Post by Scumhunter on Apr 27, 2017 1:32:30 GMT -5
From the Chicago Tribune website (chicagotribune.com):
Local and federal authorities are searching for a 1-year old girl who went missing from her home in unincorporated Will County on Tuesday evening.
Authorities searching for Semaj Crosby scoured the Joliet Township neighborhood where she lived and a nearby pond Wednesday with no results. Her family reported her missing around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, about three hours after investigators with the state's Department of Children and Family Services saw her safe at home, officials said.
The FBI has joined the search, authorities said.
Semaj was last seen playing with other children in the front yard of her home, located in the 300 block of Louis Road in Joliet Township, authorities said. She was wearing a gray or pink shirt with a picture of a cat and jeans. The toddler was barefoot and had multiple pony tails with white beads.
On Wednesday morning, the girl's mother pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
"I just want my baby home," she told WGN-TV. "I just want her home, I just want to know she's safe. I just want to know she's OK."
Numerous police and volunteers searched the area surrounding the neighborhood Tuesday night and throughout Wednesday. Search efforts have included canine units and dive teams. Some residents also reported seeing helicopters searching the area Tuesday night. Investigators have not found any sign of the young girl.
"We're trying everything we can to find her," Will County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Rick Ackerson said Wednesday. "We do need the community's help in this. We want to bring Semaj home tonight."
The sheriff's department is working with the FBI and has activated the Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force for the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL FBI (1-800-225-5324).
"In the case of a missing child of this age, the first few hours of the investigation are critical," FBI Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg said. "If there's anybody in the community who knows anything, suspects anything, or who has any information to provide, please call. No tip that you may have is too small for us to follow up on."
Ackerson said police have interviewed family members and other residents in the neighborhood. He added that family members have been cooperative.
The search has included various police departments along with dive crews from the Joliet and East Joliet fire departments. The dive crews searched nearby creeks and ponds. Ackerson said the toddler has been to those areas in the past with other people.
DCFS has been contacted by the sheriff's office. Its investigators were at the home Tuesday at about 3:20 p.m. and saw all three of the family's children including Semaj, DCFS spokeswoman Alissandra Calderon said in an email. Calderon said the agency is investigating the girl's mother for neglect, and has had prior contact with the family, including four unfounded investigations and two pending investigations that were opened in March. The agency has been providing services to the family since September, she said.
"There were no obvious hazards or safety concerns at that time," Calderon said in her email.
Relatives, friends and volunteers roamed the streets of the Joliet Township neighborhood. Luis Duenez, of Joliet, was one of many volunteers who showed up to aid in the search.
"I know the feeling," said Duenez, whose granddaughter recently died from a heart condition. "I hope everything goes well and they find the little girl alive."
Volunteers were asked to search nearby fields. Authorities instructed them to be on the lookout for articles of clothing that may be suspicious or out of place, volunteer Jayme Hawker said.
"We looked everywhere," Loretta Westbrooks, a volunteer from Joliet, said Wednesday afternoon. "We have searched every block.
Ashley Thompson, a Joliet woman who identified herself as a cousin of the child's mother, said Semaj could "barely walk," having just learned.
"I know she couldn't walk that far," Thompson said.
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-police-searching-for-missing-toddler-from-joliet-20170426-story.html
FBI website link: www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/semaj-crosby
NCMEC link: www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/1295165/1
Thoughts?
Admin Note #1: Sadly, Semaj was found deceased shortly after she was reported missing. Her death was ruled a homicide in September 2017. Anyone with information on this case, according to online articles, should contact Crime Stoppers of Will Country, Illinois: crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/submit-a-tip/
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form