May 31, 2021 Press Conference:
Media Briefing on Search for Missing 6-Year-Old
Good evening, my name is Larry Satterwhite, I am the Exec Chief over support operations with me is assistant Chief Heather Morris over criminal investigations.
So why are we here? We are looking for Samuel Dalton Ronald Olson. He’s a 6 year old child just turned and we are looking every where we can to find him. I’ll tell you what we know and that I can share.
On Thursday May 27 in the evening time around 6pm we received a call at southwest Houston about Samuel being taken by another individual. Officers went to that location started taking information from the individuals there that made the call about Samuel being taken. From there the reports went into our missing persons unit and we started looking for Samuel. We didn’t know what we had. We didn’t know if we had a child custody issue, we could still have that or anything else more nefarious. We just don’t know or if we were even getting the accurate information but this is how we conduct our investigations. We started talking to everybody that has any connection to little Samuel in terms of his caretakers, relatives and anyone else and we’re still doing that today. We have not located him yet and no one seems to know where he is that we have talked to so far.
Why are we here today? The apartment behind us is one of the last known locations we are reported to have that little Samuel was at. So this is why we are here today and going in and looking for anything possible that might lead us to getting him back. I know that you all saw that we had Equusearch and officers in the field behind us searching. It just goes to show that we are looking everywhere. Anywhere possible where a 6 year old child could be. On his own or by any potential other party that might have him. So at this point we just do not have a lot of information and we are asking you as the public to help us. If anybody knows where little Samuel Olsen is or has any information as to where he might be to please call us. Call our missing persons unit at 832-394-1840 or just call 911 and say what you have and we will send a unit out to get that information. Our goal is get him back well and safe and to get him back in the hands of people who love him and will take care of him. So with that I will stop there and take any questions you have, but understand there is what I can say and what I can’t say.
Questions:
Reporter: (Inaudible) apparently reported him being taken by someone on the 27th is that woman now missing?
Officer: We are still looking, we have talked to all of those individuals even as much as earlier today. So we’re still asking questions of everybody that might have involvement here or might know something and at this point I don’t know specifically her whereabouts right now, I am not willing to say she is missing. I just don’t know where she is at this moment.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Officer: So it’s a little bit complicated. The bio mother and father has joint custody and each has time with the child. So that’s what we know by court records at this point and I haven’t been given any updates on that.
Reporter: Have you talked to mom?
Officer: We have talked to all of the parties and unfortunately no one knows where the child is right now.
Reporter: Have you been able to figure out the last time someone actually saw him?
Officer: All we have are reports. The last time we know for a fact where he was was his school. That was April 30th. So we are working very hard because there are a lot of reports of where he was and why he was where he was and we are tying to verify all of that information and again this is a complicated case and we are trying to move with as much urgency as we can to get him back safely. We just are still not where we need to be in terms of locating him.
Reporter: (Inaudible) is the fake cop a credible story?
Officer: We are trying to verify that.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Officer: This is a residence where little Samuel was kept with someone who was watching him at the time. According to reports that we have. Again we have not verified everything yet. Right now all we have are reports of the people that are involved and we are trying to verify the stories whether or not they are true or untrue. It’s taking some time.
Reporter: Did you say that the last time that you could verify that someone ultimately, people actually saw him was April the 30th. Is that what you said?
Officer: That’s what I said. We know the school reported that they had seen him on April 30th and since then we are trying to figure out all the whereabouts. Again we have reports from family members saying where he was and we are tying to verify those things but people outside of those people closest to him we have not talked to anybody that has seen him.
Reporter: So is it possible he has been missing since April 30th?
Officer: Yes, that is possible
Reporter: What do you do from here (inaudible)?
Officer: we are still talking to everybody we are going everywhere possible we are going to use everything available to us through the courts, through the legal system for getting information as quickly as possible to verify whereabouts and hopefully through all of those types of measures we will find something that will lead us to him and get him back.
Reporter: Does this apartment belong to the fathers girlfriend?
Officer: No sir, the apartment belongs to another individual that the father’s girlfriend knew.
Reporter: Have you made contact with that individual?
Officer: We have made contact with them, Yes.
Reporter: (Inaudible) there’s so many different stories that you are getting (inaudible)
Officer: It’s complicated for all of those things. Everybody’s saying what they, you know what happened, and again we’re just trying to verify and piece it all together.
Reporter: Is the protective order still active between the girlfriend and the father?
Officer: I don’t know that information right now
Reporter: The name of the school can you tell us that?
Officer: I don’t have the information. I mean I can look it up but that would take me a long time in this press conference. We can find out and later on follow up with you.
Reporter: Who exactly was watching Samuel at this apartment?
Officer: Right now the reports are that a friend of the biological father so that’s what we are working through. That’s the reports OK. Again, we are trying to verify everything and it’s going to take some time. I will say again, if anybody knows anything about this or can shed some light on where little Samuel is to please call us and let us know. We would like to get him back.
Reporter: The biological parents have any other children together?
Officer: I don’t have any information on that.
Reporter: Specifically here at this location you have a search warrant. Can you tell us what you are searching for and how long you will be in there?
Officer: It’s like anything else, we were hoping to find Samuel but the warrants that we draw and everything that we do is basically we are doing everything we can legally to try to locate him and get him back. So there will be more, there will be more locations checked and we really won’t stop until we find him.
Reporter: Could this turn out to be, not a dead end I don’t want to say that, but you know.
Officer: I don’t know, we still have investigators checking everything so I don’t know what will turn up from this. Hopefully something that will lead us to him.
Reporter: How does no one know where a 6 year old is?
Officer: That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer for you but we’re going to find out.
Reporter: The (inaudible) is it male or female?
Officer: of the biological father.. female
Thank you Chief.
