Police complete search of family's apartment

By Alex Roth and Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

April 28, 2002

In a scene that has become depressingly familiar in San Diego, dozens of people
came forward yesterday to scour the city for a missing child, this time a 2-year-old
boy.

Once again, police staffed a command post. Once again, volunteers scrambled to
print missing-person fliers. And once again, a community was left to wonder who
might be responsible for what police are calling a kidnapping.

By midmorning, 60 volunteers had arrived at the Balboa Park playground where
Jahi Turner's stepfather, Tieray Jones, said he last saw the boy Thursday
afternoon. Jones, 23, has told police he left Jahi alone in the park to get a soda and
returned 15 minutes later to discover the boy missing.

Yesterday the volunteers fanned
out over a 10-square-mile area. In
the afternoon the list of searchers
grew to include Brenda and
Damon van Dam, whose
7-year-old daughter, Danielle, was
kidnapped and killed in February.

"We don't know them," Brenda van Dam said in reference to Jahi's parents, "but
we know how they feel."

"Everybody's got to realize," she added while standing in the playground near 28th
and Cedar streets, "nothing else matters right now except finding this little boy."

Police provided no new information yesterday about their investigation. They
didn't say whether they're any closer to locating a witness, a white woman with two
small children whom the stepfather said he saw at the playground near the time of
the disappearance.

"We still have not located 2-year-old Jahi Turner," police spokesman Dave Cohen
said in a statement. "As we told you last (Friday) night, robbery-division
detectives have taken over the case and are following up several tips that have
come in. We will not discuss the nature of those tips."

Neither Jones nor the boy's mother – Tameka Jones, 18, a Navy sailor – has spoken
to the media. On Thursday, when the boy was reported missing, the mother was at
sea on the amphibious ship Rushmore. A small boat brought her back to San
Diego.

The couple reportedly remained at a motel yesterday while police completed a
search of the Golden Hill apartment they moved into just two weeks ago. Police
began their search Friday with the couple's consent and removed several
additional items from their residence yesterday.

The search included "the use of certain chemicals," police said in a statement. "A
private company was called in to clear the apartment of chemical residue so that
the family can return. It is expected that the Joneses will return to their home some
time" today.

Police have described the Joneses as "extremely cooperative."

Jahi's great-grandmother – the grandmother of Jahi's natural father – described the
family as "just devastated" by the child's disappearance.

"I just can't understand anything that has happened," said Sy lvia Naylor, 58, who
lives in Frederick, Md., 45 miles north of Washington, D.C. "Why would the
stepdad leave him for 15 minutes in a park? Who does that to a 2-year-old?"

She said Jahi lived with his maternal grandparents in Frederick until recently.
Within the past week or so, Jahi's mother decided she wanted the child with her in
California, Naylor said.

Tieray Jones' relatives in Maryland couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
Few details of his life there have emerged.

However, according to Leon Widdowson of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, a
Tieray Jones, 23, is wanted in Frederick County on two separate warrants for
missing court appearances on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges.

Jahi's mother and stepfather live in a Navy housing complex on Beech Street, about
one mile from the playground. Yesterday people began placing candles, flowers
and stuffed animals near the stairs leading up to their second-floor apartment.

A neighbor said Jahi's mother had been excited about having her child move to San
Diego.

"She said that she was really anxious to have him come to live with her but that his
grandmother was reluctant to let him go," said the neighbor, Matt Higgins, a sailor
who lives next door to the couple.

The volunteer search effort was being organized yesterday by a San Diego private
investigator who also was involved in the search for Danielle.

Police said yesterday that volunteers interested in helping the search for Jahi
should call a community phone number at (619) 570-1070.

Authorities said the private investigator, Bill Garcia, would be enlisting volunteers
again today at Grenada and Cedar streets, a block from where police have set up a
command post.

"The Police Department's command post will remain active at least through Sunday
to coordinate with Mr. Garcia's efforts and to provide detectives with a field
office," Cohen's statement said.

Garcia has requested that anyone wishing to volunteer bring photo identification.

At least 120 people called the community phone number yesterday for information
about how to volunteer, police said. Many of those who helped in yesterday's
search said they did so out of a sense heartbreak, alarm and civic responsibility.

"I'm tired of seeing the number of missing, abused and neglected children," said
Diana Heckman of El Cajon. "The whole community has got to get tired of it, too."

Members of San Diego Moose Lodge 508 on 30th Street, three blocks from the
playground, are providing food, phones and faxes to those involved in the search.

"We're going to keep the lodge open 24 hours a day until they don't need us any
longer," said Joseph Cook, the lodge's treasurer. "We're going to provide them
anything they need."

Linda DeVincenzi, a member of the lodge, said Jahi's disappearance hits extremely
close to home.

"This is our neighborhood," she said. "Our children from the Moose Lodge just
had an Easter Egg hunt in that park."

2-year-old's disappearance stuns family members; some fear
the worst

By Joe Cantlupe
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

April 29, 2002

FREDERICK, Md. – There is anguish, worry and disbelief on Hope Circle.

This is where 2-year-old Jahi Turner lived until recently, and his
disappearance 3,000 miles away in San Diego has several residents –
including the boy's extended family – talking.

"This is very shocking. We can't make sense of what has happened," said
the boy's great-grandmother, Sylvia Naylor. "What we are trying to do is
find answers and pray."

Jahi's biological father, Tramane Sampson, 24, said he last saw Jahi a few
days before the boy was taken by his mother and stepfather to the West
Coast. He fears the worst.

"Anything can happen so close to the border," he said.

Jahi has been missing since Thursday afternoon. The boy's stepfather,
Tieray Jones, told police he left the toddler for about 15 minutes at a
Balboa Park playground while Jones went to get a soda. When he
returned, Jahi was gone.

Jahi's mother, Tameka Jones, is a sailor and was at sea aboard the
amphibious ship Rushmore at the time. She has since returned to San
Diego.

Sampson, 24, said he broke up with Jahi's mother while she was pregnant
and acknowledged that they don't get along. He has told police he knows
nothing about Jahi's whereabouts, and police say he is not a suspect in the
abduction.

Sampson said he wants to come to San Diego to search for his son, "but I
can't afford it."

Last night, as a steady rain fell, family and residents held a candlelight vigil
in the cul-de-sac not far from where Jahi had lived with his grandparents.
Some of Jahi's relatives in Maryland don't get along, but all have been
praying for the safe return of their kin.

Until a few weeks ago, Jahi had been staying with Penny Thompson, the
boy's maternal grandmother. She has declined to talk to reporters, but
police officers who have spoken to her say she's deeply worried about her
grandson's well-being.

She's not the only one living in the neighborhood of apartments and town
houses who is concerned. A neighbor of the Thompsons had a small note
strung on the doorknob:

"Jahi, we are praying for your safe return," it read.

About 150 yards away, in another Hope Circle town house, Jahi's paternal
grandmother, Dina Naylor, said her grandson is all she thinks about. Like
Sampson, she fears the worst.

"Sometimes I think the baby was given away to somebody. Sometimes I
think somebody just took him," Naylor said.

The last time she saw Jahi was a few days before he was flown to San
Diego. They played catch together most of that afternoon, she said.

"I keep thinking, 'What is he doing? Is he crying? What is he doing?' "

In their last conversation, Jahi's mother assured Naylor that Jahi was fine.

"She said, 'I can go to work at the base, and keep Jahi in day care, and then
pick him up,' " Naylor said.

The family of Tieray Jones could not be reached yesterday. He grew up in
nearby Montgomery County and then moved to Frederick in his teens. He
attended a vocational school, and held odd jobs before he moved to
California, neighbors said.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office said Jones is wanted on two separate
warrants for missing court appearances on misdemeanor marijuana
possession charges, but police in San Diego say he is not a suspect in
Jahi's disappearance.

Jahi lives with his mother and stepfather in a Navy housing complex on
Beech Street, about a mile from the Balboa Park playground where Jahi was
last seen.

Police: Woman At Park Found
Woman Reportedly In Park When Jahi Disappeared
Posted: 11:54 a.m. PDT April 29, 2002
Updated: 6:39 p.m. PDT April 29, 2002

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego police have found the unnamed woman who was reportedly in the Golden Hill park when 2-year-old Jahi Turner disappeared Thursday, 10News reported.

MISSING
JAHI TURNER
Light-Skinned African-American
30 pounds, 30" tall
Black hair
Wearing blue long-sleeved "Winnie the Pooh" T-shirt, blue nylon pants with an orange drawstring, and gray tennis shoes
INFORMATION
Tip Hotline: (619) 531-2000
Volunteers: (619) 744-9521
Download A Missing Flyer
SOUND OFF
Share Your Thoughts
VIDEO
Police Very Tight-Lipped About Investigation
Some 127 People Searching For Jahi
Hear From Volunteer Who Found Danielle



His stepfather told authorities he left the boy at the park to play with two children -- who appeared to be under the care of the woman -- while he got a soda at a nearby vending machine, police said.
When Tieray Jones, 23, returned 15 minutes later, he said his stepson was gone. So, too, were the woman and children.

Police released a sketch of her (pictured, right) over the weekend.

The witness was cooperating with authorities but was not considered a suspect, said Assistant Police Chief George Saldamando.

Authorities did not disclose what the woman told investigators. They also declined to provide details about dozens of tips received since the boy disappeared Thursday.

"We're looking at everything right now," Saldamando said at the command post in the South Park neighborhood of central San Diego. "We're trying to keep an open mind."

"She is not a suspect, but we believe that she may be one of the only people who can tell us definitively what happened to Jahi," said Dave Cohen, of the San Diego Police Department.

Dozens of officers from the SDPD and other agencies have been combing the city's historic downtown open-space preserve near 28th and Beech streets, along with surrounding canyons and neighborhoods, searching for Jahi.

Searches Monday included Florida Canyon (horseback and on foot) and in the canyons near the family apartment complex on Beech St. Neither produced anything of significance, police said.

Search-dog teams also have fanned out in the area, one of them leading a specially trained law enforcement bloodhound from Riverside County. Aiding in the operation have been FBI, Navy and sheriff's personnel.

It's the most extensive local missing-child search since Sabre Springs second-grader Danielle van Dam was kidnapped three months ago. That hunt ended when her body was found along an East County road more than three weeks later. The girl's neighbor, 50-year-old David Westerfield, is facing murder charges for allegedly kidnapping and killing Danielle.

Detectives led the boy's stepfather (pictured, right) through the park Friday, having him retrace the steps he said he took in the minutes before Jahi went missing.

In response to a question, Cohen said officials had "no reason at this point not to believe (Jones') account."

Police encouraged the same level of public awareness about Jahi's disappearance as that generated by Danielle's kidnapping.

"What we are asking people to do at this point is to be aware of the child's picture," Cohen said, referring to snapshots that have been widely disseminated by news media. "If you see anything, please give us a call."

Local resident Bill Garcia coordinated volunteer searches, and about 120 people have volunteered to search over the weekend. Garcia's command post is at Moose Lodge 508 at 1648 30th St., Cohen said.

Jahi is described as a light-skinned African-American, about 30 inches tall and weighing 30 pounds.

At the time of his disappearance, Jahi he was wearing a blue long-sleeve T-shirt with a "Winnie the Pooh" cartoon character on it, blue nylon pants with an orange drawstring and gray tennis shoes, police said.

"We simply can no longer conclude that this 2-year-old boy walked away and simply has not been found," Cohen said. "We believe somebody has taken him away."

Jahi's biological father lives in Maryland and was recently released from "jail or prison" in that state following a conviction on an unknown offense, Cohen said.

Police have spoken with him and "do not believe that he is any way involved in this," the SDPD official added.

The child's mother, Tameka Jones (pictured, left), 18, is in the Navy. She left Monday for a week of maneuvers aboard the dock-landing ship Rushmore.

The missing boy reportedly had been living in Maryland until last week, when his mother took him to San Diego before shipping out to sea.

Upon hearing about her son's disappearance, the woman's commanders put her on a small boat for San Diego. Since arriving back on shore, she and Jones have been "extremely cooperative," Cohen said.

Officials urged anyone with information in the case to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers' anonymous tip line at (619) 235-8477 or SDPD communications at (619) 531-2000.

Pictures and information about the missing child are also available at the Web site DanielleMissing.tripod.com.

Informants could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000, Cohen said.

Previous Stories:

April 29, 2002: Van Dams Join In Search For Missing Boy
April 29, 2002: Volunteers Aid In Search For Missing Toddler
April 26, 2002: Police: Jahi Was Abducted
April 26, 2002: Police: Still No Sign Of Jahi

Information from Crime About
Link for story :
http://crime.about.com/library/blfiles/bljahiturner.htm

Search at SD landfill continues
KENNETH MA
Staff Writer
MIRAMAR ---- Nearly 80 San Diego police detectives continued to painstakingly comb through heaps of garbage at a city landfill Wednesday in search for clues to the disappearance of a San Diego toddler.

"We don't have (many) clues or information in this case," said Dave Cohen, a spokesman for the San Diego Police Department, during a late afternoon press conference. "Nothing has been found so far."

Don Boomer/Staff Photographer

San Diego police and Miramar Landfill workers search through trash looking for clues in the disappearance of 2-year-old Jahi Turner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two-year-old Jahi Turner, who lives in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego, was last seen by his stepfather, Tieray Jones, 23, at a Balboa Park playground. Police believe the toddler was kidnapped.

Jones told police that he had left Jahi alone for 15 minutes to purchase a soda from a vending machine several hundred yards away. An unknown woman with two other youngsters also was at the playground. When Jones returned, his stepson and everyone else was gone.

Cohen said there are no suspects in the case, but he said police are seeking the woman for questioning. Investigators had questioned another woman earlier, but it was later determined that she was not the person Jones had seen.

"We just want to tell ... the person who has our son that you can just drop him off at a safe place so that someone who is caring can bring him home to us," the boy's mother, 18-year-old Tameka Jones, said in a Tuesday press conference. "We don't care who the (abductor) is just ---- we just want him back."

Meanwhile, detectives have been sifting through mounds of rubbish continuously at the Miramar Landfill since Tuesday morning. Cohen said that detectives could spend days scouring the trash since only 20 percent of the garbage set aside for inspection has been searched.

Cohen declined to say what promoted police to comb the landfill, adding that it was not the result of a tip. One hundred Marines are expected to join the search today.

Meanwhile, hundreds of volunteer searchers have been scouring canyons and residential neighborhoods near the playground since Saturday.

A recent arrival

Jahi had moved to San Diego from Frederick, Md., five days before his disappearance to live with his mother and his stepfather.

The family lives in a housing complex on Beech Street, which rents to naval and Marine families.

Tameka Jones, a Navy sailor, was on duty abroad the USS Rushmore off the coast of San Diego the day Jahi vanished.

During the press conference, the couple pleaded for the public's help to find their son. The two have been assisted by Brenda and Damon van Dam. The van Dams' 7-year-old daughter, Danielle, was kidnapped and killed in February.

Danielle's alleged abductor, David Westerfield, 50, is awaiting trial for her murder.

Looking through rubbish

Working inside a trash pit at the 140-acre landfill, detectives, clad in protective suits, raked through tons of garbage. Home Depot has donated 100 rakes and 100 pairs of gloves for the effort.

Investigators wore surgical masks to abate the reeking air as tractors and other large earth-movers continuously unearthed trash buried in mounds of dirt and rocks.

Nicole Hall, a spokeswoman for the city's Environmental Services Department, which operates the landfill, said the trash pits or cells are filled with 5,000 tons of trash from neighborhoods throughout San Diego daily.

"It's very unusual to do this," she said of the search. "It's really finding a needle in a haystack."

A body was found at a city landfill more than 20 years ago, according an official with the Environmental Services Department, who did not wish to be identified.

Although it was not a homicide case, searchers took nine days to find the body of the independent trash hauler at the Chollas Landfill, the official said.

Volunteers organize searches

More than 100 volunteers are searching for Jahi. They have created the Jahi Search Center at a Moose lodge at 1648 30th St.

Fliers have been posted in the neighborhood, and a Web site for Jahi has been created.

"It's a community coming together and saying we have had enough," said Bill Garcia, a private investigator who is coordinating the search efforts.

The effort comes two months after Danielle van Dam's nude body was found by volunteer searchers in Dehesa.

In an all too familiar sight, Jahi search teams have donned fluorescent vests and traversed target areas seeking clues. The dawn-to-dusk searches are a daily operation.

Garcia said he believes Jahi is still alive because, unlike the Danielle case, there are little clues and no suspects.

"He is probably being held up by someone," Garcia said.

This weekend, he said, up to 500 volunteers are expected to give up their free time to find Jahi.

The toddler is described as being a light-skinned African-American who is about 30 inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue "Winnie the Pooh" shirt, blue nylon cargo pants and a pair of gray Michael Jordan tennis shoes.

To volunteer, call the search center at (619) 255-6411. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at (619) 531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (619) 235-8477.

City News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Kenneth Ma at (760) 740-3524 or kma@nctimes.com.

5/2/02

By Chet Barfield
STAFF WRITER

May 5, 2002

A short candlelight prayer service for missing 2-year-old Jahi Turner ended in
chaos last night when the boy's stepfather collapsed as he and extended-family
members left the Balboa Park playground where the child was reported missing.

Packed in by dozens of supporters and a throng of TV camera crews, Tieray
Jones, 23, fell to the ground, setting off a frenzied whisking of the family into cars
that sped away.

It all happened in seconds, setting off pandemonium, shouting and sobs. In the
confusion, some thought Jones had been hit or pushed by Jahi's biological father
from Maryland, who was close by.

Not so, said Bill Garcia, who has been coordinating volunteer search efforts and
helped organize last night's event.

"He just passed out. I was right behind him," Garcia said by telephone about 10
minutes afterward. "He hasn't eaten in a couple of days."

Jones appeared to be fine by that time, said Garcia, adding, "He's sitting here
talking on a cell phone."

The tumult was the latest twist in a case that has captured national attention and
has had talk shows buzzing since April 25, when Jahi was reported missing from
the scene of last night's drama, a small playground at 28th and Cedar streets.

The search passed its ninth day yesterday with familiar scenes: police crews
raking through trash at the Miramar landfill and volunteers scouring San Diego
neighborhoods.

Joining the hunt yesterday was a psychic from the Los Angeles area, who led a
small group to a spot near the end of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Point Loma.
Nothing was found there, at the landfill or other search areas.

Last night's vigil was intended, in part, as a show of unity between an extended
but divided family whose one common bond is a missing child. Attending
alongside Jahi's parents were two pairs of relatives who flew out Thursday from
Frederick, Md.: Tameka Jones' mother, Penny Turner, and an unidentified sister of
Turner's, and Jahi's biological father, Tramane Sampson, and one of his cousins.

Reporters were asked not to ask questions. The only family member to speak was
Turner.

"I'd like to thank the volunteers," she said, sobbing uncontrollably. "Please don't
give up. We need him. I need my grandson."

The Joneses' last public appearance, a short news conference Tuesday, also
ended in a fiasco with shouts at the stepfather.

Tieray Jones told police he left Jahi unattended for 15 minutes at the playground
and returned to find him gone. Police are calling the case an abduction, but since
Tuesday they have been sifting through 5,000 tons of trash that was dumped the
day before the boy was reported missing. Police will not say what they're looking
for in the unprecedented day-and-night search.

Confidential sources have told the Union-Tribune that evidence contradicts the
stepfather's story.

Yesterday morning, Sampson, 24, visited the playground for the first time. He said
he was here "to help find him and to actually find out what's going on."

Detectives also were at the park, looking for possible witnesses. Within moments,
Sampson and his 18-year-old cousin, Chris Dorsey, were driven off for a two-hour
interview with homicide detectives.

Sampson said he has known Tieray Jones since their mid-teens. Both grew up in
Frederick's rough tenements, and both have had trouble with the law.

In addition to burglary and marijuana arrests, Jones has been questioned in
connection with an unsolved slaying in Maryland. Sampson was released from jail
in January on an assault conviction. He said he had to get a four-day pass from
his probation officer to come to San Diego.

Jahi has spent most of his life with aunts, uncles and grandparents on both sides,
most of whom live nearby but harbor much animosity toward each other. Until late
April, he was with his maternal grandmother, Turner.

Tameka Jones, 18, was married in December. She is a seaman aboard the San
Diego-based amphibious transport Rushmore. The ship has been in and out of
port on five-day training runs since March, Navy officials said.

The Joneses flew to Maryland on April 19 and returned with Jahi to their Golden
Hill apartment. Tameka Jones left port with her ship April 22, three days before the
boy was reported missing.

Sampson is hoping his son is still alive. He and his cousin made a brief midday
media appearance at the Golden Hill Moose Lodge, which is serving as
headquarters for the more than 1,000 volunteers who have searched for the child.

Sampson read a brief statement thanking the volunteers and appealing for Jahi's
safe return. Afterward, he and his cousin handed out fliers at a downtown trolley
station.

Sampson wouldn't say whether he considered his son safe with Tieray Jones, but
he said it's doubtful an abductor could have carried the boy off quietly.

"If (a stranger) tried to pick him up, he would have a fit. He would cry," Sampson
said. "He would have to know you to come to you."

Chet Barfield: (619) 542-4572; chet.barfield@uniontrib.com

70 fan out near area where boy last seen

By Joe Hughes
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 26, 2002

The search for missing 2-year-old Jahi Turner intensified yesterday as 70 members
of the Sheriff's Search and Rescue team combed canyons and ravines of Balboa
Park near an area where the toddler's stepfather said he last saw the boy one month
ago.

Trained trackers, dogs and other experienced search personnel converged on a
cul-de-sac near Russ Boulevard and 30th Street in Golden Hill Park about 7 a.m.
and fanned out into steep terrain, some of it covered with thick undergrowth
adjacent to the Balboa Park Golf Course.

"We are not necessarily looking for a victim – and not necessarily for the
obvious," said sheriff's reserve Capt. Dave Miller. "But we are looking for any
clues."

The area has been searched several times since Jahi was reported missing from a
nearby park play area April 25.

But this search was somewhat different.

"We have some specially trained personnel involved," said San Diego police
robbery-unit Sgt. Judy Woods. "This terrain is very rough and unyielding; it takes
a special eye."

In addition to a body, searchers were looking for clothing, freshly turned earth,
disturbed vegetation and evidence of a struggle or foul play.

Authorities stressed they were not acting on any specific tip. But Woods said the
finding last week of remains of Chandra Levy, who had been missing from the
Washington, D.C., area for about a year, could have been a factor in the new
search.

"As odd as it may seem, some people have become inspired," Woods said,
referring to the new effort after the Levy discovery.

Levy's remains were found in an area that also previously had been searched.

Yet, after a day-long effort yesterday, nothing of significance was found and it was
unclear if more law enforcement searches would continue over the Memorial Day
holiday.

The renewed effort by law enforcement was cheered by members of Jahi's family
and a small army of citizen volunteers who had been searching for the boy on their
own.

Police said Jahi's grandmother, who has been spearheading a volunteer effort,
rushed to the new Balboa Park search area early yesterday believing a body had
been found. She was concerned she had not been notified of a break in the case.

After learning of the purpose of the search, she returned to lead private volunteer
efforts, which also continued yesterday.

Those volunteers, faced with money woes and waning interest, have been
struggling to muster enough people to keep up their search and disappointed in a
perceived drop in law enforcement participation in the search.

Authorities had not conducted any official search for Jahi since concluding an
unprecedented operation May 6 at the Miramar landfill, where up to 100 officers a
day worked almost around the clock for six days, sifting 5,000 tons of trash
collected from the area where the boy was said to have disappeared.

About the same time, organizers scaled back a massive search effort in which more
than 1,100 volunteers scoured 18 square miles of canyons and handed out 28,000
fliers over 40 square miles of the city.

However, a team of San Diego police robbery detectives continued to press the
investigation, which has been classified as an abduction.

Detectives are known to be continuing to check the story of Jahi's stepfather,
Tieray Jones, who told authorities the boy was missing from a playground near
28th and Cedar streets after Jones left him to get a soda at a vending machine.

Police have expressed doubts about the story and say there is no evidence the boy
was at the playground that day.

Jahi's disappearance is San Diego's second high-profile missing-child case since
February – that of Danielle van Dam, whose body was found in rural East County.
A neighbor of the Sabre Springs girl, David Westerfield, faces trial in connection
with that case.

Joe Hughes: (619) 542-4591; joe.hughes@uniontrib.com

http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20020526-9999_1m26jahi.html

Table of Contents

Why?, debthang, 11:55 PM, May-27-02
Where he was playing?, jameson, 09:42 AM, May-30-02
the stepfather, debthang, 09:52 AM, May-30-02
, jameson, 11:31 AM, May-30-02
public support, debthang, 12:28 PM, May-30-02
I think all of it,, tipper, 08:48 PM, May-30-02

Messages in this discussion

1 . "Why?"
Posted by debthang on May-27-02 at 11:55 PM (EST)
Why is it that they are searching around the area where they don't believe Jahi was even playing?

Sadly, the lack of LE communication with the public regarding the case, and people's distrust of
Tameka's mother are keeping people from becoming involved.

I feel things would be functioning more effectively if Tameka herself were more prominent in the
public eye, and if LE would give some hint as to the direction the investigation is taking.

2 . "Where he was playing?"
Posted by jameson on May-30-02 at 09:42 AM (EST)
They took prints at the playground and think the stepfather was lying about Jahi being at the park.
They are searching for places where a body might have been dumped.

I think the search will dwindle down, and while I HOPE he was taken in by someone who is caring for
him, I fear his body will be found by accident (as was Chandra Levy's) and then we will find out - - -
- nothing because of the advanced decomposition.

Personally, I think the stepfather hurt the child.

3 . "the stepfather"
Posted by debthang on May-30-02 at 09:52 AM (EST)
I'm amazed that Tameka has recently been seen in public with him. How can she not believe he is
responsible for her baby's disappearance?

I am frustrated that LE has not openly stated that he is a suspect.

4 . " "
Posted by jameson on May-30-02 at 11:31 AM (EST)
If they brand him a suspect, will that help anything?

I don't think so.

Right now he is "cooperating" - supposedly. Maybe he will say or do something that will expose the
truth. If he is branded a suspect and gets a lawyer and stops talking - - then what?

If they are not ready to arrest him, branding him a suspect could lead to a lawsuit. Timothy Bindner
sued a CA city for just that - and won - big. They suspected him of abducting and killing several little
girls - they made it public - but they never arrested him - - and paid for their announcement that he
was their prime suspect.

NOW - - if they SHOULD arrest him - - THAT might cause witnesses to come out of the woodwork - -
people who are presently afraid of him might come forward if he is safe behind bars - - THEN they
may feel safe enough to speak out.

Just thinking out loud.

5 . "public support"
Posted by debthang on May-30-02 at 12:28 PM (EST)
The public is having a hard time supporting Jahi's mother and the search efforts because they know
something smells bad about Tieray.

Maybe declaring him a suspect would do more harm than good. However, this is very frustrating as it
stands, because that child could still be alive, yet people are reluctant to continue the search and
the support under the circumstances.

6 . "I think all of it,"
Posted by tipper on May-30-02 at 08:48 PM (EST)
the fishyness of Tieray's story, the early accusations of racism, the moving of the headquarters
locations, the feuding grandmothers, combined to make people tend to back off.

Man Looks For Jahi During Trip Across Country
Lambert To Distribute Fliers, Buttons Bearing Jahi's Picture
Posted: 10:18 a.m. PDT June 13, 2002
Updated: 10:42 a.m. PDT June 13, 2002

SAN DIEGO -- A retired social researcher leaves on a cross-country bus trip Thursday to spread the word about Jahi Turner, the 2-year-old boy who was reported missing from a Balboa Park playground on April 25, 10News reported.

Malcolm Lambert, 70, said he is upset that volunteer searches for the toddler ended abruptly about two weeks ago, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

"We still need to find that boy, and we need to keep the search alive," Lambert told the newspaper.

Lambert, who said he has conducted social work pertaining to young people for the federal government and several universities, including UCSD, bought a $260 ticket for a Greyhound bus trip that will eventually take him to Frederick, Md., according to The Union-Tribune.

Frederick is the hometown of Jahi's extended family and where the boy lived until moving with his mother and stepfather to San Diego a week before he disappeared.

Lambert said that he will distribute fliers and buttons bearing Jahi's picture at stops along the way, according to 10News.

One of those stops, Lambert said, will be at the Laura Recovery Center. The Texas-based center helps organize searches for children and has assisted locally in both the Jahi Turner and Danielle van Dam cases.

"I hope to get some advice from them on how to restart this search effort," Lambert said.

Jahi's stepfather, Tieray Jones, told police he left Jahi at a playground near the boy's home at Beech and 28th streets with a woman and two other children while he walked a few hundred yards away to buy a soda.

When the 23-year-old returned, his stepson was gone, along with the others.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20020613-9999_2m13jahi.html

Man looking for Jahi will visit boy's hometown

Retiree plans to spread word with bus trip

By Joe Hughes
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 13, 2002

With the region riveted by the televised trial of a man charged with kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle Van Dam, Malcolm Lambert doesn't want anybody to forget Jahi Turner.

So Lambert, a 70-year-old retired social researcher, today begins a cross-country bus trip to help spread the word about the San Diego toddler who was reported missing from a Balboa Park playground on April 25.

The 2-year-old boy has not been found.

"We still need to find that boy, and we need to keep the search alive," said Lambert, a resident of Fletcher Hills in El Cajon.

Lambert, who helped look for both Danielle and Jahi, says he is bothered that organized searches for Jahi ended abruptly about two weeks ago.

"I feel Jahi may still be alive somewhere and someone may know something," said Lambert, who is divorced and has two grown sons, one of them a police officer in Los Angeles.

Using his own money, Lambert bought a $260 ticket for a Greyhound bus trip that will take him to Frederick, Md., where Jahi's extended family lives and where the toddler lived until a week before his disappearance. At stops along the route, Lambert said, he will distribute fliers and buttons that were donated by two El Cajon businesses, Postal Annex and Fletcher Hills Printing.

He knows the trip could be construed as a publicity stunt. Publicity, yes. Stunt, no.

"I want the publicity, to let people know about Jahi and all the other missing children we seem to have in this country," said Lambert. "Jahi could be anywhere."

Among the stops Lambert will make is the Texas-based Laura Recovery Center, which helps organize nationwide searches for children and has assisted in both the Danielle Van Dam and Jahi Turner cases.

"I hope to get some advice from them on how to restart this search effort," said Lambert, who said he has conducted social work pertaining to youth for the federal government and universities nationwide, including UCSD.

When he gets to Maryland, Lambert said, he wants to work with Jahi's family to re-energize the search effort.

"There was some infighting and confusion among some people looking for Jahi," said Lambert. "It all stopped suddenly for some reason. I don't know why. We should still be looking."

Jahi was reported missing by his stepfather, who said the boy went missing after he left him alone in a Balboa Park playground for about 15 minutes while the stepfather went to buy a soda from a nearby vending machine. Police sources say the story is bogus, but investigators are still treating the case as an abduction.

Police search and rescuers last conducted an organized effort May 25 in Balboa Park.

Police earlier spent a week searching the Miramar landfill looking for evidence. The case remains active, but there have been no new developments, officials said.

Lambert's last involvement in the volunteer effort came when he went to a going away party for Jahi's maternal grandmother May 27. She has since returned to Maryland.

Lambert was one of the first to volunteer to look for Jahi.

"I am retired; I have the time," Lambert said. "You could call it my repayment to society."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Hughes: (619) 542-4591; joe.hughes@uniontrib.com

It's so sad that this case is just barely a blip on the screen compared to others.

I know that more children than Jahi go missing every day, and they certainly don't make headlines either. But, my goodness, something needs to happen to put OUR children first and make them a priority.

I would like to know from LE what the status of the investigation is.

If he is dead, there is nothing we can do to help him now. If that is the case, I hope SD authorities will find justice for him.

If he is alive.... that's where it gets sticky.

I don't think anyone has taken that boy for a bad reason and holds him captive still. I think most kids that are taken for BAD reasons are killed rather quickly. Sad but true.

Then there is the alternative - - the possibility I would hope to be true. That is that someone knew about his situation in life and decided to "save him". I can only hope someone who could not have a child of their own has taken him to their hearts.

Do I support what they did? No..... well, maybe. Honestly, I have known of cases where children should have been saved by someone and weren't. I can't say for sure this isn't one of those situations.

So I am not going to push to find this child to return him to his parents, relatives or the state. I can't in good conscience do that.

I hope he is alive and well and loved more than he ever was before.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 1, 2002

SAN DIEGO – Police are deciding whether to search a second landfill in their investigation into the April disappearance of a 2-year-old boy.

The San Diego Police Department is weighing the costs and benefits of combing through trash and sewage sludge at the Otay landfill in Chula Vista for evidence that could help resolve the disappearance of Jahi Turner, Capt. Mike McCulloch said Monday.

In May, police and volunteers from the Navy and Marine Corps searched through 5,000 tons of trash at San Diego's Miramar landfill at a cost of $100,000. Authorities have not disclosed whether they found any useful evidence in the search.

Trash collected from the neighborhood where Jahi lived and from around the park where he was reported missing April 25 was sent to both Miramar and the Otay landfill. But police didn't search the Chula Vista dump because the presence of sewage sludge made it potentially dangerous for officers and volunteers, McCulloch said.

At the privately owned Otay landfill, searchers would have to comb through about 4,000 tons of trash and 400 tons of treated sludge from a wastewater treatment facility.

The city may hire a private contractor to search the Otay landfill, but the effort could cost about $1 million because of the presence of sewage, McCulloch said. The first search was also less expensive because police used donated equipment and volunteers.

"We're looking for any evidence," McCulloch said. "In the worst case scenario, maybe Jahi Turner's remains or any evidence that would lead to a suspect."

Jahi was reported missing from a playground in Balboa Park by his stepfather, Teiray Jones, who told police he left the boy alone to buy a soda from a nearby machine. The child's mother, an 18-year-old Navy sailor, was aboard the USS Rushmore at the time.

Investigators have declined to discuss the progress of the investigation or whether they have developed any suspects.
http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20020701-1225-ca-missingboy.html

2-year-old has been missing since April

By Chet Barfield
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

July 13, 2002

A private investigator who spearheaded volunteer searches for missing 2-year-old
Jahi Turner in April and May is again seeking clues to the boy's disappearance.

This time, Bill Garcia is using his own detective agency. He said he was retained by
Jahi's relatives in Maryland and is working for almost no fee.

"We're going to get them some answers," Garcia said. "We're going to pursue an
investigation from scratch and try to find out what really happened."

Jahi was reported missing April 25 by his stepfather, Tieray Jones, at a small
playground at 28th and Cedar streets. Jones told police he brought the toddler to
the park from their Golden Hill apartment about a mile away, left him for 15 minutes
and returned to find him gone.

Hundreds of volunteers scoured area streets, canyons and neighborhoods in
weeks of fruitless searching. San Diego police launched a massive and
unprecedented search at the city's Miramar landfill, sifting through 5,000 tons of
trash. Nothing substantial was found in either effort.

Jahi's mother, Tameka Jones, an 18-year-old Navy seaman, was deployed on a ship
when her son was reported missing. She and Tieray Jones declined comment
yesterday.

Absent other new leads, San Diego police are considering a landfill search at Otay
Mesa. A decision is expected to be made by next week, said investigations Capt.
Mike McCulloch.

"It's still an open investigation," McCulloch said. "We're still following up on some
leads, but as with any case, the more time that goes on, it slows down a little bit."

Garcia said he is not seeking volunteer help in the private investigation, which was
launched at the request of Jahi's biological father, Tramane Sampson of Frederick,
Md. Sampson could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Garcia said he and his staff will be handing out brochures and fliers describing Jahi
and circumstances of his disappearance. The aim will be to find someone who can
shed some light on the case.

"Sometimes people are hesitant to talk to police," Garcia said at a midday news
conference. "What we're hoping is that the person or persons who know
something about this will come forward and we can get it resolved."

Anyone with information is asked to call San Diego police at (619) 531-2000 or (619)
531-TIPS, or Bill Garcia Investigative Services at (619) 293-3620. Garcia's agency
also can be reached by e-mail at surveil@pacbell.net

"I feel pretty confident that the child is not in the area (where he was reported
missing), at least not in the canyons or anything like that," Garcia said. "We hope
the child is still alive. My gut instinct tells me he is."

Chet Barfield: (619) 542-4572; chet.barfield@uniontrib.com

Printer-friendly version

(07-17-2002) - San Diego Police have decided
not to search a second landfill for clues into the
disappearance of 2-year-old Jahi Turner.

The idea to sift through the Otay Mesa landfill in
Chula Vista was ruled out because of the
concern for health problems and the low probability for success.

San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano made the decision following
intensive consultations with detectives investigating the presumed
abduction of little Jahi.

"There is no specific information that indicates any evidence would
be found at the Otay (dump)," he said. "The chief also was
presented with research indicating there may be significant health
risks to those involved."

But, Bejarano says police still have not given up hope in their
search.

"I do want to emphasize that this case-- the Jahi Turner case--
remains a priority. We have continued to work full-time on this
case, since April 25. And I am confident that at some point this
investigation will be presented to the District Attorney's office,"
said Bejarano.

The South Park toddler has been missing now for three months.

Within days of the South Park toddler's disappearance, teams of
police and volunteers were searching the city's Miramar-area
landfill. That site, along with the Otay dump, is the destination for
refuse from the area where Jahi went missing.

The protective suit-clad crews turned up nothing of value from the
tons of garbage they sifted for a full week.

Unlike the Miramar dump, the South Bay-area landfill collects
sewage- treatment sludge.

Studies indicate that those who handle such "Class B"
organic-waste byproducts face heath risks from various pathogens,
including bacteria and viruses, Cohen explained.

"Chief Bejarano is concerned that searchers would have to clean
sludge from every item in the landfill to determine whether it was
related to Jahi's disappearance," he added. "The exposure to Class
B sludge would be considerable."

Despite the decision, SDPD investigators continue to work full-time
to determine what has become of the tyke, and who spirited him
away, according to department officials.

http://www.kfmb.com/topstory.php?storyID=9884

Volunteers who hope to resume search for
Jahi invite the public

Tomorrow's event will be at park site

By Chet Barfield
STAFF WRITER

July 19, 2002

Volunteers hoping to resume searching for 2-year-old Jahi Turner are inviting the
public to a gathering tomorrow at the Balboa Park playground where the toddler
was reported missing in April.

The noon event at 28th and Cedar streets also will mark the 19th birthday of Jahi's
mother, Tameka Jones of Golden Hill. Jones and her husband, Tieray, have been
invited, said organizer Malcolm Lambert of El Cajon.

"We're just interested in keeping the search going no matter what," said Lambert,
a retired social worker. He participated in volunteer efforts in April and May and
traveled to Maryland last month to meet Jahi's relatives.

Lambert opened a fund this week with $200 of his own money, offering a reward
for information leading to the resolution of the case. Donations can be sent to the
University & State Employees Credit Union at 8697 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa, CA
91941. Checks should be mad e payable to "U.S.E. Credit Union." More
information can be obtained by calling the credit union at (619) 697-2081.

Tieray Jones reported his stepson missing from the playground April 25. He told
police he left Jahi for 15 minutes and the child was gone when he returned.
Investigators say they have no evidence that Jahi was at the playground and
they doubt Jones' account.

In a renewed effort to crack the case, Bill Garcia Investigative Services opened a
private investigation last week. Garcia, who coordinated earlier volunteer efforts
and assisted in the search for Danielle van Dam, is not enlisting volunteers in his
investigation of Jahi's disappearance.

There have been no volunteer searches for several weeks.

Early on, police spent a week raking through 5,000 tons of trash at the Miramar
landfill in the search for Jahi, but came up empty. Police Chief David Bejarano was
considering a similar effort at the Otay landfill but on Wednesday decided against
it.

Garbage at Otay is mingled with sludge from treated sewage, and Bejarano said
the potential health risks to officers outweighed the odds of finding any evidence
or remains.

Chet Barfield: (619) 542-4572; chet.barfield@uniontrib.com

(07-20-2002) - The Friends of Jahi
Turner support group gathered
Saturday at Balboa Park to mark the
months-old search for the missing
2-year-old.

They also gathered to celebrate the birthday of Turner's mother,
Tameka Jones. Jones tried to be upbeat as she stood near the spot
where her son vanished three months ago.

Jones hoped to celebrate her 19th birthday with her husband
Tieray. However, as a grieving mother, she had also hoped that her
son would be able to celebrate with them.

Turner has been missing since April 25. He was supposedly at a
playground near Balboa Park when his father, Tieray Jones, said
that he left the boy to get a drink.

When he returned, the toddler was not there, Jones said. Jones
told police that there was a woman with other children at the park
when he left his son.

But investigators have since said that they had no evidence that
Jahi Turner or Tieray Jones were even at the park.

Nonetheless, both parents believe that their son
would be returned unharmed.

Donations to the Jahi Turner search fund can be sent to the
University and State Employees Credit Union, 8697 La Mesa Blvd.,
La Mesa, CA 91941.

Make checks payable to U.S.E. Credit Union.

For more information, or to make donations by phone, call (619)
697-2081.

SAN DIEGO -- The stepfather of a 2-year-old South Park boy reported missing nearly seven months ago was in custody in Maryland on drug charges Thursday, police said.

A bounty hunter arrested Tieray Jones, 23, in San Diego on Monday and took him to Maryland to face charges unrelated to Jahi Turner's disappearance last spring, said San Diego police Lt. Mike Hurley.

--->>> http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/sand/news/stories/news-180084420021121-201107.html

Comic-Book Creator Says Not To Forget Jahi Turner

Omega Man Creator Led Prayer Vigil Tuesday

POSTED: 5:21 p.m. PDT July 15, 2003
UPDATED: 5:40 p.m. PDT July 15, 2003

SAN DIEGO -- Helping find missing children is a cause one man has taken to a new level by featuring missing kids -- including San Diego's Jahi Turner, who has been missing for nearly 17 months -- in comic books and on trading cards.

JAHI TURNER

Reported missing April 25
Light-skinned African-American
30 inches tall
30 pounds
Last seen in blue, long-sleeve "Winnie the Pooh" T-shirt and dark nylon pants

MORE INFO
Watch the latest coverage
Jahi Web Page
Children's Search Center Of San Diego
Discuss The Case
New Slideshow

INVESTIGATION
Police:
(619) 531-2000
Crime Stoppers:
(619) 235-8477

Jahi's stepfather said he vanished from a playground near 20th and Cedar streets in April 2002.

On Tuesday, there was a prayer vigil for Jahi held at the playground. The event was led by cartoonist Alonzo Washington (pictured, right), who says that media coverage of missing African-American children has been minimal in comparison to the press given to missing white children.

"Jahi Turner, William Wilson, Precious Doe, Christian Ferguson, they should be just as famous as Samantha Runion," said Washington, referring to children who have all gone missing.

Washington has gotten a famous comic-book character of his, Omega Man, involved in his media quest in a comic book called America's Forgotten Children. In the comic, Washington takes aim at what he believes is a bias in news coverage of missing children, including Jahi.

"I care for all kids," said Washington. "I do things to protect kids of all races in my community, but it's like the poorer you get, the darker you get, the less media attention you get from the national , and that should be wrong in this day and age."

Washington, a Kansas city resident, has never met Jahi's parents and prefers it that way.

"As an advocate, I try to stay away from the parents unless they approach me, because in a lot of cases I work on -- Jahi's one of them -- you know, the parents are always suspected, and so they are very leery of people trying to help," said Washington.

Washington, the father of seven, will be comic convention in San Diego this week. He has also designed flyers that call attention to Jahi, which will be handed out to people who visit his booth.

As for the Jahi Turner case, San Diego Police have nothing new to report, a sentiment echoed by private investigator Bill Garcia, who told NBC 7/39 that he was continuing to work on the case.

www.nbcsandiego.com/news/2335085/detail.html

Copyright 2003 by NBCSandiego.com. All rights reserved.

DA: No charges in Jahi case

Insufficient evidence cited in boy's 2002 disappearance

By J. Harry Jones and Alex Roth

STAFF WRITERS

January 9, 2004

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is expected to announce today that charges are not being filed against the stepfather of 2-year-old Jahi Turner or anybody else in connection with the boy's 2002 disappearance.

"This case has undergone an exhaustive review and unfortunately there is no closure," Dumanis said in a statement obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

San Diego police homicide Lt. Jim Duncan said investigators still think the boy was killed and have a suspect, but prosecutors decided not to risk losing a murder trial in case new evidence should surface later.

Jahi's disappearance came April 25, 2002, two months after the highly publicized abduction and slaying of Sabre Springs 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

The boy's stepfather, Tieray Jones, told police he took the boy to a Balboa Park playground from a nearby apartment where they lived with the child's mother.

Jones said he left Jahi alone for 15 minutes to buy a soda. When he returned, he said, the boy was gone.

Jahi has not been seen since, and Duncan confirmed that Jones remains a suspect.

"The DA does not want to jeopardize a prosecution with double jeopardy," Duncan said of what might happen if a person were charged, tried and acquitted in the case. A defendant cannot be retried if acquitted.

"There's always the possibility that some hard evidence could be found later . . . and we wouldn't be able to pursue charges again."

In a prepared statement, Dumanis said the decision was made due to an "insufficiency of evidence."

"This case has been a priority among law enforcement officials ever since this child vanished," she said. "It was thoroughly investigated by the San Diego Police Department, and our office did an additional investigation.

"We assigned two veteran prosecutors and an investigator to scrutinize all of the evidence. . . . We have not forgotten this little boy. His disappearance still weighs heavy on our hearts. We encourage the public to report any new information about this case to law enforcement. The case remains open and any new evidence will be taken under consideration."

A day before Jahi was reported missing, law enforcement officials confirmed, a witness saw Jones lugging what appeared to be a large duffel bag, satchel or garbage bag to a trash bin near his Golden Hill apartment complex.

The information generated an exhaustive search by authorities of a section of the Miramar landfill where it was believed the contents of the trash bin would have been taken, but nothing related to the disappearance was found.

Jones has denied having anything to do with his stepson's disappearance. Attempts to contact him last night were unsuccessful.

Jones and Jahi lived in an apartment on Beech Street near Balboa Park. The boy's mother, Tameka Jones, was a sailor who was at sea when her husband reported Jahi missing.

According to law-enforcement officials familiar with the case, witnesses contradicted Jones' story about being in Balboa Park with Jahi, and no witnesses could place the child in the park that day.

The officials also said Jones kept a diary and made entries that described Jahi in a manner consistent with a child suffering from some type of head trauma, being listless, inactive.

Jahi's natural father said last night he has reached the painful conclusion that the child must be dead.

"I mean, I don't want to think that but I have no choice," said Tramane Sampson, 25, who lives in Frederick, Md.

Sampson said he sees Jones in Frederick from time to time. He said Jahi's mother recently gave birth to a baby boy fathered by Jones. The child now lives with the woman's grandmother, who also lives in Frederick, Sampson said.

Sampson said he was disappointed that the District Attorney's Office still hasn't filed any charges in the case.

"How much evidence do they need?" he said. "It's crazy, man, it's crazy."

Today's expected announcement is unusual in that the District Attorney's Office doesn't normally announce when it isn't going to file charges.

Duncan, however, said he thinks it makes sense.

"There was a lot of public concern with it happening right on the heels of Danielle van Dam," he said. "At this point it's time to let everybody know what's going on."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roth: (619) 542-4558; alex.roth@uniontrib.com

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/fri/metro/news_1m9jahi.html

Copyright 2004 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.