GUILTY FL - Luke Finch, 3, Cocoa, 28 Nov 2009

[nadjatheresa]

Oh, pardon me, I am sometimes so slow! I thought he set sail from Cocoa Beach but now realize it was St. Petersburg, which means he would maybe head to Mexico.

Sorry!

 

[mysticrose]

Here is a map of where the Marina was located that Paul took off from. If you zoom out far enough it will give you an idea of how far Mexico is along with the keys or Bahamas..

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8...608,-82.634096&spn=0.009324,0.022638&t=h&z=16

 

[mysticrose]

Missing child alert
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
November 28, 2009 8:54 PM
COCOA BEACH, FL -

Investigators have issued a missing child alert for a 3-year old boy from Cocoa Beach. That's in Brevard County, just north of Vero Beach. The child's name Luke Finch. He was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt, blue pants, and black and red fire engine sneakers. He may be in the company of his father, a white male, 35 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall, with blonde hair and green eyes. Police suspect they are traveling in a green Ford Explorer with a dented rear bumper. The Florida tag number is 142KEA. If you have any information, call 911

http://www.cbs12.com/news/missing-4722835-alert-beach.html

 

[nadjatheresa]

Mexico seems out of the question from the distance. Really, even a U.S. gulf coast destination seems out of reach if he is an inexperienced boater.

 

[not_my_kids]

I really hope that this is a break for freedom, because Luke would ahve a fighting chance that way.
I hope he isn't taking him out to deep water where no one can stop him from doing something bad to Luke.

 

[mysticrose]

OK so from the missing alert above Paul did take Luke from the east coast (Cocoa Beach)
and launched from the west coast ( St. Petersburg, FL)...

Here is a map for distance travelled, it is 157 miles and roughly 2 1/2 hour drive:

http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=C...607719&sspn=0.155924,0.362206&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=9

Here is places Paul has lived prior, please note ( Smithville, TX ):

Paul L Martikainen

Lake Worth, FL
West Palm Beach, FL
Smithville, TX
Greenacres, FL

http://www.intelius.com/search-summ...i=&qn=Martikainen&qs=&trackit=74&focusfirst=1

 

[mysticrose]

I wonder if this guy is sailing to Cuba ?

 

[Texas Mist]

According to the NCMEC they may be headed for the Mississippi River

A felony warrant was issued for the abductor on November 28, 2009. They may be traveling in a 1977 32-foot Bristol Model Sloop sailboat along the Mississippi River.

flyer here:

http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...seNum=1136328&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

 

[Justiz]

Forgive me if I don't know how to use this forum very well. I am new here.


Check out these links.

A person by the name of Ruth E Martinkainen has been commenting on several blogs. She has commented using her name and on another blog using REM. Could be on others with another name possibly.

She says she is not Paul's mother.

She has admitted there was plotting and claims the usual false allegation defense. Nevermind the guy has lengthy history including trafficking of ectasy along with DV and child abuse.

http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/11/allegedly-abusive-dad-kidnaps-3-year.html

ruth.martikainen said...
ok smart---. look here. you have no idea what the hell you are talking about. all you know is that this man was "alleged" aka accused of abuse. by the woman who chose to have a second child with him. she wanted him to be in that child's life. until he didn't want to be with her anymore. when he started fighting for his rights-she started accusing him of everything under the sun for vengeful reasons! and don't tell me you people have never heard of a woman doing this. Funny that the courts could never press charges! All the ---- allegations were DISMISSED! I think after jumping through hoops for so long and not getting anywhere-maybe people think a little more irrational but that doesn't make them bad. Maybe the people who push others to this should hold some responsibility on this issue. I know-for a FACT!- that he would not hurt that child. And I hope they get away!

November 29, 2009 4:06 PM

 

[nadjatheresa]

Forgive me if I don't know how to use this forum very well. I am new here.

<....>

FYI-withholding adjudication is NOT the same as being dismissed.

Although I am relatively new myself, please allow me to be among the first to welcome you, Justiz!

That is a good point about REM's interpretation of the charges.

I will hope that despite her bias, she is correct about M's motivation.

And if it is true that he is sailing along the Mississippi, then there is hope this can end well.

Apparently it is 488 nautical miles from St. Petersburg to New Orleans, which the boat forums say is a 7 hour trip.

 

[Justiz]

I read that Paul told someone at the marina he was going to sail to Arkansas. But this really makes no sense. Why say where he is really going?

It would seem more likely to head to Mexico. As far as sailing alone, I believe the boat does have an engine also. Sailing would be difficult alone, but driving would be possible. Or who knows, maybe he has a friend who knows how to sail. Or maybe he will just take the boat far enough to get on another boat. There are so many possibilities.

They are searching in the Ft Myers coastal area, so this would mean that authorities think he is heading south also.

 

[alwaysonmymind]

Forgive me if I don't know how to use this forum very well. I am new here.


Check out these links.

A person by the name of Ruth E Martinkainen has been commenting on several blogs. She has commented using her name and on another blog using REM. Could be on others with another name possibly.

She says she is not Paul's mother.

She has admitted there was plotting and claims the usual false allegation defense. Nevermind the guy has lengthy history including trafficking of ectasy along with DV and child abuse.

http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/11/allegedly-abusive-dad-kidnaps-3-year.html

ruth.martikainen said...
ok smart---. look here. you have no idea what the hell you are talking about. all you know is that this man was "alleged" aka accused of abuse. by the woman who chose to have a second child with him. she wanted him to be in that child's life. until he didn't want to be with her anymore. when he started fighting for his rights-she started accusing him of everything under the sun for vengeful reasons! and don't tell me you people have never heard of a woman doing this. Funny that the courts could never press charges! All the ---- allegations were DISMISSED! I think after jumping through hoops for so long and not getting anywhere-maybe people think a little more irrational but that doesn't make them bad. Maybe the people who push others to this should hold some responsibility on this issue. I know-for a FACT!- that he would not hurt that child. And I hope they get away!

November 29, 2009 4:06 PM
###

Wow, good find, Justiz!! Unbelievable!! I think Ruth does know a LOT more about this story.......such as where he is with the baby!!!!!

Oh, where are my manners?

:Welcome-12-june:

 

[Justiz]

There is a huge problem in FL with abusers having visitation and often custody to the exclusion of the protective parent. DCF is not helpful, they lose kids, they fail to protect, foster care is awful, they drug children, and sometimes they die in foster care. FL has the most child deaths of any state. There has also been a 100% increase in domestic homicides since about a year ago. There is supposed to be a task force that is going to investigate led by the attorney general that was recently announced.
Pretty much every day there is some horrific homicide or missing child.
This really typifies the treatment of DV victims and CA victims. They have to continue contact with the person they name as the abuser. It's a nightmare.

The Men's Rights Groups are militant and there are hordes of unethical lawyers and court experts to advocate for abusers for a price. In cases where the abuser has a lot of money sometimes the mom loses custody and doesn't get to see her children. They do this by claiming that they are "falsely accused" and that the mother has a mental disorder and that the child is "alienated."

Until FL starts protecting the victims, there is going to be more of this and more deaths. When you see homicides where there is a history of DV, frequently you see denied ROs, and multiple filings for ROs. It is well known among DV groups that if you have a child with an abuser, you could very well lose custody to them in FL. So many stay in the abusive relationship, not wanting to lose their kids, and sometimes it costs them their lives. Even when they issue a RO, most likely an arrest and jail time was in order. There are plenty of victims who get the piece of paper when the perp really should have been in jail.

It is such a mess.

This boy's abduction is one more example of how careless FL is with the children.

 

[Justiz]

http://www.floridatoday.com/article...002/1006/Missing+boy+s+mom+at+news+conference

Cocoa boy's mom begs for son's return
Man sought in parental-custody case
BY RICK NEALE, JIM WAYMER and KEYONNA SUMMERS &#8226; FLORIDA TODAY &#8226; November 30, 2009

COCOA &#8212; Christa Finch and her mother, Julie, pleaded this afternoon for 3-year-old son Luke&#8217;s safe return.
&#8220;I know Jesus is with us, and if anyone can pray, please pray with us that we get Lukie back very soon,&#8221; Christa Finch said during a press conference at Cocoa Police Department.
She cried and held up two photos and a stuffed toy owl that the boy sleeps with.
Christa Finch said her ex-husband, Paul Martikainen, was not in the boy&#8217;s life for his first two years. She said the toddler was nervous about the supervised visits with his father when they began in February, but she said he had grown more comfortable since then.

more at link

 

[alwaysonmymind]

IMO, this is not just about him having contact with his son. This is about taking the child so the Mother can not have him.

I'm getting a really bad feeling about this. Desperate people commit desperate acts.

 

[Texas Mist]

IMO, this is not just about him having contact with his son. This is about taking the child so the Mother can not have him.

I'm getting a really bad feeling about this. Desperate people commit desperate acts.

ITA, Always....this sounds like a vindictive act to further torment someone he could not control....I am worried about little Luke....especially after what happened to little Mitchell Romero after his dad abducted him.

 

[Cubby]

IMO, this is not just about him having contact with his son. This is about taking the child so the Mother can not have him.

I'm getting a really bad feeling about this. Desperate people commit desperate acts.

I agree 100%. IF the allegations against him were false, he had avenues to demonstrate he was no threat to the child. Certainly someone who chooses kidnapping over following the protocol of the courts is not someone capable of demonstrating they are not a threat to the child.

jmo of course.

 

[forthelost]

"Martikainen slipped away from the supervisor" during a court scheduled supervised visitation?

How does that happen, short of violence, if the supervisor is paying any attention whatsoever?

If the supervisor is a friend or family member of the parent needing supervision, easily.

I've also seen cases where the parent overpowers the supervisor and takes off.

 

[Justiz]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/public...es-a-tearful-plea-for-his-safe-return/1055279



ST. PETERSBURG &#8212; Nothing about Paul Martikainen seemed suspicious when he showed up in St. Petersburg a month-and-a-half ago to retrieve a boat that his friend purchased.
The 35-year-old Palm Bay man made friends with other Salt Creek Marina boat owners, sharing beer and doughnuts with them as he lived on the sailboat while refurbishing it. He spoke fondly of his son and asked about basic boating tips, the boaters recall.
He certainly didn't seem like the kind of guy who would abduct his 3-year-old child and take off with him in the boat, braving the Gulf of Mexico with no sailing experience. But that's what authorities said Martikainen did after escaping a supervised visit with the boy in a Cocoa Beach park on Saturday.
...
An Amber Alert sent out Saturday evening said Martikainen was thought to be traveling in a green 1995 Ford Explorer with tag number 142KEA. Shortly after news of the alert ran on local news broadcasts, a caller told authorities that the vehicle was at the marina, Matthews said, but the boat was gone.
The boat was recently painted battleship gray, covering the identifying numbers and making the vessel difficult to find in the water. This led authorities to believe the abduction was planned in advance, Cocoa Beach Police spokeswoman Barbara Matthews said.
The supervised visits had been going on for about six months, Finch said during her press conference. Martikainen was ordered to have supervised visitation because of previous allegations of abusing the boy, Matthews said.
Allegations that the father was physically abusing his son were verified by a Department of Children and Families investigation just days before the child went missing, according to DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner.
But DCF said there was no reason for the state to intervene because the mother had primary custody and the child was also under the supervision of a family court judge.
DCF said it conducted several investigations into Martikainen this year but the only one it could comment on was the most recent, which verified the abuse.
Typically DCF refers such cases to the Brevard County State Attorney's Office to determine if the allegations warrant criminal prosecution.
But that couldn't have averted the boy's disappearance Saturday. DCF closed it's investigation on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
Records show that Martikainen and Christa Lee Finch got a marriage license in 2004 in Palm Beach County. The ceremony was held at Great Outdoors in Titusville in Brevard County on Dec. 3, 2004.
...

 

[lbminnesota]

I noticed that Paul also filed an unfair labor suit with his previous employer in August. With all of the court cases in 2009, it's not hard to imagine a man with anger issues spinning out-of-control with nothing to lose.

I'm not faulting the guardian supervising Paul's visit with his son at the park. The guardian isn't an armed police officer. Since this was a planned abduction, Paul probably picked the right moment to make a mad dash to the car. I am, however, questioning why supervised visits are allowed in open areas like a park.

A better question is what's the point of supervised visits? The child is facing potential risk during each visit.