Sylar Newton 2 yo, Arizona- missing since 7/25/10(Remains found)

[akmom]

Please God, hold this sweet boy and give him a hug from those of us who care.

[Bearlyhere]

Please God, hold this sweet boy and give him a hug from those of us who care.

Amen.

[Sister]

This breaks my heart. It just breaks my heart. Children are so innocent. How can an adult betray the trust given them by a child? Is it so hard to love?

God, please hold Syler a second longer for us. Please smile to him with us in your thoughts. Please touch the hearts of all people in this world so our eyes may see the Miracle and Blessing of children! God, forgive us of all things that have brought us to stray so far from love and help this world seek repentence.

Rest in Peace, Joy and Love forever, Syler in the place your Guardian Angel carried you when this world let you down!

Matthew 18:10: See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in Heaven.

Amen and Amen.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2010/08/23/casa_grande_dispatch/top_stories/doc4c72a97a311a7576501618.txt
Warrant: Witnesses saw toddler abused
August 23, 2010

PHOENIX — A search warrant says campers staying near where a 2-year-old boy disappeared on July 24 saw the boy’s custodial mother or her mother being verbally abusive and push him to the ground the evening before he went missing. They also told investigators they heard the child crying between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. but could not hear anything after that.

Sylar Newton was reporting missing from a tent at about 1:30 a.m. and searchers were unable to find him.

A body believed to be that of Sylar was recovered in a wash near the campsite in the Rimrock area on Aug. 10. A Yavapai County sheriff’s spokesman has said investigators believe a recent flood unearthed the remains, which have not been positively identified.

The warrant obtained by The Arizona Republic on Friday was signed by Judge Mary Hamm of Seligman Justice Court. It allowed authorities to search property belonging to Sylar’s custodial mother, Christina Priem, and her mother, Nancy Collins.

The supporting affidavit also says Priem’s 11-year-old daughter told detectives that earlier in the afternoon, she saw Sylar staggering and then could not wake him.

Records indicate a family friend told detectives he heard Sylar had got into Collins’ lockbox and ingested a muscle relaxant. Collins told detectives she knew of another time when Sylar had ingested her medication.

No one has been named as a suspect, and no arrests have been made.

Flagstaff Police Department records revealed that both women have an extensive history with the police involving drugs, assault, child abuse and child neglect.

[cookie]

why didn't any of those campers step in? at least go over and ask if there is anything that they could do to help with the little boy...could he come over and visit with them for a little while, maybe play with their kids?   I could not have witnessed that abuse and not spoken up on his behalf...not judging overly, but maybe a little...

[cookie]

another thing, why would this "adoptive Mother" (?..term used loosely!) take on this little child if she was not in love with him and was abusive to him? She didn't have to take him..but then, why didn't this little boy's own grand parents step in and take him when the bio mom was giving him away? I just don't get any of this ....

[MuffyBee]

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_northern_az/other/drugs,-crying-and-abuse-described-at-scene-where-2-year-old-vanished-from-n.-arizona-campground
(with video)
Drugs, crying and abuse described at scene where 2-year-old vanished from N. Arizona campground
August 25, 2010

PHOENIX - The 2-year-old boy who vanished while on a camping trip with his family may have ingested drugs according to a report released to ABC15.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office search warrant paperwork details the scene where Sylar Newton went missing.

According to the documents, Sylar was with his mother, who is not actually his biological mother, along with his grandmother, sister and at least one family friend.

The toddler was last seen around 11pm July 24 and his mother reported him missing about three hours later on July 25.

The group was camping in the Beaver Creek Campground near Rimrock in Yavapai County.

On August 10, human remains which many believe is Sylar, were found two miles from the campground.

Results from the autopsy are not expected to be released for weeks.

According to investigative paperwork, the day Sylar vanished, his 11-year-old sister told detectives the boy was staggering and at one point she could not wake him up.

In the documents, investigators wrote that Sylar's mother and grandmother admitted to being on methadone and his grandmother admitted to detectives that she had smoked marijuana that day.

Detectives also noted they were told the boy, "got into his grandma's lock box where she keeps drugs and medication and had taken a muscle relaxant."

Other campers in the area reported hearing the mother or grandmother being verbally abusive to the 2-year-old and pushing the child to the ground because he could not find his shoes.

The investigative paperwork states that Sylar's grandmother and mother, "have an extensive history with the police involving drugs, assault, child abuse and child neglet."

No arrests have been made involving the death of Sylar Newton.

[Bearlyhere]

So, so sad!

 

[melisb]

another thing, why would this "adoptive Mother" (?..term used loosely!) take on this little child if she was not in love with him and was abusive to him? She didn't have to take him..but then, why didn't this little boy's own grand parents step in and take him when the bio mom was giving him away? I just don't get any of this ....

I too would've stepped in and asked if he could come play or something to entertain and check on him if I saw something!  You gotta understand one thing, these children aren't here because they are loved and wanted but to some people they are objects.  To this woman I belive he was just another fat government check to probably keep her in supply of the meds/drugs of her choice.  She probably makes enough money to stay home and not even work.  I'm not putting down nonworking Moms, I'm putting those down who use these innocent little babies for their own selfish needs.  They will have to meet their Maker one day and it won't be a good day for them!  I'm not even gonna go there with what I think of his egg donor!  It would take a day and I would get banned!

[4 Donks]

another thing, why would this "adoptive Mother" (?..term used loosely!) take on this little child if she was not in love with him and was abusive to him? She didn't have to take him..but then, why didn't this little boy's own grand parents step in and take him when the bio mom was giving him away? I just don't get any of this ....

I too would've stepped in and asked if he could come play or something to entertain and check on him if I saw something!  You gotta understand one thing, these children aren't here because they are loved and wanted but to some people they are objects.  To this woman I belive he was just another fat government check to probably keep her in supply of the meds/drugs of her choice.  She probably makes enough money to stay home and not even work.  I'm not putting down nonworking Moms, I'm putting those down who use these innocent little babies for their own selfish needs.  They will have to meet their Maker one day and it won't be a good day for them!  I'm not even gonna go there with what I think of his egg donor!  It would take a day and I would get banned!

Egg donor is correct...according to bm's grandmother she has had 4 children in 6 yrs and "adopted" them out. One was removed at birth because it had drugs in its system but what about the others?

[4 Donks]

Sylar Newton had chaotic life before disappearance

Aug. 7, 2010 12:00 AM

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/08/07/20100807sylar-newton-missing-flagstaff-boy-family-life.html

FLAGSTAFF - The world may never learn what became of Sylar Newton or understand the chaotic life of the 2-year-old Flagstaff boy who disappeared from a northern Arizona campground last month.

Family members have said little about the mystery, even less about Sylar's life story.

Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh says only that the missing child is presumed dead and that his disappearance is the subject of a criminal investigation. Waugh has not divulged why investigators believe the boy is a victim of foul play.

Flagstaff court records and police reports suggest that, in his short life, Sylar had moved from one troubled home to the next, sometimes caught in a custodial tug-of-war.

The dysfunctional background has generated a whirlwind of speculation on Internet sites and blogs about missing children, including a Facebook page dedicated to Sylar. But investigators have disclosed no evidence that the boy's home life had any bearing on his disappearance.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Sylar is the birth son of Charity Newton, a Flagstaff woman who voluntarily gave custody of the child to an acquaintance, Christina "Tina" Priem, a single mother with two other children. Priem told investigators that she was in the process of adopting the boy.

During a July 24 outing with the Priem family at Beaver Creek Campground near Rimrock, Sylar went to sleep in a tent about 9:30 p.m. and was discovered missing shortly after midnight. Over the next 10 days, deputies and FBI agents, as well as hundreds of searchers using bloodhounds, helicopters, sonar and scuba equipment, could not find the boy.

As the search subsided, a criminal investigation developed. Family members were interviewed and, in some cases, given polygraph exams. Warrants were obtained to check vehicles driven by Priem and her mother, Nancy Collins, who also was on the camping trip. Detectives have not divulged any criminal evidence, nor have they discussed the troubled family history revealed in public records.

"I just want the little guy found," said Carroll Newton, Sylar's great-grandmother. "It's been two weeks from hell. It just has torn us all up."

This week, another 2-year-old boy, Emmett Trapp, disappeared from his home in Yavapai County and was later found dead near Dewey-Humboldt.

Adults have run-ins with police

In June 2008, Sylar's birth mother, Charity Newton, 26, was arrested after a domestic incident involving Priem's sister, Sandra Shoemake. According to a police report, a fight "started over a custody issue - suspect gave custody of her son to RP (reporting party, Shoemake). Suspect is now saying RP is trying to kidnap the child."

The report says a teenage girl at the apartment tried to protect the baby while the two women struggled. Flagstaff Municipal Court records show Charity Newton pleaded guilty to five counts of disorderly conduct and fighting.

Priem, 35, has had about a half-dozen contacts with Flagstaff police during the past decade involving misdemeanor offenses and traffic violations, according to the court.

In 2007, she was found guilty of making false statements about a domestic dispute between her roommates.

In June 2009, police records say, Priem got into an altercation with her sister, Shoemake. Priem was arrested during a subsequent traffic stop with her two children in the vehicle and was accused of resisting arrest when an officer attempted to place her in handcuffs. A similar incident occurred when she was arrested a second time for failure to appear in court. The disorderly conduct/fighting charge ultimately was dismissed, according to court files.

Shoemake also has an extensive court record that includes convictions for forgery, custodial interference and theft. An arrest tied to narcotics possession was dismissed.

State wasn't involved in custody

Carroll Newton, Sylar's great-grandmother, said Charity has given birth to four children in the past six years, each of them adopted out. Carroll said she last saw the boy at Christmas and was told he was living with Charity in Texas, even though that apparently was not true."She bald-faced lied to me," Carroll said of her granddaughter. "I'm so angry. If you don't want children, don't have them."

Carroll said that she was contacted by the FBI and provided a DNA sample but that she has no idea what became of Sylar.

Other members of the Newton and Priem families did not respond to phone messages or e-mail inquiries.

Steve Meisner, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, said private adoptions are typically conducted without state involvement or paperwork. Meisner declined to comment on whether Child Protective Services workers had previous contacts with Sylar or whether they are investigating his disappearance.

The operator of a Facebook page, "Find Syler (sic) Newton," posted notes identifying Charity as a co-administrator. In subsequent messages, a person claiming to be the birth mother defended herself from critical comments.

That person said she would "never give my child to someone that I felt would hurt him. . . . I'm sorry that the world wants to believe everything that they read and hear and that is a shame that all of you do."

The author posted her e-mail address but did not respond to an e-mail.

Bumping for info on other children

[MuffyBee]

http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubsectionID=1086&ArticleID=84875
Reward offered for information in Sylar Newton's death
September 1, 2010

Yavapai Silent Witness and the Federal Bureau of Investigation  are offering a $5,000 cash reward for information that leads to the arrest of the persons responsible for the death of 2-year-old Sylar Newton.

Sylar was last seen at the Beaver Creek Campground near Rim Rock, Ariz., on July 24, 2010, said Steve Skurja, program coordinator for Yavapai Silent Witness

Sylar was there camping with his custodial mother, Christine "Tina" Priem, Priem's mother, Nancy Collins, and their family.

The campsite is about 75 miles south of Flagstaff.

Sylar was last seen that evening. A search revealed human remains approximately 2 miles from the campsite that might be those of Sylar.

If you have any information about this case, call Yavapai Silent Witness at 1-(800) 932-3232, and remember that with Yavapai Silent Witness you never have to give your name.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2010/09/09/20100909sylar-newton-missing-toddler.html
(video)
The search for justice for Sylar Newton
September 9, 2010

The devastation drags on for family members waiting for closure in the case of two-year-old Sylar Newton, who vanished near Rimrock on July 25th. He had been camping with his custodial mother, Christina Priem; along with Christina's mother, her two biological children and one of their friends. Priem says she went to sleep with Sylar by her side, but when she woke up the tent was unzipped, and the boy was gone.

Crews worked around the clock for weeks on a search that spanned nearly 20 square miles. Then, on August 2nd, the case turned criminal. Searchers scaled back rescue efforts and shifted to a recovery mission.

Another week went by, and as time passed, hope diminished. Sylar's distant cousin, Donnie Newton, remained steadfast in his own search. As a skilled tracker and hunter, Donnie said he followed birds to something he feared he would find, but hoped he wouldn't see. With a weak voice, Newton described his gruesome discovery in a river bed, "I started up the bottom. Pretty quick I smelled it, and I seen him."

What he saw, were a child's remains scattered about, and believed to be the boy's. "I'm going to see that boy for a long time in my dreams, I have a feeling." He added, "God help little Sylar. I hope justice comes quick."

The journey to find justice has been anything but quick. While the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office seems confident the boy was killed, no arrests have been made.

So, what's the holdup? A cause of death has not yet been determined, and the remains have not been positively identified. The Yavapai County medical examiner's office is running toxicology and DNA tests, which can take weeks, even months.

The investigation into what really happened to Sylar is filled with twists and turns. Custodial concerns come to question. Like why did Christina Priem have him in the first place, since she's not his biological mom?

On St. Patrick's Day of 2008, Sylar was born to Charity Newton, who now lives in Indiana. It was a time, she said, when her life was laden with turmoil. "I was going through a really rough time myself. I had post partum really bad," she added.

At just two weeks, Sylar was abruptly handed off to three sisters; Diana Collins, Sandra Shoemake and Christina Priem. Collins looked after Sylar for two months, who was subsequently passed along to Sandra Shoemake, Charity's former roommate and friend.

"I eventually told [Christina] that I think the best thing for him is that she adopt him. I wanted him to be with somebody that he knew. She knew him, she loved him, he loved her, and I just wanted what was best for my son," said Charity Newton. She said they discussed adoption, but the paperwork was never filed.

Now, Priem's character comes into question.

Christina's ex-husband, Wayne Priem, says his ex-wife's erratic behavior weighed on his mind long before she took Sylar and their two kids camping. "Things would go from a normal type of countenance to a very disturbed upset countenance, and that happened frequently,"

He claims neglect was the catalyst for his call to Child Protective Services this winter. "The baby at this time [who] is now presumed dead, was in the car alone," he said. Wayne Priem said it wasn't an initial concern, until a relative called him a few hours later. "They said there was fighting going on between my ex and her relatives, and the child was outside in the car crying."

CPS will not comment during an active criminal investigation, but Wayne said it wasn't the first red flag he raised with them. In fact, he claimed to have called the agency a year and a half ago because of concerns about drug use around the children.

While Christina has chosen not to comment on these accusations, Sheriff's documents show she and her mother admitted to taking Methodone on the camping trip.

Wayne Priem added, "The kids are in danger and have been in danger because of her lifestyle, especially as of recently." Wayne said that's when a dark truth came to light.

"I did ask [my children] if or what had happened to them, and I was always given excuses. I have since found out those excuses were a cover up," said Priem. According to court documents, an FBI employee said she believed Christina Priem physically and mentally abused her own children. There were concerns that leaving the children in her care, could put them at risk of suffering continued harm.

Following allegations of abuse and accusations of drug use, Wayne Priem was granted emergency temporary custody of the couple's two children on August 13th.

Sheriff's documents show the adults may not have been the only ones doing drugs on the camping trip. During an interview with officials, Christina Priem said Sylar may have ingested at least part of a sleeping pill. Another peculiar part of the documents? One of the children said Sylar could not be woken up the afternoon before he disappeared. Questions still to be answered including what really happened to Sylar on July 25th, and how long will the search for justice will drag on.

[Nut44x4]

Finally, a positive ID

Officials: Body Found Is Sylar Newton

POSTED: 2:59 pm MST October 4, 2010
UPDATED: 3:19 pm MST October 4, 2010

RIMROCK, Ariz. -- The Yavapai County Sheriff's said the remains found Aug. 10 outside Beaver Creek Campground are that of Sylar Newton, 2.

In a news release, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said it is now awaiting toxicology test results as it continues its investigation into Sylar's death.

Sylar Newton was camping with his custodial mother and her family July 25 when they reported that he wandered away. A search turned up no sign of him.

His remains were found weeks later at the bottom of a wash near the campsite.

According to investigators, witnesses at the campground told detectives Sylar appeared as if he was under the influence of a narcotic or medication.

Investigators are treating Sylar's disappearance and death as a criminal investigation.

The reward in this case has grown to $8,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case.
http://www.kpho.com/arizona/25277673/detail.html

[SuzieQ]

Sorry the way I have to post this. It wouldn't let me copy/paste

[SuzieQ]

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Caretaker-for-boy-who-died-arrested--111411554.html

Video at site


by Natalie Rivers
azfamily.com
Posted on December 6, 2010 at 4:37 PM

Updated today at 3:41 PM

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz - A woman who was the custodial caretaker for a 2-year-old boy found dead after disappearing on a camping trip was arrested Monday on charges stemming from the death investigation.

Yavapai County Sheriff's Office detectives arrested Christina Priem, 36, on three counts of involving a minor in a drug offense.

Priem was arrested in Flagstaff and was booked into the Camp Verde Detention Center.

YCSO said the arrest stems from the ongoing investigation into Sylar Newton's disappearance and death.

Detectives developed information that minor children under Priem's care were exposed to illicit drugs.

Their investigation revealed that these incidents occurred during the time Priem and her family, including Sylar, were camping at the Beaver Creek campground.

YCSO said these charges don't pertain directly to Sylar, they are a result of what happened around the time of Sylar's disappearance on July 25, 2010.

The investigation into Sylar's disappearance and death continue.

Priem's bond was set at $250,000. Her next court date is scheduled for December 14.

YCSO is requesting anyone with any information of the circumstances surrounding the charges to contact authorities.

[MuffyBee]

Thank you for the updates, SuzieQ. 

I'm hoping there will be justice for little Sylar. 

[4 Donks]

Thank you for the updates, SuzieQ. 

I'm hoping there will be justice for little Sylar. 

I hope this doesn't end up like HaLeigh's case where the people are locked up for other crimes but never charged with the murder.

[SuzieQ]

I really can't remember where I read it, but know it was recently. One of the other children there said that they couldn't wake Syler up, and Christina had told LE that he might have gotten into some sleeping pills.

[Nut44x4]

Custodial grandmother of Sylar Newton arrested

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Nancy Collins, the custodial grandmother of of Sylar Newton, was arrested Christmas morning on a child abuse warrant. The 57 year-old was found by Flagstaff police at an area motel.


Yavapai County sheriff's officers had been searching for Collins since Thursday when she and her daughter Christina Priem were charged with intentional child abuse relating to the death of Sylar.

Collins was booked into the Coconino County jail district detention center. She was also charged with felony drug violations.

The charges against Collins and her daughter relate directly to events leading to Sylar Newton's death while in their custody.

Authorities say children under Priem's care were exposed to illicit drugs while on a camping trip at the Beaver Creek campground in July.

Sylar was reported missing July 25. After an intense search his body was discovered by a relative in August in a wash near the campsite.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Custodial-Grandmother-Arrested-112455974.html