AZ - Isabel Mercedes Celis, 6, Tucson, 20 April 2012 - # 3

[Jezbel]

Sooooooo it was an hour and 10-15 minutes after the dad awakened and couldn't find Isabel that it was decided she must have been kidnapped? (This is not much better.)

The Dad went in to wake her at 8am, she wasn't in her bed, probably looked around the house, checked rooms etc, called 911 at 08.15am to report her missing. Approx one hour later her brother was asking the local business if anybody had seen or heard anything.

I don't see what the problem is, am I missing something?

 

[Anita Richman]

So now FBI BAU has spoken with (interviewed) the "family". That would include the 14 and 10 year old brothers. If something happened in that house (meaning the parents "did it"), wouldn't the brothers know? If they didn't know about abuse in the home, if there was abuse, they might have suspicions. Also, at 14 and 10, they do not have the ability to lie or mislead the seasoned investigators from the FBI.

I think after interviewing the boys, the FBI would know if this is a stranger abduction.

Forgive my convoluted post. Trying to make my point with a squirmy two year old on my lap.

 

[keeponsearching]

I am glad they called so soon. They must know their little girl and it was strange what took place. If I was in their shoes I would assume the same thing. My kids do not leave house without me.

 

[Pensfan]

But IF her window and her blinds were wide open,and she was gone, then I can believe he thought she was kidnapped. Where would a 6 yr old go at 8am all alone?

I think the article stated that her blinds were pushed to one side.

I raised four kids. Their blinds were always imperfect just like everything else in their rooms. Their screens were frequently pushed off even on the second story windows. Once they climbed out onto the roof to play frisbee with kids in the yard. The list of where they would wander alone when I took my eyes from them is too long to list. (Thanks to legions of guardian angels, they survived to adulthood.)

 

[LisaB]

I have a suggestion: read them "Never Talk to Strangers" (Amazon.com: Never Talk to Strangers (Family Storytime) (9780307102317): Irma Joyce, S.D. Schindler: Books). It sure made an impression on me!

When I was a kid, we were given a book at a school assembly, called "Betsy and Bill and the Nice Bad Man." According to http://www.twp.south-brunswick.nj.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={512D8BC2-211B-4ACA-92FE-B875E3EAA387}&DE={8E2E70D5-7A76-49FB-B4D0-7A7FCF1D630E} :

“Betsy and Bill and the Nice Bad Man” copyright 1968 was published. "The Police Department, South Brunswick" appears on its cover and inside is a letter to parents from Chief Fred Holsten requesting that they read this book with their children to make them aware of “child molesters” and to be wary of strangers."

 

[longtallcold]

But IF her window and her blinds were wide open,and she was gone, then I can believe he thought she was kidnapped. Where would a 6 yr old go at 8am all alone?

I have a 6yr old, and if I woke up in the morning, and she was not in her room and her window was open....that would be my first thought as well!!

 

[Knox]

One camera is attached to a home just 75 yards away and points directly at the Celis family's house,[/B] while others are attached to nearby businesses. Police hope they could yield clues to the girl's overnight disappearance. http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-tuc...0#.T5gZKO19GXw

first I have heard of this!

We had a burglary at work a couple of months ago. We have security cameras in the area the theft occurred. Unfortunately, they are not night vision. We could see the lights from the vehicle both coming and going, but no other details. So in essence the cameras were useless.

Let's hope that neighbor who's camera is pointed at the Celis' home spent the money for a good system. Are there street lights on East 12th?

Also, is this just being revealed to us? Surely the neighbor would have come forward immediately and handed over the recording?

 

[Anita Richman]

IMO, unless other children had been recently kidnapped in the neighborhood, most parents wouldn't decided that she was kidnapped an hour after she was discovered to be missing. Most would check the immediate neighborhood while calling her name, check all of her friends' residences/backyards, walk to local places that the family had frequented, call nearby relatives, check to see if her bike/big wheel/skates/skateboard were missing and etc..... BEFORE determining and telling her brothers that she was kidnapped.

Depending on the child (less adventurous, maybe a "scaredy cat", etc), if one of mine was missing out of her bed with the window open, that's EXACTLY what I would assume! Especially at age 6. Possibly if the 14 year old was gone, I would think they snuck out to meet friends and hadn't made it home yet.

 

[ClaireNC]

bbm
An hour after the family awakens and can't find the little sister, they decide she was kidnapped? An hour? The young brother repeated the exact statement twice? (I'm now sitting on my hands and hoping this report is incorrect.)

I don't think of the brother's questions as odd. If I woke up and found one of my children missing, my mind would immediately jump to the possibility of kidnapping. I would most likely check around the house and call the police within 15 minutes. My actions would be done in panic mode and I would be imaging the worse. After calling police, I would be out in the neighborhood starting a search and getting other family members and neighbors to join.

 

[nursebeeme]

IMO, unless other children had been recently kidnapped in the neighborhood, most parents wouldn't decided that she was kidnapped an hour after she was discovered to be missing. Most would check the immediate neighborhood while calling her name, check all of her friends' residences/backyards, walk to local places that the family had frequented, call nearby relatives, check to see if her bike/big wheel/skates/skateboard were missing and etc..... BEFORE determining and telling her brothers that she was kidnapped.

I think that depends on what else they saw in her bedroom (re: Chief will not confirm or deny signs of a struggle)

Just based on how quickly they called 911 and thought she had been kidnapped I am guessing there is more that led them to that thought path:moo:

 

[katydid23]

IMO, unless other children had been recently kidnapped in the neighborhood, most parents wouldn't decided that she was kidnapped an hour after she was discovered to be missing. Most would check the immediate neighborhood while calling her name, check all of her friends' residences/backyards, walk to local places that the family had frequented, call nearby relatives, check to see if her bike/big wheel/skates/skateboard were missing and etc..... BEFORE determining and telling her brothers that she was kidnapped.

I don't know---maybe not with a 6 yr old. I would think an older child might be out on their bike with friends in the morning. But if my 6 yr old daughter was missing and her window was wide open, then I would think of kidnapping as well.

 

[Anita Richman]

We had a burglary at work a couple of months ago. We have security cameras in the area the theft occurred. Unfortunately, they are not night vision. We could see the lights from the vehicle both coming and going, but no other details. So in essence the cameras were useless.

Let's hope that neighbor who's camera is pointed at the Celis' home spent the money for a good system. Are there street lights on East 12th?

Also, is this just being revealed to us? Surely the neighbor would have come forward immediately and handed over the recording?

I don't believe so. As another local mentioned earlier, due to "low light ordinances" (for star gazing), there are limits on the types of street lights which can be used and they are normally too expensive to put on side streets.

 

[liz b.]

So now FBI BAU has spoken with (interviewed) the "family". That would include the 14 and 10 year old brothers. If something happened in that house (meaning the parents "did it"), wouldn't the brothers know? If they didn't know about abuse in the home, if there was abuse, they might have suspicions. Also, at 14 and 10, they do not have the ability to lie or mislead the seasoned investigators from the FBI.

I think after interviewing the boys, the FBI would know if this is a stranger abduction.

Forgive my convoluted post. Trying to make my point with a squirmy two year old on my lap.

Possibly so...MOO Unless the two boys slept far away from her bedroom ? Would love to see a floorplan of this house. Also, I believe it is possible for one child in a family to be abused sexually, and the other kids in the house to not be aware of it... MOO NOT saying anything like that was going in in this house. Doubt it, but that's just MO.

 

[sweetsavi]

bbm
An hour after the family awakens and can't find the little sister, they decide she was kidnapped? An hour? The young brother repeated the exact statement twice? (I'm now sitting on my hands and hoping this report is incorrect.)

I doubt it was an hour. It was probably an hour before the kid got into the store to tell the clerk

 

[Pensfan]

The Dad went tin to wake her at 8am, she wasn't in her bed, probably looked around the house, checked rooms etc, called 911 at 08.15am to report her missing. Approx one hour later her brother was asking the local business if anybody had seen or heard anything.

I don't see what the problem is, am I missing something?

It is great that the brother was searching for her. My concern occurs with the fact that his statement might be rehearsed (if the article is correct) because he repeated the exact words twice. Also, after only an hour and 10 minutes, he was certain that she was kidnapped instead of thinking that she wandered off to K-mart, took her Big Wheel for a spin around the neighborhood, was enjoying her rollerblades too far from home, had walked to the neighbor's home with the pretty flower/kittens/yard ornaments/whatever, and etc...

 

[mck16]

I don't think of the brother's questions as odd. If I woke up and found one of my children missing, my mind would immediately jump to the possibility of kidnapping. I would most likely check around the house and call the police within 15 minutes. My actions would be done in panic mode and I would be imaging the worse. After calling police, I would be out in the neighborhood starting a search and getting other family members and neighbors to join.

And searching the neighborhood, places she goes may have been the suggestion by LE. jmo

 

[katydid23]

I think the article stated that her blinds were pushed to one side.

I raised four kids. Their blinds were always imperfect just like everything else in their rooms. Their screens were frequently pushed off even on the second story windows. Once they climbed out onto the roof to play frisbee with kids in the yard. The list of where they would wander alone when I took my eyes from them is too long to list. (Thanks to legions of guardian angels, they survived to adulthood.)

But they put her in that room at 11 pm. They probably knew the window was closed and the blinds were pulled closed. So if it looked different the next morning, with the window opened, it would have been frightening, imo.

I bet if the 10 yr old or 14 yr old boy were missing, they probably would have assumed what you described first---that they were out with friends on their skateboards. My son used to go get donuts with his friends at 7 am sometimes, just to ride their bikes.

But imo, 6 yr old girl is not likely to go off early by herself. I bet they called their family down the street and maybe any friends she had in the neighborhood and then called 911.

 

[Knox]

I don't believe so. As another local mentioned earlier, due to "low light ordinances" (for star gazing), there are limits on the types of street lights which can be used and they are normally too expensive to put on side streets.

What about the lighting from the adjacent Office Max? Is their back store and parking area lit at night? Desperately hoping that there is some sort of low light illumination, in case the neighbor's camera's are not capable of recording images at night.

Is my train of thought useless? Meaning, if there were something of value LE would have announced it by now?

 

[BrownRice]

It is great that the brother was searching for her. My concern occurs with the fact that his statement might be rehearsed (if the article is correct) because he repeated the exact words twice. Also, after only an hour and 10 minutes, he was certain that she was kidnapped instead of thinking that she wandered off to K-mart, took her Big Wheel for a spin around the neighborhood, was enjoying her rollerblades too far from home, had walked to the neighbor's home with the pretty flower/kittens/yard ornaments/whatever, and etc...

She apparently has no history of wandering off in the wee morning, so I don't know why this is suspicious. If I awoke to my child not in the house (he is 6 as well), I'd call 911 within 3 minutes probably. My child has never woken before me and left the house.

 

[Dr. Know?]

I did see a street light on Isabel's street via google in front of the neighbors house a door or 2 away but none on the side street/alley.