"Search by Sheriff's group"<BR> Posted by jameson on May-27-02 at 07:35 PM (EST)<BR> Sheriff's search-rescue team members join<BR> effort to find Jahi<P><BR> 70 fan out near area where boy last seen <P> By Joe Hughes <BR> UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER <P> May 26, 2002 <P> The search for missing 2-year-old Jahi Turner intensified yesterday as 70 members<BR> of the Sheriff's Search and Rescue team combed canyons and ravines of Balboa<BR> Park near an area where the toddler's stepfather said he last saw the boy one month<BR> ago. <P> Trained trackers, dogs and other experienced search personnel converged on a<BR> cul-de-sac near Russ Boulevard and 30th Street in Golden Hill Park about 7 a.m.<BR> and fanned out into steep terrain, some of it covered with thick undergrowth<BR> adjacent to the Balboa Park Golf Course. <P> "We are not necessarily looking for a victim – and not necessarily for the<BR> obvious," said sheriff's reserve Capt. Dave Miller. "But we are looking for any<BR> clues." <P> The area has been searched several times since Jahi was reported missing from a<BR> nearby park play area April 25. <P> But this search was somewhat different. <P> "We have some specially trained personnel involved," said San Diego police<BR> robbery-unit Sgt. Judy Woods. "This terrain is very rough and unyielding; it takes<BR> a special eye." <P> In addition to a body, searchers were looking for clothing, freshly turned earth,<BR> disturbed vegetation and evidence of a struggle or foul play. <P> Authorities stressed they were not acting on any specific tip. But Woods said the<BR> finding last week of remains of Chandra Levy, who had been missing from the<BR> Washington, D.C., area for about a year, could have been a factor in the new<BR> search. <P> "As odd as it may seem, some people have become inspired," Woods said,<BR> referring to the new effort after the Levy discovery. <P> Levy's remains were found in an area that also previously had been searched. <P> Yet, after a day-long effort yesterday, nothing of significance was found and it was<BR> unclear if more law enforcement searches would continue over the Memorial Day<BR> holiday. <P> The renewed effort by law enforcement was cheered by members of Jahi's family<BR> and a small army of citizen volunteers who had been searching for the boy on their<BR> own. <P> Police said Jahi's grandmother, who has been spearheading a volunteer effort,<BR> rushed to the new Balboa Park search area early yesterday believing a body had<BR> been found. She was concerned she had not been notified of a break in the case. <P> After learning of the purpose of the search, she returned to lead private volunteer<BR> efforts, which also continued yesterday. <P> Those volunteers, faced with money woes and waning interest, have been<BR> struggling to muster enough people to keep up their search and disappointed in a<BR> perceived drop in law enforcement participation in the search. <P> Authorities had not conducted any official search for Jahi since concluding an<BR> unprecedented operation May 6 at the Miramar landfill, where up to 100 officers a<BR> day worked almost around the clock for six days, sifting 5,000 tons of trash<BR> collected from the area where the boy was said to have disappeared. <P> About the same time, organizers scaled back a massive search effort in which more<BR> than 1,100 volunteers scoured 18 square miles of canyons and handed out 28,000<BR> fliers over 40 square miles of the city. <P> However, a team of San Diego police robbery detectives continued to press the<BR> investigation, which has been classified as an abduction. <P> Detectives are known to be continuing to check the story of Jahi's stepfather,<BR> Tieray Jones, who told authorities the boy was missing from a playground near<BR> 28th and Cedar streets after Jones left him to get a soda at a vending machine. <P> Police have expressed doubts about the story and say there is no evidence the boy<BR> was at the playground that day. <P> Jahi's disappearance is San Diego's second high-profile missing-child case since<BR> February – that of Danielle van Dam, whose body was found in rural East County.<BR> A neighbor of the Sabre Springs girl, David Westerfield, faces trial in connection<BR> with that case. <P><BR> Joe Hughes: (619) 542-4591; joe.hughes@uniontrib.com <P> <a href="http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20020526-9999_1m26jahi.html";>http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20020526-9999_1m26jahi.html<;/a> <P> <BR> <BR> <P><BR> Table of Contents <P><BR> Why?, debthang, 11:55 PM, May-27-02 <BR> Where he was playing?, jameson, 09:42 AM, May-30-02 <BR> the stepfather, debthang, 09:52 AM, May-30-02 <BR> , jameson, 11:31 AM, May-30-02 <BR> public support, debthang, 12:28 PM, May-30-02 <BR> I think all of it,, tipper, 08:48 PM, May-30-02 <P><BR> <P> <BR> <P> Messages in this discussion <P> <BR> 1 . "Why?"<BR> Posted by debthang on May-27-02 at 11:55 PM (EST)<BR> Why is it that they are searching around the area where they don't believe Jahi was even playing?<P> Sadly, the lack of LE communication with the public regarding the case, and people's distrust of<BR> Tameka's mother are keeping people from becoming involved.<P> I feel things would be functioning more effectively if Tameka herself were more prominent in the<BR> public eye, and if LE would give some hint as to the direction the investigation is taking. <P> <BR> <BR> <P> <BR> 2 . "Where he was playing?"<BR> Posted by jameson on May-30-02 at 09:42 AM (EST)<BR> They took prints at the playground and think the stepfather was lying about Jahi being at the park.<BR> They are searching for places where a body might have been dumped.<P> I think the search will dwindle down, and while I HOPE he was taken in by someone who is caring for<BR> him, I fear his body will be found by accident (as was Chandra Levy's) and then we will find out - - -<BR> - nothing because of the advanced decomposition.<P> Personally, I think the stepfather hurt the child. <P> <BR> <BR> <P> <BR> 3 . "the stepfather"<BR> Posted by debthang on May-30-02 at 09:52 AM (EST)<BR> I'm amazed that Tameka has recently been seen in public with him. How can she not believe he is<BR> responsible for her baby's disappearance?<P> I am frustrated that LE has not openly stated that he is a suspect. <P> <BR> <BR> <P> <BR> 4 . " "<BR> Posted by jameson on May-30-02 at 11:31 AM (EST)<BR> If they brand him a suspect, will that help anything? <P> I don't think so.<P> Right now he is "cooperating" - supposedly. Maybe he will say or do something that will expose the<BR> truth. If he is branded a suspect and gets a lawyer and stops talking - - then what?<P> If they are not ready to arrest him, branding him a suspect could lead to a lawsuit. Timothy Bindner<BR> sued a CA city for just that - and won - big. They suspected him of abducting and killing several little<BR> girls - they made it public - but they never arrested him - - and paid for their announcement that he<BR> was their prime suspect.<P> NOW - - if they SHOULD arrest him - - THAT might cause witnesses to come out of the woodwork - -<BR> people who are presently afraid of him might come forward if he is safe behind bars - - THEN they<BR> may feel safe enough to speak out.<P> Just thinking out loud.<BR> <BR> <BR> <P> <BR> 5 . "public support"<BR> Posted by debthang on May-30-02 at 12:28 PM (EST)<BR> The public is having a hard time supporting Jahi's mother and the search efforts because they know<BR> something smells bad about Tieray. <P> Maybe declaring him a suspect would do more harm than good. However, this is very frustrating as it<BR> stands, because that child could still be alive, yet people are reluctant to continue the search and<BR> the support under the circumstances. <P> <BR> <BR> <P> <BR> 6 . "I think all of it,"<BR> Posted by tipper on May-30-02 at 08:48 PM (EST)<BR> the fishyness of Tieray's story, the early accusations of racism, the moving of the headquarters<BR> locations, the feuding grandmothers, combined to make people tend to back off.