::snipping2::
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.

 ::snipping2::

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. 

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!
Logged


KittyMom
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 6204


Borgman


« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2012, 11:06:49 AM »

I'm not sure 'safe' is the correct way to describe this situation.  From the news report I saw, the child is receiving counseling because the woman had named him 'Dirty' among other descriptive nicknames.  I have a feeling this poor child hasn't been treated well.
Logged

These are my opinions and subject to change.
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2012, 11:15:08 AM »

I'm not sure 'safe' is the correct way to describe this situation.  From the news report I saw, the child is receiving counseling because the woman had named him 'Dirty' among other descriptive nicknames.  I have a feeling this poor child hasn't been treated well.



It was reported abuse that led to Miguel being found.    


http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8580013
Quote
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.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2012, 11:22:40 AM by MuffyBee » Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
BabsKats
Monkey Junky
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 1677



« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2012, 11:18:31 AM »

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.

 ::snipping2::

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
Logged
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2012, 07:17:29 PM »

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

 ::snipping2::
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.
 ::snipping2::
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.
 ::snipping2::
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.
 ::snipping2::
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
Sister
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 8648



« Reply #11 on: March 15, 2012, 07:45:12 PM »

Thanks for this update MuffyB.
What an amazing story.
Logged


MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2012, 08:54:33 PM »

Thanks for this update MuffyB.
What an amazing story.

You're welcome Sister.  I hope it works out for Miguel and his family.
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
flutter1
Monkey Junky
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 1565



WWW
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2012, 12:41:18 PM »

Glad for the reunification; CPS can be applauded in this case.  What concerns me is the unprofessional way in which the case was handled leading to the child being removed confrom the missing child data base.   How much sooner could this child been found earlier?  

Oh well, I am happy that he was found.  
Logged


A joyful heart is the health of the body, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 NAB

We don`t know who the monsters are.  And as a parent, our job is to take care of our children. Ken Fries, Sheriff Allen County commenting on the death of Aliah
Bearlyhere
Asst Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 17313



« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2012, 01:10:44 PM »



Prayers for the reunification of this family.

 an angelic monkey

Logged

There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.
Time spent with monkeys is never wasted. 
I believe in miracles!
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #15 on: March 23, 2012, 06:12:05 PM »

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.
 ::snipping2::
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.
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #16 on: March 23, 2012, 06:46:56 PM »

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

 ::snipping2::
"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.
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2012, 09:59:07 PM »

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.
 ::snipping2::

Slide show with 3 images at link.
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
Sister
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 8648



« Reply #18 on: March 30, 2012, 01:33:40 AM »

I am glad the judge is using caution.
How devastating it will be for this child to discover who his "real" parents are . . .  precious boy has only known one mother until now.
Logged


flutter1
Monkey Junky
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 1565



WWW
« Reply #19 on: March 30, 2012, 09:54:34 AM »

I am glad the judge is using caution.
How devastating it will be for this child to discover who his "real" parents are . . .  precious boy has only known one mother until now.

 

Still something "hinky" about this case as far as I am concerned.  What "parent" quits looking for their child? 
Logged


A joyful heart is the health of the body, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 NAB

We don`t know who the monsters are.  And as a parent, our job is to take care of our children. Ken Fries, Sheriff Allen County commenting on the death of Aliah
Pages: 1 2 »   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Use of this web site in any manner signifies unconditional acceptance, without exception, of our terms of use.
Powered by SMF 1.1.13 | SMF © 2006-2011, Simple Machines LLC
 
Page created in 6.238 seconds with 22 queries.