GUILTY VA - Noah Thomas, 5, Pulaski County, 22 March 2015 #1

[katinva]

I get the sense that they don't expect a search effort will find him alive. It seems that their best hope is that he was taken by someone who is taking care of him.

I can appreciate that. That's also kind of where I am.

Yeah, I think so too. The Sherriff seems very angry to me. I'm sure he's tired. Interesting about the car in the neighborhood. So we have Noah alone for about 2 hours.

 

[vasportsmom]

I get the sense that they don't expect a search effort will find him alive. It seems that their best hope is that he was taken by someone who is taking care of him.

I can appreciate that. That's also kind of where I am.

I get that feeling too. It bugs me that he uses every PC to basically shame people on the internet. It feels like a planned distraction on his part.


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[MamaJoJo]

At least the timeline has been clarified, yet again...

Question: There is some confusion on the timeline

Sheriff : Ashley came home and Noah wanted to watch cartoons at 7a. During that time period she was up until 8:15a. At one point she did take a nap and when she awoke around 10:30a she discovered Noah was missing.

 

[MamaJoJo]

I get that feeling too. It bugs me that he uses every PC to basically shame people on the internet. It feels like a planned distraction on his part.


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Question : Can you gauge how long the search effort will continue?

Sheriff : It will eventually dwindle. You'll run out of people, resources and hope over time. Armchair legal analysts want us to search a certain area, I ask them why. If you can tell me why.

Where is it that these "armchair legal analysts" want LE to search?

 

[MamaJoJo]

One other thing that stood out for me...

Question : Has other family seen Noah publicly recently

Sheriff : He was at school Friday. Other people have seen him publicly but not since Sunday.

<snip>

Question : Any evidence which proves the family was in fact home on Sunday morning?

Sheriff : At this time, no. We have family statements and their timeline, that Noah was alive and well on Saturday night.

Hmmm....

 

[vasportsmom]

Where is it that these "armchair legal analysts" want LE to search?

Beats me. I really did search FB yesterday looking for all of these horrible rumors that he keeps telling us about and I can't find them. 80% of the comments on the FB pages and news articles are simply prayers for Noah, the family and the searchers. The other 20% are a combination of "what kind of mother leaves a kid that age alone", "isn't this the time of year that witches and atheists sacrifice children" and "you people are mean, negative, cruel, atheist or possibly all 4". I'm just not seeing whatever it is that has him so angry and determined to squash.


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[SeriouslySearching]

New flyer from Facebook page

I found myself staring at his photos this morning. What I see is a well-fed, happy, feisty, sparkling-eyed, and seemingly normal little five year old boy. There are no physical signs (dead, sunken, and dark circled eyes or bruises) to worry me that he has been abused or neglected. His hair has been groomed and he looks quite clean (amazing for any pic with a 5yo boy). He probably is quite inquisitive. He has a "look" of the wheels continually turning in his little round head. He is a smart one.

At this stage, my hope is he found a place to shelter, and while cold and hungry, is surviving the best he can. If someone did take him away, the hope is he has at least been fed and is still alive.

In order to find anyone...you first have to know where they are not. And it appears he is not out in the open because there have been no sightings of him since he left. Not good news. No signs of Noah during the searches of where he should have gone had he been out on his own is another red flag. I think it does indicate he left by vehicle and wasn't expected to be returned.

The pokeman cards bother me a bit. Granted, if he left on his own he may have taken them as they could be his treasured items. However, it could also be something one close to him would place with him like a comfort of sorts.

The longer this goes on, the more they have to look at other plausible scenarios. Unfortunately, this does include everyone associated with him from family to community (teachers, pastors, etc).

Where are you, Noah?

 

[mom2six]

What that facebook page on the flyer? That gives me a very not-good feeling.

 

[MamaJoJo]

What that facebook page on the flyer? That gives me a very not-good feeling.

I believe they just made the flyer. It's a good one, IMO.

 

[daisy7]

One other thing that stood out for me...



Hmmm....

What happened to the video surveillance from Sunday am? I thought it showed Noah?

 

[katydid23]

What happened to the video surveillance from Sunday am? I thought it showed Noah?

That was my question too. I thought the mom and kids were seen in a store on Sunday am?

 

[blue22]

I'm sorry if this has been posted, as I'm catching up this morning. This article seems to clarify the timeline, once again. It says the mother actually last saw Noah at 7:00. So there was a 3 1/2 hour gap in between when she saw him. That is such a long time. If he had left the residence quickly, he could have really gone far. I have a 5 year old boy and I imagine he could really cover some ground .

"It was initially reported that Noah was last seen between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Sunday. However, at a news conference Wednesday, Assistant Pulaski County Administrator Anthony Akers clarified that Noah was actually last seen by his mother at 7 a.m. watching cartoons. His mother then went and took a nap, and woke up about 10:30 a.m. and noticed Noah was missing."

http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/p...cle_86971938-fb24-5957-9562-89fb1f087864.html

 

[AnnaGrace]

WSLS

http://www.wsls.com/story/28621601/...dible-leads-in-search-for-missing-noah-thomas

 

[MamaJoJo]

What happened to the video surveillance from Sunday am? I thought it showed Noah?

The question was if there was any proof he was "home" Sunday morning. I'm not sure how one proves that unless you happened to be taking pictures or the child logs into an online game site.

 

[NCsleuther]

Beats me. I really did search FB yesterday looking for all of these horrible rumors that he keeps telling us about and I can't find them. 80% of the comments on the FB pages and news articles are simply prayers for Noah, the family and the searchers. The other 20% are a combination of "what kind of mother leaves a kid that age alone", "isn't this the time of year that witches and atheists sacrifice children" and "you people are mean, negative, cruel, atheist or possibly all 4". I'm just not seeing whatever it is that has him so angry and determined to squash.


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I haven't seen a thing either.

 

[daisy7]

Beats me. I really did search FB yesterday looking for all of these horrible rumors that he keeps telling us about and I can't find them. 80% of the comments on the FB pages and news articles are simply prayers for Noah, the family and the searchers. The other 20% are a combination of "what kind of mother leaves a kid that age alone", "isn't this the time of year that witches and atheists sacrifice children" and "you people are mean, negative, cruel, atheist or possibly all 4". I'm just not seeing whatever it is that has him so angry and determined to squash.

Just because we don't see them doesn't mean they weren't posted and then removed by admins. One of the admins on the main FB page made a comment (sorry, don't have a link handy) that one of the other pages was started by a 13yo. And, he was getting messages that he didn't know how to deal with (paraphrasing). Actually, I'm surprised that we haven't yet had a FB rumor that his body as been found, like has happened in so many cases.

IMO.

 

[NCsleuther]

Thursday morning press conference notes. Sheriff Davis making statement.

Sheriffs office, FBI, Virginia Police, Pulaski Police, NCMEC, all on site and still working.

Local volunteer fire depts, trained dogs, other searchers still on the job.

Currently 45 investigators solely working this incident around the clock.

Investigative portion is following up on tips from phone calls, local resident interviews. Over 100 tips generated through phone calls, traffic stops and interviews.

Investigators are repeatedly interviewing residents, their children, repeatedly, coming at all times to make sure they catch people.

Parents have been completely cooperative. Parents are in deep anguish. Please do not judge them, they are living a nightmare which most of us don't have to experience.

An interview with the family consists of 5 min of talking and 5 min of recuperating.

Armchair analysts on the internet, please keep uninformed opinions and distractions to yourself.

National Missing Children's network has already started distributing photos and flyers - all their flyers are accurate.

There is not enough descriptive information to believe an Amber Alert would help rescue this child. We don't know where he is, if he's with someone, if he is who it is or what the car is like. Scarce information in an Amber Alert can hurt more than it helps. We haven't met the stipulations required with Noah.

Media coverage is more important than Amber Alerts at this point. If information is found that would legitimize and Amber Alert, one will be issued.

Search has searched buildings numerous times. Now they are doing second and third searches with dogs in outlying buildings.

Command center has moved to a new location due to weather and access. Old command post was in private land, new command post will be at the fair grounds.

Search operations will continue today. LE is searching roadsides today, double checking things they've already covered.

If you have any evidence, anything, please call.

Question : It's odd that parents aren't going on camera. Have you talked with them?
Sheriff : We've spoken at length. This is unique because we all deal with grief differently. They are feeling helpless and are dealing with grief. At some point they or a family member will likely come forward but for now they are dealing with grief.

Question : There is some confusion on the timeline
Sheriff : Ashley came home and Noah wanted to watch cartoons at 7a. During that time period she was up until 8:15a. At one point she did take a nap and when she awoke around 10:30a she discovered Noah was missing.

Question : Has other family seen Noah publicly recently
Sheriff : He was at school Friday. Other people have seen him publicly but not since Sunday.

Question : You are confident he isn't in local ponds, have you checked (couldn't hear) lake?
Sheriff : Noah is 5. We haven't ruled out he might have been abducted. At the same time there is a massive ground search. People ask why are you searching so much ground and that's simply because we can and we will. Variables will make cases different from each other and with studies on how far a child may travel we keep that in mind. We have constant air support. (This was confusing)

Question : Any evidence which proves the family was in fact home on Sunday morning?
Sheriff : At this time, no. We have family statements and their timeline, that Noah was alive and well on Saturday night.

Question : Has the family taken a polygraph?
Sheriff : That's part of the investigation I wont get into

Question : Do they have a lawyer
Sheriff : They have sought legal advice

Question : Is a lawyer present during questioning?
Sheriff : No. This family has been very cooperative. Very cooperative. Their call not to face the media is understandable to me. Maybe not to people who judge them from afar and have not dealt with this situation have different opinions.

Question : Have you dealt with a situation like this before?
Sheriff : Yes. We've had cases like this which have lasted far longer.

Sheriff : I understand the need for people to have answers. Everyone wants to know what is happening and for us to find Noah, that is our goal. Police will not say or do anything which compromises the search or investigation.

Question : It's going to get cold, he's been out a long time, does that concern you?
Sheriff : I don't speculate if Noah is alive. I pray he is. It's all a factor (Weather, terrain, age, size). We can only hope and pray if he has been abducted that he is being taken care of.

Sheriff : Tips are coming from all over the country.

Sheriff : We have searched the family home and surrounding area more than 3 times. We did not need a warrant, parents were cooperative.

Question : Is there surveillance footage video of Noah which you can comment on?
Sheriff : I cannot comment on that but we have secured every footage in Pulaski county.

Question : Are there any suspects or credible leads?
Sheriff : We have a number of credible leads, no suspects or persons of interest. In an investigation like this you start in the home, then you look at family members, neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintances. In our effort to ensure Noah's safety we are looking at all these areas. But every call is important. We ask for friends and people associated with Noah to contact us and help us understand.

Question : Any detail on these credible leads?
Sheriff : A car was observed in the neighborhood which nobody knew. But this is a heavily traveled area on Sunday morning.

Question : Nobody saw Noah out and about on Sunday morning?
Sheriff : No

Question : Can you gauge how long the search effort will continue?
Sheriff : It will eventually dwindle. You'll run out of people, resources and hope over time. Armchair legal analysts want us to search a certain area, I ask them why. If you can tell me why.

Question : What is the plan for search today
Sheriff : We have areas we will search again. Other new areas. Anywhere that we have cause to look, we will look.

Question : Where specifically?
Sheriff : Outlying areas within our search grids, picked and researched. We want to walk away feeling we have done the best we can. I have never worked a case with this much support. We have 28 FBI agents working with us. Their sole goal, like ours, is to find Noah.

Why would he not comment on whether or not the family has taken a polygraph? And what are they seeking legal advice for?

 

[vasportsmom]

I haven't seen a thing either.

Which begs the question why is he wasting precious time lecturing against something that doesn't seem to exist?


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[NCsleuther]

Just because we don't see them doesn't mean they weren't posted and then removed by admins. One of the admins on the main FB page made a comment (sorry, don't have a link handy) that one of the other pages was started by a 13yo. And, he was getting messages that he didn't know how to deal with (paraphrasing). Actually, I'm surprised that we haven't yet had a FB rumor that his body as been found, like has happened in so many cases.

IMO.

Good point. I hadn't thought of the fact that they could be removing them.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

What happened to the video surveillance from Sunday am? I thought it showed Noah?

Noah was in school on Friday and was seen publicly early Sunday morning, according to Davis.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/inv...ope-they-will-find-noah-thomas-alive/32007426

However, when asked the question if Noah was in the home Sunday morning...he could not confirm. He stated LE only had the statements from the family (he mentioned they have sought legal advice.)

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...Pulaski-22-March-2015&p=11626568#post11626568