Jada Justice, 2 Abducted From Parked Car, Gary Indiana 6/16/09 (Body found)

[canadianmonkey]

Thanks for the updates Canadianmonkey. God bless this poor little girl.  I hope the $10,000 reward will help bring answers.  I think I'll write NG and ask her to put this story on...

Lovinlife

Thanks for writing NG.  I felt bad when I read the article about no National attention.  I hope the family finds her soon. she's such a sweet little thing.

[Lovinlife]

Just for the record, I have not had time to email NG @ CNN.  I went to the website looking for transcripts for something else and found this: 

Breaking News

Two-year-old girl vanishes after the babysitter allegedly leaves her alone in an unlocked car to buy milk at a gas station. Now law enforcement is on a full-scale search for the tot - Jada Justice. But why are cops questioning the babysitter's account? Nancy Grace has the latest breaking developments.  http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/nancy.grace/

[pink angel]

a photobucket account with case related pics and video:
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Jada%20Justice/

Jada's mom's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/swiontek

There are several photo albums with pictures of Jada and her siblings. All adorable. Jada's mom is a nurse.

[Lovinlife]

Mother last speaks to Jada on 6/12/09?

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1631512,gmissingfolo0620.article

Castillo had been caring for Jada since June 8, the girl's mother said. She last spoke to her on June 12. (Maybe the article means Castillo but I'm assuming that mom hasn't spoken to Jada since then either)


Jada is reported missing on 6/16/09?

http://indianapolis.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/ip061709.htm

At approximately 9:40 p.m., June 16, 2009, JADA JUSTICE was taken from a parked vehicle at the Glen Park Gas Station, 1401 East Ridge Road, Gary, Indiana.


No scent dogs could track a scent away from the car parked at the gas station?  Is there confirmation of sighting of Jada at the gas station on video or by an eye witness?  I think the report of the 16th is a ruse.  I think Jada disappeared between the time mom last talked to her and when Castillo reported her missing.  JMO, Lovinlife

[pink angel]

Jada's mom is on Nancy Grace.

Police are not telling her a lot. Just that they are working around the clock.

She said the cousin told her she went to get milk at the gas station, when she came out Jada was gone. The gas station has confirmed that she was there to buy milk and cigarettes. Gas station attendant said when she came in she was fine, then she left and she came back in hysterical soon after.

Dad said that he didn't think Jada would be able to open the door by herself.


Angelica parked on the side of the gas station where it wasn't well lighted. She didn't pull up front to run in. She said there was a car already parked up front, that is why she parked where she did.

Mom and dad took polys. Babysitter has yet to take a poly as far as mom knows.

Edit to fix typos per Pink Angel

[pink angel]

Police: Baby sitter appeared high during 1st interview

By Deborah Laverty
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 | (No comments posted.)

GARY | Jada Justice's 18-year-old baby sitter appeared to be under the influence of some sort of substance the night she reported the 2-year-old girl missing, Gary police Cmdr. Anthony Titus said Tuesday.

"We know there was something she was intoxicated with," Titus said, without going into further detail. "I can't say it was cocaine, but there was something. ... It was obvious."

But police will never know for sure because they never tested the baby sitter, Engelica Castillo, Titus said.

He said police feared any tests would have meant stopping the interview, strapping handcuffs on the girl and getting her to consent to be tested. And that could have meant a lack of cooperation in trying to find the toddler, who remained missing Tuesday, one week after the initial report.

Castillo couldn't be reached for comment following multiple attempts Tuesday.

"Our concern was with finding the missing child," Titus said of why police failed to test her for the use of any substances.

Castillo, who initially was held by Gary police as a person of interest, later was released without being charged.

Titus said Castillo also has been interviewed by Hobart police and the FBI.

Castillo, who had been baby-sitting the Portage toddler in Hobart, reported Jada missing on the night of June 16.

She told Gary police she had driven from her Hobart home to the Glen Park Gas station, at the intersection of Louisiana and Ridge Road in Gary, to buy some milk and cigarettes.

Jada, who was left inside the car, was missing when Castillo came out of the grocery store after making her purchases, she reported to police.

Titus said Gary police have sent via computer a nationwide notice of Jada's disappearance to other police agencies.

He said a meeting Monday among local police, Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office went well but he would not elaborate further.

"We wanted to make sure everybody is on board with the communication. ... We want to make sure that everyone who needs to be involved is involved," Titus said.

Investigators, who on Friday sought information from the public, did receive quite a few leads, he said.

"We're still following any leads, and we're still doing searches," Titus said.

Police are asking anyone who has information about the case to call (800) CALL-FBI.

http://www.nwi.com/articles/2009/06/24/news/top/doc0c8f5880d6e7bcc7862575de00829045.txt

[Lovinlife]

Let me preface this post by saying that I do not believe the mom had anything to do with this situation.  I'm trying to conceptualize the facts. 

EC had been sitting for Jada for 6/8/2009-6/16/09 the day she goes missing.   Why did the mom leave her daughter with a sitter for 8 days?  Was she on vacation?

IIRC Melissa Swiontek (I keep calling her "the mom" and I apologize) has 5 children.  Where were they all while she was on vacation?  Were they in EC's care also?  If so, why did they not accompany her to pick up the milk?  Doesn't Gary IN have drive-thrus?

They keep saying that Engelica Castillo is the cousin.  Is she Jada's cousin, making her MS's niece?  Not that it really matters, but helps me in my little pea brain that I have.

I'm glad the FBI is involved and that the LE seem to really be stepping up to the plate on this one.  Praying that Jada will be found.  God Speed. 

[canadianmonkey]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,527240,00.html
Family Suspicious About How Indiana Toddler Vanished

Thursday, June 18, 2009

GARY, Ind. —  Investigators and family members say they are suspicious about the account the cousin of a 2-year-old girl has given of how the child disappeared from outside a convenience store.

Authorities continued a search Thursday for 2-year-old Jada Justice of Portage that began when 18-year-old Angelica Castillo told police she discovered the child was missing when she returned to the car Tuesday night after buying a gallon of milk.

"We are leery of the baby sitter's accounting of the facts, but right now that's all we have to work with," Gary police Cmdr. Anthony Titus said.

*snipped*

Authorities said Wednesday night the focus of the search will be in three areas — the Gary neighborhood where Jada was reported missing, as well as neighborhoods in both Hobart and Porter County. Gary police spokeswoman Cpl. Gabrielle King did not immediately return telephone messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Valdez said his niece was staying with Castillo because Jada's mother had planned to go out of town with a boyfriend and was visiting friends.

Valdez urged Castillo to tell the truth about what happened.

"If there's anything you're not telling us, let us know," he said.

Lovinlife - I bolded why the mother wasn't there in the above article.  It also says in another article that the babysitter is the cousin of the mother.

[Lovinlife]

Thanks Canadianmonkey! I really did read all of the articles, I think I have selective memory. 

I go out of town with my boyfriend & to visit friends over a long weekend.  I do not leave my son for 8 days.

[canadianmonkey]

Thanks Canadianmonkey! I really did read all of the articles, I think I have selective memory. 

I go out of town with my boyfriend & to visit friends over a long weekend.  I do not leave my son for 8 days.

It's hard to keep all the article straight.  To give the mother the benefit of the doubt...maybe when you have 5 children you need a break for 8 days.   

[Lovinlife]

I agree about the break (from the kids & for Mellissa).  I thought she was genuine on NG last night.  If making "different" coices were a crime there wouldn't be many people out of jail.  I need to remember the glass houses thingy. 

I still want verification that someone saw Jada on the 16th, in the car at the gas station. 

I'm stepping off my soap box now... God Bless Jada.

[Cappuccino]

Ive been praying for little Jada but Im afraid this is yet another case involving a person faking an abduction, Im not hopeful this one will conclude with a happy ending - this one feels like this cousin/babysitter was very neglectful in some manner and the baby died in her care, she's covering & doesnt want to admit what happened to family much less LE.   I don't know why but my gut is telling me this girl didnt commit premeditated murder, nor did anyone else take Jada.  Seeing the report that she appeared under the influence (history reportedly did not include drug or alcohol abuse) seems to strengthen initial gut feelings.

[Tams]

Ok, so here we go again . . . small children left in the care of questionable and irresponsible people . . .

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/24/2-year-old-Indian-girl-still-missing/UPI-82371245897742/

"...Gary police have questioned the account given by Castillo, who had been taking care of Jada since June 8 while the child's 27-year-old mother Melissa Swiontek was on a trip. (Hobart Deputy Chief Jeff) White said Castillo and her live-in boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik, 24, have not been cooperative. 'If I was responsible for someone else's child and she had disappeared while in my custody, I would have done everything and anything to help find them,' he said. 'Let's just say that has not been the case'."

. . . And, have you SEEN this boyfriend?!?! WTH happened to him - and is it a screaming clue to what happened to this little girl?

<img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Jada%20Justice/TimTkachik.jpg">

"...Other concerns involve fresh burns on the boyfriend’s arms and face for which he has not given a reasonable explanation. The boyfriend and babysitter are still being questioned by Gary, Indiana police." Good heavens people.

[Tams]

Sorry - don't know how to make pictures work unless I include them as an attachment . . .

Anybody else remember Richard Pryor's freebasing accident in the 80's?!? And now LE is saying the sitter appeared high during questioning . . .

Heaven help these innocent little children.

[klaasend]

May have already been posted:
http://www.post-trib.com/news/1636313,jadafolo.article

Search for Jada 'hopeful'


June 24, 2009

By Andy Grimm, Post-Tribune staff writer

The search for Jada Justice enters its second week today, as a joint team of local police and FBI agents continued following leads in the disappearance of the 2-year-old.

Justice was reported missing June 16 by 18-year-old cousin Eugelica Castillo, who told police she left the toddler in her car while she went to buy a gallon of milk from a gas station on Ridge Road in Gary. When she returned, the girl was gone.

A team of two dozen police from Hobart and Gary, and FBI agents are working around the clock, exploring tips flowing into a special FBI toll-free number, and this after a six-hour search that involved police dogs, helicopters and sent more than 100 police officers scouring through the wooded, one-mile area between the gas station and Castillo's home in Hobart.

"In all my years in police work, I have never seen these kinds of resources dedicated to anything like (the search) for Jada," said Hobart Deputy Chief Jeff White, who said investigators now need more information from the public to close out the investigation.

"Statistically, a lot of time passing is not good for the victim," White said. "But we are hopeful and our goal remains to return Jada to her family."

Tuesday night, Justice's father, Clarence Justice of Hammond, was to appear on the CNN show "Nancy Grace" to discuss the case.

Gary police said last week they were "leery" of Castillo's account. Castillo had been watching Justice since June 8 while Jada's mother, 27-year-old Melissa Swiontek, was on a trip. White said investigators have been frustrated with a lack of cooperation from Castillo and her live-in boyfriend, 24-year-old Timothy Tkachik.

White declined to comment on specifics Tuesday, saying only: "If I was responsible for someone else's child and she had disappeared while in my custody, I would have done everything and anything to help find them.

"Let's just say that has not been the case."

Police last week circulated photographs of Jada, Castillo and Tkachik. Tkachik's photograph appears to show multiple burns on his face, though police have not said how Tkachik explained his injuries.

Police had canvassed the neighborhood between Castillo and Tkachik's home and the gas station twice by Tuesday, and FBI agents had interviewed registered offenders living in the vicinity.

Last week, investigators searched Castillo's home, where they discovered bloodied sheets and dug up an area in the back yard. The blood was determined to have come from a female dog in heat, and police stopped digging after determining the soil didn't appear to have been disturbed prior to their search.

White said anyone with information about the whereabouts and movements of any of the three, or the 1991 maroon Cadillac Castillo was driving on June 16 or the days before and after Jada's disappearance can help investigators.

"There is no doubt in my mind someone out there knows where Jada is," White said. "Their conscience, their religion, whatever, needs to come through and have them call us."

Anyone with information can contact investigators on the FBI tip line at (800) 225-5324.

[pink angel]

Hobart cops plan to release more info in case of missing toddler

By Times Staff | Thursday, June 25, 2009

The mother of a babysitter at the center of a missing child investigation said she has filed a police complaint against the father of the missing girl, alleging he has intimidated the babysitter.

Clarence Justice, the father of 2-year-old missing girl Jada Justice, said he has done no such thing.

Engelica Castillo's mother, Rita Rincon, spoke out in support of her daughter Thursday, saying information about Castillo is being misunderstood or misconstrued.

"She wants the baby home," Rincon said of her daughter. "We all want her home."

Investigators have been searching the area near the 3900 block of Hobart's Missouri Street since June 16, when Jada's cousin and babysitter Engelica Castillo, 18, reported the little girl missing. Gary police investigators, who also are involved in the case, have since said that Castillo appeared under the influence of a substance when she spoke to police.

Hobart police are planning to issue a news release for later Thursday pertaining to updates in the case of missing Portage 2-year-old Jada Justice, a secretary at the department said.

Meanwhile, FBI officials in Indiana, who have been involved in the investigation of the girl -- now missing for nine days -- were referring all questions regarding the case to the Lake County prosecutor's office.

Diane Poulton, a spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor's office, said Thursday morning: "The investigation is ongoing. Investigators are meeting later today, but at this point there is no new information."

Rincon denied police criticism that Castillo has been uncooperative with authorities in the investigation.

Rincon said Castillo and her boyfriend, Tim Tkachik -- both questioned by police -- have been out with other volunteers passing out fliers with Jada's information, trying to find the girl.

"We've been doing everything we can," Rincon said. "That's all of us."

Rincon said Jada's father, Clarence Justice, has threatened Castillo, once named a person of interest in the case.

Rincon filed a complaint with Hammond police on Sunday, claiming she was a victim of intimidation that night.

Justice denied the threat accusation on Thursday, saying, "That's not true."

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2009/06/25/updates/breaking_news/doc4a43a1384f183585438698.txt


All the questions are being referred to the prosecutors office? That sounds bad.

[pink angel]

Unless it means they are referring all questions about the complaint the babysitters mother filed. That "case".

[pink angel]

Police focus on baby sitter's home

By Christine Kraly and Deborah Laverty
Times Staff Writers | Thursday, June 25, 2009

HOBART | Authorities expanded their search for missing 2-year-old Jada Justice on Wednesday, saying they still hope to find the girl alive but acknowledging there were no new leads in the Portage girl's case.

Police, however, would not disclose the new areas in which they were hunting for the girl, missing now for nine days.

"We're looking at certain areas of interest based on leads we've received," Hobart Deputy Police Chief Jeff White said.

Investigators on Wednesday singled out the Hobart home of Jada's 18-year-old baby sitter as a place of interest in the case.

Searches thus far have included the wooded areas near Engelica Castillo's residence in the 3900 block of Hobart's Missouri Street.

White said Castillo, who is also Jada's cousin, and her boyfriend have not been working well with authorities.

"If I were in her shoes, I'd be a lot more cooperative with the police," White said.

Castillo could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Law enforcement officials also confirmed Wednesday that the Hobart Police Department is the lead agency in an investigation that has spanned Hobart and Gary.

White said the investigation remained a cooperative effort among Hobart and Gary police and the FBI.

Police and volunteers also have canvassed the Glen Park Gas station at Ridge Road and Louisiana Street in Gary, where Castillo reportedly last saw Jada.

Bill Baker, who lives in Hebron and owns the Missouri Street house on which Castillo lives, said Hobart police told him he could not return to the house yet because it is a "crime scene" and part of an active investigation.

Police are awaiting the results of tests taken on materials pulled from the Hobart home. White was uncertain of what items were recovered.

Castillo had been baby-sitting Jada in the house on June 16, the day she reported the toddler missing. She told Gary police she left Jada in her unlocked Cadillac about 9:30 p.m., outside the Glen Park Gas station.

After Castillo went inside to buy milk and cigarettes, she returned to find Jada missing, she said.

Gary police initially held Castillo as a person of interest but later released her without charges.

Her boyfriend also has been questioned by police but has not been named as a suspect or a person of interest.

Jada's mother, Melissa Swiontek, told CNN's Nancy Grace on Tuesday that she and Jada's father, Clarence Justice, both had been administered polygraphs by police.

Gary police Cmdr. Anthony Titus said Gary police did not offer Castillo a polygraph, but he could not speak to what other departments had done.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said he met Monday with the FBI, Gary and Hobart police departments and the U.S. attorney's office to discuss the case.

"It did go very well," Carter said Wednesday of the meeting. But he declined to discuss details.

White said police still hope to find Jada alive.

"Everyone remains hopeful that someone knows where she is," he said. "It's unthinkable that someone who knows where she is wouldn't come forward. Her family has been through hell and back."

Authorities are asking anyone who has information about Jada Justice's disappearance to call (800) CALL-FBI.
"We're still urging the public to call with information no matter how big or small, or whether they think it is of consequence or not," Hobart Deputy Police Chief Jeff White said.

http://www.nwi.com/articles/2009/06/25/news/top/doc5ee8f4ff7bbab1cd862575df007dcda0.txt

[Nut44x4]

Body Found Believed To Be Missing Gary Toddler
A body believed to be that of a missing northwest Indiana toddler has been found in a field about 30 miles away from where the girl was last reported seen.

Police investigators, working all day in the rural area near Otis, Ind., discovered the body around mid-afternoon. Otis is located about 6 miles south of Michigan City in LaPorte County.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/Body.Found.Believed.2.1059888.html

[MuffyBee]

Oh no.  I hope not.  But this doesn't look good.     But sadly, if it isn't little Jada, then it's still another child.