TX TX - Joshua Davis, 18 months, New Braunfels, 4 Feb 2011 - # 1

[SurfieTX]

"Private" College Station K9 SAR came w/i 3-4 hours of the initial call, so says the interview.

 

[Texas Mist]

My notes from the KGNB interview:

Dog search teams from College Station were in the area & started searching w/i 3-4 hours.

Some differing reports as to whether he could've got out the door on his own.

They've investigated parents.

The RSO was located almost immediately, interviewed him & his family members, checked his home & vehicle, tested what appeared to be small droplets of blood.

Amber Alert not issued - didn't meet criteria because LE couldn't confirm abduction.

Huge turnout from community - tremendous response....used emergency response system to notify around 2400 people...w/i minutes people showed up to help.

Frigid temperatures - 20 deg. on Friday nite, Sat below freezing...2 nites of subfreezing temps, survivability really slim....changed strategy slightly, continued using search teams there then brought in teams w/ cadaver dogs.

Resources used- diff. SAR teams, DPS helicopter w/ heat imaging system...have some state prison system dogs coming out to search specific areas already searched that they want to double check...TX Rangers assisting...consulted FBI & NCMEC to be sure covering all their bases.

Still a lot of hope he's found safe - focus is they'll find him regardless & will never stop looking for him.

Toy found - the toy found by a searcher in field behind house..had been hit by lawnmower & had been in field for quite some time..confirmed from multiple sources.

Residence - number of family members there that nite, residence secured, child there one minute then gone the next...really difficult in this situation.

There were a number of people that were there...have spoken to these people multiple times...will continue speaking to them.

 

[sarx]

Haven't been able to find anything on the college station dogs, anyone having any luck?

 

[SurfieTX]

Used "FLIR" which is very accurate.

 

[SurfieTX]

Haven't been able to find anything on the college station dogs, anyone having any luck?

I think this is the group. Around here, "Bryan-College Station" is used as a descriptor for the geographical area.

http://www.rothcala.com/CenTexSAR.html

 

[Texas Mist]

Haven't been able to find anything on the college station dogs, anyone having any luck?

I wonder if it's this group...website shows they're out of Bryan, but it's not uncommon to call this area Bryan-College Station.

http://www.rothcala.com/CenTexSAR.html

Then there's this group - appears to be part of TX A&M - but can't find specifics on their dogs.

http://usar.tamu.edu/main.cfm?Section=INFO&PageID=1

 

[Texas Mist]

I think this is the group. Around here, "Bryan-College Station" is used as a descriptor for the geographical area.

http://www.rothcala.com/CenTexSAR.html

Too funny - we both posted how central Texans refer to this area....must be true, right?

 

[nursebeeme]

"Private" College Station K9 SAR came w/i 3-4 hours of the initial call, so says the interview.

sarx I found this one from college station not sure if it is the one::

Ben Alexander's painstakingly trained dog team can find missing persons or their remains.
Although the searches often have sad endings, relatives of the missing are grateful for knowing what became of a loved one.
Alexander's team, Cen-Tex Search and Rescue, Canine and Mounted Inc., is a Bryan-College Station nonprofit organization.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3811258.html


here is their website:

http://www.rothcala.com/CenTexSAR.html

----------

hope that helps figure it out..

 

[TGIRecovered]

I don't understand why no one has reported hearing this toddler making some kind of fuss. That is what 18 month old kids do best. They grab things, bang on things and do whatever it takes to get attention. Someone should have heard something...a neighbor, another kid, someone in the house or taking out the trash would have noticed a scared little boy trying to get back inside. Even if the child ran across the street and got disoriented, I think he would instinctively head for the nearest door.

Are there any predatory animals such as coyotes in the area? Even if an an animal got him, there would be noise.

I hate to say it, but I don't believe he wandered off.

A child this young could be hidden anywhere. He is so small. I think LE needs to investigate every person who was in that home from the last confirmed siting forward, and if any of those adults won't consent to a search of their vehicles and cell phones, they need to do it with a warrant. MOO

 

[nursebeeme]

Relatives of a missing New Braunfels toddler said police are asking them to undergo polygraph tests in an effort to locate the 18-month-old boy.

http://www.ksat.com/news/26777491/detail.html

 

[nursebeeme]

another snip from that link that I posted above:

"We're going to be retracing some of our steps," Lt. Mike Penshorn said Monday morning. "Also, we are still interviewing a number of the people associated with the child and, of course, we're expanding that where we have quite a few people that we are bringing just to talk to find out what did happen in this case."
According to Jerome Davis, Joshua's grandfather, that also includes administering polygraph tests to everyone who lives in the household.
Davis made the comments as he arrived at the police station Monday morning to submit to the exam, which police often use to detect inconsistencies in statements made by witnesses or suspects in crimes.
Davis said in addition to him and Joshua's parents, two other adults have been asked to submit to polygraphs. Penshorn refused to comment on this, saying he did not want to reveal too many details about the investigation.

 

[MsFacetious]

SARX - If your dog is following the scent of a missing baby/toddler, has found the trail and is consistently following it...

Then begins to lead you onto private property that is in no way associate with the missing child. Still following the scent of this missing child in the types of weather conditions we have seen in this case...

Is that probable cause for LE to search that property?

Would that be enough to get a warrant if the person refused?

I am just wondering what would happen if the scent was tracked to a property and THEN the property owner said "Nah, wait 24 hours till I get there and then you can search."

If they have SAR dogs telling them an 18 month old baby may have wandered onto that property and it is going to be 20 degrees that night, so the baby wouldn't survive that 24 hours... can they search it under the belief that someone is in imminent danger?

Kind of like if LE looks in a house and sees it ransacked with someone laying bleeding on the floor, they could break in. Or do the SAR dogs not hold enough weight in court to justify doing that solely on them following the scent there?

What if HRD dogs hit on a property and then the owner wouldn't let them search? Would that be enough to get a warrant with no other evidence besides the missing person in close proximity?

I hope that made sense.... :innocent:

 

[nursebeeme]

"We don't have any evidence that it was anything other than the child somehow slipping out of the residence and slipping off," Penshorn said. "But we are continuing our parallel investigation, should something else have occurred that evening."

http://herald-zeitung.com/news/community_alert/article_3c448f5c-32f7-11e0-b8d6-001cc4c002e0.html

 

[nursebeeme]

sarx ((more dog info)):

Police are bringing in cadaver dogs in an effort to locate the child. And some blood hounds from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will arrive today.

http://www.kens5.com/home/Cadaver-dogs-will-help-search-for-missing-New-Braunfels-boy-115491449.html

 

[Texas Mist]

Relatives of a missing New Braunfels toddler said police are asking them to undergo polygraph tests in an effort to locate the 18-month-old boy.

http://www.ksat.com/news/26777491/detail.html

from reading info at your link - sounds like LE is doing much more than we've known about before today as far as investigation.

 

[justthinkin]

sarx, yesterday I didn't know the difference between an air-scent dog and a tracking/trailing dog, but thanks to you I do now. I'm realizing Texas is in short supply of tracking dogs.

I may have found a SAR group in Lufkin, a little northeast of Houston, and possibly one in the San Antonio area, but neither of those have been called into help search. I know a San Antonio SAR group was called in, but it was a different group than this other one I found last night. I'll see what I can pull back up, and post here.

Lufkin group looks too small, and has changed up, and the other SA group is this one: http://www.blacksunrb.com/

Oh shoot, maybe that is the same San Antonio one, SABSAR? As lax as media is they could have referred to them as SA SAR, and left off the B. Anyhoo, they're not even in SA anymore, they've moved a bit east to Nixon, TX.

And I sent them an email to find out if they have any cert. trailing dogs. It's unclear on their website.

 

[nursebeeme]

sarx ((more dog info)):

Police are bringing in cadaver dogs in an effort to locate the child. And some blood hounds from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will arrive today.

http://www.kens5.com/home/Cadaver-dogs-will-help-search-for-missing-New-Braunfels-boy-115491449.html

would these be tracking dogs? ((blood hounds from TDCJ))

 

[TexGal]

I just wanted to add that the Mom stated somewhere that she thought the child would have been unable to maneuver the front door as the front steps were iced over. She stated that she thought if the child left on his own accord he would have had to leave through the back door. I have no idea which door is the non-latching sliding glass door so often referred to.

 

[Texas Mist]

:welcome5:, TexGal!

Thanks for sharing your door info - it helps explain why we've heard front & back door scenarios...I bet the "sliding" door is in the back...at least most mobile homes I've seen w/ sliding glass doors have had them on the backside.

 

[Texas Mist]

Monday 2 p.m.: State, federal agencies assist search for missing 18-month-old

<snip>

Texas Rangers are assisting with the investigation and the first of several K-9 units has been brought in to aid with the ground search. Joshua, 18 months old, was reported missing at 8:38 p.m. Friday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been consulted on the case and is helping with the investigation, said New Braunfels Police Department spokesman Lt. Michael Penshorn.

more here

http://herald-zeitung.com/news/community_alert/article_3c448f5c-32f7-11e0-b8d6-001cc4c002e0.html