SANDRA CANTU, 8, missing since 3/27/09 Tracy, CA #1 3/28/09-4/09/09

[Cappuccino]

It also should be noted that Daniel Horowitz's offer, while very unique was very generous as well.    Imagine that a defense attorney pleading for the safe return of a child in exchange of pro bono representation.    Gotta say in all my years, that is indeed a first.  Thank you Daniel!

[Deenie]

Good Evening Monkeys
I tried to skim through all the posts on Sandra.
I am baffled yet again with this no Amber alert ..put out immediately.
Any Child that is reported missing should not be on check list..hmm lets see
should or shouldn't we ... Hmmm - What's the worse thing that could happen?
I read somewhere that there are actually BOLO's .. put out.
Be on the look out !  anything would have helped in this Case when she first went missing.
Why do the LE keep saying that is not and Abduction .. That's false and misleading within itself .. So what does that mean.. that looking for Sandra is non-priority for others/public to look for her at all times  ..I do not understand this " not an abduction" term. Does that mean LE knows something and not yet releasing it to the public?

The other thing that keeps going in my head and maybe another Monkey mentioned - Her Size. 4 feet tall and 45lbs. She must be a dinky little girl. Her photos she looks healthy ... but wow. She must be really petite. Why I mention that is because I wonder if someone thought she was Younger than she really is ... because her small size.
http://www.annecollins.com/weight-chart-children-girls.htm

The BUM Freak that Kissed her ... If I found out that happened when it happened and that was my little Girl .. he may have found himself in the ER that night.

These Manufactured Home community's seem to be clutches for for undesirables. I know that we have many in our local area and they all vary from degree to degree from Community to community.
Some are very well maintained and the Homes actually have basements...then they go to the worst of the worst where you see the Orange outdoor electrical cords plugged in ..to an outlet on post ..near by.
I myself at one time was looking at them. Found though in the community itself there were over 40 sex offenders as residents... so Me said Oh hell no. Not my Kid.

Between the payment on the home/lot rent - they equal a mortgage. I do know that a Manufactured home is not considered property as if you did purchase a house, the property itself does not belong to you. It is considered an asset. A depreciating one at that. So they suck people in and get them to pay High high %'s on loans .. Its quite the cash cow for the owners of the property/land/park/community - They should have surveillance camera's on the playgrounds and within the pools ... you would think. 

With Sandra's Granpa installing the Camera on the outside of the house ... I wonder why? I understand it was for Safety ..but usually people do not install cameras like that - Until after something happens.. wonder what made him install the camera? Or "who" was the reason why it was installed. Was someone bothering Mom?
Mom on one interview I saw Not this one below, understandably distraught, seemed to be slow in answering questions and maybe even not all there? possibly medicated ?? I am not trying to be mean or poking at the Mom its just my observation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29970509#29970509

On this video here. If you notice within the first few seconds you see a LE officer in a Doorway of a Home and it has Bars on the Door .. that usually means crime ..is prevalent. Mom answers the question about the Camera that " her father" installed - Was there a reason for the camera? Safety issue within your community ?
Mom says I thought it was save Over there ... Does Sandra live with MOM? Or Does Sandra live with her Grandparents .. her remark came to me that there is some disconnect in the family ...
Very strange that this little one Went Poof Missing and No One saw anything. I know by living in Apartments for over ten my years myself .. You get used to the same kids running about the community and pool .. and they tell you their Name and say HI and keep running and playing. And you Watch them. You see them and You watch out for them. I have even yelled at some. Get out of the parking lot .. Your going to get hurt. Go play on the grass. yadda.

She is a beautiful little girl. That is for sure. 
I hope she is found and soon.


 

[A's Fever]

I am curious about the house in Oakdale that was searched.  Is there any way to find out if either of the two POIs own a house in Oakdale, CA?  Maybe some smart monkey knows how to find out?! 

[Kat_Gram]

I wouldn't read too much into FIL putting camera in.
My ex SIL put a camera outside at one point due to vandalism. They had a yard channel at one point. Who's at the door ? Turn to channel 100. Was there when he did it, it was easy for him and it was done in less than 1/2 an hour.

[Blink34]

Did Sandra's dad flee to Mexico after cashing a check?

Updates at the end:
www.blinkoncrime.com

Yes Capp, I am a fan of Dan Horowitz, who as a criminal defense attorney, experienced the worst kind of criminal act, the murder of his beloved wife.

[cookie]

Did Sandra's dad flee to Mexico after cashing a check?

Updates at the end:
www.blinkoncrime.com

Yes Capp, I am a fan of Dan Horowitz, who as a criminal defense attorney, experienced the worst kind of criminal act, the murder of his beloved wife.

Blinks.....IIRC...that was really bizarre how that all went down.....the neighbor kid was using their mailing address for some unsavory behavior and Pamela was onto him right?
It was a brutal murder......
I too am a fan of Dan H....he is a good man.
I wonder if he ever finished their home that they were building at the time of her death...

[TxLady2]

Blink, thanks for keeping up with this and other cases. I bookmarked your site.
Kudos to LP for the reward money, and to Daniel H. for his generous offer.
I don't understand why LE would not consider this to be an abduction. Do they believe she went willingly with someone?
Also, this martial arts instructor needs to be looked at VERY closely. "I don't think I should talk to you anymore.." WTH??!! Yeah, buddy, you should talk... and keep talking!!
He might be totally not involved, but still......!
Praying for this little girl to be brought home safe and well.

[Blink34]

Blink, thanks for keeping up with this and other cases. I bookmarked your site.
Kudos to LP for the reward money, and to Daniel H. for his generous offer.
I don't understand why LE would not consider this to be an abduction. Do they believe she went willingly with someone?
Also, this martial arts instructor needs to be looked at VERY closely. "I don't think I should talk to you anymore.." WTH??!! Yeah, buddy, you should talk... and keep talking!!
He might be totally not involved, but still......!
Praying for this little girl to be brought home safe and well.

Thanks guys. I agree the PIO Shenemen is not helping in his comments. I am rarely critical of LE, and even that it has to be something egregious, but saying they believe she will be returned alive and well and that she was not kidnapped due to their be no evidence to the contrary, imo is irresponsible to the family and the community who literally have  a predator among them. Conversely, you dont want to start a panic.. But I think there is better dialog to address both those issues.

Lastly, the issue of SO's databases, the concentration of them in public housing and the consistency of state's reporting needs to be addressed at a Federal level, imo . Maybe then somebody can explain to me how it is ok to have an at risk predatory offender's address listed as homeless or transient???

[Blink34]

Next press conference for Sandra Cantu search is today at 10am PST. If I do not get it here, can Spring or Edward clue us in? 

[Leroy]

Search for Tracy girl stalls
Police have no evidence second-grader abducted

TRACY - Phones rang with hundreds of tips and investigators continued to sift through evidence gathered in a Monday evening raid in town.

But as yet another day passed, Tracy police on Tuesday offered no indication they are any closer to finding missing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu.

A video camera recorded Sandra leaving her home about 4 p.m. Friday in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, in the 800 block of West Clover Road, police said. She hasn't been seen since.
Four days after her family reported her missing, police maintained they have no evidence the second-grader was abducted - or that she is even alive.

"At this point, really, it is wide open, as far as what might have happened," to the little girl, Tracy police Lt. Jeremy Watney said.

The case of the missing second-grader, who vanished Friday afternoon from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park on West Clover Road, continued to attract national attention as few clues to her whereabouts were revealed.

Increased scrutiny also began to fall on the two men investigators have questioned - but have not named suspects - in connection with the girl's disappearance.

Police refuse to confirm their identities or discuss any evidence collected from their cars and homes, which were searched late Monday.

But Frank Wohler will freely admit he's been questioned. He also says police searched his office and his home in the trailer park.

Wohler even acknowledges he kissed Sandra two years ago, when she was 6 years old, as they swam at the mobile home park they both call home.

He called it harmless affection.

"We were in the pool. Impulsive," the 59-year-old said Tuesday from his martial arts studio. "I was trying to be nice."

Wohler said investigators took his cell phone, various records and other items he declined to specify.

"They're trying to eliminate me" as a suspect, he said before ending the interview to go teach a class of children. "I'm used to being friendly with my students. No child or anything has ever been in my home."

Jose Chavez, the girl's grandfather, said the family told police about the kiss. When asked if police followed up on the report, he replied: "Not to my knowledge. They didn't inform us of anything."

Watney could not be reached later Tuesday to respond.

Police arrested another man during the raid Monday, but investigators said it was "not directly related" to their search for Sandra.

The man, Chris Sinclair, 49, was arrested, cited and released on a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice after he "got in the way of people investigating," Watney said. He said Sinclair was not violent but continued to accost investigators after multiple warnings.

Sinclair, also a resident of Orchard Estates, told KGO-TV San Francisco on Tuesday that police seized his cars and that he was just upset about the circumstances. He said he was questioned about Sandra's disappearance but said he doesn't know anything.

A relative who answered the phone Tuesday at a residence listed for Sinclair said he was not available to comment.

Late Monday, police announced they had served six search warrants on properties in Tracy and the Stanislaus County town of Oakdale.

Four were for homes in the trailer park. Another was an unspecified location elsewhere in Tracy, and the other was in Oakdale.

Police have declined to say why they were targeting two men, what they might know about Sandra and any details about the evidence, which is being processed by FBI agents in Sacramento.

Other elements of the investigation were obtained during the past couple of days.

Cadaver dogs picked up scents in rural areas north of Tracy, police said, but nothing was found.

Registered sex offenders in the area - none of whom live in the trailer park, according to the state Megan's Law Web site - have been interviewed. Surveillance video at nearby motels showed nothing, police said.

Lie detector tests have been administered to unidentified people.

Authorities say no one - including family members - has been ruled out as a suspect.

The sensational case has drawn a legion of media outlets all chasing their own leads.

The case is attracting offers from television regulars.

Defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, a frequent personality on cable news shows, said he will represent, free of charge, anyone who gets Sandra home alive.

Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, fresh from involvement in another high-profile missing-child case - the Caylee Anthony case in Florida - said he is offering a $10,000 reward for Sandra's safe return.With the days counting, police said they have no option but to be optimistic.

"You have to hope for the best," Watney said.

Record librarian Delailah Little contributed to this report.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090401/A_NEWS/904010321

[Leroy]

Watney said one tipster claimed he may have seen Cantu's father, Daniel Cantu, and that he may have taken the girl to Mexico.

There's nothing to indicate the girl is in Mexico, police said, but it's unclear if Daniel Cantu is still in the area. He told officials that he may not be going back to work in Southern California.
I can't imagine he had anything to do with this, since he had to come from So Cal to go up to No Cal to be there with the family. And I thought I read that the dad didn't have much to do with Sandra's upbringing. 

I dont believe the family has anything to do with her disappearance in this case. If Milstead and George roll up with the mobile billboard I am boarding a plane, I just cant take it anymore.

OMG, and their new boat, for searches in the river. 

  

I dont think the dad is involved either.  someone in that park knows something....IMO!

[no rose colored glasses]

Thanks for all the updates, and Blink so Sandra's dad, cashed a check and went to Mexico,  

[Blink34]

Thanks for all the updates, and Blink so Sandra's dad, cashed a check and went to Mexico,  

allegedly, yes.

[MuffyBee]

Good morning monks.         Let's hope today brings answers, and Sandra can be found. 

[cookie]

Thanks for all the updates, and Blink so Sandra's dad, cashed a check and went to Mexico,  

allegedly, yes.

now why would he do that when he has a missing child?? 
oh, that's right....he really hasn't been in her life anyways, why bother now that she is missing..

[Blink34]

Good morning monks.         Let's hope today brings answers, and Sandra can be found. 

Good Morning Muffy Bee and all!

I pray for that.  I need one of the locals to pop in, I want to discuss a topo map studying the canals and tributaries closest to her home.

[spring2]

I'm here for a few.  I have an appointment this morning and work today 

[Blink34]

I'm here for a few.  I have an appointment this morning and work today 

Thanks Spring- what can you tell me about the resivoir (public access, any gate) and the canal nearby. It looks like the San Joaquin splits off for abit just North of Tracy. The topo maps are not really naming anything but the big bodies of water. Also, how close is the aqueduct?

B

[spring2]

I'm here for a few.  I have an appointment this morning and work today 

Thanks Spring- what can you tell me about the resivoir (public access, any gate) and the canal nearby. It looks like the San Joaquin splits off for abit just North of Tracy. The topo maps are not really naming anything but the big bodies of water. Also, how close is the aqueduct?

B

I don't know the reservoir.  I live about 30 minutes from this area.  I am very curious to know why they are in the Old River.  If you pull a map east, you'll see that there is TONS of water all around this area.  The delta is not far away.  If you follow Grant Line to Byron Hwy (east) you'll see the aquaduct crosses it.  There is also another canal that crosses as well.  They're fairly close together.    I know some of those roads off of Byron Hwy turn into dirt roads that go back to canals that lead to the Delta.    What would make them concentrate on Old River?

[spring2]

Which maps are you using? Google maps I see is naming the sloughs too.