EAVAN REISEN - 8 yo - Topeka KS

Posted: 10:47 PM Jun 10, 2011 TPD Looking For Missing Girl 8-year old Eavan Reisen left home around 11 am Friday to ride her bicycle to a friends house. She was last seen around 2 pm.

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Topeka Police were searching late Friday for a missing 8-year old girl.


TPD says officers were called to 20th and Buchanan
just after 7pm Friday. People at that address told them 8-year old Eavan
Reisen left home around 11 am Friday to ride her bicycle to a friends
house. She was last seen around 2 pm.

Police say Reisen was last wearing a white power puff shirt and white shorts. She was riding a pink bicycle.


Anyone with information is asked to contact Dispatch at 785-368-9200.


As of late Friday, a photo had not been released and no Amber Alert had been issued.
http://www.wibw.com/localnews/headlines/TPD_Looking_For_Missing_Girl_123672894.html

An intensive search continued Saturday morning for an 8-year-old girl who
went missing Friday afternoon in central Topeka.
Capt. Bill Cochran, of the Topeka Police Department, said officers
responded shortly after 7 p.m. Friday to S.W. 20th and Buchanan on a report of a missing girl.
Cochran identified the missing child as Eavan -- pronounced Evan -- Reisen, of Topeka.


The TPD has scheduled a media briefing for 10:15 a.m. CJOnline will update this story shortly after.
Eavan was last seen wearing a pink tank top, pink shorts with and orange stripe and riding a pink bicycle.
She left home at11 a.m. Friday and was going to a friend’s house.
She told her friend when she left she was going to Family Dollar, 1313 S.W. 21st, before going home.
She was last seen around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The Topeka Police Department with the assistance of the Kansas
Highway Patrol Air Unit and search and rescue dogs out of Kansas City
scoured the area throughout the night for Eavan, but as of 7:30 a.m.
Saturday hadn't found her. Officers and detectives were seen
interviewing people Saturday morning in the 1700 block of S.W. Central Park.
Detectives are following up leads that were generated throughout
the night by officers in the field and from the public.
The Topeka Police Department launched the following CodeRed Message
at 12:45 a.m. Saturday in an attempt to facilitate the public’s assistance in locating Eavan.
"This is your Topeka Police Department with an emergency CodeRed
message of a missing 8 year old girl last seen 4:45 p.m. Friday in the 2000 block S.W. Buchanan.
"She is wearing a pink tank top, pink with orange striped shorts, no
shoes, 4-0 tall, 80-90 pounds. She is riding a pink girls BMX style
bike with white tires. If you or anyone you know saw her, please call
immediately (785) 368-9590 or (785) 368-9003.
“A Child is Missing” a national organization that assist in locating
missing and exploited children has been contacted and is assisting the
Topeka Police Department in looking for Eavan.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Eavan is
encourage to call the Topeka Police Department at any of the following
numbers: (785) 368-9465, (785) 368-9200, (785) 368-9400 or Crime Stoppers at (785) 234-0007.

http://cjonline.com/news/2011-06-11/police-search-missing-topeka-girl-8#.TfOI81sa8pM

Eavan Reisen, 8, missing since Friday afternoon, has been found
alive and well, according to a Topeka Police Department officer.
A media briefing scheduled for 10:15 a.m. has been delayed. CJOnline will bring you more details as they are available.
Early Saturday morning, an intensive search continued for Eavan, who went missing Friday afternoon in central Topeka.
http://cjonline.com/news/2011-06-11/police-locate-missing-topeka-girl-8#.TfOWbVsa8pM

In the moments before an intensive search for a missing 8-year-old
girl was about to be ramped up a notch Saturday morning in central
Topeka, the words for which everyone had hoped and prayed came across
the police radio.
"The girl has been found."
No cheering broke out among the contingent of more than 40 Topeka
police officers, along with dozens of other emergency responders and
community volunteers who had converged shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday in
the parking lot of the Family Dollar store, 1313 S.W. 21st.
But the relief was as obvious as the bright sunlight shining down on the warm June morning.
Eavan Reisen, 8, missing since Friday afternoon, had been found "alive and well," police Capt. Darin Scott announced.
"When we got the call — oh, my ... relief," Scott said about a
half-hour later, recalling his initial reaction to the good news. "Such
absolute relief. The weight of the world was lifted off our shoulders.
We were so happy to have a positive outcome."
Early Saturday morning, an intensive search that started Friday night
continued for Eavan, who went missing earlier Friday afternoon.
Police said officers responded shortly after 7 p.m. Friday to S.W. 20th and Buchanan on a report of a missing girl.
Eavan — whose name is pronounced "Evan" — had last been seen wearing a
pink tank top, pink shorts with an orange stripe and riding a pink
bicycle.
She left home at 11 a.m. Friday and was going to a friend’s house.
She told her friend when she left she was going to Family Dollar, 1313
S.W. 21st, before going home.
She was last seen about 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The Topeka Police Department, with the assistance of the Kansas
Highway Patrol helicopter and search and rescue dogs from Kansas City
scoured the area throughout the night for Eavan.
The search included the area of the nearby Shunganunga Creek, located
just south of S.W. 21st and east of Washburn Avenue. Heavy brush and
vegetation made searching for her nearly impossible after dark, so the
search resumed Saturday morning.
The Topeka Fire Department's water rescue team took to the waters of
the creek on Saturday morning as part of the search. Searchers found a
couple of bicycles in the creek near a skate park at S.W. 23rd and
Washburn but not much else.
Meanwhile, officers and detectives were scouring the area west of the
Kansas Expocentre and east of the Washburn University campus.
Detectives were seen interviewing people Saturday morning in the
Chesney Park area, where the girl lived. The park is bounded by S.W.
18th on the north, S.W. Buchanan on the west, S.W. 19th on the south and
S.W. Clay on the east.
Detectives were following up leads that were generated throughout the night by officers in the field and from the public.
The biggest break came from Tom Benaka, president of the Chesney Park
Neighborhood Improvement Association, who was called to police
headquarters for a strategy meeting early Saturday morning.
Police said Benaka was called for his expertise, as he knows everybody in the Chesney Park area.
Benaka knew Eavan's family and was familiar with some of their previous places of residence.
Based on information Benaka provided, officers went to a home where
Eavan's family used to live in the 2700 block of S.W. College, and where
some of her friends currently live. There, at 10:21 a.m., an officer
spotted her pink bicycle in the backyard.
Eavan was found unharmed at the home. She apparently had ridden her
bicycle there Friday afternoon, gone swimming in a small backyard pool
and stayed the night, though no one was notified she was at the home.
Police said the girl wouldn't be returned to her parents until it was determined she would be safe with them.
"She's not going to be turned back over to anybody until we make sure
everything's up and up and we close all doors of suspicion," Scott
said. "Our main concern is that she's safe and she's going to be safe."
After Eavan had been found, Scott addressed officers from various
agencies who gathered in a large semicircle in the Family Dollar Parking
lot.
He thanked them for their work and their coordinated effort. He also
made a point to thank Benaka and the Chesney Park Neighborhood
Improvement Association for their assistance.
The gratitude was echoed later by police Lt. Tom Glor, who praised Benaka for his work in helping officers locate Eavan.
"Tom Benaka solved this missing-girl case for us," Glor said. "Had he
not been in that strategy meeting this morning, we'd still be looking
for her."
Glor said the help provided not only by Benaka but by other members
of the Chesney Park Neighborhood Improvement Association was an example
of the positive collaboration that can exist between the community and
police.
Earlier Saturday morning, a number of Chesney Park-area residents had
shown up in the Family Dollar store parking lot, prepared to search for
Eavan on foot.
Police detectives were handing out fliers with a color picture of
Eavan on it, in hopes someone would find her or know her whereabouts.
One of those who received a flier was Anthony Brown, 50, a disabled
veteran who lives at the Rose Villa apartments, 2075 S.W. Fillmore. A
police detective handed Brown a flier as he stood with a bag of
purchases outside the Family Dollar store.
Brown became emotional as he looked at the little girl's picture and
vowed he would be among those searching for her later in the day.
"Yes I am," he said. "Definitely. Definitely. I'm going to be looking
really hard. If I see someone with the child, I'm going to go
discreetly to a pay phone and let the cops know."
Some Chesney Park area residents said the little girl, who police
described as being "fairly independent," was well known for riding her
bicycle around the neighborhood.
Police said it wasn't unusual for families not to call police
immediately upon realizing their child was missing, because they expect
to find their son or daughter. A lag time of two to four hours is common
between the time a family realizes a child is missing and the police
are called.
The police were notified about Eavan's disappearance about three hours after she was last seen.
After searching for her for several hours on Friday night, the Topeka
Police Department launched a CodeRed message at 12:45 a.m. Saturday in
an attempt to rally the public’s help in locating Eavan.
No Amber Alert was issued in Eavan's disappearance, ostensibly because it didn't involve a confirmed abduction.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice website, Amber Alerts
"require law enforcement to confirm an abduction prior to issuing an
alert. This is essential when determining the level of risk to the
child. ... To allow activations in the absence of significant
information that an abduction has occurred could lead to abuse of the
system and ultimately weaken its effectiveness."
A Child is Missing, a national organization that assists in locating
missing and exploited children, was contacted and was assisting the
Topeka Police Department in looking for Eavan on Saturday morning.
Topeka Unified School District Police and Shawnee County Emergency
Management also were assisting. Police also called animal control and
code compliance officers to assist.
Other search and rescue operations that were being planned around 10
a.m. Saturday. weren't needed, as the young girl was found midmorning.
When Jose Perez, 68, of 2065 S.W. Lane, came to the Family Dollar
parking lot to lend a hand in search efforts, he didn't know Eavan had
been found.
After Scott addressed the officers and volunteers, thanking them for
answering the call and praising Benaka for his role in helping find
Eavan, Perez was overjoyed. He stepped up and grabbed Scott's hand to
shake it.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," Perez said. "Outstanding job."
Moments later, Perez elaborated on the reason for his joy.
"I thought I was going to go out to try to find her or hunt for
her," he said. "I was greeted with outstanding execution. This doesn't
happen every day. This is a gift."
http://cjonline.com/news/2011-06-11/missing-8-year-old-girl-found-safe-well#.TfQxSFtk_nE