CA - Hasanni Campbell, 5, Oakland, 10 Aug 2009 - #1

[YellowSubmarine]

So, maybe she wasn't done work, afterall. I assumed she was done work at 4-ish and was going to take the kids home while the dad went to class...

I bring my baby to work with me when I can, but I'm not in customer service, and I mostly do my work at home anyway (just take him to my office hours for students and to meetings). Who would risk having to watch two (possibly soon three) children while trying to serve in a store, unless they owned the place and had employees there? Must not be a very busy store.

I'm in the same situation as you and do feel very fortunate. I don't, however, believe it was routine for JC to have her kids at work. I'm sure her boss would've been aware of this and not surprised, as he said. It also seems hinky hinky to me that LR would leave his 6 month pregnant wife with a baby and a handicapped child at her work to then have to make a not very easy trip home on public transportation. Doesn't stick, imo.

I wonder if any of the employees around the shoe store reported the two of them looking for Hassani? If he had disappeared, I would think the first thing they would do would go shop to shop looking and asking questions. Did any shoppers report two frantic parents calling his name?

 

[WhyaDuck?]

This article also states again that Ross refuses to discuss the results of the LD test. If you passed, why not say so?

They might not have told him if he passed or not, or it might have been inconclusive and his lawyer told him not to talk about it.

 

[not_my_kids]

Not a dumb question at all NMK, I agree 100%. For me it's not so much what make the car is. What upsets me is that he was using the car and left Jennifer A) to work while managing two small children an six months pregnant, and B) to drag two small children around on public transportation with a big ole baby bump, and C) that A and B seem inconsiderate and self serving. Why couldn't he take the bus from Shuz to his class and then have Jen pick HIM up?

Oh, now there I agree. The use of the car is still hinky to me. And I think that if there isn't a very good reason for her to hauling herself all over town on the bus, then this might be a sign of foster dad's personality...all about him. And if that is the case, then I worry that Hassani might have taken some me time from good old dad and the rest is history.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Meanwhile, Oakland attorney John Burris said that he was contacted earlier this week by Ross and Jennifer Campbell, Hassani's foster mother, because they were concerned about being questioned by police about the boy's disappearance . . . . . The family "was surprised police tried to interrogate them, and I wanted to advise them that that is logical and they should not be dismayed by it," Burris said.

So they're pouting because LE is asking questions about their missing child? They were the last ones to see him and they are surprised LE would ask questions? Sounds ridiculous to me. If my child were missing, I don't care how many questions LE had of me, I'd answer them all as quickly and honestly as possible, not call a lawyer.

 

[not_my_kids]

What happened to the Mark Klaas' of the world?

What happened to the parent's begging LE to test them so that they can get on with the business of finding their child? If one of my kids were ever to go missing, or even a child that I cared about, I would be the first one in line telling them that I don't want one extra minute of time wasted on investigating me and my background when they could be out focusing on finding the person that took my child. Period.

Was the instinct to put our kids ahead of ourselves just bred out of humanity at some point? Are we the minority now?

 

[Shutterfly]

I stand corrected. I apologize. If in fact Ross was headed to SUMC for orientation from Shuz, it's almost an hour's drive. If I were Jen, I wouldn't want to get off work and then drive for a total of two hours to pick Ross up from SUMC either. I'm gonna go try and pull my foot out of my mouth now.

 

[CarrieBean]

It's possible she doesn't have her license, either.

 

[Shutterfly]

We've heard nothing about daycare or a babysitter have we?

 

[not_my_kids]

I stand corrected. I apologize. If in fact Ross was headed to SUMC for orientation from Shuz, it's almost an hour's drive. If I were Jen, I wouldn't want to get off work and then drive for a total of two hours to pick Ross up from SUMC either. I'm gonna go try and pull my foot out of my mouth now.

I have special grease for foot removal...you can borrow some if you would like. :blushing:

 

[Columbo]

Not a dumb question at all NMK, I agree 100%. For me it's not so much what make the car is. What upsets me is that he was using the car and left Jennifer A) to work while managing two small children an six months pregnant, and B) to drag two small children around on public transportation with a big ole baby bump, and C) that A and B seem inconsiderate and self serving. Why couldn't he take the bus from Shuz to his class and then have Jen pick HIM up?

If he truly is a "consultant" then he probably is status-conscious or his job depends on making a showing of prosperity (even if he isn't prosperous!). It's still mighty self-serving and I totally agree with you.

 

[Columbo]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hUXzIn-qwIqEY9RjeTeHqMRo83PgD9A27VI80

Ross said he was heading for an orientation at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto and then to his twice-weekly medical assistant class in Fremont.

Oh my god. Medical assistant? Would he have had access to drugs ? The kind that can kill people?

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I will also point out that a lot of pregnant women are told by their doctors not to drive after a certain time in their pregnancy, and some women also find it really uncomfortable behind the wheel, physically.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I stand corrected. I apologize. If in fact Ross was headed to SUMC for orientation from Shuz, it's almost an hour's drive. If I were Jen, I wouldn't want to get off work and then drive for a total of two hours to pick Ross up from SUMC either. I'm gonna go try and pull my foot out of my mouth now.

I'm right there with ya. I still think they could've come up with something more logical with the kids, though. (i.e. family, babysitter, daycare . . . ) Being a busy couple between work and school, they HAVE to have some sort of back up plan or a daycare they can use. Sounds like they could afford it.

 

[cleo612]

The late model beemer is bothering me for many reasons. If you can afford a late model beemer and a house in today's economy, then you shouldn't have to take two children to a place of work. There should be money for an in house sitter so as not to disrupt the children's routine or the mom's work schedule.
There are different reports on whether Hassani was left in the car or outside the car by the back door. Beemers are usually not left unlocked, so if he was in the car and it was locked there is no way of either him getting out or being taken out w/o alarms going off.
Too many unanswered questions and different spins on the story to make any sense out of this at this point.

Not only would you likely not need to take two children to a place of business, BUT if you can afford a Beemer, you likely can also afford a cell phone.

So why didn't foster dad call foster mother to open the back door instead of leaving little Hassani alone behind the store?

This story makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Not only are there the inconsistencies in where LR left Hassani, I found another. In one statement, LR says he opened the front door of the shop and told JC to open the back door, then went right back around to the car. Another statement he says he went in the shop and the two of them together went to the back door.

The truth should not be so inconsistent.

:liar: :silenced:

 

[Paintr]

I have special grease for foot removal...you can borrow some if you would like. :blushing:

I wear mint flavoured shoes so that it doesn't taste so bad when I insert my foot. LOL! I am thinking of taking out a patent on them.

 

[Columbo]

Some interesting info on "Kinship Care" in California:

http://www.childsworld.ca.gov/PG1351.htm

He's driving a beemer and she's taking the bus.....six months pregnant....with two small children? WTH?

I have a feeling they might be living waaayyy above their means...of course, it isn't clear what Ross' occupation is. If he is studying to be a medical assistant it seems like he should be proud of it, and just say so--but he dodged the question in the interview.

 

[eyes4crime]

Clipped from the Associated press Post # 340...bolded by me...

He disappeared after Ross pulled his BMW into a rear parking lot behind the shoe store with Hasanni and his infant sister onboard. Ross said he was heading for an orientation at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto and then to his twice-weekly medical assistant class in Fremont.

Dropping the kids with Campbell is a family routine,

"I said, 'Hasanni, go wait by the back door,' and he had already taken a first step out of the car," Ross said.

Ross said he grabbed Hasanni's sister and went to the front of the store and told Campbell to open the back door. He then went back to the parking lot.

"When I got to back there (Campbell) was already there. She says to me, 'Where's Hasanni?'" Ross said. "I said, 'What do you mean?' I look to see if he's standing along by the car, but he's not."

Ross said he and Campbell asked her co-worker if he had seen Hasanni.

A couple questions:

Ross grabs an 18mo baby - walks to the front of the store to tell Campbell to open the back door for little Hasanni. (he drives a BMW but has no cell phone?)

Ross tells 5yo Hasanni to, who has already unbuckled his seat belt and stepped outside the car, go wait by the back door....(why did Ross expect the child to be in the car after he told Husanni to go wait by the back door? Ross calls dropping off Hasanni a 'family affair' and something that they do all the time...so why all the confusion? Seems to me they would have worked out the details of this trip)

What type of orientation at Stanford Med. Center was he going to?

Teaches medical assistants? What does he teach them?

My opinion: He sounds arrogant, self absorbed, and would be quick to call the police 'unfair'. MHO!

 

[YellowSubmarine]

The family did not go to the media immediately because "our first and primary concern is the return of our son," Ross said.

Riiight, because when your child is missing, the last thing you'd want is that pesky media getting the word out. <Note heavy undertones of sarcasm with a hint of cynicism>

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I wear mint flavoured shoes so that it doesn't taste so bad when I insert my foot. LOL! I am thinking of taking out a patent on them.

That's just the Trident stuck to the bottoms of them, Paintr.