"JANE" and "JOHN" BLUE - 1, 4 yo - /Convicted: Cynthia Brown-Heisler - Springfield, MO

VIDEO: Family Reunited after Hours-Long Amber Alert in Springfield, MO

03/03/2013 12:33 AM
07/02/2013 04:52 PM




SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield police confirm 13 month old Harmony J. Blue has been found safe tonight.  The child was found just before 10:00 p.m.  She was still inside her father's stolen car. 

Police say the car was found at an apartment complex at 424 W. Mt. Vernon by Harmony's maternal grandfather. She was cold and needed a dry diaper, but appeared to be unharmed.  Police say the grandfather had been out searching for the car all over town and happened to spot it at the apartments on Mt. Vernon.

Dozens of family members and friends converged on the apartment complex, overjoyed by the return of Harmony.

Harmony was found just as her father, Jerry Blue Jr. and mother, Hannah Lee, and other members of the family were at the KOLR10 studios to make a plea for the baby's return. With the family was Jerry Blue III, the 4-year old brother, who was also abducted, and later released.  "I'm going to give my sister her doll," he said.

The drama started about 1:30 Saturday afternoon, when Jerry Blue left the children in his car with the keys to go into a business in the 1100 block of E.
Commercial.  Blue told police he saw a blonde haired white woman jump into the car and drive off with the children still inside. 

 He chased it on foot until it disappeared going west on Commercial Street.  About an hour later, the 4-year old boy was found near Madison and Newton.
Sharon Beeson says she was loading groceries in her car when Jerry Blue III walked up to her and asked if she was a "safe person."   (See our interview with Sharon here)

KOLR10 News was with the family Saturday night when they were reunited.  Watch the attached video  to see comments by the parents asking for the abductor to return the baby safely - and our exclusive interview with Jerry Blue Jr. after the baby was found.

Police say their investigation will continue into determining who is responsible for the incident.


http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/video-family-reunited-after-hours-long-amber-alert-in-springfield-mo/d/story/vublLVzLJ0GtXb7bWyVPaA

UPDATE: Woman Arrested in Connection with March 2 Car Theft, Abduction


07/02/2013 04:28 PM
07/02/2013 08:07 PM


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A Fair Grove woman is now charged in connection with a March 2 abduction that spawned an Amber Alert.

Police say Cynthia Brown-Heisler, 37, stole a vehicle in the 1100 block of E. Commercial shortly after 1:30 p.m. that Saturday. Inside the car were a one-year-old and four-year-old. See court documents above.

Jerry Blue, Jr. told police he left his keys in the vehicle and the children in the back seat and went inside a store for a short period of time. When he came back out, he saw his vehicle leaving the parking lot westbound on Commercial Street with the children still inside. Witnesses identified the suspect as a white female.

Shortly before 2 p.m. that day, the boy was found walking alone and unharmed in the 800 block of S. Newton Avenue after being dropped off in the area by the suspect. He described the suspect as a white female. He described the woman as an "ugly white lady."

Just before 10 p.m. the one-year-old girl was found unharmed in the stolen car by a family member. The car had been parked in the parking lot of an apartment building in the 400 block of W. Mount Vernon Street.
 
Springfield Police say during the follow up investigation, investigators learned from the four-year-old boy that the stolen vehicle was involved in a collision soon after it was taken. The investigator researched calls for service and found that a crash was reported in the 700 block of E. Lynn Avenue at approximately 1:30 p.m. 

The reporting person in that incident indicated that a vehicle similar to the one stolen from Jerry Blue, Jr. collided with her parked car and left the scene. The caller said she saw the driver of the suspect vehicle and identified her as a white female.
 
Police say as the investigation continued, an anonymous tip led to Brown-Heisler. She was arrested on Monday, July 1.
 
The case was presented to the Greene County Prosecutor's Office and charges of 1st Degree Tampering with a Motor Vehicle, 1st Degree Endangering Welfare of a Child (2 counts), and Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident were filed against Cynthia Brown-Heisler with a bond of $25,000.

http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/update-woman-arrested-in-connection-with-march-2-c/d/story/Vxu_1SsTv06ZMnfniXkVlQ

Woman Pleads Guilty in Charges Related to Child Abduction, Car Theft

11/25/2013 05:01 PM
11/25/2013 07:30 PM


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Fair Grove woman charged in connection with the abduction of two children spawning an Amber Alert pleaded guilty to the four charges against her on Nov. 22.

According to online court documents, Cynthia D. Brown-Heisler withdrew her prior plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty in accordance with a plea agreement.

Brown will be sentenced on Feb. 28, 2014 at 2:30 p.m.

Police say on March 2, 2013, Cynthia Brown-Heisler, 37, stole a vehicle in the 1100 block of E. Commercial shortly after 1:30 p.m. that Saturday. Inside the car were a one-year-old and four-year-old.

The children’s father, Jerry Blue, Jr. told police he left his keys in the vehicle, children in the backseat and went inside a store for a short period of time.

When Blue came out of the store, he saw his vehicle leaving the parking lot with a white female driving the car and his children in the backseat.

Shortly before 2 p.m. that day, the boy was found walking alone and unharmed in the 800 block of S. Newton Avenue after being dropped off in the area by the suspect.

He described the suspect as a white female and described the woman as an "ugly white lady."

Just before 10 p.m. the one-year-old girl was found unharmed in the stolen car by a family member. The car had been parked in the parking lot of an apartment building in the 400 block of W. Mount Vernon Street.

Police say as the investigation continued, an anonymous tip led to Brown-Heisler. She was arrested on Monday, July 1 and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, tampering with a motor vehicle in the first degree and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.

http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/woman-pleads-guilty-in-charges-related-to-child-ab/d/story/bY29IMa2IECHt1XWXgVxoQ