Found Safe GA - Blaise Barnett, 1, sitting in car when stolen, later found abandoned, Clarkston, 10 Nov 2021

[alucardsdream]

And I’ll give my opinion on these temps as a local originally from the mid-Atlantic area. It’s COLD! Friends from home celebrate 74 in November. Friends in Georgia are acting like it’s -74 and are bundled in jackets and blankets. 52 is downright frigid.

Haha, I lived in Arizona and wore hoodies when the temps dropped into the 80s, so I can understand this! But we had some pretty cold days the past couple of weeks here on the east coast, so when the temp hit 70 yesterday it really did feel like a heatwave. Still, I guess it's possible that Blaise is just one of those kids who hates to get dressed so his mom opted to just cover him with a blanket? I really want this case to have a happy ending...

 

[Allabouttrial]

It hasn't been 24 hours since this little one went missing, so maybe the lack of details is expected. Maybe they're hoping that any moment he'll be located at a fire station or convenience store.

But as time goes on, usually a family member gets appointed spokesman and they inform the public of the details surrounding the incident.

As it is, these two appear to be working fairly hard not to give away any details, and not to get pinned down as to what they were doing or what they took in "bags" - although maybe that's their typical demeanor. The dad Xavier seems especially practiced at not saying anything.

But then again the reporter wasn't asking any questions.

Cops find stolen SUV, but Clarkston 1-year-old still missing

Right. We have to remember they only answer what's asked of them. I'm sure they've been interviewed by police, who will have a lot more information than we do. As expected.

 

[Shamrock1]

Not all car seats have separate bases.

Correct, but don’t all infant seats have a base? (I don’t know). I don’t use the all-in-one infant/toddler/booster seats, but my guess is that even those use a base when rear-facing. JMO.

 

[PigPong]

How old is the nephew? Was he in a car seat? Did mom go in empty handed? Why were they dressed appropriately and Blaise was in tank and wrapped in a blanket? Was he asleep when they left? Who steals a car, abandons it, taking a child AND a car seat AND blanket(s) with them? That’s a lot of time to get caught, for any thief. IMO MOO

Crap. Can't remember nephew's age. Also young. Nothing said I've seen about nephew being in a car seat.

We don't know they were dressed appropriately. They were when they were on the news hours later. Mom said in one interview his shirt was "like a tank." Everything else said black shirt, blue dinos on it? No pants? As someone pointed out, they could have been soiled.

They claimed he was asleep.

Who steals a car and abandons it... taking the child, car seat, and blanket?

A kidnapper?

I mean... He is secured and easier to handle in the car seat. And if he is asleep, you have a chance of getting him out without waking him up. If you are kidnapping him, you take the blanket because it is cold and has no pants.

I don't buy it. I hope I'm wrong.

If he was kidnapped... I see the taking of the car seat and blanket as a slightly positive sign.

 

[PigPong]

Right. We have to remember they only answer what's asked of them. I'm sure they've been interviewed by police, who will have a lot more information than we do. As expected.

Oh. They *should* know a lot more than they've released.

I hope anyway.

 

[SAMS]

The only answer we have is nephew is 3.

Ty Peppery. I wonder how the nephew was dressed that night and where was he seated in the car? If he was behind Xavier, it would probably be a natural reaction to grab him first. But if not? Do we know anything about the neighborhood? Apartments or is this a house? Wondering about CCTV and/or camera rings. MOO IMO

ETA: Sorry, saw that it is an apt.

 

[LadyL]

poor baby

 

[PigPong]

Correct, but don’t all infant seats have a base? (I don’t know). I don’t use the all-in-one infant/toddler/booster seats, but my guess is that even those use a base when rear-facing. JMO.

I can't remember. Mine are long out of any kind of car seat.

A base is only significant to me because I can possibly see the mistake of thinking the car seat was in the car at a glance.

I don't think the taking of the car seat necessarily means they intended to use it properly (if that's what even happened).

I think it's an easier way to transport the child. Especially if you are trying to keep him asleep.

 

[PigPong]

Ty Peppery. I wonder how the nephew was dressed that night and where was he seated in the car? If he was behind Xavier, it would probably be a natural reaction to grab him first. But if not? Do we know anything about the neighborhood? Apartments or is this a house? Wondering about CCTV and/or camera rings. MOO IMO

ETA: Sorry, saw that it is an apt.

Apartments.

Not an area you leave your vehicle unattended with the keys in it. To be honest, not many places in the metro are.

And that's without the added factor of your baby also being in the car.

 

[SAMS]

I hope LE are getting a search warrant for the Apt. MOO IMO Actually, I hope Blaise is found safe without any need of a SW.

 

[PigPong]

Past Weather in City of Clarkston, Georgia, USA — Yesterday or Further Back

Low temp of 45 this morning in Clarkston, high of 74 today, currently 67.

Clarkston, GA Weather Forecast and Conditions - The Weather Channel | Weather.com

Forecasted low tonight is 52.

This sounds horrible... because it is.

But I think we are past the point of the weather being an issue tonight.

There is no logical explanation to ditching the child alive in the woods or something and then ditching the car two miles away.

If it happened like they said it did... either the car got jacked and they took the baby with them to try and figure out how to release him without getting added trouble and ditched the car because of the extra heat....

Or they took the car specifically for the child in the backseat and ditched the car ASAP.

There is no logic to ditching the baby in the open and risking a murder charge when you could have left him in the car.

But then again... there is no logic to any of this.

 

[IceIce9]

This one smells bad from the start. My hinky meter is off the charts. MOO

 

[alucardsdream]

This sounds horrible... because it is.

But I think we are past the point of the weather being an issue tonight.

There is no logical explanation to ditching the child alive in the woods or something and then ditching the car two miles away.

If it happened like they said it did... either the car got jacked and they took the baby with them to try and figure out how to release him without getting added trouble and ditched the car because of the extra heat....

Or they took the car specifically for the child in the backseat and ditched the car ASAP.

There is no logic to ditching the baby in the open and risking a murder charge when you could have left him in the car.

But then again... there is no logic to any of this.

I wonder if something happened to him accidentally and it became a panic situation.

 

[PigPong]

I hope LE are getting a search warrant for the Apt. MOO IMO Actually, I hope Blaise is found safe without any need of a SW.

I'm sure they already asked to search if they the parents refused, applied for a search warrant.

I would really, really hope so anyway.

Someone might have to correct me... but if they ask and are given consent to search... they aren't bound by looking for certain things. That's only if it's spelled out in a search warrant. I don't have time to look up the case law, anyone remember?

Either way, no consent on a case like this is immediately going to raise flags

 

[emminnoh]

Correct, but don’t all infant seats have a base? (I don’t know). I don’t use the all-in-one infant/toddler/booster seats, but my guess is that even those use a base when rear-facing. JMO.

No, not all car seats have a base, including the ones that can rear face - the Graco Extend2Fit, for example. We have used this brand since both of mine were newborn.

 

[PigPong]

I wonder if something happened to him accidentally and it became a panic situation.

Possibly. Very possibly.

I keep going back to the mother saying not to get irritated by his crying and wondering if one of them snapped and accidentally harmed him.

I hate thinking like this.

 

[PigPong]

This one smells bad from the start. My hinky meter is off the charts. MOO

Same. Has been since I heard the details. When my wife woke up and I told her about everything with the alert that woke us up... her first response was, "who the hell leaves their keys in the car on Montreal Road... And with their kid in it?"

She is 100% correct.

 

[SAMS]

@PigPong Consent Searches

“In order to conduct a consent search, the person whose property is being searched must voluntarily waive his or her Fourth Amendment rights. In most cases, the person may refuse to give consent; however, the law enforcement agent does not have to tell the person that consent is voluntary. Should any of the evidence obtained result in a criminal trial, the prosecution must prove that the consent search was entirely voluntary and the person granting consent was not coerced.

The courts have decided that the person who conducts a consent search does not have to identify himself or herself as a law enforcement agent, and that the person who grants consent does not have to be the person who is charged with the crime. In cases such as Hoffa v. United States, the courts have ruled that if an undercover office finds evidence based on a consent search, the evidence may be used in the criminal case.

Third parties may give consent in limited cases. The person granting consent must have common authority over the premises in order for the search to be valid. This typically applies to hotel management giving consent to perform a search. It does not, however, apply to a landlord giving consent to search a person's apartment.

Once a consent search has started, the person whose property is being searched may, at any time, revoke his or her consent. Consent may be revoked by comments or actions; for example, saying 'I want you to stop,' or attempting to retrieve property from the officer has been found by the courts to be a valid withdrawal of consent.”

 

[alucardsdream]

Possibly. Very possibly.

I keep going back to the mother saying not to get irritated by his crying and wondering if one of them snapped and accidentally harmed him.

I hate thinking like this.

I was way more trusting of people before I went to law school. Now I have a horrible tendency to assume everyone is lying. I would cross-examine my own husband if he claimed he left our dog in the car alone and she went missing. It's awful, I know, but these things never seem to end well.

 

[PigPong]

In cases like this I'm usually jaded. In this one, I almost believe the parents are telling the truth. If they were at the grocery, one or both parents have to be on video. Did one stay in the car with the kids, that could be concerning if no one has independently seen Blaise in the past 48 hours. But overall, I'm leaning towards they are probably telling the truth. But the clothing he was wearing is just weird, that part gets me. Is it warm there right now?

It's the time of year in Georgia where you can easily get caught up unprepared. Girls left the house in tshirts and shorts this afternoon (76 degrees) but I made them take hoodies because it'll be in the fifties by the time they get home.