This one includes a photo:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1405/3938331.html

Find Sofia Juarez thread in this forum. So sad there is no help for these children.

I've been reading on this case, and two facts stand out in my mind:

1) The night she disappeared, there was a Music Festival in town, attracting many people from outside the area.

2) The town of Chisholm MN is barely an hour's drive from the Canadian border.

With nothing on the national news and no Amber Alert, how on earth do they expect to find her? The authorities seem take a laid back approach: It's a small town, no reason to believe it's an abduction, she's wandered off before, etc. But she was BAREFOOT. How far could she have walked? If they haven't found her in 3-1/2 days, isn't it time to think outside the box (er, town)????

I would hope that parents and search & rescue will give this some thought. Also in search consider the child may be dressed differently and might be in opposite sex clothing, wigs, hats and haircuts.

When my daughter goes to her friends I stand on the porch and she walks over, when the mother answers the door she waves to me so I know my daughter has arrived safely. When it's time to come home she is either walked home or I am called and we do the same double watching.

My job as a mother is to protect my children, yes I am overly protective but there are no do-overs! There are no second chances.

I really hope they find this darling little girl and when they do her parents will not be so careless in letting her roam the neighborhood. I realize that sounds very harsh and critical of the parents but she is only 5!

The article below states that she sometimes went to this same neighbor's house, ALONE, as late as 8:30 PM. This may explain why the parents did not call police until nearly 9PM. (Although when I was 5, I was IN BED by 8:30, not just setting out for an evening of "wandering")

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3952464.html

I haven't a clue if the parents had anything to do with this, but their parenting skills definately put this child at risk. I hope and pray they get to try to make it up to her in the future.

I personally felt that regardless of the lack of evidence of an abduction an amber alert should have been activated, her case didn't meet criteria and that stinks!!

I also consider myself a over protective parent but I honestly can't believe some of you are actually questioning the parenting skills of these poor people. I live in a small Minnesota community and I trust my neighbors, as I'm sure these parents do, more importantly I trust that I have educated my children on safty issue's, not just stranger danger but every aspect of safty that they need to be aware in there everyday lives. I would not think twice about letting my 5 year old walk down the block to a friends house, we as a community look out for eachothers kids and I don't feel that by letting her do this I'm putting her at risk (god forbid)if something bad where to ever happen. She's feeling her 5 year old independence, why would you want to take that away from a 5 year old? She was going to a friends house she went to every single day, a house that if there wasn't a house in the way you could throw a rock and hit it, she didn't have to cross a street, Why feel the need to question there role in her disapperance? I do not know them personally but believe these are good people that had a bad thing happen to them, do they know what happened? No, but why waste time questioning there parenting skills when they need help to find there daughter? Sorry I'm so upset about this but these people right now need as much help as they can get, not to get kicked when they are already down. I just felt the need to say shame on all of you that felt the need to question them as parents and add insult to injury. I myself know that raising kid's in small town USA sometimes gives us a sense of security that can at any time be shattered and I hope and pray I never walk in those shoes, but if I ever do or know anyone that has something bad happen to them, I can positively without a doubt say I would be supportive to them not condemming and I would want same returned to me. Sorry for any typo's or spelling didn't have time to check.

Let's not focus on the parents, let's do what we can to help find this child. Spread the word through e-mail, phone, print and post fliers where ever you go, stores, malls, restaurants, parks, gasoline , your vehicle window and everywhere you possibly can.

This isn't the first time no Amber Alert ~see Shawn Hornbeck or Sofia Juarez in this forum...and there are many more.

I am amazed at how many parents in my neighborhood let their kids roam freely.

How ironic: we were all in before dark when there was far less to fear. And now that the horror stories appear in the daily news, kids roam freely.

Off the soapbox and back onto case: Leanna's story will be on "America's Most Wanted" tomorrow evening, in hopes of generating new leads.

Missing from her home in Chisolm Minnesota

Leanna "Beaner" Warner
AGE: 5
SEX: Female
HEIGHT: 3'
WEIGHT:50 lbs
HAIR: Brown
EYES: Brown

Last seen June 14, 2003 5:30 P.M. in a Neighborhood park  wearing a  blue denim sleeveless shirt and she is without shoes.  Her nickname is "Beaner".

Anyone having information should contact: Chisholm Police Department 218 254 7916

For a printable Poster visit findbeaner.org.

Personally, if I saw her wandering around by herself, I would have escorted her home and given the parents a good guilt trip if nothing else.

I'm sorry this happened, but we are always taught to watch our kids like hawks.

The problem is the fact that kids are being stolen, and killed for sick pleasure. people are waking up and realizing that monsters are getting brave and taking advantage of the ignorance of parents, the ones here in the forums understand why it's important to keep a very close eyes on their kids, they've been around these stories for years. What's it going to take to wake parents up in small towns? A kidnapping in every remote corner of the country?

Does anyone have more information about what type of celebration was in town that weekend?

did anyone that visited take pictures?

what if someone picked her up walking down the road lost looking for the dog that ran away, and when they asked where her parents were they brought her into town and over to the festival, maybe walked around hoping she'd find her parents.

Maybe when they didn't find the parents they decided finders keepers.

They could have gone to the festival for an hour or two after picking her up, and still had time to drive across the Canadian border.

has the alert gone up in Canada yet about her missing?

did the parents think their neighbor might have brought her to the festival and it wasn't until they got home without her that they realized she was missing?

did the neighbor have children the same age?

do they run video surveilance at the one crossing 1 1/2 hours from where she was kidnapped from? If they do, have they been checked on saturday evening to see if she was in any of the cars crossing?

I have lots of questions about this one, but none of them are directed at the parents, I understand the fear they are going through not knowing where their precious little daughter is. I grew up in a neighborhood that kids gathered every day after school for football or baseball, and I doubt if any parent ever kept an eye on us, they were glad we were off playing in the park, but times have changed. Danielle was stolen from her bed in the middle of the night with her Dad within 50 feet of her bed. That area is considered the safest part of San Diego, it can happen anywhere.

all we can do at this point is pray that whoever has taken her has innocent intentions, a couple of lonely grandparents or a wanna be mom that is treating her like their own.

I think the amber alert should go off locally depending on the distance that could have been traveled by car and should extend across the borders, at 9 O'clock when the police found out she was missing should have immediately been able to set off the alert covering roads up to 5 hours away. By waiting until Sunday morning to set it off she could be in Mexico.

I'm gonna keep Beochin until John_Boy gets it right.... ;-)

NEED: a vehicle description to call for an Amber Alert. Also, if possible a license plate number of the vehicle.

But, really, how often does that happen?

I think there should be another alert, similar to Amber Alert, but with less strict criteria....for instance, why are teenagers almost always assumed to be runaways? I say, if there is no prior history of running away, no juvenile criminal record, then a teen should be considered "missing", not "runaway".

This case is so sad- ALL these cases are sad, heartbreaking. More needs to be done for these kids....the Amber Alert is good, but it's not enough.

It's up to all of us to make the changes. The Amber Alert is useful when the criteria is met. Amber Alert designed for our highways and without a description of a motor vehicle LE would have to stop every vehicle for inspection...think about it.

We definitely need a program which could be used as an alert when the Amber Alert criteria is not met.

Also: As mentioned in post above, I say toss out that 'runaway' theory and give all the kids the same help. So many children are classified as 'runaway' when they aren't found almost immediately. ( pre-teens/teens ) They are considered 'runaway' and often times their bodies are found months or years later.

i.e. Brandon Carroll, who would have been a senior in high school the following year, Southern California (1999 )and who was declared a 'runaway' by LE. His parents said NO WAY.

Brandon was walking from a high school where he worked in a kitchen during the summer months. He had approximately 3 blocks to walk to the city bus in route to his home. He never arrived !

Surveyers found his body close by in hills, about 6 weeks later. Brandon had died almost immediately when he disappeared. When I think of the term 'runaway', I always think of Brandon Carroll.

I get infuriated that people assume that if a teen (or pre-teen) disappears, they must have run away. Unless there is CLEAR proof (as in, clothes, suitcase missing, a "goodbye" letter left behind), I don't believe LE should be allowed to classify ANY child under 18 as a runaway. And even so, the same efforts should be made to locate the child who has run away. They are in danger too...

Rock the Range Music Festival at Ironworld

http://www.artrude.com/2003b/rock_the_range_2003.htm

"Held June 13 & 14 at Chisholm Minnesota's Ironworld Discovery Center, was a lot of fun. Some great musicians were gathered for a great show, with camping allowed at the old glen mine site. This meant that campers could ride the trolley from the concert site to the campsite."

the link has some pictures for a look at Rock the Range 2003

it was like a knife through the heart seeing the campers at the old glen mine site.

did the police drive through there the night she was reported missing?

if they did, were they even looking for a missing child?

did they frighten the kidnapper into doing something to keep her from making any noise?

I have a feeling this isn't going to turn out with a happy ending...

Satelite images could be of help, who could make contact? Is there an airport nearby? Were there private planes flying over the festival?

Sarah Payne and her brother were playing outdoors at their grandparents home about 3 years ago when Sarah was abducted. Her brother remembered a white vehicle.

In the disappearance of Sarah Payne, age 8, UK eventually the vehicle was successfully tracked by a photo image by a private company which was doing a water survey from the air. The problem was the film wasn't developed for some time and lay on a shelf. When it was developed, there in the photo was a slight image of a tiny white van parked waaay down there. A clear image and partial license number could be seen when the photo was resized.

This was a sad ending Sarah Payne's body was found. The vehicle was traced to the owner and the monster was arrested.
Sarah's Law (similar to USA- Megan's Law ) was introduced in the following months.

LE must make a list of the festival participants and contact each of them. Doesn't appear to be many of them. But those that were there may have seen 'Beaner' on the trolley, campgrounds etc? They may have photos or film yet undeveloped. Her photo may be in the background in a photo.

Possibly with special processing the photos on the 'Rock the Range 2003' web site by Art Rude might lend clues.

since I first heard about a festival going on I've been looking around for someone to post up their pictures, I was glad to see he did, would you mind capturing a few of the important photos, it is a personal website and he could decide to pull them down, it really might lead to clues in finding out what happened to her. I wonder if he also has other photos that he didn't put up on the site that might have even more answers.

If you wrote him explaining how your heart is involved in solving missing children cases and his photos could be just what you are looking for on this one, how could he possibly say no to helping you ;-) and he might have friends that were there with more shots, it only takes one person to help track down others...

"Many to be questioned in search for Chisholm girl

"Published July 9, 2003 CHIS09


Law enforcement officials said Tuesday they expect to question more than 130 convicted sex offenders who live in northeastern Minnesota in the search for Leanna Warner, 5, of Chisholm, who disappeared more than three weeks ago.

Those targeted for interviews were not called suspects in the girl's disappearance but "persons of interest" in Hibbing, Virginia, Mountain Iron and Buhl, said St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman. He said he does not know how many have already been questioned.

Leanna was last seen about 5:15 p.m. June 14 as she knocked on the door of a friend's house a block and a half from her home. She was wearing a sleeveless denim dress and was barefoot. A reward and pleas from her parents have generated hundreds of tips.

In another development Tuesday, investigators asked the public for help in finding three men who "may have information that would be helpful in this investigation." It was not immediately clear what information they could provide.

Leanna Warner

Authorities identified the men as Shawn Raymond Brtek and Jason Wayne Smith of Hibbing, Minn., and Justin Michael Jenkins of Chisholm.

The Sheriff's Office also asked for the public's help in finding an unidentified white man in his mid-30s, about 5 feet 10 inches and 155 pounds, with a dark tattoo of a star or sun on his right arm. He was seen on foot in the Warners' neighborhood on June 14.

Authorities also were looking for a navy blue two-door Cadillac driven by a black man in his 20s or 30s with a bald or shaven head, and an older rusty brown pickup with a topper driven by a white man with curly black hair.

Meanwhile, authorities moved to downplay a television report identifying a 23-year-old convicted sex offender as a suspect in the investigation. Litman and Chisholm Police Chief Scott Erickson, the lead official on the case, said no past offender has been identified as a more viable suspect than others.

"The individual being discussed in the media is in custody on an unrelated charge," Erickson's office said in a news release. "He is no more a suspect in the Warner case than any of hundreds of other leads."

The 23-year-old Meadowlands man was arrested on suspicion of stealing a vehicle and driving with a revoked license. The man came to authorities' attention because he allegedly stole the vehicle on the same day Leanna disappeared and he had been convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2000, said Special Agent Dave Bjerga, of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Lois Warner, Leanna's grandmother, said the family had been told that there are several "persons of interest" authorities are questioning.

"What we're doing is basically sitting back and letting the investigators do their jobs. Sooner or later someone has to open their mouth."

In regard to questioning sex offenders, Litman said investigators will concentrate on offenders who have shown a proclivity for young children based on their previous convictions, and will question Level I, Level II and Level III offenders.

Law enforcement officials also are investigating hundreds of other leads. Litman said the large number of events that took place in Chisholm around the time Leanna disappeared have increased the number of possible suspects, but he said the person responsible probably is from the Chisholm area."

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/stories/071003/sne_0710030079.html

"Authorities locate men sought in disappearance and clear them

Web posted Thursday, July 10, 2003

CHISHOLM (AP) -- Three men wanted by authorities in connection with the suspected abduction of 5-year-old Leanna Warner were found within hours after their names were released to the media Tuesday. None of them are now believed to be connected to the June 14 disappearance.

"Two of them came forward immediately after the information was given to the media. And we found the third one in the Hennepin County jail on another charge," St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman said Wednesday. "At this point, they are all cleared."

Meanwhile, investigators are still looking for three cars and drivers reported in the area of Leanna's neighborhood the night of her disappearance.

Authorities are seeking any information on:

--A white man with black, curly hair driving an old, rusty brown pickup truck with a topper.

--A white man in his mid-30s, about 5 foot 10 and weighing about 155 pounds with bleached-blond hair feathered just over his ears. He has a dark tattoo of a star or sun on his right arm. He was wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt and was on foot in the neighborhood the night Leanna disappeared.

--A black man in his 20s or 30s."

Devil worshippers use a star tattooed on the right arm to symbolize a commander in the ranks.

The Grand ceremony for the devil cult community requires a sacrificial animal or female human 5 weeks and a day from summer solstice, if this is the case, she might still be alive and being held captive for this ceremony.

I hope they are doing everything possible to locate her in time.

For more information on the ShawnAlert, it's development or to add the alert to your websight please visit www.shawnhornbeck.com

Thank you
brie-ShawnHornbeck moderator

Investigators working on the disappearance of 5-year-old Leanna Warner need your help finding a man.
Warner disappeared from Chisholm last month

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says authorities want to talk to John Bartel. The bureau says Bartel is not a suspect, but they want to find out if he knows anything about the disappearance.

Bartel has been known to travel between the Twin Cities and Chisholm.

Investigators were also looking for a Hibbing man, but they have since found him.
.........
* NOTE: I copied the above information from a post at the Shawn Hornbeck message board.
http://www.shawnhornbeck.com

Police have "person of interest" in LeeAnna Warner's disappearance

Watch video

Updated: 07-08-2003 07:47:30 AM

There may be a break in the case of a missing 5-year-old Chisholm girl.

Lee Alan Woo

Authorities are calling Lee Alan Woo, 23, a person of interest in the investigation of LeeAnna Warner's disappearance. He's a convicted sex offender who is charged with stealing an SUV the day Warner disappeared.
Warner was last seen leaving her home in Chisholm on June 14.

Chris Warner, the girl's father, said coping with his daughter's disappearance is just as difficult now as it was in mid-June.

"It's just minute by minute," he said. "Sometimes you'll lay down and you'll sleep for 10 or 15 minutes and then you're up pacing the floor the rest of the night. I don't know how many hours I've spent sitting right here, just watching."

There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to Warner's return.

www.kstp.com/article/view/106639/

©2003 Hubbard Broadcasting Inc.

Third man is interviewed in Leanna Warner case

By BRIAN K. ANDERSON

The Daily Tribune

Last Updated: Thursday, July 10th, 2003 10:18:29 AM

CHISHOLM — Investigators working the Leanna Warner case realize they are walking a fine line when releasing names of people they want to talk to about the case — and that scenario played out Wednesday when Shawn Raymond Brtek of Hibbing was arrested in the Twin Cities.

“Just because we want to talk to someone doesn’t mean they are a suspect,’’ said Minnesota BCA Special Agent Jerry Koneczny. “Some people are having a hard time distinguishing that.’’

And because Brtek had outstanding warrants that resulted in his arrest, Koneczny said people get the false impression that he had something to do with the disappearance of Warner, who was last seen in Chisholm on Saturday, June 14. Adding more fuel to Brtek’s arrest is the fact that his past includes an offense that classifies him as a sex offender.

But Koneczny was quick to point out that investigators’ interest in Brtek had nothing to do with his past.

“Our agents questioned him in the Twin Cites and were satisfied with what he told them,’’ said Koneczny Wednesday evening from the command center in Hibbing. “That’s not to say we won’t reinterview him, but he’s being treated more as a witness in this case who may have seen something. He’s no different than any other person we’ve questioned in this case.’’

Now that the three men wanted for questioning in the case have been interviewed, Koneczny said investigators will continue to look for the public’s help in locating three yet to be identified individuals who may know something about Warner’s disappearance.

Those individuals include:

• A black man, with a shaved or bald head, in his 20s or early 30s who drives a navy blue, two-door Cadillac.

• A white male with curly black hair, who drives an older, rusty brown pickup with a topper.

• A white male in his mid-30s, with bleached blonde hair feathered just over his ears. This man who is 5’9’’ or 5’10’’ was seen walking in the Warner neighborhood on June 14. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans when he was last seen. He has a dark tattoo of a star or sun shape on his right arm.

“Those are still people we need to get in contact with because they may have the information we need,’’ said Koneczny.

Koneczny said the game plan for investigators will be to continue following up any new leads that come in, as well as revisiting leads that might still shed some light on the case.

“We need to find out what happened to Leanna and where she is,’’ said Koneczny.

www.hibbingmn.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=146071&refer_url=

Frustration Grows in Leanna Warner Case

Melissa Ellefson

With few concrete leads in the case of a missing Chisholm girl, levels of frustration grow in both authorities and family.

"We're trying to get to every festival, every carnival, every parade, every street dance, trying to get her face out there." For Chris and Kaelin Warner, keeping their missing daughter's face fresh in the public's mind in a daily struggle.

"She's still out there because we haven't found her and that's what gives us the drive to continue to look," Chris Warner said Wednesday.

Authorities also continue the search but admit the work so far has produced little to
go on.

"We have at least 1,200 leads at this point but not one that tells us what happened to Leanna, and that's the frustration level," Dave Bjarga of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Wednesday.

"Every day we think this is going to be the day—every time the phone rings, we're hoping that's the call."

The Warners still pray that call will come.

"It's just minute by minute, lots of ups and downs, even though it's been a month it hasn't tapered down by any means," Chris said.

"You can't hide her face, you can't change her eyes—that's what's going to bring her home to us," Kaelin said.

www.kdlh.com/news/headlines/392557.html

Copyright © 2002-2003 Chelsey Broadcasting

I feel so sorry for her poor parents. You live in a small town where you think it's safe, and something like this happens.

Are there a lot of neighbors around? Like is it track housing? Seems like if someone picked her up, someone would have been out in their yard and noticed. Maybe someone VISITING a neighbor took her.

Missing LeeAnna: A family endures while authorities struggle for answers

Jill Burcum, Star Tribune

Published August 3, 2003 CHIS03

CHISHOLM, MINN. -- By all accounts, it was just another lazy spring Saturday on the Iron Range when 5-year-old LeeAnna Warner happily skipped off to see two small chums with a mountainous stash of toys in their living room.

Late in the afternoon on June 14, the little girl, nicknamed "Beaner," arrived barefoot at her friends' house around the corner only to find that the family had gone to Wal-Mart. Then she headed back the way she came. She never made it home.

Authorities pursued theories that the little girl might have wandered into a nearby lake or got lost on the rugged Range. But after nearly two months of dead ends, investigators now believe something sinister and rare happened on the quiet tree-lined street near LeeAnna's home.

The family said law enforcement told them for the first time last week, at a meeting in Hibbing, that officials believe Leanna was likely the victim of the rarest and most serious type of kidnapping -- a stranger abduction.

"We knew it in our hearts. But it's not an easy word to hear," said LeeAnna's father, Chris Warner, 31.

About 115 children out of the approximately 800,000 reported missing each year in the United States are considered to have been kidnapped by a stranger or slight acquaintance who intends to harm them or hold them permanently, according to a landmark study of missing children.

LeeAnna's mother, 29-year-old Kaelin Warner, said she struggled to breathe as she listened to investigators Tuesday.

Images of her child in fear or pain flashed through her mind. "My first question was, what are the odds of bringing her home alive?" she said. "They said, 'Don't you ever lose hope.' "

In a three-hour interview at their home last week, the Warners said hope and faith will have to sustain the family.

In the 50 days since LeeAnna disappeared, investigators and family members have sorted through more than 1,300 leads and extensively searched the area. Yet there's precious little information about what happened to the tiny, brown-haired, brown-eyed chatterbox after two neighbors saw her leave her friends' house.

'It's like she disappeared into thin air or someone zapped her somewhere with a laser. Or that she was abducted by aliens," Kaelin Warner said. "Just vanished. Gone."

Law enforcement people share her frustration.

"We're really grasping right now," said Dave Bjerga, special agent in charge of northern Minnesota for the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

One agent with 30 years experience told Bjerga there's never been a case "where there's so little to go on."

Even compared with Jacob Wetterling or Corrine Erstad -- two Minnesota kids whose disappearances garnered headlines and stymied investigators -- authorities in LeeAnna's disappearance say they have less information to work with.

With the Wetterling case, at least, two young companions reported seeing someone snatch the boy. With LeeAnna, investigators didn't even have that as a starting point.

Strategy of exclusion

St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman just shook his head last week when asked whether there's any possible link between LeeAnna's disappearance and that of other missing children in Minnesota or nationally.

"We don't have enough information to make that determination," he said. "We can't find her. That's the only similarity."

At this point, Litman and Bjerga say, investigators are pursuing a strategy of exclusion. Family, people, places and things are checked out and checked off.

And that process of elimination has led authorities to the conclusion that LeeAnna was mostly likely kidnapped by someone with little or no connection to the Warners.

"What we don't know tells us something," Litman said. From the moment she was last seen by two neighbors leaving her friend's house, ". . . We know nothing, and that's significant."

The rarity of stranger abductions is one reason authorities pursued the theory that LeeAnna had wandered off and why they didn't issue a nationwide AMBER Alert to law enforcement agencies and the media of a child abduction. Authorities continue to stand by that decision but say they are confident that they've done the legwork to support the conclusion that LeeAnna was abducted.

Since LeeAnna disappeared, divers have searched the clear waters of nearby Longyear Lake more than a dozen times. Searchers have trudged multiple times on foot through the countryside in a circle whose outside edge is about 5 1/2 miles from the Warners' gray stucco duplex.

Neighbors also were interviewed multiple times, and in some cases, had their houses and vehicles searched. Tips about suspicious cars and people seen in the area have been checked and, for the most part, ruled out. Officers have talked to area sex offenders and heard mostly alibis.

Names of those visiting the area for a concert and charity-fundraiser motorcycle rally the weekend LeeAnna disappeared were culled from the records of gas stations, hotels and campgrounds. That work has so far yielded nothing substantial.

"Not everyone can be eliminated," Bjerga said, noting that people don't go around making sure they have alibis. But of the small group yet to be cleared, there's no information that makes anyone a suspect.

Investigators have also apparently completed the sensitive task of checking out LeeAnna's parents and family.

"At this point, we're comfortable with what the family is telling us," Bjerga said.

Litman added, "They're not the focus of our investigation."

Goodwill between law enforcement and the Warner family was obvious last week after the meeting at the Hibbing Police Department. LeeAnna's parents and paternal grandparents lingered outside talking with investigators. The handshakes were long and seemed heartfelt.

Uncomfortable scrutiny

Chris and Kaelin Warner said they have been interviewed numerous times by law enforcement officers and were told that they are "cleared." They said officers told them that's why the couple has not been asked to undergo lie-detector tests. Authorities said they don't comment on anything involving lie-detector tests.

As part of the investigation, officers dug up parts of Chris and Kaelin Warner's pasts that the couple said they'd rather forget.

Both have been divorced. According to court records, Chris and his ex-wife came to blows in Hibbing in October 1998 -- the year LeeAnna was born. Chris Warner notified police of the incident. The couple sought mutual restraining orders.

In her petition for a restraining order, Chris's ex-wife claimed that he had an "uncontrollable" temper, even around kids. In his petition for a restraining order, Chris Warner claimed that his ex-wife had threatened Kaelin, her two daughters from a previous marriage and LeeAnna.

Bjerga and Litman said that authorities are aware of the situation but that many people have domestic problems. The incident, Litman said, "has not raised any red flags."

Chris and Kaelin Warner said they understood the need for authorities to go through this incident and look at their pasts.

"We'd be angry if they hadn't," said Kaelin Warner, who has managed a Chisholm convenience store but is no longer working.

"We're not perfect," said Chris Warner, a heavy-equipment mechanic at the nearby taconite mine. "But we have nothing to hide."

Last week, the Warners told the Star Tribune that a county social worker once asked them about a complaint from someone concerned about LeeAnna.

According to the couple, someone told social services that the girl had been tied up. But the Warners said they told the social workers that neighborhood kids had been playing with LeeAnna and used her as a Maypole of sorts while they wrapped a jump rope around her.

The Warners said the social worker accepted their version of events. Officials for northern St. Louis County's child protection services did not return calls Friday, but they typically do not comment on such matters.

Still, the scrutiny from law enforcement, the media and the people of Chisholm has been intense and painful, the couple said.

"It's like living your life under a microscope in a pressure cooker," Chris Warner said.

Holding out hope

There's no room in the couple's home in which they aren't reminded of LeeAnna (whose name is often misspelled on posters and in news bulletins). Dozens of studio photos and pictures taken with the family's point-and-shoot camera decorate the walls and shelves.

They show a child who loved frilly dresses and family pets. Halloweens when LeeAnna and her half-sisters Karlee and Whitney Chandler happily mugged in costumes. Wintry evenings when LeeAnna snuggled with her mom and dad on the couch. Gleeful family wrestling matches where LeeAnna mixed it up with her dad and her half-brother, Anthony Warner.

Chris and Kaelin Warner say they're well aware that many have questioned why they didn't call 911 sooner. The couple realized around 5:15 p.m. that LeeAnna wasn't where she said she'd be. When initial searches turned up nothing, neighbors were mobilized and went house to house. The call to 911 went out shortly before 9 p.m.

In a small town like Chisholm, Chris Warner said, you don't believe anything like this can happen. And LeeAnna, a kid who never met anyone she didn't like, had many friends and places to go around the neighborhood, he said.

The couple said they did what they thought was best at the time, not wanting to believe the worst or having any reason to.

"It's such a different way of life up here," Kaelin Warner said. "Until you live up here . . . you can't understand. And you can't pass judgment."

The Warners are keeping LeeAnna's pink bedroom just as it was. The neighborhood kids have converted an old shed into the "Find Beaner Kids Clubhouse" and decorated it with LeeAnna's favorite toys and colors.

The Warners, who have set up booths at nearby festivals to publicize their search, say they'll continue to do whatever it takes until LeeAnna comes home.

"As a parent, you'd feel it in your heart if she'd passed on," Chris Warner said. "We haven't felt that yet. We'll continue to hold that hope until they can show us otherwise."

Jill Burcum is at jburcum@startribune.com.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4021285.html

CHISHOLM — The much anticipated lowering of Longyear Lake in Chisholm began Friday afternoon amidst several curious onlookers who wanted to see first hand how the process would work.

“It’s going fairly well,” said Benchmark Engineering’s Marty Halverson, as water from the south side of the lake into the north side of the lake.

“Barring any breakdowns, we should have the water level down to where it needs to be in a week to two weeks.”

The goal of the project is to reduce the water level at the south end of the lake low enough whereby law enforcement officials could rule out the possibility that Leanna Warner, 5, is at the lake bottom.

Once the lake level is reduced to a certain level, law enforcement officials will once again start looking for any clues they may have missed the first time around.

Halverson said the surface area of the lake will go from 65 acres to roughly 45-50 acres, meaning 30 percent of the lake will be dry.

“We thought we could get this done in five days, but it’s going to take longer than that,” said Halverson of the original time estimate needed to complete the job.

In the days after Warner’s disappearance, bloodhounds had picked up a scent of the little girl near the lake, but subsequent searches didn’t reveal any promising news.

However, for Chris Warner, going through this process is something that needed to be done.

“We need to know if she’s in there or not,” said Warner in a telephone interview Friday night. “We’re going through a lot of fear right now, but we need to know what happened to our little girl.”

Warner said he didn’t want to check out the process Friday, but he found himself being drawn to the lake.

“I just couldn’t stay away,” said Warner, whose daughter has been missing since June 14. “I know it’s going to take up to two weeks to complete this process, but I wanted to be there.

As much as he didn’t want to be involved in the process, Warner said he checked on the city crews and members of the Chisholm Volunteer Fire Department to make sure they were thorough in the work they were doing.

“I was worried about the screens they were putting on the 18 inch pipes,” said Warner. “I’m not too worried about the smaller pipes that are pumping water into the north end of the lake, but I am concerned about the other ones.

That’s because the 18 inch pipes, which will manually drain to the Twin Lake (mine) pits, are big enough to allow a small body to pass through.

“Heaven forbid that she’s in there, but if she went through those pipes into the mine pits, we’d never see her again,” said Warner.

While the Warner family has had many contentious moments since the disappearance of Leanna, Chris Warner said this latest development has been the hardest one to get through.

“This has been the longest part of the waiting process yet,” said Warner. “We just try to keep our minds off of it, but it’s hard to because the rumors have already started that they found Leanna earlier today.”

Warner said at the time his wife, Kaelin, heard the rumor, crews hadn’t even started pumping water yet.

“But the rumors were already starting to fly,” said Warner. “I just wish the people would stop spreading such heartless rumors.”

One message the Warner family does want to get out is for people not to do anything to hinder the investigation. He said he realizes people just want to help, but the last thing he wants right now is for any possible evidence to be tampered with.

“If they see something, just call the police,” said Warner. “It would be hard for me not to run down to the lake if I saw something, but we’ve come this far so I don’t want anyone to mess something up if we’re dealing with a crime scene.”

Regardless of what happens with this search, Warner said it can only help the case.

“If she’s in there, the truth will be known,” said Warner. “And if she’s not in there, at least everyone’s mind can be put at ease when they take a walk around the lake because I’m sure that’s on a lot of people’s minds right now.

Brian K. Anderson is editor of the Chisholm Tribune Press, a Murphy McGinnis Newspaper.
http://www.virginiamn.com/placed/index.php?story_id=155500&view=text
http://www.virginiamn.com/

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NOTE Good grief why has LE waited so long to get this project underway ! Sickening the lake wasn't elimenated months ago. Was it necessary to wait for temperature change?

A television psychic is saying what no one else has dared to: that a missing
Chisolm girl was killed and buried in a shallow grave. But now the question
is how much of her vision is TV theatrics, and how much is legitimate
information?

5-year-old Leanna Warner disappeared from her Chisolm neighborhood back in
June. Investigators believe she was abducted.

Leanna's parents will appear on the Montel Williams show this Wednesday. It
was taped back in October and originally they thought it would be a great
way to publicize the case. But psychic Sylvia Brown made them regret their
decision.

On-air psychic Sylvia Brown had a dreaded prediction. She says Leanna was
killed by someone from the Chisolm area. The person is in his early 20's.
Brown even claims she can hone in on certain letters of the name and numbers
in the license plate.

But it's no surprise that Sylvia's sixth sense isn't necessarily legitimate.
We showed the tape to Carol Watson with 'Missing Children Minnesota.'

"In all my years, 20 years of dealing with this, I've had only one situation
where a psychic actually came up with information that would actually find a
child."

The psychic's performance is likely just a television stunt, meant mostly
for entertainment. But no one told the Warners and you can tell just by
watching, their pain is real.

"We didn't even step off the stage and they took the mics from us, there was
no one to talk to. You were full of questions because emotionally it just
destroys you to hear that."

Not only do they have this devastating news given to them, but now people
who saw the show are going to say 'what's the point?' she's dead. Why keep
looking?'

The Warners said they hadn't shared Sylvia Brown's information with
investigators yet. They want to wait for the episode to air first.

They are obviously doing this for the "shock value" of seeing this family be devastated by her prediction and they are exploiting this family's pain and anguish.

Montel Williams should be ashamed of himself. He will probably "defend" himself by showing the appropriate amount of concern and offering counseling to the Warners, but as far as I'm concerned, he's using them for ratings.

What a couple of sleazebags- this psychic and Montel.

Telling a family their loved one is dead isn't going to bring closure for them. It really is not.

If she knows so much - or can figure out so much - why doesn't she go find the body and let authorities bring those missing people home. THAT would help. But this "I think you need to just give up the search cuse she's dead." That is just wrong.

This little girl could be alive-- there is always hope and the family should be given hope, until they find a body.

Anyway, WONDERFUL Sylvia went on to say that "oh dear, hon. She's alive, she's been taken to a southern country, kind of spanish or phillipines... she gave kind of a name.

She gave Audrey false hope with her sickness. I will NEVER forget that, ever.

Audrey, for the longest time after that, believed Opal was alive. Now we know the truth.

Gee Sylvia, one thing to take a "living" child out of the country, it's another to bring her back dead.

I hope Sylvia burnsssssssssss. Sylvia has spoken a great deal in the past about her "evil" mother. Sylvia is no different. She just hides her evil better.

no news of searches or anything - - what is going on there?

It seems there are so many missing children - - what is being done to find them?

I was watching the TV Guide Channel- you know, the channel on cable that scrolls thru all the channel listings for your area. The top half of the screen is used for all kinds of, in my opinion, mindless and irritating nonsense- gossip and "news" about celebrities and music stars. I mean, don't these people get ENOUGH exposure??? And do we really need more information about their mostly self-centered lives???

I say, put the top half of that screen to better use- why not show pictures and give information about missing children.....constantly....24 hours a day, 7 days a week....and not just flashing pictures and names, but really having someone get in-depth about each child.

Right now, to get information on missing kids, you have to go on a search for it unless it's one of those cases, like Carlie Brucia or Dru Sjodin, that have an unusual twist which serves to push them into the limelight. So many other children are missing and get little to no media attention- and if they do, it's often just in their local area and too short-lived to get results.

Maybe we could put together a petition and show TV Guide that celebrities get enough exposure- we want missing kids to get MORE exposure.

Opinions from my fellow web-sleuthers?

By Brian K. Anderson
The Daily Tribune
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 21st, 2004 01:59:31 PM

CHISHOLM —After being out of the spotlight for quite sometime, Chris Warner was blindsided the other night when he turned on the TV to see a videotape of his missing daughter.

“All of the emotions just came racing back to me,” said Warner, the father of Leanna Warner, who has been missing since late June of 2003. “It was tough to watch because I hadn’t seen that video since June 16th.”

While a lot of time has passed since, Warner said he and his wife, Kaelin, are still holding onto hope that Leanna will some day be found alive.

“We can’t just go on and pretend she’s gone for good,” said Warner during an interview late Tuesday night. “If she’s found, I couldn’t look her in the eye and tell her we gave up looking for her.”

As Warner put it, he couldn’t bear to carry that guilt with him.

“I’m not in denial,” said the 32-year-old Warner of thinking his daughter is still alive. “I just think that’s what I owe her as her father.”

While there hasn’t been much new activity in the case, Warner said he met with law enforcement officials Tuesday afternoon.

He said the session entailed officials letting him and Kaelin know what they have been doing in the case, as well as what they plan to do next.

“It was basically just to touch base, and to let us know where we go from here,” said Warner.

That plan will include doing some more searches, but Warner said there won’t be official searches conducted by law enforcement officials.

“They will help supervise them, but it’s more of a search from a family standpoint,” said Warner.

The Warners also talked to law enforcement officials as to why they won’t go back to searching Longyear Lake now that the ice is almost gone.

“We had an extensive talk about that,” said Warner, “but they explained it to us why they aren’t going back — and we’re OK with that.”

Even so, Warner said he’s still holding out hope that law enforcement officials will follow through with a tentative plan that would “enhance” what diving teams have already done in the lake.

As for the family searches, Warner said he would like to check out some areas of interest, including McNiven Road, along with some roads out in Balkan Township.

“I don’t want to say what those roads are now, but when we put together a search, we’ll give out details,” said Warner.

Warner said that he and his good friend, Roland Shoen, have gone out with their ATVs searching seldom used trails and roads in hopes of finding some clues in the case.

Warner said he would hope people would keep an eye out for anything that might shed new light on the case.

“Even if they are out walking or taking a ride on their ATV, we’d ask that they keep their eyes open,” said Warner.

Warner said the tragic ending of the Dru Sjodin case in western Minnesota this past weekend obviously struck a nerve with his family.

“It was upsetting, hearing about how that played out,” said Warner. “Our hearts go out to their family and we hope they can find closure.”

While the Sjodin case had a terrible ending, Warner said hearing the news didn’t conjure up negative feelings about Leanna.

“We’re dealing with two different cases here,” said Warner. “There was some pretty strong evidence indicating early on that something terrible had happened to Dru. We haven’t gotten that.”

Even so, Warner said as the days go by, he worries about Kaelin and her ability to get through this.

Warner said there have been many times where he and his wife just hold each other so they know they are there for one another.

“We just hold on so tight,” said Warner of the hugs they share when talking about their little daughter. “We want to make sure our family doesn’t simply unravel from all of this.”

Source: http://www.hibbingmn.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=170941
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*NOTE: Leanna's parents and loved ones will never give up. They need help. Can you help bring Leanna home?