CAPTIVE CLEVELAND WOMEN RESCUED RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT MISSING PERSONS - ARE WE DOING ENOUGH?

Few persons by now have not heard the shocking news about the escape and rescue of three women held hostage for a decade  in a house in Cleveland Ohio. [Photo Source: NY Daily News]

Amanda Berry (16), Georgina DeJesus (14) and Michelle Knight (21)

There was one abductor who allegedly kidnapped and enslaved the women between 2002 and 2004. He allegedly kept them in chains, bound them in duct tape, tortured and starved them, used them for sex, and fathered a child with one of them and, I say allegedly, which is an understatement, but until proven guilty in a court of law I must add that disclaimer. He also allegedly impregnated one of them multiple times, the older of the three women, subjecting her to extraordinary torture and abuse to induce abortions after causing her to be pregnant.

I'm not here to retell their story... you can peruse the following links among many for that:

NY Daily News

CNN

CafeMOM

All three were abducted from the same street in Cleveland between 2002 and 2004. All three were reported to the police as missing persons. Due to extenuating circumstances Michelle Knight was dropped from any missing person's investigation about two years after her disappearance. Only her immediate family continued to try to find her. The other two victims, Amanda Berry and Georgina DeJesus were still (allegedly) being "actively" pursued by law enforcement.  However almost ten years had passed since they were reported missing.

A world renowned psychic had told the parents of Amanda Berry - on national television, that she felt Amanda was dead.

Georgina DeJesus had been best friends with the abductor's daughter, which the abductor allegedly used that relationship to trick Georgina into his car and captivity.

Another man, Fernando Colon, who formed a relationship with the abductor's ex-wife was accused and convicted of inappropriate relations with one of the abductors daughters, and allegedly told FBI investigators they should be focusing on the abductor, not himself. Apparently the FBI didn't take his concerns seriously, nor the testimony provided in court during his conviction. Colon suspected he was being setup... and we now know for good reason as to take attention off from the abductor himself.

NBC NEWS has the story: "The Cleveland (abductor) made accusations against Colon, 39, in July 2004, shortly after 14-year-old Georgina “Gina” DeJesus vanished on her way home from the west Cleveland middle school she attended."

Had (assuming Colon told the FBI what he says he did) Colon been listened to, might not the decade long abductions been brought to a close sooner? It's quite possible I believe. I also believe it's a wake-up call for law-enforcement and their methods that highlights a propensity toward tunnel-vision and priorities.

I'm reminded about two other missing person's cases that I blogged about previously.

Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray. Both women are still missing. Neither has been found. Both it has been speculated were abducted and there is no proof either is deceased. In the former case it is well documented law-enforcement was distracted by Brianna's use of drugs, especially marijuana, and possibly cocaine. What derailed the initial investigation into her disappearance was a firm belief that she had run away, that Brianna was of "questionable character" and that she had owed drug dealers money. Law enforncement speculated she had run away to avoid her debts.

The facts about her case, in my opinion, strongly suggest a possibility she could have been abducted and sold into white slavery. One person who was never officially made a suspect had connections to gangs in NYC. Another unofficial suspect had the money and connections to kidnap her and sell her off in Columbia. Yet another discovery was the alleged activity of a branch of the Chinese Mafia operating in the area at the time, according to my sources. Were any of these possibilities ever truly investigated? I rather doubt it.

In the case of Maura Murray, Attorney general Kelly Ayotte and NH law-enforcement  were more interested in the theory of her disappearance being related to alcohol found in her car and irrational behavior and unusual web-searches she conducted before she disappeared. The family of Maura Murray seriously considered a slave-type abduction, but to my knowledge law-enforcement has never seriously considered the possibility. Efforts by Maura's father to communicate with then Attorney general of NH, Kelly Ayotte went nowhere. Kelly Ayotte is now a NH Senator and recently admitted her close ties with law enforcement were the feathers in her cap when making political decisions for the citizens of NH.

I was told by Brianna Maitland's father that one of the (to remain unnamed) suspects in Brianna's disappearance had threatened three of her girlfriends after the fact that if they said anything he "would make them disappear like he had Brianna".

So the question is, just how do you make someone disappear? Until the story of the three kidnap victims in Cleveland made the headlines one would think murder. But what if...

???

What if the alleged abductor was suspected of selling drugs? Well, now you've got a whole other story. Think about it. Marijuana being the most popular drug they'd be going through his trash, monitoring his electric use, watching his spending behavior, GPSing his activities, and documenting who he associated with.

The focus of law-enforcement is obviously zeroed in on the War on Drugs...  narcs in schools, drug testing and the assumption that marijuana users are more dangerous to society than the alleged kidnapper of the women in Cleveland. Water seeks the path of less resistance and so does law-enforcement.

The fact is there was reason to put a little time into focusing on the alleged abductor of the women in Cleveland. He was seen with a the daughter of one of the missing women in a park in Cleveland - did anyone wonder who was she? Did anyone question it? Neighbors, whether they actually did call police, claim they tried several times to report suspicious activity at the house. Were the calls ignored? Drop a dime, turn in a drug dealer, suggests that Americans are taken more seriously if reporting drug violations, not the sober activities of a kidnapper/rapist.

Compared to those suspected of drug violations where the following questions are asked by law enforcement; what was his electric bill considering he was a supposed single guy? What was in his trash? What was his water bill? What groceries did he purchase? All of those things are questioned by law enforcement for those suspected of possessing, dealing, growing illegal drugs; however, in the case of a butterfly collector, where perhaps by current numbers, thousands of persons are being held as captive in some nut-case's home, what is law-enforcement doing?

I'd say, not much.

I'm not saying finding and busting a meth-lab isn't important. I'm not saying drug use can't be dangerous and cause for concern. What I am saying is that the War on Drugs and especially law enforcement's targeted pursuit of casual cannabis use is a bright red herring, itself a major threat to public safety and a significant diversion from what's necessary to truly protecting the American people.

Do you think what happened in Cleveland was an isolated event? It isn't. Human trafficking is perhaps more common than crack-houses and drug use. It's time we got our priorities in order. It's time we focus on the real dangers in society, not the scapegoats.

It's TIME to Stop the Hurt and find those who are missing without making it necessary for them to find us.

IN SUPPORT OF KELLY AYOTTE ON GUN VIOLENCE VOTE - ALBEIT NORMALLY I'M NOT, WITH ONE CAVEAT!

I regularly get e-mails from NH Senator Kelly Ayotte,

which unlike many politicians who don't bother, I understand that's a good thing; not that I voted for her.

The latest e-mail I received presents her case with regards to her recent NO vote over extended gun control and background checks. Apparently anti-gun groups are hitting her back hard, with smear campaigns and television ads.

Where I often disagree with her, I stand with her on this issue as she correctly emphasizes the laws are already in place, need to be enforced and we definitely don't need new one's. Just like what happened after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the recent events at Sandy Hook CT, Aurora CO. has had a frantic level of media frenzy and public reaction that asks for a "knee-jerk" reaction for laws that will forever ban such violence.

The result and consequences of Sept. 11, 2001 was the Patriot Act that gave the terrorists a victory in my opinion, eroding the 1st and 4th Amendments of the Constitution significantly. Again, the laws were already in place for such a violent act and what the Patriot Act did was pour salt in the wounds of Americans. We the People didn't deserve to be punished as a result of fanatics by increased government surveillance,;draconian TSA agents and long lines at the airports that single out obviously harmless people and installation of pornographic body scanners. We didn't need to open our own Russian style gulag at Guantanamo Bay Cuba to house terrorists, though where to put them does remain a concern, but I think we had alternatives and I know torture was never a part of our American culture until then.

What Senator Kelly Ayotte has done is to stand up and act in a reasonable and responsible manner to yet more attempts to infringe upon our freedoms and Constitutional rights. To me this is a good thing and for once she has my support.

Having said that her e-mail does point out some weaknesses/perspectives that I find troubling and perplexing about her, which highlights why I didn't vote for her.

Senator Ayotte said in the e-mail: "From my experience working with police chiefs, detectives and prosecutors, I know how important it is to have laws that work - and I know how important it is to enforce the laws we have on the books."

She goes on to say, and I mostly agree: "There are no easy answers. Even if the proposed expansion of background checks had been in place, it wouldn't have prevented the Sandy Hook tragedy - where the perpetrator obtained the firearms he used by killing his own mother, who owned them lawfully."

On the latter... The perpetrator of the Sandy Hook murders was not ruled mentally ill, nor was it illegal for him to own guns. In other violent events this may not be as true, but in Sandy Hook it was. There was little it appears that could have been done, legally or otherwise to prevent that tragedy. New laws, those including the ones you voted against, essentially intend to disarm Americans, in essence, anyone making less than $200,000 a year. It's the Marihuana Tax Act rekindled, as the Personal Protection/2ND Amendment Tax Act of 2013.

My how history seems to repeat itself!

On the former, I'd say to Senator Ayotte, it's all fine and good that you have such a good rapport with law enforcement, and an appreciation for how laws work, but do you really believe that any and every law passed is forever true and enforceable? Shall we go back to arresting people who spit in the street as disgusting as it is? Should we arrest people for fornication and adultery? Should we arrest women who wear bikini's or expose their belly buttons or too much leg?

And naturally, where I'm going with this is, are laws prohibiting cannabis use by adults really protecting the public when the majority of violent crimes are committed by non-cannabis users and straight up straight people who don't even use drugs, except for maybe alcohol - the latter being more a contributing factor in many domestic violence crimes?

Don't you think it's time you develop a good rapport with the PEOPLE too?

When prior to your election a Viet Nam Vet spoke with you and asked you how you felt about medical cannabis you acted like he was from Mars. You behave as if cannabis prohibition solves all the country's problems and makes us safe - it doesn't.

Any law in this country except those of a capital nature need constant evaluation. Things change, people change, times change. What was wrong 75 years ago, or 35 years ago may not be a bad thing today.

The US Constitution grants Americans Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Granted, that includes the 2ND Amendment. But it also challenges you to appreciate that in 75 years no one has been harmed by cannabis except where the laws on the books and those shoved down our throats by a President Nixon has caused enormous harm to society.

I would ask you to respect the Constitution but I would also ask you to think outside the box. I would ask you to think back to the question that Viet Nam Vet asked you. Laws are not made in B&W!

HIKERS BE WARNED - THE COST OF BEING RESCUED - SHOULD YOU GET LOST! [Presenting: Nicolas Cendoya, 19, and Kyndall Jack, 18].

[Edited May 05, 2013, 12:45 PM]

"Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness..." just got a lot more expensive.

The United States of America is broke, and your personal safety has a cost these days. Before you set out hiking you should consider things.

Are you a felon escaping justice? You know, murderer, rapist, kidnapper, thief ? Are you responsible for a massive search involving law enforcement that may cost tax-payers hundreds of thousands of dollars? In general, you don't need to worry. When caught you will be locked up at tax-payer expense and the search for you will also be charged to tax-payers, not to your account. Paying to get you off the streets, is par for the course... it's the way the system works. If you get lost in the badlands, in a vast forest, or on the arctic tundra,  don't sweat it... you won't be charged for your apprehension/recovery. You won't be charged with the search and rescue costs.

But before getting lost consider this:

You're with friends at a beer blast, you wander off and get lost. Search and rescue is called and the cost to find you is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chances are, you won't be charged... hey, you got drunk and got lost. It happens.

As a writer I admit I have faults... I have a tendency to write long, involved posts. I know that... am aware people tend to not have time to read long posts, so let me put it as bluntly as I am able.

Your spouse, significant other disappears, last known location - hiking.  Before you dial 911, ask yourself the following question? Were they in possession of "drugs"?

Okay, you might laugh... what difference does it make, in fact, you may not know or even care about the answer to that question.

Or better yet, you  are the one(s) who decide to go hiking... you bring your cellphone, some pot, some peyote or magic mushrooms along. Maybe you leave a little behind in your car - why, well, I'm not sure why, but let's say that you do. Maybe you roll the joint and a seed falls on the floor of your car.

Or let's say, you write a blog, or have a website devoted to "drug legalization". Or you're involved in any of a thousand topics deemed unconventional or questionable by today's post 9/11 standards. Is it any mystery why the terrorists that caused the thousands of deaths on Sept. 11, 2001 chose that date, 911? Stands for: Emergency/rescue! Doh... A Homer Simpson moment!

Since then, we now have the Patriot Act, an act initiated by President George W. Bush to counter terrorism. The Patriot Act does more than protect Americans from future acts of terrorism... it undermines/subjugates the 4TH Amendment to the US Constitution. It makes spying on American citizens legal without much of a warrant. It flies in the face of what our founding fathers explicitly were trying to protect America from... covert actions by a home government into the privacy of it's citizens.

Cut to the chase, or shall we say the 911 search and rescue:

The following story is about two hikers that got lost in a California forest. They dialed 911 from a cellphone. They reported they were lost. They asked for help. After 4 - 5 days and a multi-agency search they were found, barely alive. What was also found, left behind in their car were "drugs". Meth to be exact. But...the key-word here is, "drugs" were found.

Let me back-up and again focus on the facts... the key-word here is not murderer, rapist, bank-robber, serial killer, it's "drugs". I didn't say beer, or coffee, though they're drugs, but we're not talking buzzed or blindly drunk. It doesn't matter what drugs other than legal ones that you may have left behind, or if when you're found two weeks later they make you take a piss test and you test positive for some pot that you may have used at a party weeks earlier.

The fact is, your rescue won't be what you expect. It'll become a criminal investigation and unlike the aforementioned criminal element you'll likely be ordered to foot the bill.

Don't believe me?

Nicolas Cendoya, 19, and Kyndall Jack, 18 went hiking in a California forest awhile back. They got disoriented and got lost for several days, they almost died, all the while they were within about a mile or two from where their car was found. When one of them realized they were lost they called 911 and asked for help. Before the cellphone battery expired law enforcement got a "fix" on their approximate location. Law enforcement found their car. After several days of searching the two hikers were found, nearly dead.

One of the hikers, Kyndall jack reported having hallucinations that she was being attacked by wild animals. She reports she became disoriented. Since the battery for the cell-phone expired, searchers only had an approximate location for the two lost hikers. It took them several days based on what they knew to locate each of them. They survived. The cost of the search and rescue totals approximately $160,000.

When law enforcement searched their car in an effort to determine their plans/location, it allegedly contained a small quantity of methamphetamine.

It is up to a judge now to determine the facts in this case, but suffice it to say the couple has been billed $160,000 for the rescue, as "drugs" were allegedly involved. Law enforcement has determined the couple wasn't hiking, they were out in that forest getting "high". If alcohol were involved they would not be facing the charges they are facing... they could have had a case of whiskey, a keg of beer, which would have been okay... but they had what could have been a marijuana seed in their car and that means they were drug addicts out in that forest getting "high".

Rule of thumb people... alcohol, tobacco are not drugs... leave all you want behind in your car if you go hiking. Getting drunk is far different than getting high... and to ward off the wild animals, you might consider bringing some vitamin B-12.

Honestly... people can do dumb things... like hike on a nice Winter day without any survival gear... and get lost, and who's going to pay to find you when a blizzard happens? I mean stupid is stupid!

But to blame their loss and search and rescue on drug use? Okay, so meth isn't one of my preferred drugs... but what if you had a joint and got lost? My God, you can't carry a compass and a map??? You can't plan ahead and be safe???

I've gotten lost a few times hiking, even without drugs... I have to admit, a time or two I had a little pot, but I always carry a map and a compass, though seriously... to charge these citizens $160,000 simply because meth was found in their car and assume that's the reason the got lost? So now, authorities don't care if or why they got lost, they care that "drugs" were found, which turns this into a drug war investigation. The drugs were left in the car they were driving, like they didn't bring them with? Why would they go hiking to do drugs, only to leave them behind in their car? Seems to me even if the intention was to hike to use drugs they would have brought them along, not left them in their car. Like the drugs couldn't have been planted without their knowledge? I don't know, but seems like a convenient way to pass the buck, that's all I'm saying.

We've lost our humanity. This is where the War on Drugs has brought us. These people were stupid, I grant you that possibility. But the alternative is... if lost and "drugs" are involved, do all of us a favor, don't call 911 - just die? Has society sunk deep enough into a dark hole that we don't care about you anymore because of that? If  you're a murderer, a rapist, a thief, a serial killer then they care, and the taxpayer foots the bill to find them... but if drugs are involved, better that they simply die and spare us the cost of finding them. That's what it comes to. If so much as a seed of cannabis is found, you pay.

So much for the shaman of old who had a bit too much peyote... just let him or her die. Forget the message they may return with to enlighten us all.

Opens up a can of worms in my opinion as in this case the hikers called 911, but what if a loved one or friend had?

The story is here: HIKERS LOST IN CALIFORNIA FOREST.

Stop the Hurt! End the War!

A VIEW FROM BEHIND THE MOP - CHAPTER ONE

A New Series by BobKat... A Fictional Autobiography, more fact than fiction... 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The following story and the title is copyrighted material by me, the author, alias not withstanding, beginning in 1978, and renewed the latest time in 2013. The title and the following material is owned by me and cannot be reprinted or transferred, in part or whole, for any reason whatsoever, by law. It cannot be printed or reprinted or disseminated in any form without my explicit permission. You may print this, and any subsequent  posts/chapters one time for personal use, but you are not authorized to share or disseminate said printed materials in whole or in part and you are liable if the printed contents are transferred, sold or stolen in part or whole even without your knowledge. The reason for this warning is simple. This is a blog edition of a book I have been working on for the past 37 years. I am providing my story solely to viewers of my blog, for educational and entertainment purposes. Please enjoy and respect my privacy. You are welcome to forwards links to my blog, with the understanding that recipients are subject to the same restrictions to this this story, provided, that you send the link from Chapter One only. Please do not send links to other chapters or parts of chapters. To assist you, here is the link for Chapter one: The Only Authorized Link - "A View From Behind the Mop", Blogger Version 2013, by (alias legally synonymous to the author), BobKat.

NOTE 2: The following story is the story of my life in my early 20's, and holds particular significance to me. It is for that reason I am particularly cognizant of it's contents and sensitive to relevance and it's importance. Some of the names have been changed of people and places to protect the individuals involved, and ensure privacy. The story is true, it is not fiction; however for the same reasons listed above it has been fictionalized and is written as fiction; until such time as the novel has been published, you my fellow bloggers and visitors are the only ones to view the following story. Truth is stranger than fiction, so it should not be a surprise that truth is fiction. Enjoy!

A VIEW FROM BEHIND THE MOP

by 

BobKat

Blog-Chapter One:

I am the oldest child of four, born in 1954. I have a younger sister by a year and a half and two brothers much younger than myself. My parents met in Florida when my mother was a registered nurse, my father was in the Navy stationed there. He met my mother in a hospital in Florida and apparently it was love at first sight. They married soon after, and I arrived into this world just a little over nine months later.

My earliest memories begin around 3 to 4 years old... after my parents moved back to my mother's hometown of Jonsburg NY. We moved into an apartment for a couple of years, where I was told my only friend was a teen-aged male tenant, something I only have vague memories about. After that we moved into our first house, on a quiet street in the small city, where I basically grew up, until we moved again when I was in the 5th grade.

My first friends were my sister and two of her girlfriends. There were others in the neighborhood along with a friendly elderly neighbor named Mr. Philbrick. A tall horse-chestnut tree grew outside of his house on a corner lot and I remember being mesmerized by the large nuts that fell off of the tree and collecting them.

Things that happened when I was around 5 years old all blend together, and I find it hard to separate the memories. It seems now like it was ten years at least that all the things I remember happened, but I know that is not so. Mr. Philbrick must have died when I was around six, as I don't recall seeing him after that. I hung out with my sister then and her two friends which caused a great deal of concern for my mother who was afraid I would grow up gay if I didn't hang out with boys my age.

I was close to my mother as a young child, however when she forbade me to spend time with my sister, and fixed me up with a neighborhood boy friend I felt resentment. I remember the first time I actually crossed the street which must have been around age 4, and it wasn't a busy street by any means. I also remember getting beaten up by the neighborhood bully across from my house on that same street. I remember the fun catching grass-hoppers, and playing hop-scotch, mother-may-I and Simon Says. I remember the first time I fund a grass-hopper infested with worms ...

Overall, my childhood was idyllic, although the grass-hopper infested with worms was disturbing. I remember the dreams too, not uncommon, of demons where I was unable to escape them, and oddly, at such a young age I remember dreams where naked women lined up in a hall for me to make my selection, though what I was to do with my selection wasn't something I knew then as part of my dream. I just knew later in life that was pretty strange.

Back then one day you could cross the street and the next you could roam anywhere, and much of anywhere were forests with magical streams full of frogs, crayfish and salamanders. By age seven I had other friends whom I played baseball with and still along with my sister and my cousin Becky we would walk several miles to play at a park with monkey bars, a refreshment stand, horses, swings and what did they call them - the carousels that went round and round? There was an old public swimming pool too, in a gully that was fed by a stream where when my mother was a child it was full and they all swam. By the time I was old enough to be there the pool was a relic to a past considered a public health threat, and abandoned.

At age 8 my aunt Helen gave me a book for Christmas. I honestly don't remember how old I was when I first became interested in reading, especially science-fiction, but I remember that Christmas and receiving Ray Bradbury's "R IS FOR ROCKET". It was a collection of short stories, one of which was a novella of sorts called, "Frost and Fire". More than anything that has ever happened to me it changed my life, or at least, it planted the seeds for change. Briefly, it was the story of a person who grew up on the planet Mercury, where due to radiation from the Sun, the average lifespan was 7 - 10 days.The original settlers had been from Earth, had crash landed and somehow had found shelter in caves and survived. The average ascendant, many generations later, didn't question their short-term lifespan... but the main character of the story, a boy named Sim did.

The premise of the story was that birth - life -old age became accelerated, which amounted to being the equivalent of age 18 in 3 days, age 40 in 5 days, and age 70 by 7 days. But there was a secret, two secrets in fact. One was that a group of rebels known as scientists lived deep within the caves and that they knew something about the origin of their life and a secret plan that would prolong their lives. The other was that farther up the valley were caves where people lived for 10 days, not just 7. Sim was unconventional enough that he chose to seek the truth against the wishes of his parents and the community standards. On day 3 of his life he sought out the scientists against the wishes of his parents and was mocked because of his choice to pursue a myth and not marry and have children like everyone else did.

Sim found the scientists... and I highly recommend the story to everyone, although perhaps reading the story should be prohibited to those under age 18. The story altered my young mind, only I didn't know it then. It would be another 10 years before the story took form in my mind in a way that provided a strange motivation for me. And much like the experience Sim had, my parents would also condemn my actions and mock me when I too sought out the scientists.

Next time - Blog-Chapter Two... Seeking Science and the Truth About Life...