CHARLIE LAMB, BRYCE HALL, MAYSON MYERS, PETER ADAMS, OSCAR RUIZ, DAVID EASTER AND EVAN KOGLER - 13 yo 17 yo - Tierra Blanca Ranch, Deming, NM

State police: 2 missing boys found; Amber Alert still active for 7 others

Posted at: 10/12/2013 12:51 PM | Updated at: 10/12/2013 1:16 PM 

New Mexico State Police confirm two of the missing teens from Tierra Blanca Ranch have been reunited with their families on Saturday.

Both Ryan Sibbett, 16, and Michael Rozell, 15, have been removed from the current active alert.

Police are still looking for: Charlie Lamb (13), Bryce Hall (17), Mayson Myers (13), Peter Adams (16), Oscar Ruiz (17), David Easter (17) and Evan Kogler (16).

Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez with NMSP says there is also progress being made with the status of several of the other missing boys. But authorities will keep the Amber Alert active until they can confirm the well-being of each child.

Gutierrez said Scott Chandler, a person of interest in the case and owner of Tierra Blanca Ranch, and parents of the missing boys should contact state police with information at (575)-382-2500.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3190096.shtml?cat=504

UPDATE: Amber Alert Canceled For 5 Boys From New Mexico Youth Camp

Updated: Sun 8:10 PM, Oct 13, 2013

An Amber Alert has been canceled for five teenage boys who authorities reported missing from a rural New Mexico ranch for troubled youth Friday.

New Mexico state police said the five boys - ages 13-17 - were physically accounted for Sunday. Four other teenage boys who also were a part of the group that authorities originally said was missing were found safe and were back their parents Saturday.

A spokesman for the State Children, Youth and Families Department said authorities couldn't consider the boys safe until they saw them.

Meanwhile, an attorney for the ranch had maintained all were safely with their parents.

Authorities executed a search warrant at the Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program near Hillsboro last week when they discovered the teens weren't there. Authorities are investigating claims of abuse at the ranch.

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New Mexico officials confirmed that four of the nine boys who were reported missing from a New Mexico ranch for troubled youth have been returned to their families, after the FBI volunteered their help in the search.

Federal investigators offered their help late on Friday night regarding the incident at the Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program, but so far local and state authorities have not asked the FBI to participate, a law enforcement source in New Mexico told NBC News. A search warrant was executed at the Tierra Blanca ranch on Friday amid an abuse investigation, The Associated Press reported, and the boys were found not to be on the property.

New Mexico State Police said Saturday in statements that it had been confirmed that four of the boys, Ryan Sibbett, Michael Rozell, David Easter and Charlie Lamb, are in the custody of their parents.

"Even though other parents to the missing boys have made contact with state officials, the Amber Alert will remain active until an official can confirm their location and individual well-being," the state police said in a statement Saturday evening.

"It's a very active investigation. We are treating it with the utmost urgency," State Police spokesman Emmanuel Gutierrez told NBC News earlier on Saturday.

An Amber Alert was issued on Friday evening for the missing boys, who were last seen at the ranch in Sierra County, N.M. The ranch serves “troubled or at-risk youths,” according to its website.

Scott Chandler, the program’s operator, is a person of interest, according to authorities. The ranch sprawls over 30,000 acres, according to a Dun & Bradstreet business report, and lists two employees. An attorney for the ranch, Pete Domenici Jr., did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Saturday.

Domenici issued a statement Friday in which he said that the teenagers had been “on a previously scheduled activity away from the ranch for several days. They are safe and have already been picked up by their parents, or their parents are en route to pick them up,” according to the AP.

Police said that until they were in a position to physically confirm the well-being of the missing boys, the Amber Alert will remain active.

“When we issue an Amber Alert, you can’t just cancel it or remove people from it based on a phone call. We as officers are obligated to make that decision on our own,” Gutierrez said.

The Amber Alert is still active for 7 boys: Charlie Lamb, 13; Bryce Hall, 17; Mayson Myers, 13; Peter Adams, 16; Oscar Ruiz, 17; David Easter, 17; and Evan Kogler, 16.

Gutierrez said they are requesting the parents of the missing boys to contact the State Police by calling 575-382-2500.

“It’s so important that they call, so that we can start getting this case resolved and get statements from the children missing from the ranch,” he said. “The more they can help us with that the better we can help the investigation.”

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/227574331.html

NM Gov. Susana Martinez: Evidence backs abuse claims at youth ranch

By JERI CLAUSING / Associated Press
Posted:   10/15/2013 07:08:06 AM MDT

ALBUQUERQUE - Evidence found at a New Mexico youth ranch for troubled kids corroborates allegations by current and former students of abuse, the governor said Monday.

The comments by Gov. Susana Martinez came as she defended the state's handling of an investigation into the Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program near Hillsboro ranch.

Authorities have declined to release many details about the allegations or what was found at the ranch, citing the ongoing investigation.

The Albuquerque Journal previously reported that the investigation included claims that students were beaten and shackled.

An Amber Alert and manhunt were launched on Friday by state police after officers found the ranch empty when they tried to take custody of the children.

Ranch attorney Pete Domenici Jr. accused the state of escalating the situation with the alert, which was issued after he said the children were safe and being returned to their parents. They were not missing or abducted, he said.

Martinez refused to apologize for the actions of state authorities.

"We felt they were in imminent danger because of what we found in those buildings," she said of the children, explaining the alert was posted as officers moved to verify they had been returned to their parents.

The alert was cancelled on Sunday after law enforcement authorities, with the help of agencies in at least three others states, were able to verify the safety of all nine children.

Scott Chandler, the operator of the ranch, said last week that shackles were used in extreme circumstances, and that parents were aware and agreed to that before sending children to the ranch.

Police were seeking Chandler for questioning. He has denied any children were harmed and filed a lawsuit accusing investigators of targeting the ranch for closure following a fatal car crash involving students.

Domenici said Monday that Chandler had made himself available to the New Mexico State Police "prior to the unnecessary escalation of this situation," but the lawyer has now advised his client against making any direct contact with state police.

Martinez said investigators also need to question each of the students.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-sports/ci_24312259/nm-gov-susana-martinez-evidence-backs-abuse-claims