The Cuban government said Tuesday it plans to hand over members of the Hakken family to U.S. authorities, shortly after a CNN reporter in Havana spotted the man who allegedly snatched his two sons from their grandmother's Florida home.
Josh Hakken confirmed his identity when approached at the Hemingway Marina in Havana, but he didn't say more. The two boys are OK, said a woman matching the description of his wife, and she left it at that.
The couple lost custody of their children last year. Last week, they allegedly took the children in Tampa and headed toward Cuba.
FULL STORYThree Tennessee sisters "may be in extreme danger" after allegedly being abducted late last month by their mother and a man possibly carrying a gun, the state bureau of investigation said Saturday.
An Amber Alert was issued Saturday for the siblings - 14-year-old Adrienne Bain, 12-year-old Alexandra Bain and 8-year-old Kyliyah Bain. They were last seen April 27 in Whiteville, a town of about 4,600 people in western Tennessee.
The possibly armed male suspect, Adam Mayes, cut his own hair and may have done the same to the three children, according to the Amber Alert from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The 35-year-old man - who has blue eyes and brown hair, weighs about 175 pounds and stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall - was last seen May 1 in Guntown, Mississippi.
FULL STORYEditor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
A 6-year-old boy named Etan Patz disappeared in 1979 on his way to a bus stop in New York City. He became the face on the milk carton, symbolizing growing awareness of missing children. As police and federal investigators once again search for the boy's remains, many of our readers are mourning a certain loss of societal innocence. Several said the ongoing search is worth doing.
Search related to 1979 Etan Patz case under way in New York City
That face haunts this reader to present day.
Michael Burch: "I remember this little boy's face and name on milk cartoons. I was about his age, 5 at the time. Wouldn't you want your child's remains to be finally laid to rest after almost 33 years? I know I would check up every lead possible. Not a waste of time!"
One person was curious why a boy would be on his own.
lm517: "How are more people not weirded out by the fact that a 6-year-old was expected to find his own way home from an NYC bus stop? When they talk about the mom calling the school and all of his friends, it sounds as if they are talking about a missing teenager. I still hate that they went through this, but still, questionable parenting."
This reader talked about leaving the house alone, just as Patz did in 1979. FULL POST
Dive teams in Maine will scour the Waterville area Wednesday as the search for a missing 21-month-old girl continues, authorities said.
"The bodies of water to be searched have been selected by the warden service, and the divers will enter the water during the morning and continue through the afternoon," according to a statement by the Maine Department of Safety.
The search for Ayla Reynolds is in its fourth week. Police have said they suspect foul play in the case.
FULL STORYPolice in Richmond, Virginia, issued an Amber Alert on Saturday for a 2-year-old girl who was in a car a shooting suspect allegedly used to flee the scene of a double homicide.
The shooting occurred during a home invasion, Richmond police spokesman Linwood Harris said. The suspect then left the scene in a car idling nearby, according to CNN's Richmond affiliate WWBT. The toddler was inside the car, Harris said.
The identities of the shooting victims were not released and it was not immediately known what relation, if any, they had to the missing girl.
FULL STORYA 7-year-old girl whose body was found in a trash bin outside her Georgia apartment building died of blunt force trauma to the head, was stabbed and had been sexually assaulted, authorities said Tuesday.
The killer probably lives in the apartment complex where the child lived or had ready access to it, said Vernon Keenan, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
"We have multiple leads we feel are valuable and we're going to carry those out," he said.
Sixty-five state and federal investigators are trying to piece together the events that led to the killing of Jorelys Rivera at an apartment complex in Canton, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, where the girl was found three days after she went missing.
Keenan said investigators uncovered what they believe is blood in a vacant apartment unit. They do not currently have any suspects in custody, he said.
FULL STORYThe mother of a missing 5-year-old Arizona girl has been let out of jail, police said Monday, a week after her arrest for alleged child abuse.
The Glendale, Arizona, police department said in a statement that it "has been notified the charge of child abuse (against) Jerice Hunter will not be filed, at this time, by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office," prompting the woman's release.
"This decision will allow the Glendale Police Department to follow up on new leads developed since the (November 21) arrest of Jerice Hunter, ... as well as complete forensic analysis of evidence," police said.
No other details were offered as to what spurred the decision.
But police did say, "The focus and direction of the investigation into the disappearance of Jhessye Shockley has not changed."
Last week, Glendale Police Sgt. Brent Coombs described Hunter as the "lone focus" in the investigation. He did not rule out that others might be involved.
Her young daughter allegedly wandered out of the family's Glendale home on October 11, unnoticed by her 13-, 9- and 6-year-old siblings who were supposed to be watching her, according to Hunter's account. The mother contacted police, saying that she did so after she couldn't find her daughter when she returned home from an errand.
FULL STORYFriends and family gathered Sunday for an emotional prayer vigil for a missing 11-month-old Missouri girl as new surveillance video surfaced from the night Lisa Irwin disappeared.
The video, taken from a BP gas station less than two miles from the home where Lisa was last seen, shows an unidentified person walking along the road around 2:15 a.m. October 4.
The station manager, Anuj Arora, said it's unusual to see anyone walking at that time of night in the region.
Arora, who shared the video with CNN on Sunday, said he also turned it over to authorities investigating Lisa's disappearance in hopes it will help in the search for the girl.
The FBI and Kansas City police declined to comment on the video, citing the ongoing investigation.
FULL STORYVideos of a missing Missouri child, released this week by her family, are snapshots of a happier time.
In one video taken by mother Deborah Bradley, 11-month-old Lisa Irwin is staring into the camera, smiling and cooing.
"Say hi to Momma," Bradley says in the video. “Look at that messy baby.”
Lisa is wearing an outfit that says “Daddy Loves Me.”
Lisa's family released three home videos of the girl - recorded in the spring - on Thursday, hoping to keep her image in the spotlight. The family says it last saw Lisa about 10:30 p.m. October 3, asleep in a crib in her Kansas City home, according to police.
The family of Lisa Irwin, a missing 11-month-old Kansas City girl, has brought in a prominent private investigator to help with the search.
Flanked by family members wearing T-shirts with a picture of Lisa and the word "Kidnapped" above it, investigator Bill Stanton said Tuesday night that he wants a "happy ending" to the case.
"I will be asking questions," he added. "I am here to seek the truth."
Stanton is a former New York City police officer who has served as a security consultant for several television networks. He said his role is to help "coordinate and focus the family" in both the investigation and in its dealings with the media.
"We are here to cooperate with anyone and everyone that will help us find the guilty party and return Lisa home safely," he said.
Stanton said the family - which remains united and strong despite the "tremendous hardship" - will release more information soon but did not elaborate.
Irwin went missing more than a week ago in a suspected kidnapping. She turned 11 months old on Tuesday, the eighth day of the search.
FULL STORYA 43-year-old Missouri man has been charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of a 3-year-old girl last seen a week ago riding her bicycle.
Authorities were searching Saturday for Breeann Rodriguez's body and bicycle in an undisclosed area in Dunklin County, the Senath Police Department and Dunklin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
A $45,000 reward - $25,000 from the FBI and $20,000 from the Senath Marshal's office - has been offered for information leading to Breeann's recovery and the prosecution of those responsible.
FULL STORYGunfire in Syria - Activists said shots erupted again in the Syrian city of Hama on Monday, a day after more than 70 people died in clashes across the country, including at least 50 there. CNN was unable to confirm the death tolls independently. There has been little break from the violence that has racked Syria for months as anti-government protesters have opposed President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Hama is considered the center of revolt.
Decision soon on U.S. hikers - An Iranian court could issue a verdict within a week in the case of two American hikers who have been held in Iran for nearly two years, the hikers' attorney said Sunday. The hikers were arrested and accused by the Iranians of crossing into the nation illegally and being spies.
Attorney Masoud Shafiei, who represents Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, argued Sunday that his clients were innocent of charges. A third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was released last year due to medical reasons.
"We can still appeal this decision if we disagree with it. But I am hoping for the best," Shafiei said after Sunday's hearing, which was the last court proceeding in the trial.
Police have a suspect in custody in connection with the gruesome discovery of human remains in a refrigerator and a trash bin Wednesday morning. They believe the remains are those of a missing 8-year-old boy.
A 35-year-old man made statements Wednesday implicating himself in the death, police said.
The boy was supposed to meet his parents after walking seven blocks from his summer day camp, but became lost and asked the suspect for directions, police said.
FULL STORYKids. One minute they're crawling and the next they're driving - all before the tender age of 10. That's right. Today's Gotta Watch is all about kiddies and cars. Whether they're leading police on a high-speed chase, steering the wheel to save grandma or narrowly avoiding car crashes, these videos of children and their vehicular exploits are a must-see.
FULL POST
The body of a 17-year-old honor student from North Carolina - missing since December - has been found in a Maryland river, her father said Thursday.
Russel Barnes said that a female body found Wednesday in the Susquehanna River in Maryland is that of his daughter, Phylicia Barnes (pictured). The father said he'd learned as much after talking with authorities.
The teenage girl said she was going out to get something to eat and maybe a haircut when she left a residence in Baltimore where she'd been staying with her half-sister, according to that city's police.
Later, authorities said they feared that Barnes - who is from Charlotte - had been abducted or otherwise harmed. She'd left her debit card where she was staying, and hadn't answered her cell phone since her disappearance, her mother, Janice Sallis, told HLN's "Nancy Grace."
FULL STORYEditor's note: Nancy Grace's new show on HLN, "Nancy Grace: America's Missing," is dedicated to finding 50 people in 50 days. As part of the effort, which relies heavily on audience participation, CNN.com's news blog This Just In will feature the stories of the missing.
This is the 42nd case, and it was shown Tuesday at 9 p.m. on HLN.
Kimberly Arrington's mother died without knowing what had become of her daughter, who disappeared in 1998 without a trace.
But the memory of the 16-year-old lives on among those who love her. Kimberly's father still waits for her to come home, and her sister named her daughter after her missing aunt.
Kimberly left the family's home in Montgomery, Alabama, around 5 p.m. on October 30, 1998, telling her mother that she was going to a nearby CVS drugstore. She never came home.
Kimberly was a "good girl," a friendly, outgoing teen who accepted everyone with open arms. Someone may have asked his daughter for directions, Walter Arrington believes, and forced her into a car.
"Most people liked her, and she was very friendly towards everybody," he said. "I felt like maybe that's part of the reason why they got her."
Editor's note: Nancy Grace's new show on HLN, "Nancy Grace: America's Missing," is dedicated to finding 50 people in 50 days. As part of the effort, which relies heavily on audience participation, CNN.com's news blog This Just In will feature the stories of the missing.
This is the 34th case, and it was shown Thursday night on HLN.
Bryan Dos Santos Gomes was 28 days old when he was last seen by family in Fort Myers, Florida, on December 1, 2006.
On that day, a woman came to a bus stop and asked two young mothers with their infants for directions. The woman said she was from out of town, lost and was trying to get to a relative’s home to get her baby.
The mothers gave her directions and boarded their bus. When they got off they were greeted by the same woman.
This time she wanted the mothers to show her the way to her destination. The woman pleaded with them, even offering money. The mothers, cautious at first, eventually agreed to get in the vehicle after seeing a baby seat in the back.
At the end of the drive, the woman pulled a knife and demanded that one of them leave her baby.
Watch Nancy Grace Monday through Sunday starting at 8 p.m. ET on HLN. For the latest from Nancy Grace click here
Editor's note: Nancy Grace's new show on HLN, "Nancy Grace: America's Missing," is dedicated to finding 50 people in 50 days. As part of the effort, which relies heavily on audience participation, CNN.com's news blog This Just In will feature the stories of the missing.
This is the 33rd case, and it will be shown Wednesday night on HLN.
Johnny Gosch had been on the job as a Des Moines Register paperboy in Iowa for a year when he disappeared on September 5, 1982. The 12-year-old was last seen picking up newspapers at the paper drop, but those papers never made it to customers' doorsteps. It was not until people along his route called to complain of undelivered papers that people realized something was wrong.
Gosch's case went on to be one of the most publicized in Iowa of its time. But after 28 years, Johnny has yet to come home.
Editor's note: Nancy Grace's new show on HLN, "Nancy Grace: America's Missing," is dedicated to finding 50 people in 50 days. As part of the effort, which relies heavily on audience participation, CNN.com's news blog This Just In will feature the stories of the missing.
This is the 27th case, and it will be shown Tuesday at 9 p.m. on HLN.
Authorities say a missing girl might have been taken by her noncustodial father, whom they accuse of killing her mother.
Allyson Corrales was 3 when her mother was found fatally stabbed in her Kansas City, Missouri, apartment in March 2009. The girl was gone when the body was found.
Recent Comments