NATHANIEL FONS - 3 yo - Palm Coast FL

Missing Child Alert Issued For Palm Coast Boy Child

Last Seen In Jacksonville

POSTED: 7:45 am EDT April 19, 2010

Palm Coast FL---- A missing child alert was issued Monday for Nathaniel Fons, of Palm Coast, who was last seen in Jacksonville.



Nathaniel was last seen wearing a black Pittsburgh Steelers jersey, black and white shorts and black, white and red sneakers. Eleanor Black and William Scott were with the boy when he was last seen. Eleanor Black is described as a 29-year-old white woman with brown hair and brown eyes. Scott is described as a 32-year-old white man with brown hair and brown eyes.The group was last seen in the 9100 block of Bay Meadows Road.

Authorities search for missing 3-year-old Palm Coast boy

Officials said Flagler missing child Nathaniel Fonz disappeared on Sunday.



Authorities are searching this morning for a missing and endangered 3-year-old Flagler County boy who disappeared with two adults overnight. Flagler County deputies believe Nathaniel Fonz may be with Eleanor Black, 29, and William S. Scott, 32, and two little girls. It is not clear how Nathaniel is related to Black and Scott or the other children.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an alert for the missing Palm Coast boy this morning. An alert was not issued for the two girls. Nathaniel was last seen wearing a black Pittsburgh Steelers jersey with black and white shorts and black, white and red sneakers, authorities said. The group was last seen in the 9100
block of Bay Meadows Road in Jacksonville. Check back for more
information.

Bianca Prieto can be reached at bprieto@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5620.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-flagler-missing-boy-nathaniel-fonz-20100419,0,2198069.story

Police are looking for a 3-year-old boy whose mother was arrested Sunday
night in Palm Coast and who was last seen with two adults and their two
daughters in Jacksonville.The Florida Department of Law
Enforcement issued a statewide missing, endangered child alert on Monday
morning for Nathaniel Fons.The Flagler County Sheriff's Office
said Fons' mother, Erin Comeau, was one of two people arrested when
deputies stopped a recreational vehicle on Palm Coast Parkway that
witnesses linked to people who had passed a counterfeit $100 bill at an
area convenience store.When Comeau was arrested, Nathaniel was
turned over to friends, Elanor Black and William Scott, who were
traveling in a separate vehicle. A Flagler County spokeswoman said
those people are now also considered suspects in the counterfeit money
operation and are on the run from law enforcement, so they consider the boy at risk.
Flagler County said Black, 26, and Scott, 21, along with Nathaniel and
two girls, were last seen in the 9100 block of Baymeadows Road in
Jacksonville.Jacksonville police said they found the couple's
Chevy Suburban in the parking lot of a Baymeadows hotel, but the adults
and children were not found. Authorities believe they may have taken
off in another, unknown vehicle.Police and federal agents
processed the SUV, but have not said whether that turned up any evidence
about the possible whereabouts of the occupants.Nathaniel is
described as being 2 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 28 pounds. He has
brown hair and brown eyes. Nathaniel was last seen wearing a yellow and
black Pittsburgh Steelers jersey, black and white shorts and black,
white and red sneakers.Because Nathaniel is not with family and
is traveling with people on the run from law enforcement, the FDLE is
considering the child endangered.
Black, 26, is a white female with brown hair and brown eyes. Scott, 21,
is a white man with brown hair and brown eyes.Flagler County
Sheriff Donald Fleming urged the couple to to drop Nathaniel off at a
hospital or any other safe place.



Comeau, 26, of Aberdeen, Md., along with Christopher Michael Bradstter-Howell, 21, are being held in
the Flagler County jail on charges of counterfeiting and grand theft.
Deputies said that Comeau had $5,000 in fake $100 bills in her
possession when she was arrested.Anyone with any information
about his whereabouts is asked to call the Flagler County Sheriff's Office at 386-313-4911.

The mother of a missing 3-year-old boy has been arrested on
counterfeit money charges.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Nathaniel James
Fons was last seen with 32-year-old William Scott and 29-year-old
Eleanor Black near Baymeadows Road and I-95 in Jacksonville.
Fons' mother, 26-year-old Erin Jessie Comeau, and 21-year-old Michael
Brandstter-Howell were arrested after a store clerk called police about
a phony $100 bill Sunday afternoon.
The clerk told deputies the couple left the store in an RV, and
deputies were able to track it down. The RV had been reported stolen in
New York.
Both suspects were arrested on charges including grand theft auto,
uttering forged bills, theft, possession of a counterfeit pay instrument
and organized fraud.
Comeau told the arresting deputies they they were traveling with two
others, Scott and Black.
They were last seen in Jacksonville in a 1994 blue Suburban, that was
recovered in a hotel parking lot on Baymeadows Road.
Scott and Black are believed to be traveling with Fons and their two
daughters.
The manager of the Holiday Inn where the truck was recovered said the
couple checked in Sunday morning and planned to stay three nights, but
he hasn't seen them since.
Fons is just over two feet tall and weighs 28 pounds. He was last
seen in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey, black and white shorts and black,
red and white sneakers.
If you see him or if you know anything about this case that can help
police, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS or call the Flagler
County Sheriff's Office at 1-386-313-4911.

Law officers put out an alert Monday morning for a 3-year-old boy
after arresting his mother in Palm Coast on counterfeiting charges,
officials said.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Flagler County sheriff's
officials are trying to find Nathaniel Fons, but they don't believe he's
endangered.
The agencies issued a missing-child alert for Nathaniel, who they say
was last seen in the company of two other counterfeiting suspects in
Jacksonville on Sunday evening. His mother was arrested the same day for
using a counterfeit $100 bill to buy $77 worth of gasoline from a Palm
Coast convenience store.
"Right now, he is missing only," FDLE special agent in charge
Dominick Pape said Monday. "His mother apparently knows the people he is
with. We want to, at least, locate the child for his own well-being."
The mother, Erin Jessie Comeau, 26, was taken into custody about 8
p.m. Sunday after a traffic stop on Palm Coast Parkway.
Flagler County sheriff's deputies were alerted to the suspect after
the store clerk at the Kangaroo store in the 6100 block of East State
Road 100 provided a description of her motor home, which was discovered
stolen from New York.
Comeau was charged with grand theft of an automobile, passing forged
bills and theft of gasoline.
A search of the vehicle early Monday morning uncovered $3,900 in
sheets of bogus $100 bills, $1,000 in other counterfeit money, several
computers and a purse containing $1,000 in legal cash.
Charges of counterfeiting and organized scheme to defraud were added
to her list of suspected crimes.
Also in custody was Christopher Michael Brandstetter-Howell, 21, a
transient. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance,
sheriff's records show.
Comeau told deputies she, Nathaniel and Brandstetter were traveling
with Eleanor Black, 29, and William S. Scott, 32, and their two
daughters.
When she was arrested, Comeau gave the agency a written statement
saying she was comfortable with Nathaniel traveling with Black and
Scott, said Flagler County sheriff's spokeswoman Debra Johnson. However,
she changed her mind after Jacksonville deputies found the couple's
sport utility vehicle abandoned in a hotel parking lot.
Johnson said Comeau -- who was being held Monday at the Flagler
County Inmate Facility on $50,500 bail -- has asked that the boy, when
found, be turned over to his grandparents.
"We want (Black and Scott) to drop him off to a responsible adult, or
police or fire station so we can get him to his grandparents," said
Johnson, who added that the pair have not been charged.
The 2-foot-4-inch tall Nathaniel has brown hair and brown eyes and
weighs 28 pounds. He was last seen wearing a yellow-and-black Pittsburgh
Steelers jersey, black-and-white shorts and black-white-and-red
sneakers.
Anyone with information about the boy's whereabouts is asked to
contact the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, 386-313-4911.

A missing boy, 3-year-old Nathaniel Fons, from Flagler County has been
found in New York City.
Flagler County Sheriff's Office reports Fons was dropped off at St.
Patrick's Cathedral by an unknown female shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday.
New York police said the child was dropped off with a note to notify
the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
According to the sheriff's office the child is in good condition and
is in the custody of New York City officials.
They will determine where the child is placed.
"We are certainly pleased with this outcome. I want to thank the
media for assisting us in getting the message out during our search for
this youngster," said Flagler County Sheriff Donald W. Fleming.
Authorities have yet to find Eleanor Black and William Scott, the the
couple believed to be caring for the child last. No charges have been
filed against them.
Nathaniel Fons' mother, Erin Comeau was arrested by Flagler County
Sheriff's Office for using counterfeit money. That is when she reported
Nathaniel as missing.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office, with the FBI and the Secret
Service, continue to investigate the counterfeit operation.

A Florida
toddler whose mother had recently been nabbed for counterfeiting was
mysteriously ditched at St. Patrick's Cathedral Tuesday -
with a bizarre note in his pocket.
Cops believe 3-year-old Nathaniel Fons was dumped at the famed Fifth Ave. cathedral
by a man and a woman suspected of being criminal associates of his
mother, who was busted Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla., police sources said.



Sobbing and scared, little Nathaniel was found with a note in his
pocket that listed his name, his mother, Erin
Comeau, and a Florida detective, the sources said.
"Relieved - very relieved," Nathaniel's paternal grandmother, Frieda
Fons, 62, said of her thoughts when Florida authorities told her
the young boy was in good health.
Nathaniel's strange journey from the Sunshine State to Manhattan
was set in motion when his mother and her boyfriend, who is not the
boy's father, were pinched for passing a fake $100 bill, Florida
authorities said.
A sharp-eyed convenience store clerk spotted the phony bill and saw
Comeau - who had numerous warrants out for her arrest - and the
boyfriend drive away in a stolen RV with New York plates.
After she was collared, the boy's mother told police that Nathaniel
was with her pals, Eleanor Black, 29, and William Scott, 32, Florida police said.
Around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, a woman led Nathaniel into St. Patrick's
main entrance and asked an employee at an information desk to see a
priest, police sources and church officials said.
The employee directed the pair to the Cathedral Parish House, which
has an entrance on E. 51st St. But the shady lady freaked out and dashed
off, hopping into a waiting car on Fifth Ave. - a not-so-smooth getaway
that was captured on the cathedral's security cameras, police sources said.
"She took off running," the church employee said, noting that he and
others ran to aid the terrified child. "We gathered around him and
protected him."
Nathaniel was taken to a Manhattan hospital for a precautionary
evaluation. "He's in good shape," a police source said of the boy, who
was then given over to the care of the Administration for Children's Services.
The man and woman who ditched Nathaniel were still on the run Tuesday night.
Frieda Fons said a Florida detective who notified her Nathaniel had
been found said police believed Black and Scott were the ones who had
abandoned him at St. Patrick's.
Fons, of Land O' Lakes, Fla., said she and her husband had cared for
the boy for the first two years of his life. She said she and her
husband let Comeau, 26, live at their home until she decided to leave
with the toddler last fall amid a custody battle.
Fons said Comeau had initially agreed to give them custody of
Nathaniel while she was in Washington.
"She changed her mind and she took off from Washington," Fons said.
"She has been on the run ever since - and that was three months ago."
During that time, Comeau would note on her MySpace page that she
was in different states, ranging from Michigan
to the Carolinas. Fons said she had no idea where her grandson was
until Comeau was arrested in Florida on Sunday.
So she said it was even more maddening when her grandson disappeared a
second time, prompting authorities to issue an Amber Alert.
Fons said the detective told her that authorities had followed
Scott's cell phone usage as they traveled with Nathaniel up the coast.
"I was very upset," Fons said. "I didn't know what to do or what to
think. We didn't know where he was."

Unidentified Woman Dropped Him Off At Church, Police Say

POSTED:
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
UPDATED: 11:19 am EDT April 21, 2010
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/23213794/detail.html
NEW YORK --

Nathaniel Fons.

When
Comeau was arrested, she gave deputies a written statement allowing
Nathaniel to be turned over to her friends, Eleanor Black and William
Scott, who were traveling in a separate vehicle with their two
daughters.The couple's SUV was last seen in the Baymeadows area
in Jacksonville.Black and Scott have not been found and no
charges have been filed against them.The Flagler County Sheriff's
Office was working with the FBI and the Secret Service to continue the
counterfeit operation investigation.

I'm so thankful that this couple did the right thing and dropped Nathaniel off at a safe place. I hope he will have a bright and happy future with his grandparents.
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2010/4/21/pasco_couple_anxious_to_see_grandson_found_in_nyc.html
Couple Anxious To See Grandson Found In New York

Thursday,
April 22, 2010 6:05:33 AM


Video
PASCO COUNTY -- The grandparents of a
3-year-old boy who disappeared Monday from the Jacksonville area and
turned up in New York City Tuesday night are anxious to see him.Frieda
and Donald Fons live in Pasco County. Their phone has been ringing off
the hook since their grandson, Nathaniel, was found."Just total
joy that he's safe," said Donald Fons.Investigators said someone
drove him 1,100 miles away from his Flagler County home and dropped him
off at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan."We're waiting for a
call from New York that we can go see him or pick him up and we will be
on the first plane out of Tampa," Frieda Fons said.They said
Nathan's mother had recently been arrested. His father is also in jail
for violating probation.Police said the boy was with last seen
with a couple, Eleanor Black and William Scott."I believe that
Eleanor is a half sister to Erin, Nathan's mother," Frieda said.According
to Donald, Black went to St. Patrick's, asked for a priest, and then
handed over the boy with the note in his pocket."We'd never met
these people, so we really didn't know anything," he said. "That was
part of the scary part."The couple was already in the process of
trying to get temporary custody of their grandson."We're going to
continue with that, with the state and maybe permanent custody, depends
on her situation, what happens," Donald said.The Fons said
they're ready for their grandson to come home. They even bought him a
new car seat."You never know how much you miss something till
it's gone," Donald said. "Until it's endangered, it makes you appreciate
them even more."Children's Services in New York told Bay News 9
Nathan will remain there in foster care until legal and custody issues
are resolved.This story is from our Bright House Networks
partner, Bay News 9.

The Florida toddler abandoned at St.
Patrick's Cathedral was reunited with his overjoyed grandparents
Friday - but his future remains unclear.Three-year-old Nathan
Fons met privately with Don and Frieda Fons
inside a lower Manhattan office
building.A beaming Frieda Fons strode into the William St. tower
with her husband, carrying a teddy bear and a specific wish."We
are very excited. We are hoping to come out with Nate," said Frieda
Fons, who raised the boy for more than two years at their home in Land
O'Lakes, outside Tampa.

That may
not happen for several days, officials said. "He will remain safely in
the city's care for the time being," said Sharman Stein, a spokeswoman
for the city Administration
for Children's Services."We have the responsibility of
carefully assessing the safest placement for Nathaniel, and that may
take some time," Stein said.A city official said authorities were
still in the process of vetting the family.The case is
particularly complicated because Nathan's parents are in jail and his
grandparents have not seen him in a year."There are all of these
moving parts to unravel," a source said.Nathan's bizarre ordeal
was set in motion Sunday.That evening, his mother, Erin
Comeau, was arrested outside of Daytona Beach
on charges of running a counterfeit money scam and driving a stolen
car.At the time, Nathan was with two people suspected of
participating in Comeau's fraud, Eleanor Black
and William Scott.The
couple's vehicle was found abandoned hours later, and cops issued an
Amber Alert.On Tuesday, Black walked into the Fifth Ave.
cathedral and asked to see a priest.A guard directed her to the
parish house. Moments later, Nathan appeared alone, and Black had
vanished.Cops are still hunting for Black, 29, and Scott, 32. The
couple, who are believed to have skipped town, are facing child
endangerment charges.

The grandparents of a 3-year-old Florida boy abandoned at St.
Patrick's Cathedral in New York inched closer to gaining temporary
custody Monday as they attended a family court hearing in the city."It's
a roller coaster of emotions," Donald Fons said as he and his wife,
Frieda, paced a courthouse hallway. The couple arrived in the city late
last week to collect the boy.Authorities said the boy, Nathaniel,
was ditched by friends of his mother's who had taken him after she was
arrested. He has been in foster care in New York since he was found by
security guards Tuesday at the cathedral, wandering alone with a note in
his hand bearing the name of a Florida detective and the words "call
immediately."


His parents are both in jail on separate charges, and the
grandparents are his next of kin.The city's Administration for
Children's Services said it would conduct a thorough investigation and
that it wasn't clear how long that would take. Until then, Nathaniel was
to remain in foster care.The couple was told to return to court
Tuesday afternoon, because more work needed to be done with the case.
They were planning to see Nathaniel later Monday.Child services
staff met with the Fonses on Friday and supervised a visit with their
grandson. Donald Fons, a customer service agent for United Health Care,
said the boy appeared scared for the first 15 minutes; it had been
nearly a year since they had seen him."Then, after that, he kept
reaching up to us and wanted us to hold him," Fons said.Donald
Fons said they had lived with the boy's parents until last year, when
the boy's father - their son - got a job out of state. He was arrested
for failing to notify his parole officer, though, and sent to jail in
Florida, the family said. He remains in jail.The grandparents had
sought custody, but his mother, Erin Comeau, refused. She had been
traveling with the boy until she was pulled over by police and arrested
last week in Florida on counterfeit charges, when she told officials
that her son was in a separate car traveling with another couple.The
other couple's SUV was found by in a hotel parking lot in Florida, and
authorities issued a missing child alert for Nathaniel. The couple have
not been located but could face charges of endangering the welfare of a
child.When Donald Fons learned that Nathaniel had been found,
"The first thing I did was call my wife," he said. "She was at work and
dropped the phone and started crying."Comeau said in a written
statement that she would allow the Fonses temporary custody while she
remains jailed on charges grand theft auto and organized fraud.The
Land O' Lakes, Fla., couple planned to visit the cathedral."We
want to meet the security guards that helped him that night and just say
a prayer, light a candle for him," Fons said. "I'm Irish Catholic, so
what a fitting place to be."

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2010/4/26/fla_boy39s_grandpa_ny_reunion_was_fantastic39.html

Fla Boy's Grandpa: NY Reunion Was `Fantastic'




Monday,
April 26, 2010 10:22:19 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - The grandfather of the Florida
toddler abandoned at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan says a reunion
with the boy was "fantastic."

Donald and Frieda Fons nervously paced a courthouse hallway Monday as
they awaited a family court hearing. It's unclear whether the custody of
3-year-old Nathaniel will be decided right away.They got to see
him on Friday.

The Land O' Lakes couple also planned to visit the cathedral later
Monday.

Fons said he and his wife have dealt with "a roller-coaster of
emotions."

The toddler was found last Tuesday. A note in his hand included the name
of a Florida detective.

Authorities say he was left by a couple who'd been traveling with the
boy after his mother was arrested on counterfeiting charges.

A 3-year-old child who was abandoned at New York's St. Patrick's
Cathedral will be returned to Flagler County.Nathaniel Fons was
the subject of a missing child alert and found alone last week, police
said. He now is at the heart of a custody dispute.the dispute
began in Flagler County and will apparently end there after courts in
New York ruled Nathaniel should be returned to the care of the Florida
Department of Children and Families."When we are notified that
the child will arrive in Florida, you know, based on that time frame, we
will call in an abuse report, so we can take custody of the child at
that time," Department of Children and Families spokesman Reggie
Williams said.
Nathaniel's mother, Erin Comeau, remains jailed in Flagler County.
Police said she was stopped on April 18 in a recreational vehicle
carrying thousands of dollars in counterfeit cash.Nathaniel was
in a different vehicle with Comeau's friends, Eleanor Black and William
Scott. Police said they believe the couple dumped the child at the
cathedral but have since been in touch with prosecutors.Nathaniel's
paternal grandparents, who reside in the Tampa area, flew to New York,
in hopes of bringing the child home. But instead, DCF and the Flagler
County courts will determine placement."We will make a
recommendation. We will do a home study of relatives and grandparents.
Grandparents could be included, and if that is acceptable to the courts,
they will approve the placement," Williams said.DCF is working
with authorities in New York to arrange for Nathaniel's return. He could
arrive later on Wednesday, but officials said it will more likely
happen later in the week.A social worker from New York will
escort the child to Flagler County, and until a decision is made,
Nathaniel will temporarily be placed in foster care.

A judge ordered Friday at a custody
hearing that 3-year-old Nathaniel Fons be sheltered temporarily with his
grandparents in Land O'Lakes while his mother is in jail.Nathaniel
became the focal point of a nationwide missing child alert earlier this
month when his mother, Erin Comeau, was arrested in Flagler County on
counterfeit money charges.She had originally said Nathaniel could
go with two of her friends who were on the run facing potential
charges, but she changed her mind and said she wanted him to live with
his paternal grandparents, Donald and Frieda Fons.
Nathaniel was dropped off by the two friends at St. Patrick's Cathedral
in New York. He was later returned to Flagler County."He's been
all over the place. He's only 3 years old," said Lisa Dawson, of the
Department of Children and Families. "I'm sure he's been traumatized, so
we're happy he's with family."During the hearing Friday,
Nathaniel's mom mouthed to her son, "Hey baby, I love you," from across
the courtroom. It was the first time she had seen him since her arrest
and the boy's disappearance and reappearance in New York.
William Fons, Nathaniel's father, was teleconferenced during court from a
Hillsborough jail to witness the hearing. He's being held there on
charges of failing to register as a sex offender.Though the boy
was reunited with his grandparents in Palm Coast earlier this week, he
couldn't go home with them until his father agreed from his jail cell in
Pasco County to let him go with them.William Fons agreed that
Nathaniel should temporarily stay with his grandparents, but the custody
battle is far from over. With both parents in jail, the court still has
to find Nathaniel a permanent home, and according to court documents,
Comeau wants Nathaniel to stay with her mother."Obviously our
concern is that he remain stable," Dawson said. "The other issues will
work themselves out over time."The next custody hearing is
scheduled for June 14.

A Flagler County judge ruled
Wednesday that a mother serving five years of probation for
counterfeiting cannot have custody of her 3-year-old son, but the woman
vows to keep trying.The boy, Nathaniel Fons, was the subject of a
nationwide Amber Alert after the mother's arrest in April. The boy,
who had been handed over to friends of the mother, disappeared after
being traced to a hotel on Baymeadows Road in Jacksonville.A few
days later, Nathaniel was dropped off at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New
York.After he was returned to Flagler County, a judge awarded the
boy's paternal grandparents temporary custody.
Last week, Erin Comeau, Nathaniel's mother, pleaded guilty to uttering
forged bills, possession of forged or counterfeit notes, and organized
scheme to defraud -- all third-degree felonies. She was sentenced to
serve five years probation.Comeau said she's back in court asking
at least to be allowed to visit her son."When I was released, it
was actually kind of a surprise, so nobody had any a resolution to
visitation," Comeau said after the Wednesday' hearing. "The way I can
contact my son is by phone and by mail. I talk to him by mail almost
every day."Comeau said she is not giving up on getting Nathaniel
back.
"It's been a very difficult time for me, but I'm not giving up," Comeau
said. "I actually told one of the (child welfare) case workers who said,
'You know there's going to be hoops for you to jump through,' and I
said, 'You can set those hoops on fire, because nothing's going to stop
me when it comes to my son.'"Another hearing is scheduled in two
months.