For the Lost Blog

Sometimes I feel it is difficult to adequately display the true effects of family abduction. This post is the result. It is two sections devoted to those who have suffered a great deal as the direct result of parental kidnapping. The first is a memorial section to those who have died. The second is for children who were abducted after a homicide or otherwise suffered extremely while in the abductor’s care. Some are still missing in this section, and pseudonyms are used for the ones that are not dead. I have left out cases of parents killing children who were known to be missing unless the parent was formally charged with kidnapping.

In Memorium

Adam Jordan Haseeb (November 11, 1995 – March 10, 2004): Adam was abducted by his non-custodial father and taken to Syria. He and his father were both killed in an explosion from a gas leak.

Ronald Simmons (October 22, 2002 – May or June 2003) : Ronald and his brother Jordan Coello were abducted by their non-custodial mother and Ronald’s non-custodial father on February 28, 2003. Jordan was located with their mother later that year, but Ronald and his father remained missing. Ronald was found to be deceased in February 2004. His father claimed he had died of natural causes in May or June. An autopsy determined this to be true; however it is not known whether he could have been saved with medical treatment.

Deirdre Crowley (August 11, 1995 – August 30, 2001) – Deirdre Crowley was abducted by her non-custodial father Christopher James Rex Crowley on December 4, 1999. They lived in Clonmel, Ireland until August 30, 2001, when her father received word the authorities had found them. He then shot Deirdre and committed suicide.

Lindsey D. and Samuel G. Porter (July 13, 1995 and August 27, 1996 – June 6, 2004): The Porter children were reported missing after a visitation with their father. He told their mother varying stories and was convicted of kidnapping them before he confessed to their murder and led authorities to their bodies in September 2007. He is now serving life in prison.

Amnerys Miranda (June 16, 2003 – December 22, 2004): Amnerys was abducted from her foster home along with her brother Giovannie by their non-custodial parents. She was beaten to death by them on the above date. Giovannie was located alive.

Agena and Aliyah Battle and Cedric Harrington (March 31, 2006 and June 5, 2004 – March 19, 2008): Twins Agena and Aliyah, along with their brother Cedric, were abducted by their non-custodial father on March 5, 2008. They were all found dead on March 19, 2008. Their father is believed to have killed them before killing himself. He was reportedly jealous of their mother’s fiancee.

Luis Osvaldo Cisernos (1999 – February 20, 2003): Luis was abducted along with his sister Mariana by their non-custodial mother, Martha Patlan, in late 2002. (A sibling, Claudia, was left behind.) Their father reported them missing but the police said the joint custody agreement they had let the mother be with the children. Luis was found murdered on February 20, 2003. His body showed signs of extensive torture. Genero Espinosa Dorantes and Martha Patlan were arrested for his murder and sentenced to life in prison. Mariana was found alive on February 25, 2006.

Duncan G. and Jack D. Connolly (October 17, 1999 and April 10, 2001 – March 30, 2009): The Connolly brothers were abducted by their non-custodial father on March 8, 2009. On March 30 they were found deceased with their father. It is believed to be a murder-suicide.

Ariana and Tyler Payne (2003 and 2002 – September 2006): They were abducted by their non-custodial father and later located in Arizona, but were not returned to their mother. They both died from starvation sometime in September 2006. Ariana’s remains were found in February 2007; Tyler’s have never been discovered.

Christopher Leo, Daniel Isiah, and Richard Anthony Sanchez (March 8, 1999, September 6, 1992, and June 4, 1989 – August 11, 2001): They were abducted by their non-custodial father on August 11, 2001. There was concern for their welfare as their father had been accused of raping a family member. All four were found deceased in June 2009, inside the father’s car in a lake. Whether the cause of death was an accident or a murder/suicide cannot be determined.

Diana Marcela Alagha (August 22, 1993 – October 30, 2006): She was abducted by her non-custodial mother on July 1, 1996. In September 2009, it was learned she had died on October 30, 2006, supposedly due to an infection from a badly set broken arm. Her left-behind family is looking into this.

Mitchell Romero (December 31, 2005 – November 5, 2009): He was abducted by his non-custodial father after the murder of his mother. They fled to Mexico and Mitchell later died in a car rollover while with an aunt and uncle. His father is still at large.

The Other Victims

Chance Lee Wackerhagen – abducted by his father after the murder of his father’s girlfriend. Still missing.

Jessica Vargas Biatriz – abducted by her mother during a home invasion that killed her uncle. Still missing.

Jesus Alvarado Martinez – abducted by his father after the murder of his mother. Still missing.

Danielle Idaly Jimenez – abducted by her father after the murder of her mother. Still missing.

Tonya and Yasmin Salazar – abducted by their father, who is wanted on homicide charges. Still missing.

MB: Abducted by his grandmother in 2004. Was found almost one year later. In that period of time his mother committed suicide believing he would not be found.

CT and JT: Abducted by their mother in 2001. Taken to Mexico. “Returned” in 2005 by their mother, who dropped them off at the Texas-Mexico border to cross over by themselves. Were found trying to tunnel under the fence with their bare hands.

IB: Abducted by her mother for one year; returned severely malnourished. Abducted a second time and kept away for four years, and was abused by a boyfriend of the mother.

YC: Abducted by mother in 2004. Two weeks after abduction mother sent child by herself to the mother’s home country, to relatives she had never met. Found by father two years later.

BE: Father abducted child after killing of his mother. Found four years later after father was killed in shootout.

MR: Abducted at gunpoint by her father. Abandoned in Mexico with relatives. Found out she was abducted many years later, online.

Jesse Griffin-Sebuliba – I have written about him here and here.

RM – abducted by aunt and cousin and taken to Mexico. Found begging for food in ragged clothing.

MR – abducted by mother in 2001. Found in 2007 in Mexico, where he was homeless and worked shining shoes instead of going to school.

AG and HG – abducted by mother in 2007. Found eighteen months later living in a van. They were cold, dirty, and could not remember the last time they had eaten.

RC – abducted by mother in 2007. Found two years later hidden in a four by twelve room the height of a washing machine. He told investigators he was never allowed to go outside.

TK – abducted by mother in 2003. When he was found eighteen months later his left-behind father had died of cancer.

SS – abducted by mother in 2004. Her mother was later killed in a shootout resulting from a hostage situation.

FC, KC, and OC – abducted by their father in 2008 after the murder of their mother. They were found with a relative in Mexico a year later. Their father is still at large.

These are of course not the only stories of interest; I will periodically update this post.