^HASSANI CAMPBELL - 5 yo with CP - Oakland CA

The family of the East Bay boy who has been missing for one week is holding a vigil tonight in Oakland.
Hassani Campbell is just five years old. His foster father said he left the little boy
in his car while he walked around to the front a shoe store where the
boy's foster mother worked last Monday afternoon.
Louis Ross said when he got back to the car, Hassani was gone.
This afternoon friends, family and strangers will gather in Rockridge to
remember Hassani and try to bring attention to the case.
The vigil is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. near the Shuz shoe store where his foster mother worked.
As in all missing child cases, the family has been questioned several times by police. Ross told NBC
Bay Area that he and the boy's foster mother, Hassani's aunt, are fully
cooperating with investigators. He also told NBC Bay Area by phone that
he had nothing to do with Hassani's disappearance and that he and the
boy's foster mother have agreed to take lie detector tests.
Ross took the polygraph test last week but the foster mother, Jennifer Campbell, is pregnant and didn't want to take the test for fear it would harm her unborn child, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Police are not commenting about the polygraph test.
Police also towed Ross' car but have not said yet whether they have found
anything important to the case. FBI agents have also searched the
Fremont home where Hassani lives with his foster parents.
Hassani has cerebral palsy and wears braces on his feet to help him walk. The
prosthetics, adorned with Spiderman logos, would not be visible because
they are fitted just for his feet. While he can walk, Hasanni's
disability prevents him from running or jumping.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has also joined the search.
Hassani is African American with brown hair and brown eyes. He is about 3 feet
tall and weighs 40 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt
and gray pants.

Oakland police and Crime Stoppers announced a $10,000 reward Monday for
information leading to the whereabouts of Hassani Campbell, a
5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who disappeared a week ago.
Hassani, who lived in Fremont with his foster parents, Louis Ross and
Jennifer Campbell, was reported missing from the parking lot of the
Shuz of Rockridge shoe store in the 6000 block of College Avenue in
Oakland about 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 10. Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said, "We definitely need the public's help" in finding Hassani. Thomason said police have only received about 50 tips, which he said is unusually low for a week-old missing child case. He said police are following all the leads but haven't turned up anything so far.A
vigil for the little boy Monday afternoon brought well wishers to the
Rockridge District shoe store where Hasanni's foster father said he
last saw the child.Ross has been questioned by police and given
a lie detector test. On Monday, Ross angrily addressed speculation that
he might be involved in the disappearance of his foster son."'Oh,
they were foster parents. Did they really care?' Well, you go talk to
social services,” said Ross. “You wanna find the record straight? You
go to them and ask them why they placed them with us. Because we gave a
damn! These were our children. Don't try to take that from us. This
wasn't a situation where we didn't care about those children. We've
fought every inch for both of them."Hasanni's foster family is
also grappling with the loss of their one year-old foster daughter who
has been removed from their care."All we want is our children home. We want Hasanni found and Aaliyah with us," said the boy’s foster mother Campbell.Police indicated there were no new searches Monday amid concerns that time could be running out to find the boy unharmed.
Thomason said police are still treating Hassani's disappearance as a
missing persons case but as time goes on the chances of finding him
alive may be dwindling."As time goes on, that is going to be our
fear; that this will be a recovery," said Oakland police spokesman Jeff
Tomason. "But right now, we are still treating it as trying to find a
little five year-old boy." He said on Saturday law enforcement
officials and volunteers searched marshland and shoreline areas at the
tip of West Winton Avenue in Hayward as well as Coyote Hills Regional
Park in Fremont but didn't find anything significant. Police
describe Hassani as being a black boy with medium complexion, brown
hair and brown eyes. He is about 3 feet tall and weighs around 30
pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and grant pants. Police said he has difficulty walking because he is disabled and has leg braces.
Thomason said people with information on the case should call the
Oakland Police Department or Crime Stoppers at (510) 777-8572 or (510)
777-3211.

Family members of a missing disabled child hit the streets of Oakland
again, asking for help. Their little one has been missing for more than
a week.
Police are shocked that only a few tips have come in about the
disappearance of 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell in the Rockridge
neighborhood.
The family members who are leafleting in the neighborhood said they are
being sustained by hope and prayer. On Tuesday morning, investigators
went to the shoe store and left in an unmarked car with the child's
foster father, Louis Ross. Trinity Schwabacher is Hasanni's aunt. She says somebody in the Rockridge neighborhood must know something. "I mean this is too crowded a street  you know, cars like every five
minutes. I mean come on man, somebody has got to have seen him," said
Schwabacher. This is why Schwabacher and other family members
of the missing 5-year-old mobilized a dozen young volunteers from their
church to hand out leaflets. Pamela Clark is Hasanni's grandmother. "If I didn't have hope, I couldn't do this, you know. I have hope that he'll be found safe and sound," said Clark. "They end up finding kids after months, sometimes years so I yes, I do
have hope. I pray every day," said volunteer LaShanda Collins. They started from the shoe store on College Avenue where the boy vanished in the late afternoon a week ago Monday. Hassani's foster dad, Louis Ross, says he briefly left him at the store's back parking space while he went into the store. Ross says when he came back, the boy was gone. "I'm sure somebody just grabbed him in the car and took off," said Clark. Although police and the FBI have searched several parks, a Hayward
wrecking yard and combed the neighborhood, going door to door,
Hassani's godmother, Regina Douglas says they're leafleting areas
investigators may have missed. "It was said that about 300 homes did not respond to the door knocking. So we feel that needs to continue," she said. Mark Gavriel was one of several people we spoke with who said they had never heard of this case. "I have a Xerox machine in my house. We have to make some flyers now
and put them up in Lake Merritt where I live," said Gavriel. Police said the investigation continues, and there is no new information.

“The longer he’s out there and not found, it doesn’t look good,” Louis Ross says, choking up, in an interview about his missing foster son, 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell.


Campbell disappeared Aug. 10 in Oakland, Calif. when Ross left him
in standing near the family car in the parking lot behind the shoe
store where his fiancée, Campbell’s biological aunt and foster mom,
Jennifer Campbell works. Upon seeing that their son had disappeared
Ross and Campbell called 911 and began frantically searching.


“Hasanni does not wander away,” Ross said

How can Ross be so sure?


Hasanni was born with Cerebral Palsy, a type of permanent disorder
that inhibits development of movement and posture, i.e., he had trouble
walking, and according to Ross, could do so with concentration.


Contrary to early reports that described him wearing metal braces
on his legs, Ross told reporters he wears plastic braces on his feet,
which would not be visible over his clothes. He also said that if his
son’s braces were removed he would still be able to walk, but would be
looking down at the ground in focus.


Hasanni was left alone for “about five minutes, probably less,” Ross said in the same interview.


When asked what he think did happen in those five minutes, Ross
tears up: “as a father, those are thoughts you don’t want to
entertain.”


Jeff Thomason says Ross is mostly likely correct in his assumption
that Hassani did not walk away: “anything’s possible but it’s not
likely…right now no witnesses saw Hassani walking away from that area.”


The FBI has joined the search, along with several other local
agencies. On the day of his disappearance a massive search was
launched, including the use of a California Highway Patrol airplane and
the K-9 unit. In the past eight days they have gone door-to-door in
parts of Oakland and searched numerous locations, including a regional
park and his foster parents’ home in Freemont.




Hassani Campbell, five, disappeared on Aug. 10 when his foster father left him in a parking lot for a mere five minutes.


The police have only received around 50 tips, which Thomason told
reporters is an unusually low number for a week-old missing child case.


“We definitely need the public’s help,” Thomason said

A $10,000 reward was offered Monday by Oakland Police and Crime Stoppers for information leading to the whereabouts of the boy.


“This is a continuous investigation that will be conducted day and night,” Officer Seth Neri said in a press conference.


The Oakland PD has been in touch with the biological mother, who
lives in San Francisco, and told Crimesider that she is not a person of
interest at this point.

Hasanni was removed from his 25-year-old mother’s home because she
had physically abused him. Shemika Campbell, who also has Cerebral
Palsy, says she thinks someone kidnapped him. In an exclusive interview she says, “I always had a feeling that he would be gone from me one day.”

Oakland police
say a tip line set up in the hopes it would help find a missing boy is
operating again after numerous calls from one tipster tied up the line.Police spokesman Jeff Thomason
says the Crime Stoppers tip line is up and running after one caller
left about 40 messages, none of which turned out to be credible.The
line was set up in the hopes leads would come in that would help
authorities find 5-year-old Hasanni Campbell. A reward of up to $10,000
is also being offered for information.

The boy has been missing since Aug. 10 when his foster father, Louis Ross, left him in a car parked near a shoe store where his foster mother works.Ross says Hasanni was gone when he returned.

Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason
said Wednesday that police are "very concerned" about a 5-year-old boy
with cerebral palsy who has now been missing for nine days.
Hasanni Campbell, who lives in Fremont with his foster parents, Louis Ross
and Jennifer Campbell, was reported missing from the parking lot of
the Shuz of Rockridge shoe store in the 6000 block of College Avenue in
Oakland about 4:15 p.m. nine days ago.
Thomason said police talk to Hasanni's foster parents every day and that they are being cooperative.
Ross has been questioned several times by police and has taken a lie detector test.
On Monday, he answered speculation that he might be
involved in Hasanni's disappearance. He told reporters to talk to
social services about the placement of Hasanni in his home.
“You go to them and ask them why they placed them with us. Because we gave a
damn! These were our children. Don't try to take that from us. This
wasn't a situation where we didn't care about those children. We've
fought every inch for both of them,." Ross said.
The couple was also serving as foster parents to Hasanni's younger sister. That child has been taken from the couple.
A reporter asked Hasanni's grandmother if she thought Ross had anything
to do with the disappearance and she said no and adding that she
trusted Ross completely.
Thomason said police are still treating Hasanni's disappearance as a missing
persons case and that there is no evidence a crime has been committed.
"We're asking the public to call if they have any credible tips," Thomason said.
The child's relatives held a vigil on Monday afternoon in Rockridge. Only about two dozen people turned out.
Police said they have followed up on all of the approximately 50 tips they've
received so far but none have panned out. Thomason has told reporters
that 50 is a very low number when it comes to high profile cases like
Hasanni's. They normally come in by the hundreds.
Oakland police and Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Hasanni.
Thomason said one caller left about 40 unhelpful messages with Crime Stoppers
and clogged its voicemail box. But the voicemail box is now open again,
he said.
On Saturday, law enforcement officials and volunteers searched marshland
and shoreline areas at the tip of West Winton Avenue in Hayward as
well as Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont but didn't find anything
significant.
Thomason said police have also searched North Oakland thoroughly.
Police describe Hasanni as a black boy with medium complexion, brown hair and
brown eyes. He is about 3 feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds. He was
last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and grant pants.
Police said he has some difficulty walking because he has cerebal palsy.
Thomason said people with information on the case should call the Oakland Police
Department or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.

The Oakland Tribune confirmed last night that
authorities were searching for a “sword or cutting instrument” at the
home and in the car belonging to Louis Ross when the search warrant was
served the day after Hassani was reported missing. They were also
searching for biological evidence from Hassani in the home. According
to the article police recovered the following evidence:

…a pair of latex gloves, 8 DNA swabs and 4 fingerprint lifts from the car. They did not recover anything from the home.⁶

Authorities also confirmed that Louis Ross failed the
polygraph examination administered by the FBI. The tipline has been
down for a couple of days but it is working again. You can phone your
tips to 1-(510) 777-8572 or 1-(510) 777-3211.

The foster father of a missing 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy sent an
angry text message threatening to leave the child alone at a BART
platform just 10 days before Hasanni Campbell vanished, according to
court documents released today.
In addition, Louis Ross "voiced some misgivings" about caring for a
disabled child when he talked to officers investigating the child's
Aug. 10 disappearance, according to a statement that Oakland police
submitted to justify obtaining a search warrant of Ross' Fremont home.
According to the police account, Ross sent an expletive-laden text
message July 31 to Jennifer Campbell, his fiancee and the aunt and
foster mother of Hasanni.
"This is f- over, I will watch her but he will be out on the BART
and its your responsibility to hey (sic) him so f - you," Ross texted
at 9:50 a.m., police said. The references appear to be to Hasanni and
his 1-year-old sister.
Ross reported Aug. 10 that the boy had vanished from outside a shoe
store on College Avenue in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood where
Campbell was working. Ross said he had briefly left the boy outside
when he went around to the front of the store.
Police have searched the neighborhood, Ross' home, a Hayward scrap
yard that he visited earlier in the day and local parks, but have not
found the boy.
A neighbor in Fremont told police that Hasanni had not been seen for about two weeks before Ross reported him missing.
Oakland police Officer Ross Tisdell wrote in the court papers that
the relationship between Ross, 38, and Campbell, 33, "appeared to have
some instances of domestic violence."
Police said they had heard reports of a "sword being brandished by Ross at Campbell," but did not elaborate.
A "sword or cutting instrument" were among the items that police
sought in a search of his 2002 BMW and the home on Roxie Terrace in
Fremont where Ross lives with Campbell and the two children.
Nothing was seized from the home, but Ross voluntarily gave his cell phone to police, court records show.
In addition to the text message, police described an instance in
which Ross apparently left the two children alone in the home "while he
went to the bank to conduct a transaction."
"He had also voiced some misgivings about caring for a developmentally disabled child during the interview," Tisdell wrote.
Ross, reached by phone today, downplayed any domestic disputes with Campbell.
He said he had sent the text message in frustration at a time when he planned to break up with Campbell.
"It was me venting about a situation in our past that had come back
up," he said. "I was ending the relationship at that point."
He said he had not left Hasanni alone at BART. He said he had wanted
Campbell to pick up the children, but that she had been unable to do
so. The dispute quickly cooled, Ross said.
As for the sword, Ross said he had told police about it and that
officers had later returned and picked it up. He said he kept it under
a mattress.
"It wasn't a big deal," he said.
Ross has said he is cooperating with officials "100 percent" and
that he told the truth when he took a polygraph examination last week.
Law enforcement sources close to the case say, however, say he failed the polygraph. Such tests are not admissible in court.
John Burris, an attorney who has consulted with the couple,
emphasized today that Ross has always cooperated with the
investigation.
"He's very responsive," Burris said.
The case has been puzzling to authorities in part because
bloodhounds could not detect Hasanni's scent outside the Rockridge shoe
store where Ross says he left the boy.
In the search warrant affidavit, police said it was a mystery that
Hasanni could disappear from "a crowded business district with no
witnesses."
There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to the boy's
whereabouts. Officer Jeff Thomason, an Oakland police spokesman, said
the department still considers the case a missing person investigation.
However, a homicide investigator has been put in charge of the case.

The foster parents of Hasanni
Campbell on Thursday addressed some of the disturbing details that have
surfaced during the investigation into the five-year-old’s
disappearance while calling for a renewed focus in the search for the
missing boy.Louis Ross and and his fiancé, Jennifer Campbell,
allowed KTVU into their Fremont house Thursday to show what Hasanni’s
living situation was like. The couple said they moved into the
residence less than a year ago to make a home for him and his
18-month-old sister Aaliyah.Ten days have passed since Ross
reported him missing. Earlier in the day, there were new revelations
about Ross and details the police investigation had uncovered.According
to court documents released Thursday, Ross sent a text message days
before the boy’s disappearance threatening to leave the youngster
unattended at a BART station,In an affidavit filed to obtain a
search warrant of the home where Hasanni lives in Fremont with Ross and
Jennifer Campbell, Oakland police said they found an expletive-laced
text message on Ross’ cell phone.According to the document, the
message sent to Jennifer Campbell said: “This is [expletive] over. I
will watch [Hasanni’s sister] but he will be on the BART…”The
investigating officers also told the court that Ross had “also voiced
some misgivings about caring for a developmentally disabled child” and
added that neighbors had not seen Hasanni for about two weeks.The latest revelations came less than 24 hours after authorities confirmed to KTVU that Ross had failed a FBI lie detector test.During
the interview at their home, Campbell and Ross told KTVU Thursday they
want to refocus attention on trying to find the missing boy. The couple
denied allegations Ross may have had something to do with the
disappearance.They said when they gave police permission to
access their phone records more than a week ago, they told
investigators about the angry, obscenity-laced text Ross sent Campbell
about ten days earlier during an argument."It's like we had an
argument and we worked through it. And now it's like the argument is
being twisted and turned into something it isn't," said Campbell."The situation resolved," explained Ross. "I calmed down and never left the house."They
also said they were the ones who told police Ross kept a sword under
his bed. That sword was among the times included in the police search
warrant of the home and, according to the couple, was taken by
authorities last week.Campbell and Ross showed KTVU a list of
items police took from Ross's car. However, there was no mention of
latex gloves disclosed in court documents as one of the items taken
from the vehicle.The couple said they volunteered to give DNA
samples to police who visited the house Thursday morning so that they
could be ruled out as suspects."I'm cooperating with police every day," said Ross.During the interview, the foster parents said they love Hasanni deeply and would never harm him."It felt just as real as this baby feels," said the six-months pregnant Campbell. "My love for him is the same.""I
know the truth," said Ross. "I am cooperating with police. so if false
info is being leaked, I don't care. This isn't about me. It's about
finding Hasanni.Campbell said it was Ross, not her, who first
suggested taking in the children. According to Campbell, Ross said his
own parents died when he was five and that he and his siblings were
raised by his aunt and uncle.The couple also mentioned to KTVU
that on Friday, child protective services would be allowing them to
visit Hasanni’s little sister Aaliyah for the first time since the boy
disappeared.Earlier Thursday, Oakland police spokesman Jeff
Thomason said there aren't any new developments in the case and there
still aren't any "credible" leads. He said police are still processing the information they received when they searched the Fremont home of Ross and Campbell.
FBI spokeswoman Patti Hansen declined to comment on the investigation
Thursday, saying that the Oakland Police Department is the lead agency
in the case. Thomason said police are still treating Hasanni's disappearance as a missing persons case and not a crime. Oakland police and Crime Stoppers have announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to Hasanni.
Police describe Hasanni as a black boy with a medium complexion, brown
hair and brown eyes. He is about 3 feet tall and weighs about 30
pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and grant pants. Police said he has difficulty walking because he is disabled. Thomason said police are asking the public to call if they have any credible tips.
He said people who have information on the case should call the Oakland
Police Department or Crime Stoppers at (510) 777-8572 or (510) 777-3211.

A carwash at Tone's Auto Detail in Oakland raised $650 Saturday for the
Hasanni Campbell reward fund, said Sherri Miller, who has been helping
with fundraising and the search for the missing 5-year-old Fremont boy.Hasanni
has been missing since 4:15 p.m. Aug. 10 when his foster father, Louis
Ross, left him behind Shuz of Rockridge alone when he went to the front
of the store with the boy's 1-year-old sister to let his fiancee,
Jennifer Campbell, the children's foster mother, know he had arrived to
drop off the youngsters.Police continue to treat the disappearance as a missing-persons case.Antonio
Anabo, owner of Tone's, said he wanted to do his part for the family
because his "heart goes out to them. I feel really sorry for them," he
said. Meanwhile, Miller, who has been printing the
missing-persons fliers from her San Leandro print shop, is helping to
organize an auction to raise money for the reward fund. She said
Highline Custom Jewelry in Hayward donated a $2,000 watch for the
auction.She still needs other businesses to donate items. A date
for the event has not been scheduled. Those who would like to donate
items should call Miller at 510-276-9090.To keep the case in the
spotlight, family and friends will be holding a vigil at 6:30 tonight
and each Monday night to announce fundraisers and searches for the boy
for the week, Miller said. The vigils will be held behind Shuz of
Rockridge at 6012 College Ave. in Oakland. Also, Miller said a Web site
— www.findhasanni.com — should be up this week. The
boy is described as light-skinned African-American, 3 feet tall,
weighing 40 pounds. He last was seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray
pants. He has cerebral palsy and wears braces on his feet.There
is a $10,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts.
Investigators ask anyone with information on Hasanni to call Crime
Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211. If the numbers are not
working, call investigator Sgt. Gus Galindo at 510-238-7934.