Trucker indicted for abduction, planed to marry 11 year old Amber alert pays off!

Amber alert saves child,

11 year old girl goes home

Indictment for Texas trucker for abduction with intent to rape

After awhile, the stories about child abductions start to have a familiar ring. One ring tone we hear over and over is about the cat who picks up an under age child and takes her across state lines with the intention of sexual gratification. This case rings true to the theme, except the under-aged youth being transported across state lines was an 11 year old, not the traditional 14 or 15 year old.   If allegations are true, Elmer Zelaya-Robles from Dallas Texas, will be bending over for a brute in the big house for a long time.  Child molestors don't do well when caged with violent criminals.

A frantic call came over the switchboard at 2:30 p.m. on February 13th, 2010. The father of an 11 year old Karina Manzana-Garcia, who lives in the 400 block of 69th Place in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, called to report that his daughter was missing, indicated Cpl. Larry Johnson, a Prince George's police spokesman.

"Signs along the interstate system were activated"

An amber alert was issued reporting the child missing and providing information to media for public distribution. The report allowed regular television and radio programming to be interrupted for the announcement. Signs along the interstate system were activated. Of course, law enforcement nation-wide was notified.

One possibility was the child left with Elmer Zelaya-Robles, a family acquaintance who parked his 18 wheeler near the family home. It had been there the night before. Police were advised to be on the look-out for an orange tractor trailer.

We don’t know if a passing motorist noticed the truck and called. However, around 10:00 p.m. that night a Tennessee State Trooper found the driver of an 18 wheeler with an orange cab pulling into Love’s Truck Stop, in Jackson, Mississippi. The driver was identified as Elmer Zelaya-Robles. As the officer was in the process of questioning the driver the Amber Alert came over his radio. Elmer Fudd got the silver bracelets. Lost inside the truck’s sleeper was an 11 year Karina Manzana-Garcia.

"According to reports, he had convinced

her the two should be married"

According to reports, Elmer had wooed little karina. He had convinced her the two should be married. They had some long talks about what Elmer wanted in a wife-someone to take care of him even if she had to take care of children at the same time.  

While the child’s life was saved, karina’s innocence had already been robbed, alleged by reports in the Washington Examiner. The 11 year old tike told child services Elmer had done the dirty with her three times. Two boxes of condoms were reportedly found within the sleeper. Condoms usually come in boxes of threes and boxes of 12's.  These were probably the three to a box assortment which explains why threre would be two boxes.  

Zelaya-Robles faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. Additional charges may be pending.

Every man has the right to be presumed innocent unless and until judged guilty in a court of law.  The charges by the Grand Jury don't match the charges alleged by some of the reports.  The reports I used for this blog were all over the map regarding various details of this abduction.  Some said the child was returned un-harmed, while other said she was violated.  For example, a report in Websleuths.com indicated the Karina's middle name was Elizabeth, based upon a Washington Post article. 

If found guilty then Zelaya has a tough time in front of him, as he should.  If he is innocent of the crime let's hope that is determined quickly, as well.

My message to men who keep singing the same tune:  If you mess with our children we will catch you and you will pay a high price!  Think about what you are doing before you make a mistake of a life time. If you are having trouble, get help now!  They won't do much for you if you wait and end up in prision, except mark your grave.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

"This case demonstrates the heroic ability of law enforcement to make the difference"

“Nationwide law enforcement coordination, modern technology and a shared commitment to pursue criminals who prey on children contributed to the quick arrest of Mr. Zelaya and the recovery of the child,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Local, state and federal law enforcement quickly coordinated their efforts and within hours after issuing an AMBER alert, the missing girl was found in Tennessee. This case demonstrates both the terrible danger that sexual predators pose to children and the heroic ability of law enforcement to make a difference.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  Details about Maryland’s program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

The United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Tennessee Highway Patrol for their assistance in the investigation and commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Dawson Belf, who is prosecuting the case.

Dave Gibson from the conservative Denver rag, the Examiner, tries to turn this into an illegal alien problem starting with his title "Amber Alert saves 11-year-old girl abducted by Salvadoran national"  As it turns out Elmer Zelaya-Robles was allegedly heading for his homeland, El Salvador, when he got stopped. However, he was not an illegal alien.  He is here under full documentation.  Any monster can abduct a little child.  Putting it onto the backs of Latinos or undocumented persons is inane.

Not everyone can take advantage of the Amber Alert, a tragedy in this country.  Those who live in Sheriff "Little Joe" Arpaio's Maricopa County, in Arizona, would have to think twice about calling for an Amber Alert should one of their children be abducted.  That is, if mother, father or the child were undocumented.  Based upon the raids "Little Joe" ordered this weekend, the immigrant community has been terrorized and can't approach local law enforcement for help.  Imagine, losing your daughter and being so afraid of law enforcement you can't ask for a simple Amber Alert!

One day perhaps the leaders of this country will put a stop to abusive police tactics by rogue law enforcement.  Until then, all we can do is trust ethical law enforcement agencies like the State Patrol in Tennessee who rescued 11 year old Karina, as well as the FBI and law enforcement all over the country who work so hard to get it right.  

Kim Lowry, Amber Alert, DOJ amber alert programs

DOJ Kim Lowry speaks about the

Amber Alert

Rescue Children at Risk (RCR) newsletter applauds the hard work of the Department of Justice in the fight for the protection of our young people.  In a moment, a message from Kim Lowry from the DOJ.  First, a few thoughts.

The Amber Alert program is a crucial program in the network we use to protect the young people of America.  On January 13, 1996, Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle near her house.  She was subsequently brutally murdered.  It was speculated if an emergency system to locate abducted children had been in place, perhaps this tragic death might have been prevented.  

After a law enforcement agency determines a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger, the Amber Alert is put out.  The broadcasts include information about the child and abductor that could lead to the apprehension of the abductor and the return of the child to his or her parents.   Details including the physical description of a suspect vehicle, a picture of the missing child and other information is broadcast.  

The AMBER Alert program began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children.

Amber Alert:  http://www.amberalert.gov/

Today is the anniversary of the amber alert program.  The Department of Justice, DOJ, asks all citizens to celebrate the anniversary by assisting law enforcement when an Amber Alert is broadcast.  The following page comes from the DOJ:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2010/OJJDP10039.htm

The amber alert broadcast program has been so successful it has been extended to a few of the tribal nations.  You can read about them in the following post:  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pdfs/ambertribal.pdf

Kim Lowry, who is the communications director for the Office of Justice Programs wrote the following post regarding the program that saves lives.

Tell us Kim!

A message from Kim Lowry, Department of Justice:

There are few things more frightening than the loss of a child. Each year some 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States. Most of these children are not victims of abduction, and, fortunately, most soon return home.

For some, however, their separation will last far longer—even a lifetime. For others, their abduction ends in the most tragic of ways.

The challenges of rescuing endangered missing and abducted children require a determined and coordinated effort. The first hours following a child’s abduction are the most critical. Of the children murdered in stranger abductions, 3 out of 4 are killed within the first three hours.

"Early intervention is crucial"

Early intervention is crucial and provides our best hope of protecting such children and reuniting them with their families. It was for this reason that the AMBER Alert system was initiated 14 years ago today.

Following the 2002 White House Conference on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children, the PROTECT Act placed the AMBER Alert program under the auspices of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, with its Assistant Attorney General serving as AMBER Alert’s National Coordinator.

As a national effort, the program coordinates media, law enforcement, and transportation agencies’ efforts to notify the public about missing children in the critical first hours following their abduction.

"every state, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia have AMBER Alert plans" 

I am pleased to report that every state, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia have AMBER Alert plans, and we are working hard to extend the program’s outreach.

Scores of tribal communities are developing their own AMBER Alert plans and programs and we have worked closely with Canada and Mexico to expand AMBER Alert efforts across our nation’s northern and southern borders.

The Department of Justice is committed to protecting our children and their families. Thanks to the collaboration of AMBER Alert’s partners and the timely response of concerned citizens to its alerts, 495 children have been returned to their families and homes.

AMBER Alerts are of course only a piece of what the Department of Justice does to protect children. Today, the Department announced the appointment of Francey Hakes to serve as the National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, a position created by Congress in the Protect Our Children Act of 2008.

I invite you to visit the AMBER Alert Web site to learn how you can help.

Thanks, Kim! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Here are some Amber Alert success stories!

The Amber Alert program is growing and expanding.  There is now the Secondary Amber Alert program, a program developed by the DOJ. 

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which is directed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which coordinates the AMBER Alert on a national level, is developing the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution System. This system was designed to expand AMBER Alert activations for local police and state law enforcement.

Law enforcement agencies now can use many additional methods to alert citizens.  First, the NCMEC is notified.  The NCMEC then sends the Alert to all NCMEC approved Secondary Distributors.  This allows law enforcement more time to concentrate on investigating the case.  

There are many secondary distributors.  They include any authorized wireless carrier, content providers, and major retailers. To qualify as a distributor of the Amber Alert, the secondary distributor must have the capability to distribute AMBER Alert messages to a geographically targeted area at the request of law enforcement.  

Secondary methods of distribution assist in the overall goal of the AMBER Alert program – to immediately notify as many people as possible about recent child abductions, and provide them with information that can help in the search for the abducted child, suspected abductor, or suspected vehicle.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pdfs/ambersecondarydist.pdf
 
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