LUCA "Goober" PRINCIPALI - 5 yo - Boise ID

Boise police have issued an AMBER Alert for 7-year old Luca Principali after he was apparently abducted Wednesday. It happened at the Laurel Park Apartments in downtown Boise.

Police say
a man knocked on the apartment door and asked to see Luca because his
mother wanted to see him. Luca’s sister then heard a scream. When she
looked out, Luca was gone. Police say the kidnapping may be a custody issue. Luca is described as 4-feet tall, 60 pounds, with shoulder length brown
hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a Darth Vader T-shirt,
camouflage knee-length shorts, and had bare feet. He goes by the nickname “Goober.” The suspect is white, 5-feet 11-inches tall, with a full beard and
short hair that is thinning on top. He was seen wearing a multi-colored
striped short sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Boise police at (208) 570-6457.

A 7 year old boy in the Boise area has gone missing; according to an
Amber Alert that was issued this evening a male suspect knocked on the
door of at a Boise apartment located 463 Ave H. apartment 213, at
around 3:30 and asked to see Luca because his mother wanted to see him.
The victims sister heard a scream and when she looked out the victime
was gone.
According to the alert, this incident could be a parental kidnapping.
The
victim, Luca Principali, 7, has brown shoulder length bowl style hair,
brown eyes, about 4' tall and 60 lbs; Luca was last seen wearing a
black Star Wars t-shirt with a picture of Darth Vadar and the Emperor
on it, camouflage knee length shorts and was barefoot. The boy goes by
the nickname of "Goober"
The suspect is described as a
45 year old white male, 5' 11" tall, 190 lbs, with brown hair and brown
eyes. The suspect also had a full beard and short hair that was
thinning on top.
If you have any information please
contact 911, the Boise Police Department at (208) 570-6457, and for
further information go to http://www.idahoamberalert.com

Seven-year-old Luca Principali of Boise was abducted by a bearded man in colorful
clothing Wednesday night, in what police say may be a parental abduction.Boise police launched a massive search, issued an Amber Alert and are asking
for the public to help find the boy.Although no specific threats have been made, Luca is in imminent danger
because he was abducted, Boise police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said.According to Hightower, Wednesday's abduction unfolded like this:About 3:45 p.m., a bearded man knocked on a door at the Laurel Park
Apartments on North Avenue H in East Boise and asked a young teenage girl to speak with
Luca. The man made a comment about Luca's mother. Luca came to the door and
the teen turned her back for a moment. The teen heard a scream and the
man and Luca were gone. The girl then called emergency dispatch.Police followed a few immediate leads, but hours later expanded the search to
include the public and issued an the alert, Hightower said."For the first 2-3 hours officers didn't really know what they
had," Hightower said. "Officers are very, very concerned for (Luca's)
welfare and safety."Boise police have asked for assistance from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.Luca is light-skinned, 4 feet tall and 60 pounds with brown, shoulder-length
hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black Darth Vader T-shirt
and camo-print shorts. He goes by the nickname Goober.The teen described her brother's abductor as approximately 45 years old,
5-foot-11, 195 pounds with short, light brown hair and a full beard. The
suspect was wearing a red, white, purple and green horizontal-striped
short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. There is no description of the suspect's
vehicle.Luca lived in Boise with his custodial father. The mother lives out of
state. Hightower characterized the police response as "massive" and said it matched
the initial search for Robert Manwill, who was reported missing July 24
and found dead on Aug. 3 in a canal near Kuna. Robert's mother and her
boyfriend have be charged with his murder.An Amber alert was not issued for Manwill's disappearance, Hightower said,
because there was no known abduction.Anyone with information should call 911 or the Boise police tip line,
570-6457.

A second degree kidnapping warrant has been issued for the
biological mother of Luca Principali, the Boise boy abducted from his
home Wednesday.

A non-custodial parent, Ekatrina Principali, 38,
of Scottsdale Ariz., is thought by police to be working with an unknown
male suspect who a witness said took the boy around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.According
to the witness, the male took the boy after knocking on the door and
mentioning the non-custodial mothers name. Officials issued an Amber
Alert Wednesday.
Police have reason to believe that Luca Principali may be traveling
in a silver colored minivan with California license plate 6GQC981.Luca
is 7 years old, 4 feet tall, 60 pounds, and he has brown,
shoulder-length hair with bangs and brown eyes. He was last seen
barefoot wearing a black Star Wars T-shirt with an image of Darth Vader
on the front and camouflage print knee length shorts.Witnesses
describe the suspect as a light complected adult male, approx age 45, 5
feet 11 inches tall, 190 pounds, light brown hair cut short and
thinning on top with a full beard. The suspect was wearing a red,
white, purple and green horizontal stripe shirt and blue jeans.Boise
Police Detectives are working with regional and national Law
Enforcement agencies including the FBI and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agents to locate Luca and return him safely to his home in
Boise.Police are urging anyone who knows where Luca may be to
contact them immediately at 343-COPS or through dispatch at (208)
377-6790.

A child has been taken from his home and the person police say is responsible is the boy's own mother. Thursday, police issued a warrant for the arrest of Katerina Principali, 38, for second degree kidnapping. Police believe the suspect is driving a silver 2009 Chrysler Town and
Country with California license plate number 6GQC981. It is believed
that Principali aka Moryakova had an unknown male help in luring her
son from his father's home.

Ekatrina Principali, 38

Katerina and Anthony Principali were married in 1998. Ten years later they separated. The couple have been separated for a year and the Luca Principali lived with his father. Tuesday, August 18, Anthony Principali filed for divorce. Ada County Courthouse papers gave him primary custody and Katerina Principali a few days for visitation. The very next day after papers were filed here, the child went missing from his east Boise home. It happened at an East Boise apartment complex. While his father and
father's girlfriend were at the grocery store, the daughter of the
girlfriend, a 14-year-old girl, and 7-year-old Luca Principali were
home alone. "There was a knock at the door, the (male
suspect) said (Luca’s) mother is here and would like to see him, and he
walked out into the hallway," Compton said. “There was also information
that there was a female voice when the young boy went out to the hall.
The female was addressing him by name and he actually shouted and said
‘no, mom,’" Compton said. "It appears that he recognized his mother and
he didn't want to go with her.” That's the last the 14-year-old girl at the home heard, and before she knew it, Luca was gone. Police believe the boy was taken by his mother and an unknown male acquaintance. "We did have a couple of witnesses confirm what we heard,” Compton
said. “They heard the boy yelling … and that has been verified. And no
one went out to help, strangely enough.” Katerina
Principali, the child's mother, has been living in Scottsdale, Arizona.
She is an American citizen now, but was born in Uzbekistan. Along with local law enforcement, the FBI and Immigration are on this
case. There's fear the child could have been taken out of the country. "That's a realistic possibility,” Compton said. “She is from a foreign
country. I understand that she still has contacts in the eastern
European area, so there is a possibility that could happen and
certainly that is a concern.” But Boise Police admit at
this point Luca could be anywhere. He has lived with his parents in
Illinois and Texas, and recently moved to Boise with his father. “This was done discretely and it was planned,” Compton said. “It didn't
just occur. There was a lot of thought that went into this.” Luca, who also goes by the nickname Goober, is described as 4 feet
tall, 60 lbs, with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a Darth Vader T-shirt, camouflage knee-length shorts, and had bare feet. Ekaterina Principali is described as a white female, 5 feet 6 inches
tall, 120 lbs., brown hair and gray eyes. Police describe
the male suspect as a light complected man, about 45 years old, 5 feet
11, 190 pounds, with short, light brown hair which is thinning on top.
He's also said to have a full beard, and was wearing a red, purple,
white and green striped T-shirt and blue jeans. Police are urging anyone who knows where Luca may be, to contact police immediately at 343-COPS. “This, and other recent cases, highlight a very important fact,” said
Boise Police Cpt. Gary Compton. “Although we may feel that the greatest
danger to our children comes from strangers, it is far more likely that
someone we know, and may even be related to, is involved in incidents
of this kind. Getting to know your neighbors and speaking with your
kids about what to do in an emergency is always a good idea.”

Police are
still looking for 7-year-old Luca Principali. He disappeared two days
ago from his apartment complex in Boise. Police have issued an arrest warrant for Luca's mother, Katerina Principali, for second degree kidnapping. Investigators believe she and another man took the 7-year-old.


Police are concerned that Luca and his mother could be heading out of the country. That would make getting Amber Alert information to airports essential,
so we talked with the Transportation Security Administration about how
they make sure their officers are on the lookout. We're
told as soon as the TSA Coordination Center receives the information
from Idaho State Police, it's disseminated to TSA screeners. "Our folks are very news savvy,” said Andrew Coose, the Idaho TSA
director. “We have 24 hour, seven day a week operations in our
coordination center where we're constantly looking out for any
information- local, state, federal- that would be of interest to local
law enforcement." But how about over 40,000 TSA officers at other airports around the country? The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notifies the
National Transporation Security Operations Center. From there the Amber
Alert information is issued nationwide. We tried to find
out how fast that happened in the case of Luca Principali, but so far
that information is not available. Luca is described as 7-years-old, 4 feet tall and weighs 60 pounds. Police are also looking for a silver Chrysler Town & Country minivan with California plates. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 immediately.

A Scottsdale Police Department spokesman said Monday that an Arizona
woman who is suspected of abducting her son from his father's apartment
in Northeast Boise has not been seen near her home in Scottsdale since
the boy was taken Wednesday. Boise police say they have no new
information on the
case of Luca Principali.Principali, 7, was taken from his home
in north Boise about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday. A bearded man knocked on a
door at the Laurel Park Apartments on North Avenue H and asked
Principali's teenage sister to speak with the boy. When she turned
away, she heard a scream and then saw her brother had been taken.Boise
police did a massive search and issued an Amber Alert. Believing that
the boy's mother was behind the abduction, Boise police issued a
second-degree kidnapping arrest warrant Ekaterina Principali, 38, of
Scottsdale, Ariz.The boy's father, Anthony Marc Principali, 52,
filed for divorce Tuesday in Ada County, citing irreconcilable
differences. According to court documents, the couple married in
Rockford, Ill., in 1998 and have been separated since July 2008. Luca
is their only child together. Ekaterina "has not had
physical custody or visitation with (Luca) for approximately one and a
half years," the documents say.Officers
suspect Luca may be a passenger in a silver Chrysler Town and Country
minivan with California license plate 6GQC981. Information on the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Web site indicates
that Ekaterina Principali was believed to be heading to Arizona or New
York.Luca is light-skinned, 4 feet tall and 60 pounds with
brown, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a
black Darth Vader T-shirt and camo-print shorts. He goes by the
nickname Goober.Anyone with information should call 911 or the Boise police tip line, 570-6457.

A Scottsdale, Ariz., police spokesman said Monday that Ekaterina
Principali, 38, has not been seen near her home in Scottsdale since
Wednesday - the day her son reportedly was taken from his father's
Northeast Boise apartment by a bearded man. Boise police say they have
no new information on missing 7-year-old Luca Principali.Officers
suspect Luca may be a passenger in a silver Chrysler Town and Country
minivan with California license plate 6GQC981. Luca is light-skinned, 4
feet tall and 60 pounds with brown, shoulder-length hair and brown
eyes. He was wearing a black Darth Vader T-shirt and camo-print shorts.
He goes by the nickname Goober. Anyone with information should call 911
or the Boise police tip line, 570-6457.

It's been a week since Luca Principali, 7, disappeared from his father's apartment August 19.
Police have a suspect in the kidnapping, Luca's mom, Ekaterina Principali, who has been charged with second-degree kidnapping.
But there's no idea where she is.
There's the description of a male accomplice as well as a possible getaway car.
So where are police at in the investigation?
"Where we are is honestly, wholeheartedly, still looking," said Lynn
Hightower, spokesperson with with the Boise Police Department.
nd police concede the boy could be anywhere: still in Boise, or out of state, even out of the country.
"I can say there are leads," Hightower told CBS 2. "Some locally, some from throughout the country."
Hightower says one lead -- she won't disclose what is is -- came from the
well-known program America's Most Wanted, which recently featured Luca
and has his story on its website.
The boy is also on the website of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Police in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Ekaterina Principali lives, say there's been no sign of her.

A slashed car tire delayed Luca Principali's father just long enough
for his mother and an accomplice to nab him from his Boise home,
investigators said last week to persuade a judge to issue a warrant for
her arrest for kidnapping. The half-hour it took Anthony
Principali to change his tire bought the time the kidnappers needed to
nab the boy and leave a 14-year-old baby sitter so scared she didn't
call police.Though police officials won't reveal any new
information about the case, court documents filed this week by Anthony
Principali show why they are so sure his wife, Ekaterina, is behind the
kidnapping. About two hours after Luca was abducted on Aug. 19,
Ekaterina Principali called Anthony Principali and told him she took
the boy to teach the father a lesson and that she would return the boy
later. By then, police were at the apartment and Anthony
Principali handed the phone to police Det. Mark Vucinich. When Vucinich
told her to return the boy, the woman hung up.Police were later
able to track her cell phone to Jerome and then to Hazelton, which
indicated she was most likely traveling east on Interstate 84. That was 10 days ago, and the boy is still missing.Anthony Principali filed for a divorce Aug. 18, requesting that the boy live with him but that the couple share custody.He
amended that request Aug. 26, asking for sole custody in light of the
boy's kidnapping. Included was his own affidavit explaining what has
happened with the family over the past several months and the police
affidavit asking for the arrest warrant.According to the documents, Ekaterina Principali had not seen Luca in more than a year, but she had been in phone contact. She
lives and works in Phoenix, but police found that she secretly checked
into Boise's Cabana Hotel on Aug. 16. That's where investigators
learned she was in a Dodge Grand Caravan with California license plates
- the minivan that police and the public were asked to look for in an
Amber Alert issued for the boy.Anthony Principali has been
Luca's sole caregiver since his wife moved from the family's former
home in Rockford, Ill., to Phoenix in July 2008, the father said in the
affidavit. He said he encouraged his wife to visit Luca both in
Illinois and in Boise, where he and the boy moved about eight weeks
ago, but she never came to visit.Boise police spokeswoman Lynn
Hightower said the investigation is "very active" and that Boise police
are working with several state and national agencies and following
several leads."They are still very, very hopeful they will reunite Luca with his father," Hightower said.

Luca Principali, who was abducted from his apartment Aug. 19, is with his father Tony Principali in Boise, police said.
Tony Principali, on behalf of his family, offered his thanks to the community through Boise police and asked for privacy.

Luca's mother, Ekaterina Principali, 38, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is charged with 2nd-degree kidnapping. She was being held in the Ada County Jail on Tuesday night on a $500,000 bond. An arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday.
Ekaterina Principali voluntarily turned herself in Tuesday afternoon at the urging of officers, according to a press release from Boise police.
Luca, who was with Ekaterina Principali when she turned herself in, appears unharmedand in good physical condition, officials said.
Police wouldn't say where Ekaterina Principali and Luca have been since the boy was taken Aug. 19.
A man who reportedly helped abduct Luca is not in police custody. That remains under investigation.
According to police, a bearded man knocked on a door at Luca's apartment on North Avenue H in East Boise and asked a young teenage girl to speak with the boy. Luca came to the door and the teen turned her back for a moment.
The teen heard a scream and the man and Luca were gone. The girl then called 911.
Police followed a few immediate leads, but hours later expanded the search to include the public and issued an Amber Alert.
The alert ended Tuesday.
Luca's abduction took on added urgency as the Treasure Valley came to terms with the death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill, who was reported missing July 24 and was found dead 10 days later in the New York Canal near Kuna. Manwill's mother and her live-in boyfriend were arraigned on first-degree murder charges on Aug. 19, the day Luca was taken.

The mother accused of kidnapping her son from his east Boise apartment faced a judge for the first time today. EKaterina Principali's attorney says what the courts call kidnapping,
he calls a mother's attempt to see her child. She claims Tony Principali kept Luca from her for a year. As he moved around the country, she says she looked for the child -- all claims the boy's father denies. When she tracked father and son to Boise, her attorney claims EKaterina
only intended to keep Luca for the evening. Court records
indicate it was premeditated. EKaterina checked into the Cabana Inn in
Boise on August 16 and stayed until the 19th -- the day of the alleged
kidnapping. It was that afternoon at 3:45 p.m. that Luca
disappeared. The arrest warrant says EKaterina and an acquaintance
took the child from his father's apartment. Three hours
later she called her husband saying she was shopping and having dinner
with their son, and that she planned to bring him back. "It should be known that she did call back immediately and that she
spoke with her husband Tony, and that she had taken him and that she
was bringing him back. He handed the phone to the detective and during
that conversation she became scared by his tone, he didn't do anything
incorrectly, but she became scared of his tone and hung up," said
Michael Bartlet, defense attorney. She never called back and a short time later an AMBER Alert was issued for Luca. That night police tracked Ekaterina's phone to Boise, then Jerome and
Hazleton, Idaho, traveling eastbound on Interstate 84. It would be nearly 2 weeks before mother and child were found. So, where were they? It appears she stayed in the area. “The defendant did not return to her home in Arizona and she remained
on the run with this child until she chose to turn herself in at her
own due time, knowing the community and the nation were looking for
this child," said Shawna Dunn, prosecution. Tony Principali's attorney called our newsroom with this statement after today's arraignment. "Tony is ecstatic have Luca home. This has been a terribly difficult
time for him. Toni adamantly denies ever preventing any access to Luca
or preventing any contact between Luca and his mom, which he can
prove."

Ekaterina Principali
will spend the next four years on probation for her role in what Boise
Police and Ada County prosecutors say was the kidnapping of her
7-year-old son in August.Principali, 38, of Scottsdale, Ariz.,
pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of child custody interference and
disturbing the peace Tuesday. In exchange for those guilty pleas,
prosecutors dropped a felony charge of second-degree kidnapping filed
against Principali.Fourth Magistrate Judge Daniel Steckel
sentenced Principali to four years probation and 240 days in jail,
which he then suspended. Principali spent 80 days in jail last year
following her arrest.Luca Principali, who was abducted from his
apartment Aug. 19, is with his father Tony Principali in Boise, police
said late last year.Tony Principali, on behalf of his family, offered his thanks to the
community through Boise police in September and has asked for privacy.Boise
Police say Ekaterina Principali took Luca from his East Boise apartment
on Aug. 19, launching a frantic police search and an Amber Alert. She
turned herself in to Boise police Sept. 1. Luca was with her and
appeared fine, Boise Police officials said at the time.Luca's
abduction took on added urgency as the Treasure Valley was still coming
to terms with the death of 8-year-old Robert Manwill, who was reported
missing July 24 and was found dead 10 days later in the New York Canal
near Kuna.Manwill's mother and her live-in boyfriend were arraigned on first-degree murder charges on Aug. 19, the day Luca was taken.