ALIAYAH LUNSFORD - 3 yo (2011) - Lewis Cty/ Weston WV

5 NEWS UPDATE: Community Comes Together to Look for Missing Girl

Last Updated on Monday, 26 September 2011 17:12


The search continues for a 3 year old Lewis County girl who has been missing since Saturday.

More than 1,000 volunteers have joined Police in combing the streets trying to find Aliayah Lunsford.

It seems as though Aliayah disappeared into thin air Saturday. Dogs
can't track her scent and Police don't have any clues as to where she
could be, but that hasn't stopped the community from coming out to look for the girl.

On Saturday, crews searched the area near her home in Bendale. Sunday
the search stretched out, now crews and volunteers are retracing their
steps. Dogs were back out in the area, and for the third day divers
were in the river. Volunteers say they will continue to retrace their
steps until this girl is found.

The Community Emergency Response Team is working with Police in an
effort to find the girl, and volunteers are still needed. Anyone
wishing to volunteer can go to the Bendale United Methodist Church to
sign up for the search.

Related Links:

Authorities Searching for Missing 3 Year-Old Girl

5 NEWS UPDATE: Search Continues for Missing 3 Year Old Girl

Aliayah Lunsford (3): Missing from Weston, West Virginia since 09/24/2011

K-9 dogs and hundreds of volunteers have joined authorities in West
Virginia to look for a missing 3-year-old girl, but a sheriff's
department lieutenant said in the two days since she was last seen that
"we haven't come up with anything."
Aliayah Lunsford's mother and 9-year-old sister told police they saw
the girl around 6 a.m. Saturday in a bedroom in their home in Weston,
West Virginia, located between Charleston and Morgantown. The mother
said she returned about three hours later to see the girl -- who had
been sick the night before -- and take her temperature, but Aliayah
wasn't there, Lewis County Sheriff's Lt. David Parks said Monday.

By that time, the girl's stepfather had already been picked up and
left for work. The mother got in her car and drove around looking for
the child, at one point running out of gas, said Parks. She called
police to report Aliayah missing around 11:30 a.m.

A sheriff's deputy arrived within 10 minutes and a larger crew by
noon, according to Parks. About 100 volunteers were on scene by the end
of the day, alongside local, state and federal law enforcement agents.

The investigation so far has included search teams diving in nearby
waters, interviews with relatives and neighbors, and a door-to-door
search. That's in addition to searches conducted by volunteers. A
bloodhound did detect Aliayah's scent in the vicinity of a nearby river,
with a dog handler saying the girl likely had been in the area in the
last three to seven days.




3 year old girl vanishes from bedroom


"We are still on it right now," said Parks of the search and investigation.

According to a poster from the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children, Aliayah was last seen in pajama bottoms featuring
the TV cartoon character Dora, a pink princess sweatshirt and no shoes.
The girl is white, weighs about 35 pounds, stands 3 feet tall and has
brown eyes and hair. She has pierced ears and is missing her top four
front teeth.

The center characterized Aliayah as "endangered missing." But no
Amber Alert has been issued for her, in part because authorities do not
have a name or description of a suspect who might have taken her.

Parks said there were no signs of forced entry in the home, which the
girl shared with four other children, her stepfather and her mother,
who is pregnant with twins. There is a screen door, which does not have a
handle, and a regular door, which doesn't shut very well, the
lieutenant said.

He added that authorities have checked with "just about every sex
offender in the county," getting alibis for them and not having
indications that any were near the girl's residence at the time she went
missing.

Surveillance video shows the missing girl's mother during her
apparent morning search for Aliayah, but there has been no sign yet of
the girl. Some people have been interviewed as many as six times, and
polygraph tests have been administered, though Parks would not say to
whom.

"We are interviewing everybody," he added, noting that no one has
been identified even as a "person of interest." "Everybody is a suspect
right now."
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/26/justice/west-virginia-missing-child/

Tuesday September 27, 2011
Search for missing girl enters 4th day


Aliayah Lunsford

WESTON, W.Va. -- Authorities searched again Tuesday for a
3-year-old Lewis County girl in what a national expert called an
aggressive and extraordinary four-day effort.

Aliayah Lunsford vanished from her home in Bendale Saturday morning,
and hundreds of people have been helping local, state and federal
authorities try to find her.

FBI investigators have gone door to door. Dive teams have searched an
underwater grid in the West Fork River. The National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children dispatched a member of Team Adam, retired
investigators who advise local officers.

"The level of response has been extraordinary," said Ernie Allen,
president of the national group. "There have been massive resources
devoted to this.

"There's no doubt in our mind that the sheriff's department, the State
Police, the FBI and we are doing everything possible to find this child
and bring her home," he said.

Lena Lunsford told police she'd checked on her daughter around 6:30
a.m. Saturday, then discovered her missing three hours later.

Aliayah is about 3 feet tall and 35 pounds, with brown hair and brown
eyes. She was last seen in purple pajama bottoms and a pink sweatshirt.

Allen said it's too soon to give up hope. Children often wander farther
than people think they can, and some can be missing for days and turn up safely.
http://www.dailymail.com/policebrfs/201109271598

The president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
says efforts to find a 3-year-old Lewis County girl have been
extraordinary. The search for Aliayah Lunsford entered in its fourth day Tuesday. She vanished from her Bendale home Saturday.
Ernie Allen says his organization has an expert in West Virginia, assisting local, state and federal investigators.
Although police report no new developments, Allen says their response has been aggressive.
He says it's too soon to give up hope; children can wander farther than people think.
On Monday, Kentucky firefighters found an autistic 7-year-old who had traveled 3 miles from his home.
Aliayah is about 3 feet tall and 35 pounds, with brown hair and brown
eyes. She was last seen in purple pajama bottoms and a pink sweatshirt.

http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=108817

Aliayah Lunsford Press Conference 9/28

Written by Your News Team
Wednesday, 28 September 2011 10:43


The search for a missing 3 year old Lewis County girl has been underway since Saturday. Investigators and volunteers are continuing to search for Aliayah Lunsford as if she is still alive.

In the fifth day of the investigation officials say they have spent the past 24 hours regrouping and looking at where they have been and where they need to go. They are looking into potential gaps that need filled in and have brought in more resources.

Posters with Aliayah's picture are freshly printed and have been distributed in the community. Aliayah is about 3 feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds. She has long brown hair with curls on the end and brown eyes. She is missing her four front teeth. She was last seen wearing purple Dora pajama bottoms and a pink princess sweatshirt.

Stay with 5 News for the latest updates on this story.


http://www.wdtv.com/index.php/home/local-news/9168-aliayah-lunsford-press-conference-928

Lewis County Girl Missing
Posted Wednesday, September 28, 2011 ; 11:20 AM
Updated Wednesday, September 28, 2011; 06:08 PM

Aliayah Lunsford, 3, of Lewis County went missing Saturday morning. Officials say they still have no clues but are shifting their investigation.


BENDALE -- UPDATE Wednesday Sept. 28 6:05 p.m. Almost five days later and the Lunsford home in Lewis County is now a crime scene.
The home in which Aliayah Lunsford, 3, lived is where her mother said she was last seen wearing her purple pajamas.

But some question if it should've been turned into a crime scene much earlier and if police missed out on crucial evidence. The FBI, which took over the investigation Wednesday, doesn't think so.

"You can Monday morning quarterback almost any effort, but I would not make that statement," Special Agent John Hambrick said.

"It's overwhelming for a department. There are a lot of things that need to be done since she hasn't been located," said Lt. Harold Sperringer of the Morgantown Police.

FBI agents collected evidence all day Wednesday from the Lunsford home and volunteer crews led by officials re-canvassed the area.

The Morgantown dive team also searched through the West Fork River, which divers said is 4 to 6 feet deep, but only has 3 to 18 inches of visibility. Officials said they are trying to get as much equipment as they can to find Aliayah.

"High tech equipment, sonar, the corps of engineers has brough a ROV. It has a camera on it for searching underwater," Sperringer said.

And even though officials even drained a nearby pond, and still consider the mission a "rescue," there's still no sign of the girl. And the community is left to pray.

Officials thanked the community for its help but also said they don't need any more volunteers. They want to avoid ruining any potential evidence. If you have any information about Aliayah you're still asked to call 911 or the Lewis County Sheriff's Office at 304-269-8251.

http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=108621

Wednesday September 28, 2011

Officials still hoping to locate missing W.Va. girl


The FBI now considers the Lunsford Home on Dennison Road in the Bendale community of Weston a crime scene.
Tape surrounds the home as FBI agents search the premises for evidence.


Paul Fallon
Divers search a murky West Fork River in Weston on Wednesday for 3-year-old
Aliayah Lunsford who went missing last Saturday. The river runs behind the nearby Lunsford home.



WESTON, W.Va. — A couple thousand volunteers and several law enforcement agencies have been involved in the search for a
3-year-old girl who turned up missing from her family's home on Saturday morning.

Officials remain hopeful they will find Aliayah (uh-LEE-uh) Lunsford,
who was last seen at her home in the small community of Bendale outside Weston at 6:30 a.m. that day.

Although the Lewis County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation, the FBI is taking a larger role.

The family home on Dennison Road has been declared a crime scene, and FBI investigators were searching the residence Wednesday.

Because dogs tracked the child to the riverbank earlier in the search,
divers from various agencies continue to search the nearby West Fork
River. Volunteers and law enforcement officers are searching the river's
banks.

A pond along U.S. 19 a short distance from the river and about a mile from the child's home also was being searched.

The pond was surrounded by crime scene tape Wednesday, and FBI special
agents were taking pictures in the vicinity. Members of the Weston Fire
Department appeared to be draining water from the pond.

FBI Special Agent Jeff Killeen would not say exactly what authorities were looking for in the pond.

"This is an ongoing investigation, and we're still very hopeful that
we'll find this child and put her back with her family," Killeen said.

However, Killeen said time is becoming very critical.

No Amber Alert has been issued because the case does not fit the
criteria, FBI officials said during a press conference Wednesday
morning. An Amber Alert requires a vehicle description and license plate
number.

Killeen said authorities would follow any leads that are discovered.

The search continued until about midnight Tuesday. Killeen was unsure if
authorities and volunteers would continue the search throughout
Wednesday night.

Mike Young, the retired chief of the Weston Fire Department, has been
assisting with the search. He said about 15 divers were called from
various counties on Sunday to search the river. He said about one-third
mile of riverbed has been covered.

The water is murky, Young said.

"Visibility is about two or three feet," Young said. "It's always hard searching river water in West Virginia."

Killeen said while abduction is being considered, authorities have no suspects.

The little girl's family has been moved to an undisclosed location, he said.

Hundreds of volunteers have been scouring the woods and riverbanks near
the home since the girl was reported missing. Local businesses have
donated numerous items from food to bottled water to those helping with
the search.

A makeshift headquarters for the volunteers has been set up in the
Weston Armory, which is near the Lunsford home. Volunteers stream in and
out of the Bendale United Methodist Church next to the armory to eat
and get some much-needed rest.

Pastor Mary Conley of the Bendale church said community members have
offered a "tremendous" amount of support to the volunteers and
authorities.

Food has streamed in from companies such as Walmart and even local church groups.

"The response from the community has been awesome," Conley said.

She said community members remain optimistic Aliayah will be found.

"No one has given up," she said. "We're praying for her daily."

http://www.dailymail.com/News/201109283102

Thursday, September 29, 2011
Aliyah Lunsford: Questions and Answers - Statement Analysis

Today is Day 6 in the search for Aliyah Lunsford, 3 year old, who was reported missing on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Police have released little information regarding the investigation, other than to say that their search parameters have been limited and purposeful.

One local station reported that the Lunsford home has been declared a "crime scene" and that police searched the home, only in earnest on Wednesday, removing many items in evidence collection.

Statement Analysis has been limited since the mother has said very little, and the step father has not spoken to media. What follows is Question and Answer about the case, and what we know thus far.


Q. Is the mother a suspect?

A. Police have not said who is, or isn't a suspect, or "person of interest", other than to say that they have polygraphed and interviewed many, including known sex offenders in the area.


Q. What did the mother's video appearance indicate?

A. Media showed a short video clip of the mother sitting next to Aliyah's grandmother in which the mother said, "we want her to come home." While she said this, she looked away and shook her head 'no'. I am not an expert in body language, but this appeared contradictory.


Q. Has Statement Analysis made a conclusion?

A. No. The sample is too small for a conclusion, but the few statements by the mother and the aunt are concerning. Here is why:

The mother said "we want her home" using the plural, "we", as she sat next to her own mother. This is appropriate when someone speaks for another, but is weak (Dilingham) when we expect someone to speak for himself or herself.

In missing child cases, we sometimes see a mother and father appearing together on camera, with the father often using "we", speaking for both, but in the earliest days of a disappearance, we normally find the mother using the stronger, and more personal, "I", as her focus is solely upon the missing child. The husband may use the plural more often, indicating that he feels a sense of responsibility towards both child and spouse, but a maternal instinct often is so focused that the singular, "I" is more often heard.

In this case, the mother was not speaking for her husband, nor for the child's father. If the grandmother lives in the home and is co-caretaker for the child, the use of "we" is less concerning. If the grandmother does not live in the home, and is not co-raising the child, the use of "we" bothers me.


Q. What do you make of the picture of Aliyah?

A. I don't know what to make of it. Who submitted it to the press? Why would such a picture be submitted? The child appears sad, and there may be a bruise above her left eye. By itself, it may not say much, but when taken with other details, it bothers me.


Q. What other details?

A. Particularly bothersome is the missing teeth. Media reports that the 3 year old is missing her 4 front teeth. Too often I have seen this due to bottle rot, as a result of neglect. Aliyah could have fallen in an accident, but as pieces of the puzzle come together, it may prove to be from neglect. A neglected child, especially by a mother who is overwhelmed (She is 28 years old and shortly will give birth to her 7th child) and puts her child to bed, constantly, with a bottle, often with high sugars, including sodas, which rot out a child's mouth, and can even cause deformation. Her aunt said she is "pretty close" to the family. What does that mean? How does someone describe a 3 year old as "pretty close" since a 3 year old is vulnerable and dependent?

In neglected homes, outsiders will often describe the children as "highly independent" or "old for their age" because the children learn, early in life, to fend for themselves due to neglect, not maturity. Older children are often "parentified"; that is, they act like a parent to a younger child.

The expectations by neglectful parents often shock outsiders (as well as medical professionals and social workers new to their field) as the neglectful mother, for example, expects a child to take care of responsibilities that most parents believe are best carried out by adults, including supervision, hygiene, and dietary. The neglectful mother will go into rage when challenged, rather than remorse; often carrying on the way she herself was raised.

Other details include criminal history of the mother, including a law suit against the state's Dept of Corrections. Locals speak now of rumors of drug abuse, and that the child's father was not informed of his child.

The aunt is reported to live next door, and described the child in past tense language. She appeared to speak of Christmas (a past tense event) but continued and may have spoke of the child in general terms this way. This is an indication that the aunt may believe the child is deceased (or possess knowledge) of it. Have the police indicated to her that Aliyah is likely dead?


Q. Why hasn't the mother and step father spoken publicly?

A. I don't know.

I had expected the mother to make an appeal of some sort, but the lack is concerning.

In the short interview with local media, we do not hear media asking questions and it appears to be heavily edited. This is a shame.

In a missing child case, the more information we can glean from those of the household, the more we learn. Sometimes in a quest to land an interview, politeness gets in the way of investigative journalism. Aliyah is a citizen and deserves, in the least, strong questions asked to those who were the last to be with her.


Q. What do you make of the mother's searching?

A. The time line is unusual.

The child is only 3, and was said to be afraid to go outside alone. I can see a mother running to the houses next door, or across the street, then calling 911. This would take 10 or 15 minutes, not 2 hours. The fact that she drove around until she ran out of gas has an alibi-building feel to it.

As many of you know, the 911 call transcripts would be revelatory. Guilty callers and innocent callers are very different and the analysis of such is not complicated.


Q. Why did the mother's praise of law enforcement bother you?

A. It bothered me because I expected to hear impatience and anxiety, not what sounded to me like resignation. I am not a body language expert, but her body language bothered me. When she said that they were doing all they could, the words felt like they came from someone who knew the outcome already. Others feel she was sincere and they were not alarmed.

She could have come across as resigned due to exhaustion. I leave it to the experts and feel uncomfortable disagreeing with experts.

It is easy to explain away anything.

The mother was out of her mind with anxiety so she searched...the sad picture was something they found to be cute...the teeth fell out naturally...the mother's criminal history has nothing to do with anything....and on and on.

Yet, it is a stretch to ignore all of these things when taken together.


Q. Is Aliyah alive?

A. I don't know. The best indicator would be the mother. If a mother, who has a natural, God given denial, speaks of her missing child in the past tense, the mother is telling us the child is dead. If this is early in the investigation, and police have not told her so, it is an indicator of guilty knowledge. In this case, the mother has not spoken much to the public.

As time goes by, hope decreases for many. For others, Jaycee Dugard will always be the reminder of beating the odds. But in the cases where the odds were beaten, like Elizabeth Smart, we had families who cooperated fully with police and did not lie.

In this case, we don't know if the family is cooperating, as police have been tight lipped. I would be more comfortable if the parents appeared on television and pleaded for Aliyah's safe return.

As in other cases, drugs and children do not mix. We do not know that drugs were involved here, but the criminal history and local rumors point to it.

The mother has not been polygraphed as she is about to give birth to twins. If they are found with drugs in their systems (DAB: Drug Affected Baby), an automatic report to Child and Family Services is generated by the hospital.


Q. How will this end?

A. I don't know. Right now, it does not look good and police need to work from the inside out; that is, to clear the family first, and work the circle's outer rings. This begins with the parents and siblings, and then to family close by, neighbors, and on it goes until it reaches the theory of stranger abduction. There have been no signs of forced entry in the home.

John Walsh advises parents to polygraph and clear themselves immediately in order to speed up the investigation. When parents (or family members) hinder an investigation, like Josh Powell, for example, there is a reason to do so.

When a parent lies while a child is missing, the parent has a reason to lie. This then causes the investigation to be focused upon the liar, and no further, until the truth is known.

With some real concerns, along with suggestions of criminal history and possible substance abuse and neglect, the case of Aliyah Lunsford does not look good, and the focus remains on the family.

The public speculates on what happened, as is a natural response to any mystery at any time. We all wonder what happened and who is responsible. Was it a stranger abduction? Was it a sex offender? Was it the step father?


Q. What scenario are you thinking happened?

A. I don't know what happened. With cases with little sample of statements for analysis, my opinion often changes with each new bit of information released.

At this point, I am thinking that Aliyah may have died and the parents disposed of her body in fear of an investigation. Here is why:

We learned that the 3 year old was reported to be staying overnight at a friends, was sick, had messed herself, and had to be brought home.

3 is young for a sleepover, but children that are brought up in neglectful homes sometimes quickly attach themselves to others and act much older than their age. Who raised Aliyah? Was she raised by her mother, her grandmother, her aunt, or others?

She was reported to be still sleeping at 9 or 9:30 in the morning, which is unusual.

One scenario which police should look into is to learn if the child had become sick, and was given the wrong medicine (dosage, rx, etc) died, and the mother/step father panicked and disposed of the body. This is similar to shaken baby syndrome where a crying baby is shaken, without premeditation, becomes silent, and dies.

The police are searching water close by, which suggests a deliberate hiding of the body.

Was Aliyah given adult medication to make her sleep? The inadvertent death due to such would cause a parent with criminal history to panic, knowing that tests would show drugs in the child's system.

Reports are that there are no signs of a forced entry, and that registered (or known) sex offenders have been interviewed.

http://seamusoriley.blogspot.com/2011/09/aliyah-lunsford-questions-and-answers_29.html

UPDATE 9/29/11 @ 12:09 p.m.
WESTON, W.Va. (AP & WSAZ) -- Authorities are continuing extensive grid searches as they try to find a missing 3-year-old Lewis County girl.

FBI Special Agent John Hambrick says investigators want to be sure they've hit every nook and cranny as they hunt for Aliayah Lunsford of Bendale.

She vanished Saturday morning.

Sgt. Mike Posey of the sheriff's department is still calling it a rescue mission, and investigators are proceeding Thursday as if the girl is still alive.

Authorities have yet to declare Aliayah's disappearance a crime. Hambrick told media outlets only that it's a possibility.

Police say the doors and windows of the family's home were secure, and there were no signs of forced entry.

Volunteer coordinator Chris Strader says as many as 1,800 people a day have helped in the search.

Another news conference has been scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Thursday to update everyone on the search efforts.


http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Search_Continues_for_Missing_3-year-old_WVa_Girl__130568983.html

09/29/2011: Missing Girl's Neighbor Suspicious of Her Parents | Where is Aliayah Lunsford?