Alexandria "Ali" Lowitzer 16, Spring, TX Last Seen 4/26/10

[Rob]

Muffybee - I searched also and didn't find the other attempted abduction. I did find the Shoreacres attempt, but that was way south of Pasadena.

And then there was this - but this was on two girls aged 6 and 9 if I remember correctly, so I didn't post it. It did happen on 3-21-2010 - so the date and location was interesting.

I'll add the new names that No Rose Colored Glasses added to the map in just a moment. Thanks!

But the way - we had a visitor, wonder who it was.

Here's his description.

[Rob]

Well this certainly changes things. Kudos Northern Rose. Sorry I posted the wrong name in the last post, my apologies.

[Rob]

Due to the fact that Houston Metro is so large - I'm not sure this map is any help at all. But, I'll post it anyway. I learned this technique from Dr. Maurice Godwin and another specialist working on Jack the Ripper. Triangulation is a very helpful technique, but in this case, I'm not sure how much it will help at all. I moved the HOT SPOT closer to very the majority of the abductions occurred.

[Rob]

REVISED DAY UPDATE TO ADD -

Cynthia Tucker (first missing) April 12, 2010 - MONDAY

Chasity Armstrong (second missing) April 16, 2010 - FRIDAY

Jordan Johnson (third missing) April 23, 2010 - FRIDAY

Ali Lowitzer (fourth missing) April 26, 2010 - MONDAY

Alyssa Lynn Suarez (fifth missing) May 3, 2010 - MONDAY

(ADDING BELOW)

Felechia Goodman, (sixth missing) May 16, 2010 - SUNDAY

Kalyn Painter, (seventh missing) May 25, 2010 - TUESDAY

[Edward]

wow

[Rob]

Even if you believe that some of these young ladies took off on their own - what about the others? And Ali is a habitual texter - 4000 thousand a month. No texts from Ali to anyone. Young girls do not have the means / mental faculties nor resources to navigate life on their own yet. Young men too. Heck, some of us older folks still have trouble. Ask my brother - LOL.

Even if you believe that they took off - don't you think some would have found out what I just said and returned home? (just to add - I do take into account that some could have left on their, I'm not blind to that possibility own)

Personally, I hate to think bad things. I try not to allow my mind to go there, but it's rather apparent that Ali and probably many of the others are not missing voluntarily.

I think something bad happened. The missing young women are piling up, and it is making me conclude that something is very wrong here. I hope I'm wrong and this is all a series of unexplained coincidences.

[Rob]

ohhh, and btw - I checked the Texas registered sex offender list yesterday - 500 in Harris county. I didn't post it, but there were some real winners on that list. 

It would be futile to even attempt to look through that.

[Northern Rose]

Kingwood parent takes action after 7 teenage girls disappear in 2 months

KINGWOOD, Texas – The disappearances of seven teenage girls in less than two months have prompted a concerned parent to question the system that labels them "runaways."

Ira Kettles-Lemiska started a Facebook page to increase awareness about the girls, who all went missing near her Kingwood home.

Only one, Ali Lowitzer, has drawn much media attention. Lowitzer was last seen on April 26 getting off her school bus just feet from her home near Knotty Post Drive and Low Ridge Road in Spring.

Lowitzer, along with the other girls, have been labeled "runaways" by law enforcement officials, due to a lack of evidence of any foul play.

"The more involved I get, the more I’m hearing, ‘Oh no, they’re a teenager? Most likely, they’re a runaway.’ That’s just so not fair," said Kettles-Lemiska.

The Houston Police Department said it receives between 6,000 and 7,000 missing person reports a year. Most of them are runways.

HPD detectives said every call gets a missing person report opened, but to see if the teen is likely to be a runaway, they’ll check whether the teen took their cell phone or a change of clothes. Another question is whether that teen has a history of disappearance or criminal activity, and if he or she has used any social networking sites.

Law enforcement officials said having seven missing girls from the same area is not unusual. There are thousands of similar cases throughout the Houston area. The reality is, cases involving kidnapping or assault take priority and get more resources.

But that is small consolation to parents like Stacy Turner, whose 15-year-old daughter, Cynthia, disappeared from her grandmother’s northwest Houston home on April 12. She admits the teenager likely ran off, but that doesn’t make the ordeal any easier.

"Not knowing if she’s OK is the scariest part," she said. "They think that it was the child’s choice. But they’re just kids!"

Any parent who is worried about their missing child is urged to contact the Laura Recovery Center for Missing Children.

http://www.khou.com/news/Seven-Missing-Girls-In-Two-Months-Worries-Kingwood-Parent-95238394.html

[Northern Rose]

I believe that some of these girls have gone missing in Harris County and some in Montgomery County?  I am really having a hard time finding a county breakdown so could be wrong.

Here is the Montgomery County Blotter

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/2010/05/26/mcso-press-release-weekly-blotter-5-26-10/

[MuffyBee]

I believe that some of these girls have gone missing in Harris County and some in Montgomery County?  I am really having a hard time finding a county breakdown so could be wrong.

Here is the Montgomery County Blotter

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/2010/05/26/mcso-press-release-weekly-blotter-5-26-10/

Texas Department of Public Safety Missing Persons Bulletin  (You can use filter)
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mpch.htm

Also look at this page:
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/index.htm
Missing and Unidentified Persons
Online Bulletin

The DPS Missing and Unidentified Persons Online Bulletin is supported by the Texas DPS Missing Persons Clearinghouse and the Unidentified Persons and DNA unit. This site features individual searchable bulletins regarding missing persons, abductors, runaways, traveling companions, and unidentified persons discovered in Texas. Each bulletin includes photographs (if available), descriptors, and other information regarding the circumstances of the person's disappearance or discovery.

Click here for the current criteria that must be met in order to add a missing person or an unidentified person to this online bulletin.
 
Locate Missing or Unidentified Persons

    * Search the Online Missing Persons Bulletin
    * Search the Online Abductors/Companions Bulletin
    * Search through the Online Unidentified Persons Bulletin



 


You can contact the Missing Persons Clearinghouse at:

Missing Persons Clearinghouse
Texas Department of Public Safety
P O Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0422
Phone: (512) 424-5074
Helpline: (800) 346-3243

[Northern Rose]

I believe that some of these girls have gone missing in Harris County and some in Montgomery County?  I am really having a hard time finding a county breakdown so could be wrong.

Here is the Montgomery County Blotter

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.com/2010/05/26/mcso-press-release-weekly-blotter-5-26-10/

Texas Department of Public Safety Missing Persons Bulletin  (You can use filter)
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mpch.htm

Also look at this page:
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/index.htm
Missing and Unidentified Persons
Online Bulletin

The DPS Missing and Unidentified Persons Online Bulletin is supported by the Texas DPS Missing Persons Clearinghouse and the Unidentified Persons and DNA unit. This site features individual searchable bulletins regarding missing persons, abductors, runaways, traveling companions, and unidentified persons discovered in Texas. Each bulletin includes photographs (if available), descriptors, and other information regarding the circumstances of the person's disappearance or discovery.

Click here for the current criteria that must be met in order to add a missing person or an unidentified person to this online bulletin.
 
Locate Missing or Unidentified Persons

    * Search the Online Missing Persons Bulletin
    * Search the Online Abductors/Companions Bulletin
    * Search through the Online Unidentified Persons Bulletin



 


You can contact the Missing Persons Clearinghouse at:

Missing Persons Clearinghouse
Texas Department of Public Safety
P O Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0422
Phone: (512) 424-5074
Helpline: (800) 346-3243

Ty Miss Muffy!

[Tracygirl]

Just read this case. I don't understand why they still have this girl as a runaway. Doesn't seem to fit this case. Sadly our system puts teens at such risk for abduction by making their past prove without a shadow of a doubt that they didn't run away and are in need of help. 

I can't help but think about Amber Dubois and how she laid in a shallow grave off a lonely path for over a year, and would still be there if her killer hadn't confessed and all the while the investigators did little for her. Why? They believed she had run away. Carrie and Moe sounded like the parents here, saying over and over again their daughter wouldn't just run, she's a good girl, she had plans...It is sad and wrong and it needs to change.

[MuffyBee]

I started a Missing Person's thread for Kalyn Painter.  She's one of the teens from the general area we've been discussing and is on Rob's list.  http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=8002.0  This young lady has a heart condition and needs medication.

Also, here is a link to some newspapers in the areas around Houston I've found handy:
http://www.headlinehouston.com/
If you go to the above link, there's Houston area news and  a list of community newspapers and magazines you can click on:

Houston Newspapers/Magazines
Houston Chronicle
Houston Press
Houston Business Journal
Houston Forward Times
Houston Indo American News
Jewish Herald Voice
Houston Tribune
Houston Intown Magazine
Greater Houston Weekly
002 Houston
Arab Times
Energy Houston magazine
Houston Lifestyle & Homes magazine
Outsmart magazine
Houston Family magazine
My Table/Houston Dining magazine
Liveable Houston magazine
Natural Awakenings-Houston magazine
Community Newspapers
Northeast News
Free Press Houston
Ft. Bend County Herald
The Post/Texas City
The Greensheet Houston
Atascosita *******
Bay Area Citizen
Bellaire Examiner
Cleveland Advocate
Conroe Courier
Copperfield Sun
Cy-Fair Sun
Cypress Sun
Dayton News
Deer Park Broadcaster
Eastex Advocate
East Montgomery *******
Ft. Bend Sun
Friendswood Journal
Greater Houston Weekly
Humble *******
Katy Sun
Kingwood *******
Klein Sun
Lake Houston Sentinel
Magnolia Potpourri
Memorial Examiner
North Channel Sentinel
Pasadena Citizen
Pearland Journal
River Oaks Examiner
Spring *******
Sugar Land Sun
Tomball Potpourri
Woodlands Villager
Waller County News Citizen
West University Examiner
Alvin, TX Newspaper
Bay City Tribune
Baytown Sun
Times Tribune/Waller County
The Brazosport Facts/Brazoria county
Galveston County Daily News
The Police News/Galveston County

[Northern Rose]

I started a Missing Person's thread for Kalyn Painter.  She's one of the teens from the general area we've been discussing and is on Rob's list.  http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=8002.0  This young lady has a heart condition and needs medication.

Also, here is a link to some newspapers in the areas around Houston I've found handy:
http://www.headlinehouston.com/
If you go to the above link, there's Houston area news and  a list of community newspapers and magazines you can click on:

Houston Newspapers/Magazines
Houston Chronicle
Houston Press
Houston Business Journal
Houston Forward Times
Houston Indo American News
Jewish Herald Voice
Houston Tribune
Houston Intown Magazine
Greater Houston Weekly
002 Houston
Arab Times
Energy Houston magazine
Houston Lifestyle & Homes magazine
Outsmart magazine
Houston Family magazine
My Table/Houston Dining magazine
Liveable Houston magazine
Natural Awakenings-Houston magazine
Community Newspapers
Northeast News
Free Press Houston
Ft. Bend County Herald
The Post/Texas City
The Greensheet Houston
Atascosita *******
Bay Area Citizen
Bellaire Examiner
Cleveland Advocate
Conroe Courier
Copperfield Sun
Cy-Fair Sun
Cypress Sun
Dayton News
Deer Park Broadcaster
Eastex Advocate
East Montgomery *******
Ft. Bend Sun
Friendswood Journal
Greater Houston Weekly
Humble *******
Katy Sun
Kingwood *******
Klein Sun
Lake Houston Sentinel
Magnolia Potpourri
Memorial Examiner
North Channel Sentinel
Pasadena Citizen
Pearland Journal
River Oaks Examiner
Spring *******
Sugar Land Sun
Tomball Potpourri
Woodlands Villager
Waller County News Citizen
West University Examiner
Alvin, TX Newspaper
Bay City Tribune
Baytown Sun
Times Tribune/Waller County
The Brazosport Facts/Brazoria county
Galveston County Daily News
The Police News/Galveston County

Kalyn's Mom has posted that she came home safe today!       

From her Mom's Facebook:

Debbie Holmes McNeese 
Kalyn did come home this morning. I want to thank everyone!!! Please keep us in your prayers!!!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Debbie-Holmes-McNeese/1342940330

[Nut44x4]

You 'dun' good Muffy 

[cartfly]

A body found, not sure what if anything this has to do with Ali. The thing that caught my eye is the Treaschwig   Road where the body is found is a main road in Spring.

http://www.khou.com/news/Body-found-in-northeast-Harris-County-95616559.html

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Body found in northeast Harris County

by khou.com staff

khou.com

Posted on June 4, 2010 at 10:16 AM

HOUSTON – Investigators were on the scene in northeast Harris County Friday morning after a body was found on the side of the road.

The body was discovered around 4:15 a.m. in the 4300 block of Treaschwig.

Initial reports indicate the person was shot to death.

It was not clear how long the body had been there or whether it was a man or woman.

[cartfly]

I started a Missing Person's thread for Kalyn Painter.  She's one of the teens from the general area we've been discussing and is on Rob's list.  http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=8002.0  This young lady has a heart condition and needs medication.

Also, here is a link to some newspapers in the areas around Houston I've found handy:
http://www.headlinehouston.com/
If you go to the above link, there's Houston area news and  a list of community newspapers and magazines you can click on:

Houston Newspapers/Magazines
Houston Chronicle
Houston Press
Houston Business Journal
Houston Forward Times
Houston Indo American News
Jewish Herald Voice
Houston Tribune
Houston Intown Magazine
Greater Houston Weekly
002 Houston
Arab Times
Energy Houston magazine
Houston Lifestyle & Homes magazine
Outsmart magazine
Houston Family magazine
My Table/Houston Dining magazine
Liveable Houston magazine
Natural Awakenings-Houston magazine
Community Newspapers
Northeast News
Free Press Houston
Ft. Bend County Herald
The Post/Texas City
The Greensheet Houston
Atascosita *******
Bay Area Citizen
Bellaire Examiner
Cleveland Advocate
Conroe Courier
Copperfield Sun
Cy-Fair Sun
Cypress Sun
Dayton News
Deer Park Broadcaster
Eastex Advocate
East Montgomery *******
Ft. Bend Sun
Friendswood Journal
Greater Houston Weekly
Humble *******
Katy Sun
Kingwood *******
Klein Sun
Lake Houston Sentinel
Magnolia Potpourri
Memorial Examiner
North Channel Sentinel
Pasadena Citizen
Pearland Journal
River Oaks Examiner
Spring *******
Sugar Land Sun
Tomball Potpourri
Woodlands Villager
Waller County News Citizen
West University Examiner
Alvin, TX Newspaper
Bay City Tribune
Baytown Sun
Times Tribune/Waller County
The Brazosport Facts/Brazoria county
Galveston County Daily News
The Police News/Galveston County

Kalyn's Mom has posted that she came home safe today!       

From her Mom's Facebook:

Debbie Holmes McNeese 
Kalyn did come home this morning. I want to thank everyone!!! Please keep us in your prayers!!!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Debbie-Holmes-McNeese/1342940330

Just an article I came across tonight regarding Kalyn. I wonder if alot of teens do this and if Ali could have been doing this as well. It is really scary.
 
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/06/04/kingwood_observer/news/2310phonechatko.txt


Phone chat predator harbors runaway teen

By STEFANIE THOMAS
Updated: 06.02.10
Debbie McNeese and her 16-year-old daughter, Kalyn Painter, spent Tuesday snuggling on the couch and licking their wounds - emotionally and physically. Kalyn was missing for six days and returned home Memorial Day, much to McNeese’s relief, but the story behind Kalyn’s nearly week-long absence is of great concern to the Porter mom.

McNeese said Kalyn admitted she spent her time away from home with a much older man she met through the Quest chat line, a telephone dating service with local phone lines in several cities and states, including the Houston area.

“This man is my age, and Kalyn said she was down in Corpus Christi with him all this time,” McNeese said, adding she is sure sexual encounters took place. “It makes me so mad - she’s only 16. What gives those men the right to come into a child’s life and disturb what their parents are trying to teach them? They’re still children.”

Although Quest’s website and chat line specify users must be 18 years of age or older, the company’s website states it “does not screen the members registering to Quest in any way.” No provision of a birth date is required, and the website states it assumes no responsibility for dates gone wrong.

McNeese said her daughter clearly stated in her Quest personal profile that she was 16.

“And that phone lit up like crazy,” she said. The phone calls to Quest chat lines are local numbers, she said, and there was no reason to be suspicious when they showed up on the phone bill. In a time when most media coverage and law enforcement education initiatives focus on Internet predators, McNeese said a potential threat by phone didn’t even occur to her.

“I’m old-fashioned - we don’t even have Internet at home,” she said. “The thought of a phone chat line didn’t even cross my mind.”

PREDATORS PREY ON THE VULNERABLE


McNeese said Kalyn only had her cell phone since March, when she turned 16, and no Internet access is available to her at home.

City of Houston Crime Victims Advocacy Director Andy Kahan said chat lines are are yet another form of communication that allows predators to hook up with victims.

“The Internet and other modern-day technological forms of communication are inevitably the new trolling ground for would-be predators,” he said. “Predators stalk areas where young teens hang out, like in the old days, when the playground and parks were the hunting ground. This playground has now evolved, thanks to modern technology.”

According to McNeese, meeting older men through chat lines like Quest has almost become a sort of sport for some young girls and she encourages other parents to be alert.

“From what I understand, my daughter isn’t the only one who does this,” she said, indicating that she was made aware of other New Caney HS girls participating in the practice. “And it’s not just at her school.”

New Caney Independent School District officials said they are not aware of older men meeting young students via Quest or other chat lines.

“We are unaware of any trend, established or growing, on our campuses where girls call and meet men on phone chat lines,” said Kelley Mattlage, spokeswoman for New Caney ISD. “If someone has knowledge of something like this, we would encourage them to share it with our campus administrators or local law enforcement so that something may be done to prevent a potentially harmful situation. We also strongly encourage parents to speak with their children about the dangers of talking by phone or online with strangers and stress the dire consequences of getting into a car with someone you don't know.”

In Kalyn’s case, McNeese said her daughter is impressionable, like most teens, and, as a girl raised by a single mother since early childhood who grew up without a father figure, craves male attention, making her vulnerable to the advances of older men.

“My daughter made a mistake, I admit that,” she said. “I have to get it through her head that she can’t run off with older men she meets on the phone, but that doesn’t mean these men can just take advantage of a child.”

McNeese also acknowledged that Kalyn had run away once before, when a man she met via a phone chat line picked her up from school and took her for a day.

This man, an Humble resident, is currently under investigation by the Humble Police Department for possible charges of sexual assault of a child. At age 16, Kalyn has not yet reached the age of sexual consent, which is 17 in Texas.

And although the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office assessment classifying Kalyn as a runaway proved to be accurate, McNeese said her child did end up in the hands of a predator and she spent several sleepless nights, worrying about Kalyn’s safety.

“Law enforcement says that if the child takes clothes, a cell phone, and posts on message boards, it’s a runaway,” McNeese said. “But in Kalyn’s case this last time, she didn’t even take her heart medication. And what gives you the right to think they’re not worth looking for when they meet someone online and leave voluntarily? That is automatically a big red flag, in my mind. If anything, that should be considered a warning.”

McNeese said an unknown person was able to somehow contact Kalyn while in the grasp of the Corpus Christi man and told her to come home.

“The man was afraid to bring her back, so a friend picked her up,” McNeese said.

Kalyn is currently recovering from a sprained ankle she suffered during her outing, cause unknown. And after she was seen at a local emergency room to be checked out upon her return, McNeese took her to a children’s facility in Conroe with the intent to get her admitted for a week or two so she could regroup and get some counseling. Kalyn wasn’t accepted due to her ankle injury.

“Kaylyn has been a good kid up until the last few months. She doesn’t steal, she doesn’t talk back. There were no fights in school. The worst thing she did was to get caught straightening her hair in the school bathroom,” McNeese said. “But sometimes you need help, no matter how good a parent you are.”

McNeese said this chapter is anything but closed for her. She plans on forming a group to bring awareness to teens that chat lines can pose a danger, that running away can result in big trouble, major heartache - maybe even death.

“I think they need to see graphic pictures, hear about people like Ted Bundy, know the kind of people who are out there, just waiting for them,” she said. “I’m not done with this. I’m just getting started.”

[cartfly]

Just checking to see if anything new. I can not believe this has not gotten more attention.

Where are you Ali?

[MuffyBee]

http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/News/Local_News/LOWITZER_FAMILY_TO_HOLD_PRAYER_VIGIL_FOR_MISSING_DAUGHTER/30982
LOWITZER FAMILY TO HOLD PRAYER VIGIL FOR MISSING DAUGHTER
June 14, 2010



“Someone out there knows something and I just simply ask that they contact someone, anyone.” – John Lowitzer.

Ali Lowitzer disappeared on the afternoon of April 26, 2010 shortly after getting off of her school bus in Spring. No one has heard from her since. Ali’s family will join together with the Laura Recovery Center and the Mayor’s Crime Victims office for a prayer vigil on Thursday, June 17, 2010.

The prayer vigil will be held in front of Houston City Hall beginning at 7:00 pm on the 17th. The purpose of the vigil is to heighten community awareness and to build support for the efforts to find 16 year old Ali.

The vigil will feature several keynote speakers including local Pastors, Andy Kahan from the Mayor’s Crime Victim’s office, Harris County Constable for Precinct 6; Victor Trevino and a representative from the Laura Recovery Center.

To learn more about Ali see related articles below and visit the Bring Home Ali Lowitzer Facebook page.

Ali’s father, John Lowitzer added the following post on Facebook today:

"Somebody out there knows something and I just simply ask that they contact someone, anyone and give information. Don't be afraid. This is not about who did it, it's about the safety and well being of a 16 year old girl. It's about having comfort in knowing. At least let someone know if she's ok. Please allow us to begi...n the road to healing. We're anxious to hear something. Anything. If it were your family member I would think you'd want the same. Please, I beg you. If you are out there and have knowledge of her whereabouts or any information, please tell someone.” – John Lowitzer


The Laura Recovery Center exists to prevent abductions and runaways and to recover missing children by fostering a Triangle of Trust among law enforcement, community and a missing child's family.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/06/18/spring_observer/news/2510prayervigilso.txt
(Slide Show at Above Link)
Prayer vigil raises awareness of missing children
Updatd 6/18/10

HOUSTON - Someone, somewhere, knows something.

At a prayer vigil for missing children in front of Houston City Hall June 17, John Lowitzer, father of missing Spring girl Alexandria Lowitzer, 16, implored anyone who may have any information about what happened to his daughter, or where she may be, to step forward.

“This is my baby girl. If anybody out there knows anything, please speak up, say something,” he pleaded. “You don’t have to give your name - just tell us where Ali is.”

Alexandria disappeared after stepping off her school bus April 26, leaving behind a paycheck from her job, her purse with money inside and her constant companion, her cell phone. Authorities still have no leads regarding her whereabouts.

Andy Kahan, the mayor’s crime victims assistance director for the city of Houston, said statistics form the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children showed that 28 children went missing from Texas in 2009, and 81 over a 5-year period.

“According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 797,500 children under the age of 18 were reported missing in a one-year-period [nationwide] - that’s an average of 2,185 each day,” he added. “Yet we hold out hope. With perseverance, persistence and law enforcement assistance we can bring these [children] back home to their families.”

The Laura Recovery Center, a non-profit organization launched in Friendswood by Bob and Gaye Smither after the abduction and murder of their 12-year-old daughter Laura in 1997, has spent the weeks since Ali’s disappearance organizing volunteer search parties to comb acres of woods near the Lowitzer home and distribute fliers with Ali’s picture.

“We are here tonight in hope - hope that a young girl will return home safely; hope that she’s alive and well; hope that her family, friends and community will continue to search until she is found,” said Bob Walcutt, executive director at Laura Recovery Center. “ Hope is a fragile thing. It is built on love, time and faith, but it can be destroyed by gossip, rumors and flat-out lies. Families dealing with a missing child face many hurdles. They must first face the fact that their child is missing. They must convince the authorities of the seriousness of the situation, and finally, they must work hard, day and night, to bring their child home. And sometimes the only thing they have is hope.”

Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino, whose office is not investigating the Ali Lowitzer case in an official capacity but who offered his assistance and support to the family, said a review of law enforcement policies regarding missing and runaway children may be in order to ensure all children, regardless of the reason or circumstances of their disappearance, are brought home safely.

“Sometimes it’s not about pointing fingers, or being judgmental, or critical. Sometimes we just have to be part of the solution and try to help each other out. There will be time for an assessment, an analysis, an evaluation - later,” he said. “In law enforcement, we try to do the best we can but sometimes we fall short. maybe we do have to re-evaluate how we look at each child as a runaway or as being abducted. Even if it is a runaway, that child might still be endangered. Whether the child went willingly or not, that child still needs us - it’s a child. Someone may have coerced or conned that child. We need to reevaluate our priorities and do a better job.”

Kahan appealed to parents, challenging them to become more involved in their children’s lives and monitor their activities, friends and emotional states.

“Stop being their friend - be their parent,” he urged. “Be nosy. Check into what they’re doing. Let them know whose homes they can visit, let them know whose vehicles they can ride in. Tell them to stay away from pools, creeks, or any large body of water unless there’s an adult present. Parents, don’t use the mall as a babysitter. Malls are dangerous. Make sure your kids know what their curfew is and check in with you when they’re going to be late. Child safety is important year-round, but right now, during the summer months, it is especially important. Practice simple, basic parenting skills.”

Community involvement in missing person cases is critical, Trevino said. Law enforcement, with its limited resources, cannot do the job alone. He asked that area residents assist police by being “the eyes and ears” of law enforcement.

Kahan commended Kingwood resident Ira Kettles-Lemiska, who started a Facebook group page to help educate the community about the missing children issue, for taking a proactive role in promoting awareness.

“Here is someone who saw what was going on, and instead of yelling and screaming about the injustices of the world, she took action,” he said. “I loved one of her comments [on Facebook] - she said parents are in denial, and they must be educated to minimize the risk and the opportunity to become a victim. She’s a great example of someone who’s making a difference in the lives of others. What we do in life echoes in eternity. Never doubt that a small group of people can make a difference.”

With community involvement and dogged persistence, Walcutt said, missing children can be found - even years after their disappearance, when all hope seems to be lost.

“[Tuesday night] about midnight I got a call from a family that had been waiting three years to hear from a missing girl. For them, the ordeal is over. For others, it is just beginning,” he said. “Tonight I ask that you do your part to help keep hope alive. Go to the Laura Recovery Center website and e-mail all your friends a flier of a missing child. Ask them to e-mail it to all their friends. By doing this, maybe, in 24 hours, we can bring another missing child home. Do your part. Keep hope alive.”

John Lowitzer expressed his appreciation to law enforcement, the Laura Recovery Center, friends and family for their support. In a special message to his daughter - and all the other missing children whose parents so desperately are waiting for news - he choked on tears as he begged her to come home.

“We want our baby girl back. Ali, if you’re out there, baby, come home,” he said. “I love you. We all love you. You have a lot of love and support behind you. It’s time to come home. Chasity, it’s time to come home. Everybody, it’s time to come home.”

For more information about Laura Recovery Center, please visit www.lrcf.org.

Anyone with information regarding a missing child is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.