An Amber Alert has been activated for missing 5-year-old Neviaeh Amyah Buchanan in Monroe, MI.
She was last seen at 8:15 p.m. Sunday at 1166 N. Macomb Street in Monroe.
Police found her bicycle in the parking lot of an apartment.
Buchanan is 3′8″, 45 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
The Monroe County Sheriffs Office is investigating an incident of an endangered missing child. Bike found in parking lot of apartment. The child was last seen at 8:15 p.m. on 5/24/2009 and is believed to be in extreme danger.
If you have any information on the alleged victim, abductor or vehicle, IMMEDIATELY telephone 911 or Monroe County Sheriff’s Office at 734-243-7070.
Proclaimed National Missing Children’s Day by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, today, May 25th, serves as an annual reminder to make child protection a national priority.
Update: Amber Alert for Monroe girl, mom’s friend queried
MONROE, Mich. — Authorities have issued an Amber Alert for a missing 5-year-old Monroe girl and are questioning a friend of her mother arrested on a parole violation charge.
2 questioned in Monroe missing girl case
Monroe — Investigators with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office are questioning two people in connection with the Sunday disappearance of a 5-year-old girl.
Officials with the investigation would not identify on Monday the two people who have been detained.
Update 05-26-09: According to the Toledo Blade , Lt. Todd Opperman of the sheriff’s office stated one of the persons questioned is a known sex offender.
Lieutenant Opperman said George Kennedy, 39, was taken into custody Sunday night on parole violations and was questioned.Kennedy, of 15390 Dixie Hwy., which is a motel, has been registered as a sex offender in Michigan since 2002.He was convicted on one count each of attempted criminal sexual conduct and attempted children-accosting for immoral purposes, according to the Michigan State Police.
Criminal sexual conduct in the third degree involves forced sexual penetration with a person between the ages of 13 and 16. Child-accosting can involve any child younger than 16.
Ms. Buchanan said she was good friends with Kennedy for about two years and denied they were dating.
He called her regularly in the mornings, she said, but the last time she had seen him was four days ago. Ms. Buchanan said she knew he was a registered sex offender.
She said her daughter knew him well enough that she would have gotten into a car with him.
Update 05-27-09: Authorities have not stated what questions were asked but similar to the case of missing Haleigh Cummings in Satsuma Fl., there are some issues with the responses given.
Girl’s mom says stress led to failed question on polygraph test
The mother of the missing 5-year-old girl said late this morning that she failed one question during a polygraph exam Monday, but it was due to stress and lack of sleep.
Jennifer Buchanan said she was held for many hours without food during questioning by investigators and that she felt like she was being treated as a suspect in the case of her missing daughter, Nevaeh.
“I guess I failed one question,” Ms. Buchanan told The Evening News. “But I haven’t slept since she’s been missing. I haven’t eaten. I felt I was being held against my will. It was horrible.”
Monroe County Sheriff’s Maj. Dan Motylinski confirmed that Ms. Buchanan failed a portion of the polygraph test. Police officials also told The Evening News that George Kennedy, a man being held in jail on unrelated charges, also failed parts of the polygraph test.
However, Maj. Motylinski said neither Ms. Buchanan nor Mr. Kennedy is considered a suspect in the girl’s disappearance. He said they were being questioned along with many others in an ongoing effort to find the girl.
Update: Search Intensifies for Nevaeh Buchanan
MONROE, Mich. – More than 100 members of a task force comprised of local and federal law enforcement agencies are working to find a 5-year-old Monroe girl whose disappearance three days ago is being investigated as an abduction.
Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said during a news conference Wednesday morning that his office as well as the FBI and others are staffed 24 hours a day trying to locate Nevaeh Buchanan.
Meanwhile, FOX 2’s Taryn Asher has learned that Michigan State Police cadaver dogs are searching two separate stone quarries in the Monroe-area for the missing girl. This comes after FOX 2 first reported Tuesday night that police are testing the blood found on a fishing knife belonging to George Kennedy, the boyfriend of Nevaeh’s mother.
Sources say it is human blood and the MSP crime lab is currently conducting tests to determine whether the blood is Nevaeh’s or not.
Police: Playmates say Nevaeh lured into woods, stabbed
Despite her family’s desire to keep hope burning for missing Monroe area 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan, two of her playmates said they saw a man take her in the woods and stab her, investigators said.
Two of Nevaeh’s playmates — her age and younger — told investigators they saw “Daddy George” snatch Nevaeh from the parking lot of the Charlotte Arms Apartments on Macomb Street, Monroe County Sheriff Major Dale Malone said.“They didn’t even know who this ‘Daddy George’ is — they couldn’t describe anyone,” Malone said. “They just came up with a name.”
Additional Updates: Police tie 2nd sex offender to missing 5-year-old Nevaeh
Investigators in Monroe have another person of interest in the case of missing 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan, the owner of the van driven by her mother’s boyfriend — and a convicted sex offender himself.
Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said Roy Smith, 48, of Monroe may have been taken into custody Wednesday. Paroled in February 2008 on a third-degree charge of criminal sexual conduct, Smith apparently owned the van driven by George Kennedy, the registered sex offender who befriended the little girl’s mother. Kennedy is being held on allegations he violated his parole by his contact with Nevaeh and her family.
“We don’t want the public to become myopic with George Kennedy,” Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said at an 11 a.m. news conference today, stressing the task force is still following all tips in their search for Nevaeh. “A child is still missing and we’re still following up on leads.”
Update 05-31-09: 3rd Man Named Person Of Interest
Search For Missing Girl, 5, Continues
MONROE, Mich. — A third man has been named a person of interest in the case of a missing 5-year-old Monroe girl.
James Easter, 64, of Monroe was taken in for questioning Saturday.
Easter is being held on unrelated charges. Police have not said why he has been named a person of interest in the case.
Investigators would only say that Easter frequently visits a woman, who may be a family member or his girlfriend, at the Charlotte Arms apartment complex where Nevaeh Buchanan lives. She was last seen Sunday riding her scooter in the parking lot of the complex.
Update 05-30-09: Police sweep woods with shovels, rakes for Nevaeh
Blood found inside the hotel room of a convicted sex offender who is a person of interest in Nevaeh Buchanan’s disappearance did not match the girl’s blood, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said this evening.
The Michigan State Police Crime Lab tested the blood found inside the hotel room of convicted sex offender George Kennedy, 39, a friend of Nevaeh’s 24-year-old mother, Jennifer Buchanan, Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said.
Update 06-01-09: Monroe County detectives question man in missing girl case
MONROE — A week after the disappearance of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan, Monroe County sheriff’s detectives have arrested a third man on unrelated charges and located two boys they hoped would have information in the case.
Arrested was James Easter, 64, who had been questioned by police, then dropped off at his Oak Street home about 5 a.m. Saturday.
About 15 minutes later, he had built a fire in his backyard and was burning “things,” said Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield.
“We extinguished the flames. That elevated him a little bit [in terms of interest],” said Sheriff Crutchfield.
Mr. Easter was charged Sunday on a misdemeanor arson count. He was being held in the county jail in lieu of a $250 bond He is slated to appear Monday in Monroe County District Court
Update 06-02-09:
Nevaeh case may have new witness
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that it wants to speak with the driver of a green, box-style minivan who may have information in connection with the disappearance of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan.The van was parked at the Hollywood School playground behind the Charlotte Arms apartments between 6 and 7 p.m. May 24. That’s about the time when Nevaeh disappeared while riding her scooter outside her home in the complex.“We just have to find the exact window when they were there and what they may have seen when they were there,” Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said Monday.
Update 06-05-09: $20,000 for tip leading to Nevaeh’s recovery
MONROE, MICH. –The search for Nevaeh Buchanan continues Wednesday, ten full days after she disappeared.
Officials in Monroe County say they are continuing to follow all tips and leads that come in. The Task Force assigned to the case is urging the public to offer any additional information concerning the 5-year-old girl’s whereabouts between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 24.
Update 06-05-09: A small body of a child encased in cement was found yesterday a few miles from where Nevaeh Buchanan went missing.
RAISINVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Sherry Buchanan was clinging to hope that her missing 5-year-old granddaughter was still alive, despite the chilling discovery of a child’s body near a river in southeast Michigan.
Police officers have spoken to Nevaeh Buchanan’s family and a relative told The Monroe Evening News that the child found earlier Thursday was the missing girl from Monroe. The body was found about seven miles from where Nevaeh last was seen May 24 in the parking lot of her apartment complex in nearby Monroe.
Buchanan said police told her a body had been found. But she said she wouldn’t be certain it was her granddaughter “until I see that baby’s face … I’m not giving up hope yet because it could turn out to be another baby.”
“They told me they won’t know for sure until the DNA test is in,” Buchanan said. “It hurts. It hurts not knowing.”
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department would not comment on the case Thursday night. A news conference was planned for Friday morning.
Update 06-10-09: Nevaeh’s case becomes top priority for crime lab
The search for Nevaeh Buchanan officially ended Tuesday as the Michigan State Police crime lab in Northville positively identified the body found last week in a shallow grave as the missing 5-year-old Monroe girl.
Meanwhile, a judge set a $250 bond Monday for a third man jailed on an unrelated charge of arson-preparation to burn.
Monroe County District Judge Jack Vitale told James Easter, 64, that he could go free if he posted bond because he has been cleared as a person of interest in Nevaeh’s disappearance.
I can’t even imagine the pain this family must be feeling right now. I do wonder though about the sex offender that was a friend of the mother and being exposed to the little girl.
As for the mother saying her daughter would get in a car with the sex offender.
To me it would seem strange if her daughter wasn’t aware or told to never be alone with him, get in a car with him etc.regardless where it is. .
We as parents need to be more aware of the dangers our children are exposed to these days. It’s so sad that the world such a crazy messed up place.
I pray they find this baby girl safe and well then
bring her safely back home.
God protect this little girl…God bless all those abuse children…has parents we have to protect our children..i wont even left my children to my mother in law..she has a 35 year old son than i woulnt trust for anything in this world….Mothers Please…use your brains…God sent you that little angels to take care of them…but i guess there are so many stupid women that preffer to be with the wrong person than to love their child..remember the world goes round and round and sometime and somewhere you will get what you deserve for not taking care of your little angel…
my son graduated pre-school with this girl thursday.i couldn’t even imagine the pain the mother is going through. at the same time i would want the police to investigate everything and one. i just hope she didn’t hang out with any other chesters she’s not telling the police. with that being said,i hold her and her mother in my prayers. let’s find her!!!
I’m in tenth grade at Monroe high school. I myself haven’t been able to go out and help with the volunteer work, but i have several friends who did. I’ve only had one run-in with a man walking around town, but my friend and I were smart enough to walk away–fast. he was dressed like he had just stolen some clothes and was walking towards us on a side street off Monroe Street. He tried to touch my friend as he walked by but I pulled her away fast enough. I just wonder what would have happened if I were 10 years younger and didn’t have any experience with strange looking people. It scares me. I hope they find the creep and the girl.
Sometimes I as a parent think, I think about how I as a parent and a protector can protect my child, I am outraged…. I know things happen like this everyday, but as a parent you do not invite something like this to happen to your child. I feel bad for the family, and for this poor little girl, who could be anywhere. I am sorry baby girl, we are praying and looking for you honey. I’m sorry and wish I could trade places with you honey because I would in a heart beat….
I also feel bad for the mother because she will have to live with this her whole life! You have to protect….
Why …Why>>>Why?? Would any parent or grandparent knowingly let there child come in contact with a sex offender? At this point I feel the mother is at just as much fault and she will have to live with it for the rest of her life. No child should feel any harm or be put in any kind of jeopardy . Life is a gift gave by God he blesses you with little ones it is parents responsibility to protect them at all cost. I feel parents who bring danger to children or in there home should be charged as well . I can not feel any sympathy for this mother > BUT GOD BLESS THIS BABY GIRL AND MAY HE BRING HER HOME .
God Bless the family. I have an 8yr old granddaughter and I
would be distraught if anything like this were to happen
to her. My prayers are with all the mothe and her family that this little girl if found quickly. A man or men like that do not even deserve a trial.
This makes me sick. As a father i would not let my 2 boys have any contact with a sex offender, just to be on the safe side. My prayers go out to the family but not the mother.
I have tried and tried to understand why the mother would place her innocent child in this extreme danger. I have no sympathy for this woman and if it is discovered that her sex offender buddies are involved, then she should be charged with child endangerment and neglect. There is absolutely no excuse for allowing this type of exposure to any child especially your own. As for the father – now is a little late to be so worried about her – where have you been for the past three years??? I pray that this little child is found alive and unharmed. I pray that when she is found that they do not return her to any family member. There are loving people who would thank God to be able to adopt her, raise her showered in love and protect her as she should be.
the mother is totally at fault she lost custady of this little girl before and wasnt to be around her.she should not be exposing her baby girl to these men please God bring this baby home safe but not to her mother.
I Honestly dont understand parents that let their children play outside unattended. It infuriates me that the mother was allowing her child around a registered sex offender!!I think that when or if this child returns home, she should not be allowed to return home to her mother, untill that mother takes some sort of parenting classes. I have a 7 year old that is always getting mad at me because I refuse to let him run around town with his friends of the same age. My children are ONLY allowed to play in my fenced in back yard, even then I am watching them. Why are parents so lazy nowadays???As for the sex offenders, I check out everyone my children may come in contact with such as teachers, landlords, friends parents,neighbors, etc. I also check out OTIS (offenders tracking system)A Lot of you may call me over protective, but at the end of the day,My sons and daughter are home and safe. I am very sure the mother of this little girl is devastated, but she needs to care more for her daughters safty, than her sex offender friends!!!!!!!!!
the father is on drugsas is his 4 month pregnant girlfiend.aparently there is questionable missuse of funds that was set up.some of the money was spent on cigerattes. this baby girl should not go home to her family when found.this is an avoidable sickening tragedy.just because you can reproduce doesnt mean you should.
The apartment is a very safe environment when you go to it. The person(s) who did this know the Mom. For not sleeping at all she doesn’t look bad. For a Mom whose daughter is gone and possibly dead she seems to be doing terrific, as for the grandmother my heart goes out to her and her alone.
Jennifer’s Mom stated she kept going in and out the apartment that day yet when she asked her where or what she was doing she never answered. Maybe whoever was out waiting was going after her for whatever reason and took Nevaeh instead. Persoanlly I would be out day and night non stop looking for my child, her biggest concern is she didn’t eat so she failed the lie detector? Whatever she is as guilty as those who took her.