GUILTY TX - Alanna Gallagher, 6, Saginaw, 1 July 2013 - #7

[jadejazzkayla]

It does us no good to judge their parenting now. Their daughter is gone.

i agree and in my opinion judging innocent victims is ignorant, trashy and shows a lack of class.

 

[human]

I've taken classes/seminars and how to do this in my career pursuits and they're typically very general and an "educated" guess. In the cases I've observed they are pretty vague and fit into the "could be a number of people" category. Plus its hard to factor in sociopaths (who have a great ability to create a facade and/or mimic "normal" behavior). With that being said I have seen it work when used in smaller suspect pools, with cases of multiple crimes, and in interrogation techniques.

I agree that the description they give of the perp is very global. What I found interesting is that they analyze the crime and make an explanation for every aspect of it.

Just like what we try to do on here, except the difference is that rhey have informationto work with

 

[SCHMAE]

Somedays you can't win. Somedays who you trust aren't the ones to trust, I found out tonight. bummer for Alanna. May she rest in peace. I understand her mistake in trusting someone. May she be wrapped in a blanket of pure love. I can only wish her a silent death with drugs, which only her and the perp know at the moment & a soft death for Alanna.

Justice will be served. Really disgusted at some of my friends at the moment. Darn, the trusted and true. yah

Thank you ! I often do not not want to know the COD in cases because it's just really rough to hear about sometimes. But you're reminding me with the things we know it was NOT, then it likely was a rather ' peaceful' passing for baby girl and that is a blessing,,,,,,, at least that one tiny bit is a blessing.

ETA if it is drugs, what's the privacy law like on that ? Can LE call up walgreens/cvs and any other drug stores and find out who within a 5 block radius of her home takes x y or z drug ( that was found in her system, * speculative*) with OUT the knowledge or consent of the patient whose prescriptions those are ?

 

[x_files]

It isn't just about being kidnapped. It is the fact that they are children and do not have good sense about things.

My friend left her daughter ( the daughter received all kinds of awards and has two Master's Degrees) when the child was around age 8. Mom went to the store which was three blocks away.

When mom got home a short while later, her daughter was upside down stuck in the bannister of the stairs going to the second floor.

She was doing tricks and got stuck. What would have happened if she was upside down for hours is unknown, but it would not have been good.

Kids do stupid things because they are kids. That is why they have parents. Otherwise, they could be like sharks when the mother leaves shortly after birth

As a retired teacher, I am impressed with all of he coaches and teachers that are found to be perverts. But then again, it is a good idea to go looking for kids where they are. One probably won't find many opportunities for children at a stock broker's office , for instance.

I think all of the safety laws and information out there have helped to inform people to make decisions on what are better ideas.

I fully agree with you! There's all kinds of accidents that can occur also.

 

[GingerzMomma]

And whoever (sorry? - multitasking today) said there is no 24 hour wait to report a child missing in Texas is correct:

http://www.lrcf.net/LRCFoundation.org/missing.child.laws.html

Out of curiosity, does it vary other places?

 

[iamnotagolem]

I guess I'm still not sure why everyone thinks they didn't have any idea where their child was or that they let her be gone too long?

1. she was going to a specific friends house, i.e. they knew where she was; should they have had her call or called to make sure she made it, or taken her, or had older sibling escort her?.....maybe.......hindsight is always 20/20

2. IIRC, per LDhummingbird, mom & older sis were looking for her by 6 o'clock; so, she would have been at her friend's house about 2 to 2 1/2 hours......how long is too long for a 6 year old to be at her friend's house on a summer day?

1. The little girl she went to visit wasn't even home, correct? So the parents didn't even speak with the other parents about their child going to visit.

2. When Alanna was late getting home, I'd assume they'd call and ask the friend's parents to send her home.

 

[human]

i agree and in my opinion judging innocent victims is ignorant, trashy and shows a lack of class.

People learn from their mistakes as well as the mistakes of others.

I look at it as problem solving.

Society makes laws on mistakes. Take mercury , for instance. As kids, we played with mercury balls at school.

So , up to the individual. Learn, discard, or file away for future reference.

The problem is not about losing a mitten, so all kinds of hackles rise and sabers are rattled.

I learned something when a child I know was kidnapped. Changed the way I allowed my children freedom. Changed the way a lot of people allowed freedom. Before that, we did not know. Now I do.

 

[lishac23]

I agree that the description they give of the perp is very global. What I found interesting is that they analyze the crime and make an explanation for every aspect of it.

Just like what we try to do on here, except the difference is that rhey have informationto work with

Totally agree!!! Just knowing whether or not she was placed there is a huge "clue".

 

[human]

i agree and in my opinion judging innocent victims is ignorant, trashy and shows a lack of class.

People learn from their mistakes as well as the mistakes of others.

I look at it as problem solving.

Society makes laws on mistakes. Take mercury , for instance. As kids, we played with mercury balls at school.

So , up to the individual. Learn, discard, or file away for future reference.

The problem is not about losing a mitten, so all kinds of hackles rise and sabers are rattled.

I learned something when a child I know was kidnapped. Changed the way I allowed my children freedom. Changed the way a lot of people allowed freedom. Before that, we did not know. Now I do.

 

[lishac23]

Thank you ! I often do not not want to know the COD in cases because it's just really rough to hear about sometimes. But you're reminding me with the things we know it was NOT, then it likely was a rather ' peaceful' passing for baby girl and that is a blessing,,,,,,, at least that one tiny bit is a blessing.

ETA if it is drugs, what's the privacy law like on that ? Can LE call up walgreens/cvs and any other drug stores and find out who within a 5 block radius of her home takes x y or z drug ( that was found in her system, * speculative*) with OUT the knowledge or consent of the patient whose prescriptions those are ?

No, unfortunately you can't invade the privacy of others in an attempt to weed out a suspect. If they had a suspect they could (with reasonable cause) get a search warrant for the specifc suspects medical information to find out if they have a prescription.

 

[SCHMAE]

To me, a child who has left the home at 4 PM and people start looking for her at 6 is unusual. She just turned 6.

To me, that is really really young. Just out of kindergarten.

Then to still be looking for her at 8 and at 9 is unusual as well.

4 hours and your child has not been seen is rather a long time.

The child could have fallen and been unconscious. Of course, the reality was much worse.

How many homes would the parents check and then know there is a problem? When I used to live in town, there were about three or four homes where my child could conceivably be. After that, there were no possiblities. Any other home where she might be would not be acceptable. And that was years ago.

If she went to a friends house she has visited many times before and that friend was home and they were playing , 2 hours is absolutely reasonable. I get the feeling no one realized that friend was not home and that Alanna was not with said friend until after the fact.

 

[lishac23]

1. The little girl she went to visit wasn't even home, correct? So the parents didn't even speak with the other parents about their child going to visit.

2. When Alanna was late getting home, I'd assume they'd call and ask the friend's parents to send her home.

What I question is who confirmed that the child wasn't home when Alanna came by? Was no one home? What if the child wasn't home and/or the parents but someone else.

Is there an exact time that she left to go to this friends house?

 

[iamnotagolem]

i agree and in my opinion judging innocent victims is ignorant, trashy and shows a lack of class.

I don't think anyone here is judging the parents harshly, but discussing precautions that should be taken to prevent a tragedy like this is always beneficial, IMO.

This is just another preventable tragedy, this should have never happened. The outcry from the public over this is because there just aren't that many people who let their 6 y/o roam freely. A lot of it is shock over knowing that there are 6 y/os who have the freedom to walk around their neighborhood, walk to a friends house, without their parents knowing where they are aside from "going to a friends house". It just isn't that common and comes as quite a surprise to many parents.

My hometown has a population of 900, the crime rate is extremely low at 19.7 with the US average at 319.1 yet I still wouldn't allow my child to walk down the street alone.

 

[iamnotagolem]

What I question is who confirmed that the child wasn't home when Alanna came by? Was no one home? What if the child wasn't home and/or the parents but someone else.

Is there an exact time that she left to go to this friends house?

I believe that info came from a verified insider.

 

[floridamomma]

i agree and in my opinion judging innocent victims is ignorant, trashy and shows a lack of class.

i am not judging, but i am trying to understand and learn from their mistake.

 

[GingerzMomma]

If she went to a friends house she has visited many times before and that friend was home and they were playing , 2 hours is absolutely reasonable. I get the feeling no one realized that friend was not home and that Alanna was not with said friend until after the fact.

This is exactly what I'm thinking.

To respond to the fact that they must not have called friend's parents first....again, going only from my own experience......but when I went to my friend's house I don't remember my mom routinely calling. We went to each other's house pretty much every day; like a "standing date" of sorts. The rule was "if they don't answer you come straight back" (i.e., don't go to someone else's house to see if they are home, mess around in the alley, etc).

I don't know the circumstances around this and if this level of routine was why MM didn't call in advance or follow-up (remember, LG wasn't home when she asked to go play). I'm sure they are beating themselves up over it now and don't need our help. And of course, I've noted this in my Mommy Playbook for future reference.

 

[human]

I believe that info came from a verified insider.

I think the question relates to how anyone found out no one was home. Did the people say they were not home at the relevant time?

 

[human]

This is exactly what I'm thinking.

To respond to the fact that they must not have called friend's parents first....again, going only from my own experience......but when I went to my friend's house I don't remember my mom routinely calling. We went to each other's house pretty much every day; like a "standing date" of sorts. The rule was "if they don't answer you come straight back" (i.e., don't go to someone else's house to see if they are home, mess around in the alley, etc).

I don't know the circumstances around this and if this level of routine was why MM didn't call in advance or follow-up (remember, LG wasn't home when she asked to go play). I'm sure they are beating themselves up over it now and don't need our help. And of course, I've noted this in my Mommy Playbook for future reference.

I was raised differently and so were my kids. We always called because it is good manners. The people you want to visit may have company, are sick, or just plain do not want you that day.

I would never drop in on anyone even as an adult. But that is standard in the area where I live.

 

[texashello]

Didn't I read somewhere that a grandparent answered the door at the friend's house and said the grandchild wasn't there? Does anybody else remember reading that?

 

[texashello]

A friend in LE just told me that Saginaw PD is not in charge of this investigation...as we all suspected.