NEVAEH BUCHANAN - 5 yo (2009) - Monroe MI

MONROE, Mich. — An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing 5-year-old girl last seen in Monroe.

The Monroe County sheriff's department is searching for Neviaeh Amyah Buchanan, who has been missing since 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

Neviaeh is 3-foot-8, weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.

Authorities found her bicycle in the parking lot of an apartment and believe she is in extreme danger.

She last was seen wearing a red, white and blue striped shirt and knee-length jeans.

* * * *
Amber Alert

Police across the nation are looking for a 5-year old girl snatched from her bike in Monroe, Michigan.

The Monroe County Sheriffs Office is investigating the disappearance of Neviaeh Amyah Buchanan. The 5-year old's abandoned bike was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

Neviaeh was last seen at 8:15 p.m. Sunday night and is believed to be in extreme danger. She is 5-years old, 3 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. Neviaeh was last seen wearing a red, white and blue striped shirt and knee length blue jeans.

If you have any information on the alleged victim, abductor or vehicle, IMMEDIATELY telephone 911 or the Monroe County Sheriff's Office at 734-243-7070.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:
MONROE, Mich. — An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing 5-year-old girl last seen in Monroe.
The Monroe County sheriff's department is searching for Neviaeh Amyah Buchanan, who has been missing since 8:15 p.m. Sunday.
Neviaeh is 3-foot-8, weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.
Authorities found her bicycle in the parking lot of an apartment and believe she is in extreme danger.
She last was seen wearing a red, white and blue striped shirt and knee-length jeans.

* * * *
Amber Alert



Police across the nation are looking for a 5-year old girl snatched from her bike in Monroe, Michigan.
The Monroe County Sheriffs Office is investigating the disappearance
of Neviaeh Amyah Buchanan. The 5-year old's abandoned bike was found in
the parking lot of an apartment complex.
Neviaeh was last seen at 8:15 p.m. Sunday night and is believed to
be in extreme danger. She is 5-years old, 3 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs
45 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. Neviaeh was last seen wearing a
red, white and blue striped shirt and knee length blue jeans.
If you have any information on the alleged victim, abductor or
vehicle, IMMEDIATELY telephone 911 or the Monroe County Sheriff's
Office at 734-243-7070.

I'm sorry.. I don't want to seem unsympathetic but what in the world is a 5 yr old doing out at 8:15pm on a Sunday night evidently ALONE?!?!? Do people just not get it?? Parents PLEASE protect your children!! They CAN'T protect Themselves!

MONROE, Mich. -- The friend of a woman whose child is the subject of an Amber Alert and another person are being questioned by the Monroe Police Department.George Kennedy and another person, who police have not identified, are in police custody in connection with the disappearance of 5-year-old
Nevaeh Amaya Buchanan.

The girl's mother, Jennifer Buchanan, told Local 4 she has been friends with Kennedy for several years and she knew he had a criminal record and is on the sex offender list.Police would not confirm that Kennedy is a sex offender. But, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections Web site, the only George Kennedy registered in Monroe is a sex offender.Also, Nevaeh Buchanan's father, who said he has not seen her in three years, has been ordered to take a polygraph test.Nevaeh Buchanan was last seen at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at 1166 N. Macomb Street in Monroe. The Amber Alert was issued a few hours later.Jennifer Buchanan told Local 4 her daughter was outside playing with a friend.

The friend came into her home and told the mother that Nevaeh was playing with her scooter.Jennifer Buchanan said she went outside to tell her daughter not to go near the road, but when she got there the girl was gone.Police found her scooter in the parking lot of the apartment complex.Jennifer Buchanan said she is sure that someone snatched her daughter."Almost 100 percent she got snatched. I know she would have put up some kind of fight because she is loud. I think someone put a hand over her mouth, took her in the back," she said.Fighting back tears Jennifer said she is sick to her stomach to even think about hat could have come after that.Police searched inside all 180 units of the apartment complex Sunday night and continue to search for the girl Monday.Police dogs and officers searched a field around the complex Monday afternoon and the Michigan State police were searching the Monroe motel where Kennedy has been living and a nearby quarry.Friends and family members have organized their own search teams around town."I've been up all hours of the night. I've searched woods, ditches, canals and dumpsters and through the whole county," said the Buchanan's cousin Shahn Lawson.Buchanan is 3 feet 8 inches tall, 45 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.She was last seen wearing a red, white and blue shirt and knee-length jeans. Her mother said she did not have on socks or shoes.Police believe she was abducted and is in extreme danger."Just bring her home. Take me in her place. Do whatever you have to do to me," Lawson pleaded to a Local 4 camera.If you have any information, call 911 or the Monroe County Sheriff at 734- 243-7070.

The search continues this morning for a 5-year-old girl who disappeared while playing outside her Monroe apartment Sunday.

Calls about Neviaeh Buchanan, who has been missing since 6:30 p.m. Sunday, have been streaming into the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and investigators are following them all, Major Dale Malone said.

"We’re just working around the clock," Malone said at 6:30 a.m. today, adding the FBI and the Michigan State Police are also on the case. "We have a whole room full of people here. We've been taking tips all night."

Investigators issued an Amber Alert after Nevaeh was last seen in the parking lot of the Charlotte Arms apartment complex on North Macomb.

Police questioned her mother's boyfriend, George Kennedy, a registered sex offender, Malone said. They have also released a man Malone described as a transient after questioning him.

He declined to discuss where investigators were searching for the little girl this morning.

Malone did not know this morning if Kennedy was still with police. Kennedy, 39, was convicted in March 2002 of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct and home invasion, according to his Michigan Department of Correction records. Part of his parole agreement includes orders that an adult must be present when he's with a child under the age of 17, and he's not allowed to have a romantic relationship with a person associated with a child.

Kennedy is also forbidden to havechildren's clothing, toys or games, and he must stay at least 1000 feet from schools, childcare centers, parks, pools, playgrounds and arcades, records say.

He was sentenced in March 2002 to serve two to 15 years in prison, but was released on parole in July 2007. His parole is scheduled to end in July.

Neviaeh is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 45 pounds. She was wearing a light blue sleeveless shirt with red and white horizontal stripes and knee-length jeans.

Authorities found her bicycle in the parking lot and said she is in danger.

Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office at 734-243-7070.

The mother of the missing 5-year-old girl said late this morning that she failed one question during a polygraph exam Monday, but it was due to stress and lack of sleep.

Jennifer Buchanan said she was held for many hours without food during questioning by investigators and that she felt like she was being treated as a suspect in the case of her missing daughter, Nevaeh.

"I guess I failed one question," Ms. Buchanan told The Evening News. "But I haven’t slept since she’s been missing. I haven’t eaten. I felt I was being held against my will. It was horrible."

Monroe County Sheriff’s Maj. Dan Motylinski confirmed that Ms. Buchanan failed a portion of the polygraph test. He also said that George Kennedy, a man being held in jail on unrelated charges, also failed parts of the polygraph test.

However, Maj. Motylinski said neither Ms. Buchanan nor Mr. Kennedy is considered a suspect in the girl’s disappearance. He said they were being questioned along with many others in an ongoing effort to find the girl.

"At this point they are not suspects," he said. "It’s part of the investigation. (Mr. Kennedy) is in custody and is being held on other charges."

Mr. Kennedy, 39, is a registered sex offender and is being held for violating his probation.

Maj. Motylinski said Ms. Buchanan was not held against her will and that she was being questioned as part of the investigation.

But Ms. Buchanan was upset about her treatment. She said the stress of not knowing where her daughter is and not being allowed to look for her has been overwhelming and that led to a problem with the lie detector test.

"I wanted to be out there trying to find my daughter," she said. "I understand they have to look at me but I don’t know where she is."

Ms. Buchanan said she fears the worst has happened to Nevaeh but remains hopeful her daughter will return to her safely.

"My gut feeling is she’s in someone’s vehicle right now," she said. "I’m not trying to think of the worst but I have to prepare for the worst."

Maj. Motylinski said the investigation today is refocusing on the apartment complex, which will be searched again. Residents of the complex also will be
re-interviewed. He said police are following up on leads and any tips that come in.

The Amber Alert remains in effect.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 243-7070 or 240-7530.

Family, neighbors pitch in to search for girl; reward offered
Tanveer Ali / The Detroit News

Monroe -- A member of missing 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan's extended family who works as a private investigator has organized a makeshift search party of neighbors and family that plan to comb areas around the apartment complex where she was last seen. Ryan Duvall said he hopes the search will turn up something that authorities have missed so far. "I want to bring her home," Duvall said. He has also set up a toll free hotline at (800) 681-0687 and is offering a $500 reward for Nevaeh's safe return. That award was later upped to $2,500 after a bevy of callers volunteered their help for the search, including one person who donated $2,000.

Meanwhile, police have detained a 39-year-old registered sex offender questioned about the disappearance and are keeping him. According to police reports, Nevaeh Buchanan was last seen Sunday evening in the parking lot of the Charlotte Arms complex where police also found her scooter.

An Amber Alert remains in effect. Authorities called in two people for questioning, including George Kennedy, the boyfriend of Nevaeh's mother, Jennifer Buchanan, and a family member, said Major Dan Motylinski of the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. The family member has since been released. Kennedy is a registered sex offender and lives near the family's home. Motylinski was unable to give details on Kennedy's additional charges. In 2002, he was sentenced to two to 15 years in prison on fourth degree criminal sexual conduct and home invasion charges stemming from separate incidents in 1998 and 2000, respectively, according to Department of Corrections records. He was placed on parole in 2007. Part of his parole agreement includes orders that an adult must be present when he's with a child under the age of 17, and he's not allowed to have a romantic relationship with a person associated with a child. Kennedy is also forbidden to have children's clothing, toys or games, and he must stay at least 1,000 feet from schools, childcare centers, parks, pools, playgrounds and arcades, records say.

As of Tuesday morning, no trace of the girl has been found despite the involvement of a multi-jurisdictional task force that includes the Michigan State Police
and the Detroit Police Department. "We're checking all the leads and tips we've gotten so far," Motylinski said. Nevaeh was last seen by a friend playing outside her apartment at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. She is described as 3-foot 8, weighing about 45 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red-white-and-blue striped shirt and knee-length jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the sheriff's department at (734) 243-7070.

FBI: Missing Michigan child may have been seen in Columbus

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 4:59 PM



Nevaeh Amyah Buchanan

The FBI said today that a 5-year-old girl missing from her Michigan home may have been seen yesterday at Easton Town Center.

An Amber Alert was issued on Sunday evening for Nevaeh Amyah Buchanan after she disappeared while playing at a park near her home in Monroe, Michigan.

According to the FBI, investigators received a tip that a girl matching the physical description of Nevaeh was seen at a store at Easton about 5 p.m. yesterday.

A young girl who looked similar to Nevaeh was observed in the company of a heavy-set white female in her 50s, who allegedly told a store clerk that the young girl's name was Nevaeh, or "Heaven" spelled backwards. The tipster contacted authorities upon hearing about the missing girl.

Authorities are seeking help in determining the identity of the girl at Easton or the woman who was with her.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to contact the Columbus FBI office at 614-744-2168, or the Monroe County Sheriff's Office at 734-243-7070.

Nevaeh Amyah Buchanan is white, about 3 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 45 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red, white and blue-striped shirt and knee-length jeans.

MONROE, MI -- A five year old Monroe, Michigan girl has been missing since Sunday evening.

Authorities have not named a suspect but little Nevaeh Buchanan's family believes her mother Jennifer could be involved.

"I hope that it wasn't her. I hope she was not involved but my gut tells me if she wasn't immediately involved, she knows something," said Carla
Elliotte, Nevaeh's grandmother.

It is a suspicion, NBC24 was told, that is echoed even by Jennifer's relatives. The fact that she failed part of a polygraph test does not help her case.

"I'm sick. I don't want to believe that she had something to do with it but I think if she did she deserves what she gets. She needs to spend time in jail and this would never have happened if (Nevaeh) were in my custody a long time ago," said Shane Hinojosa, Nevaeh's father.

As each hour passes with no new information the suspicion grows as does the worry that something bad has happened.

"I'm praying," said Hinojosa. "I'm thinking that she's alive out there somewhere."

"I don't want to think that way but you've got to be realistic too, even though it's hard," said JoAnn Combs, Nevaeh's great-grandmother.

It is a nightmare that one neighbor does not care to experience.

"I want to move. I want to move out. I do not feel safe here any longer because it hit so close to home," said Richard Hammac, neighbor.

Hammac saw little Nevaeh riding her scooter hours before she disappeared.

With no new information from authorites, Nevaeh's family is reaching out to anyone that may have seen her since then.

"If you go into a grocery store or a department store and you see a little child, make a point of looking at its face," said Combs. "Nevaeh doesn't deserve this. She needs to come home."

Once again, Nevaeh Buchanan is five years old.

She is three feet, eight inches tall and weighs 45 pounds.

She has brown hair and brown eyes.

If you see her: call 734-243-7070 or 911.

Missing Monroe Girl Latest: Knife Sent To Lab, 2 Fail Lie Detector Test

Monroe (WWJ/AP) -- There were reports Wednesday that a bloody knife has been sent to Michigan State Police for testing, as state police help investigate the disappearance of Nevaeh Buchanan.

The 5-year old Monroe girl was last seen Sunday night at the Charlotte Arms Apartments. The FBI, State Police, Sheriffs Department and Monroe Police are all helping in the search.

Tuesday night, a crowd of more than 200 people gathered at the local Kmart to begin another search of the area.

A $2,500 reward also is being offered. Monroe County sheriff's Maj. Dan Motylinski said Buchanan and a man who is a convicted sex offender failed questions on the lie-detector test. The man is in custody in another case.

"At this point they are not suspects,'' said Motylinski, who denied that the mother was held against her will.

"Several people have been interviewed, and numerous area canvasses have been completed,'' the sheriff's office said.

Buchanan believes her daughter has been kidnapped.

As the search continues today for a 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan, police expect to discuss the case at a news conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today.

Nevaeh -- Heaven spelled backward -- disappeared while playing outside her Monroe apartment Sunday. Police have questioned her mother's friend, George Kennedy, who is now in jail under suspicion that he may have violated the terms of his parole as a registered sex offender by being near her, authorities said. They also questioned a man described as a transient before releasing him Monday.Dozens of law enforcement officers and volunteers have been scouring the woods and neighborhoods around the Charlotte Arms apartments on North Macomb in Monroe, looking for Nevaeh Buchanan. Meanwhile, the FBI's Cincinnati
field office is investigating a tip that a girl named Nevaeh, who matched the description of the missing girl, was seen Monday at a shopping mall in Easton, Ohio, not far from Columbus, Special Agent Michael Brooks said Tuesday.

"I don't see her just running off. She's never done that before," said her mother, Jennifer Buchanan, 24.

Hundreds of volunteers helped search until early this morning. The Duvall Group has collected more than $2,500 in donations to offer a reward for tips about Nevaeh's disappearance. Donations can be made by calling 800-681-0687.

Kennedy, 39, was convicted in March 2002 of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and home invasion, according to his Michigan Department of Correction records. Part of his parole agreement includes orders that an adult must be present when he's with a child under the age of 17, and he's not allowed to have a romantic relationship with a person associated with a child.

Kennedy is also forbidden to have children's clothing, toys or games, and he must stay at least 1,000 feet from schools, childcare centers, parks, pools, playgrounds and arcades, records say.

He was sentenced in March 2002 to serve two to 15 years in prison, but was released on parole in July 2007. His parole is scheduled to end in July.

Search Intensifies for Nevaeh Buchanan

FOX 2's Taryn Asher reports that cadaver dogs are searching two separate stone quarries in the Monroe-area as the search intensifies for a five-year-old girl missing since Sunday.

MONROE, Mich. (WXYZ)- The Monroe County Sheriff's Department held a 10:30 a.m. news conference to provide an update on the disappearance of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan. Hundreds turned out Tuesday evening in a massive search effort for a missing little girl from Monroe, and Action News has learned police are testing evidence that could be linked to the disappearance of Nevaeh Buchanan.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office issued an Amber Alert for Nevaeh, who was last seen Sunday in the parking lot of the Charlotte Arms Apartment Complex on Macomb.

Loved ones say Nevaeh was playing on a scooter with a friend when she went missing. The little girl's friend says she went to tell Nevaeh's mom, and when they went to out to check on her she was gone.

Police are questioning two men who are both friends of the child's mother.

Investigators say one of the friends is a registered sex offender who lives near the family's Monroe home.

Both men are reportedly cooperating with police.

Neveah's mother and the friend who is a registered sex offender were both given polygraphs.

Neveah has brown hair and eyes and was last seen wearing a light blue sleeveless shirt with red and white stripes and blue jeans.

Her scooter was also found laying in the parking lot of the complex.

If you have any information regarding Nevaeh's disappearance please call 911 immediately.

Updated at 1:12 p.m.

Despite
numerous leads and interviews and dozens of law enforcement officials
working around the clock, 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan remains missing.
In a somber news conference today with loved ones standing nearby, FBI
agent Andy Arena acknowledged that the odds of finding the Monroe area
girl alive dwindle as the hours pass.“But
you never give up hope,” he said. When a child goes missing, he added
after the news conference, “there is no tomorrow. You put forward all
your resources and you go at it hard.”
Arena said investigators have seized “a number of pieces” of potential evidence
since Nevaeh disappeared outside her Macomb Street apartment complex
Sunday evening. He would not elaborate on what they were or whom
officials have interviewed in the past three days, pointing out that
statistics show kidnapping victims typically know their abductors.
“Most abductions are (by) someone who had some type of relationship or
experience with the child,” Arena explained during the news conference.
Law enforcement officers and volunteers have been scouring the woods and
neighborhoods around the Charlotte Arms apartments on North Macomb in
Monroe, looking for Nevaeh – Heaven spelled backward. The Duvall Group
has collected more than $2,500 in donations to offer a reward for tips
about Nevaeh's disappearance. Donations can be made by calling
800-681-0687.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Major Dan Motylinski said officials are searching two Dixie Highway quarries
today not because they’ve received tips but to rule them out in their
search. “We’re just going to check them for safety sake,”
Motylinski said. “We’re just checking them because they’re the biggest
bodies of water around us beside the lake.”
Meanwhile, the FBI's Cincinnati field office is investigating a tip that a girl named
Nevaeh, who matched the description of the missing girl, was seen
Monday at a shopping mall in Easton, Ohio, not far from Columbus,
Special Agent Michael Brooks said Tuesday.
Police have questioned her mother's friend, George Kennedy, who is
now in jail under suspicion that he may have violated the terms of his
parole as a registered sex offender by being near her, authorities
said. They also questioned a man described as a transient before
releasing him Monday.
Kennedy, 39, was convicted in March 2002 of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and home invasion,
according to his Michigan Department of Correction records. Part of his
parole agreement includes orders that an adult must be present when
he's with a child under the age of 17, and he's not allowed to have a
romantic relationship with a person associated with a child.
Kennedy is also forbidden to have children's clothing, toys or games, and he
must stay at least 1,000 feet from schools, childcare centers, parks,
pools, playgrounds and arcades, records say.
He was sentenced in March 2002 to serve two to 15 years in prison, but was released on
parole in July 2007. His parole is scheduled to end in July.
Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, said
Tuesday afternoon his department was holding Kennedy while it
investigates whether he violated the conditions of his probation.
“Basically if someone’s on parole, they can be arrested and held for a period of
time, without a bond,” Marlan said, adding that there’s no set time
frame on how long the department can keep Kennedy in jail.
Nevaeh's mother denied a love interest in Kennedy, describing him as a friend
who calls her every morning -- and befriended Nevaeh.
"He was basically the only male figure in her life because her (expletive)
father wanted to disappear," she said. She said he acted like she was
joking when she called him to tell her Nevaeh had disappeared. He
helped search until investigators took him into custody, she said.
Jennifer said she didn’t want to discuss claims that she met Kennedy at her
parole office, while visiting there after a drug problem led to her
conviction on a charge of home invasion in the city of Monroe in 2006.
And while her mother, Sherry Buchanan, took over custody of Nevaeh
while Jennifer spent 11 months in jail, Jennifer Buchanan said, the
promise of a future with her daughter kept her going.
“My daughter, I mostly thought about my daughter,” she said, adding that
she, her mother and Nevaeh have lived together ever since. “She was the
one that helped me turn around. I cherished every moment I was with
her.” She said she believes she passed a lie detector test
she took Monday, calling claims by Nevaeh's father's side of the family
that she flunked "just all lies." Then she added that she hadn't slept
in 24 hours before taking the test – and Nevaeh’s been fine until now.
"I may be the last person to see her and she was in my care, but she's been in my care," Jennifer said.
Nevaeh's father, Shane Hinojosa, 22, of Toledo, said he hasn't seen his daughter
in three years. With his mother and fiancee, he slept in a tent in a
grassy area of the apartment complex Monday night, awaiting word about
Nevaeh. "I'm sick to my stomach," said the unemployed
landscaper and maintenance worker. "I haven't seen her in so long and
this is the way I have to see her -- it hurts so bad."
Nevaeh is 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 45 pounds. She was wearing a light
blue sleeveless shirt with red and white horizontal stripes and
knee-length jeans.
Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office at 734-243-7070.

Monroe -- The last two children to see 5-year-old Nevaeh
Buchanan on Sunday claimed the girl went "into the woods and was
kidnapped by a bad man" and stabbed in the stomach, according to search
warrants signed Tuesday and obtained by The Detroit News. One
of the children said she witnessed Nevaeh being stabbed with a knife
and "tried to help" but "could not" after she saw the girl going "into
the woods ... to meet Daddy George." The statements were used
to obtain the search warrant signed by Magistrate Mitchell McFadden of
Monroe's 2A District Court Tuesday to search the motel room of George
Kennedy, a convicted child molester. Kennedy, described by police and
relatives as Nevaeh's mother's boyfriend, is being held as person of
interest in her disappearance Sunday from in front of the apartment
complex where she lived. Her scooter was found lying on the street.
Kennedy and the girl's mother flunked portions of their lie detector tests. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office would not comment on the documents late Wednesday. The
search Tuesday of Kennedy's Motel 7 room listed an inventory of items
found: blood stains on the wall above the sink and the bathroom; shorts
and a towel with blood stains; hairs on the toilet and bathroom floor.
Investigators also removed sheets, pillow cases and a mattress pad and
comforter from the bed. "We're still holding out hope," said Mike
Buchanan, Nevaeh's uncle. According to the girl's grandmother,
her daughter, Jennifer Buchanan was in and out of their basement
apartment at the Charlotte Arms Apartment on Sunday evening keeping an
eye on Nevaeh, who was playing with a friend in the parking lot. The
two were planning a sleepover. Another friend came over to play
around 6:15 p.m. but Nevaeh was gone, said Sherry Buchanan, the
grandmother. After Jennifer Buchanan searched with the complex
management, they called police at 8:20 p.m. On Wednesday, a
100-person task force turned its focus to two quarries near the motel.
"I've still got faith that she's around. At least let me know where
she's at," said Sherry Buchanan. "They (authorities) are working as
hard as they can." Divers from Macomb, Wayne and Downriver
police agencies searched the quarries at South Dixie Highway and Dunbar
Road and one near Sandy Creek behind the Holiday Inn in Frenchtown
Township with no success Wednesday. Cadaver dogs were also brought in
on the search. Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said
the task force, composed of county Sheriff's deputies, Michigan State
Police troopers and FBI agents, have received more than 300 tips since
Sunday. A candlelight vigil was planned Wednesday night at the apartment complex. Since
Sunday, authorities have scoured the area near the family's home,
searched vehicles that have visited the apartment complex the past two
days and interviewed residents or plan to do so. All 180 units in the
complex have been searched, Crutchfield said. "I wouldn't be able to predict a time of closure," Crutchfield said. "We will take those tips where they lead us."

Police have evidence

Crutchfield declined to comment on media reports that authorities found a knife
with blood on it Tuesday. "Evidence has been accumulated based on
searching areas of interest," he said. There have been no
charges filed and the girl's mother is not a person of interest in the
investigation, Crutchfield said. Kennedy is being held on a parole
violation and is not considered a suspect. Buchanan's relatives said
Kennedy is dating the missing girl's mother and is a sex offender.
Sherry Buchanan said Kennedy and Jennifer Buchanan met at a probation
office. "I don't think in my heart he had anything to do with this," Sherry Buchanan said. State
Department of Corrections records indicate that Kennedy was sentenced
in March 2002 to 16 months to two years in prison following a
conviction for a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The offense
happened May 1, 1998. Kennedy also was convicted of
second-degree home invasion in March 2002 and sentenced to 2-15 years
in prison. He was released April 30, 2003, and has a lengthy list of
requirements to stay out of prison. They include not entering
into a romantic relationship with a person associated with a child;
staying 1,000 feet from parks, schools, playgrounds and arcades; and
that an adult be present if he is with a child 17 or younger, according
to online records.

Girl's father comes to town

The disappearance has also brought Nevaeh's father, Shane Hinojosa of Toledo, closer to her family. After
spending a couple of days camped in front of the apartment complex,
Hinojosa said he risked getting arrested based on child support-related
warrants in the hopes that he could hold his daughter, who he hasn't
seen in over two years, in his arms. "I don't care what happened in the past," Hinojosa said. "I just want her back." Crutchfield said the case is being investigated as an abduction, which triggered an Amber Alert. Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit office, said he is
devoting agents to the search. The FBI has jurisdiction when abductions
involve children. "When an abduction happens, you get as many people down as possible," Arena said. "You never give up hope." A hotline has been established for tips related to Nevaeh, Crutchfield said. Those with information can call (734) 243-7070.

KENNEDY MOTEL SEARCHED BLOODY EVIDENCE FOUND

BREAKING NEWS

UPDATE I– Neveah playmates say she was stabbed by “Daddy George” in the woods.

Posted by Blink Wednesday 27 May 2009 5:43 pm

Excerpt: Reported live on HLN Jane Valez Mitchell show, a search warrant was executed today at the Motel 6, where convicted sex offender George Kennedy, boyfriend of Neveah’s mom was living.



Among those items found were bloody shorts, a bloody towel, and a blood stain above the sink. Previously found in Kennedy’s fishing tackle box in his van, was a silver tool, found to contain human blood.

Read more here: http://blinkoncrime.com/2009/05/27/amber-alert-neveah-amya-buchanan-kennedy-motel-searched-bloody-evidence-found/

'We're back to square one,' investigator says
by Ray Kisonas , last modified May 28. 2009 11:18AM
George Kennedy, the registered sex offender who has been considered a
person of interest in the disappearance of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan,
reportedly was with two people at the time the girl vanished and they
confirmed to investigators that he was with them, police officials said.
Mr. Kennedy, 39, remains in the Monroe County jail for violating probation. He has been called a person of interest.
Two other people also considered persons of interest in the case have been cleared.
"We're back to square one," one police investigator told The Evening News.
According to those close to the investigation, Nevaeh came up missing
from the parking lot of her apartment complex at Charlotte Arms between
6 and 6:15 p.m. Two people said Mr. Kennedy was with them between 4 and
7 p.m. They passed polygraph tests.
What has not been explained is blood found on a multipurpose tool
recovered from the console in Mr. Kennedy's van. The tool is equipped
with a knife blade, but the dried blood was mostly on the exterior.
There was what appeared to be blood on an article of clothing and a
towel that were removed from Mr. Kennedy's room at the Motel 7,
according to police. Investigators said they are awaiting DNA results
to determine who the blood belongs to. Investigators were expecting
those results by this weekend.
In other developments, investigators said at least one playmate who
told the FBI that "Daddy George" killed Nevaeh did so during a second
interview the day after Nevaeh disappeared.
The child and another playmate initially told an FBI agent who
specializes in interviewing children that they did not see anything
unusual the day of the disappearance.
But on the second day, the youngster said "Nevaeh's dead" and that she
was stabbed in the stomach and dragged into the woods near the
apartment complex. However, some investigators are skeptical of the
story because the child could have said it under pressure.
Two children, in fact, who were near Nevaeh were interviewed the day of
the disappearance and both said they did not see anything strange.
Regarding a transient police detained Sunday night, investigators said
he was held for questioning after searchers discovered a child's bare
footprint near Heck Park where the man was located. Nevaeh was last
seen without shoes and socks. That man has since been released along
with a second person of interest.
Maj. Daniel Motylinski this morning cautioned the public against making
any rush to judgment regarding guilt or innocence of anyone connected
with the case. The investigation has produced numerous pieces of
evidence and dozens of interviews.
"We are looking at everything," Maj. Motylinski. "Nothing has been determined."

Police name new person of interest in Monroe case
Tanveer Ali / The Detroit News
Monroe -- Police today have named a second person of interest
in their search for 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan, who went missing from a
Monroe apartment complex last weekend. Roy Smith, an associate
of Nevaeh's mother, Jennifer Buchanan, joins George Kennedy as a person
f interest in the case, Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said
at a morning press conference. Kennedy is the boyfriend of
Jennifer, relatives and police have said. Kennedy is a convicted child
sex offender. Smith also is a convicted sex offender, police said.
Crutchfield warned against jumping to conclusions about Kennedy's
involvement after children told authorities they saw Nevaeh go into a
wooded area with Kennedy and was stabbed, according to a search warrant
obtained by The Detroit News. "We should not be focusing entirely on George Kennedy," Crutchfield said. Kennedy is being held by police on an undisclosed parole violation. "He
is strictly that -- a person of interest," Crutchfield said of Kennedy.
"We continue to stress the focus is not on persons of interest. We
don't want the public to become myopic with George Kennedy." Edward
Hanko, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit office,
also said people should not assume Kennedy had something to do with
Nevaeh's disappearance. "It is always easy to rush to judgment...," he said. Police
have searched a 1993 GMC van owned by Smith and sent a silver
multi-tool found in the van's unlocked glove box for lab testing. The
tool had human blood on it, according to preliminary tests performed by
the Michigan State Police, according to the search warrant's affidavit.
Investigators also searched Kennedy's hotel room, armed with a
search warrant obtained after two young children said they saw Nevaeh
go into the woods, where she "was kidnapped by a bad man" and was
stabbed in the stomach, according to the warrant. One of the
children who said she witnessed the incident said she "tried to help"
but could not after seeing Nevaeh going "into the woods ... to meet
'Daddy George.' " According to the documents, police who
searched the hotel room found blood stains on the wall above the sink
and bathroom, shorts and a towel with blood stains, hairs on the toilet
and bathroom floor and photos of a white female similar to Nevaeh. Investigators also took sheets, pillowcases, a mattress pad and a comforter from the room as evidence. A
100-person task force has been formed and has searched the area around
the apartment complex, quarries and other areas for the girl. Ten more
FBI agents today joined the search and will focus their canvassing on
the apartment complex where the Buchanans lives. Crutchfield said the search is costly, but needed. "It is expensive but you can't put a price on human life," he said. Finding Nevaeh alive still is a possibility, Crutchfield said. "We are hopeful she is still alive," he said. "We have no indication that she is not still alive."

Nevaeh's mom knew 'persons of interest' were sex offenders






Tom Greenwood / The Detroit News




The mother of Nevaeh Buchanan has confirmed that she knew that two
men listed as "persons of interest" in the disappearance of her
5-year-old daughter were registered sex offenders, but she didn't want
to be "judgmental" about them. In a telephone interview granted
to WJBK-TV (Channel 2), Jennifer Buchanan also said that at least one
of the men, George David Kennedy or Roy Lee Smith, knows something
about her daughter, who went missing five days ago while playing in
front of their apartment complex in Monroe. "I don't want to
sit around and wait," Buchanan said. "I don't want to wait for any kind
of news, whether good or bad. I want to be out there, too."
According to police, Kennedy, 39, and Smith, 48, have been
identified as persons of interest in the possible abduction of Nevaeh.
Both men have spent time in prison for sexual assaults, with Kennedy's
conviction involving a child. Both men knew Buchanan, in
apparent violation of their parole terms; and both have been locked up
by police on unspecified parole violations following Nevaeh's
disappearance. Asked if she knew that Kennedy was a registered
sex offender, Buchanan said: "I'm not a judgmental person, so I looked
over that, but at the same time I kept my guard on that. "My relationship with George is just a friend. I haven't dated him for 1 1/2 years now." Buchanan said Kennedy served as a "father figure" to Nevaeh. "George
had a relationship with my daughter as a father figure," Buchanan said.
"Always there for her. If he was around, she would run up to him and
hug him." In 2002, Kennedy was convicted of criminal sexual
conduct for having sex with a girl under the age of 16. He was also
accused of attempting to accost juveniles for immoral purposes, making
sexual comments to young girls and was also convicted of home invasion.
He received sentences of two to 15 years and was paroled in July 2007. Smith
is on parole for the 1993 rape of a 24-year-old woman. He was released
from prison in February 2008 having served his minimum 15 years of a
15-50-year sentence. He also has convictions for larceny, breaking and
entering and being a repeat felony offender. "I met Roy through
George," Buchanan said in her interview. "They were good friends; they
were buddies. They were pretty close." Buchanan said she felt that people were judging her by the company she kept. "I
felt people were judgmental on the fact that I knew a bunch of sex
offenders," Buchanan said. "I feel it's irrelevant to what's happened
now. People are judging me on that; I feel like I don't want to talk
anymore. I just want them to actually help find my daughter as much as
I want to find her." FBI agents and a 100-person task force
continue to look for clues in the area surrounding the 180-unit
apartment complex where Nevaeh lived with her mom. "I want to find her. I want to bring her back home," Buchanan said. "I'm not the bad guy here."

DNA results on blood evidence
, last modified May 29. 2009 8:57PM
Monroe County Sheriff Tilman L. Crutchfield issued a news release
Friday night with the following update on the Nevaeh Buchanan case.
"The Nevaeh Buchanan Task Force has received PRELIMINARY DNA results on
blood evidence submitted to the Michigan State Police Crime Laboratory
on person of interest, George Kennedy.

"The DNA recovered from the evidence FAILED to match that of Navaeh Buchanan."

Test Reveals Blood Is Not Girl's

Investigators Pursuing Hundreds Of Tips

POSTED: Friday, May 29, 2009
UPDATED: 6:59 pm EDT May 29,
2009



MONROE, Mich. -- A
piece of evidence that would have linked a man who police are calling a
person of interest in the disappearance of a missing 5-year-old girl
has been ruled out, investigators said.Investigators said the
blood splatters found on a knife discovered in 39-year-old George
Kennedy's car and the blood-soaked shirts found in his Monroe motel do
not match Nevaeh Buchanan's.
"I know she is alive somewhere. I don’t think the blood is Nevaeh's or
the blood on the knife is Nevaeh's," said Nevaeh's, cousin Shaun Lawson.Nevaeh disappeared from the Charlotte Arms apartment complex Sunday evening.Kennedy,
a convicted sex offender, has been detained since Monday for allegedly
violating his parole by having a relationship with a woman who has a
child under the age of 17.Police said he and the girl's mother, Jennifer Buchanan, have been dating. However, Jennifer Buchanan denies the relationship.Jennifer Buchanan told Local 4 she never believed Kennedy had anything to do with her daughter's disappearance."I always thought, at the bottom of my heart, I thought he did not have anything to do with it," she said.

During the search, investigators found the bloody knife in the car Kennedy had been driving.Roy
Lee Smith, also a convicted sex offender, remains the second person of
interest in the case. He is the owner of Kennedy's car.Both men
remain in police custody. However, investigators said the negative
crime lab tests have prompted them to take the investigation in a new
direction.Investigators continued to interview people and search the apartments where Neveah lived with her mother and grandmother."We
had them (investigators) in our apartment about three of four times.
Once it was at three in the morning. They woke us up and scared us,"
said Charlotte Arms apartment resident Tina Melo-Lopez."They
asked me where we were Sunday? Who I was with? What time I left there?
Where I was afterward?" said neighbor Jennifer Smith.Investigators
have once again returned to the wooded area next to where Nevaeh
Buchanan was last seen, but this time they had rakes and shovels.Family
and friends have conducted several private citizen searches and have
been wearing a yellow ribbon to remember the missing girl. More than
200 people met at the Kmart in Monroe Friday at 4:30 p.m. for another
citizen search.This time, investigators have zoned off the area they are searching from the citizen search.Jennifer
Buchanan said that she wishes investigators would expand their search
beyond Monroe because she thinks whoever abducted her daughter has
probably left the city.More than 400 of those tips have been investigated.Jennifer Buchanan is pleading with the public to continue to send their tips and not give up on finding her daughter."I
definitely would want the people to call in any little thing that may
or may not be useful. I encourage them to help me to find my daughter
as if it were their own child," she told Local 4.Nevaeh is white, under 4 feet tall, weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.Jennifer Buchanan said she is holding out hope that her daughter is still alive."I am not going to stop believing she is alive, until I know otherwise," said Jennifer Buchanan.

In the parking lot where Nevaeh Buchanan rode her bike and played, they
gathered. They gathered with candles and yellow ribbons. They gathered
to sing and support. To play music and hold out hope for a little girl who disappeared last week.
More than 200 people stood outside the Charlotte Arms apartment
complex in Monroe on Saturday night, many clutching their own children,
and prayed."She is like one of our own," said Betty Benardo, 70, of Monroe as she passed out yellow ribbons.Earlier that day, police and volunteers scoured the area in search of the missing 5-year-old.Investigators said they have received more than 500 tips, most of which have been checked out."I'm out there looking, too," Nevaeh's mom, Jennifer Buchanan, said earlier that day. "I really want to get her back."Buchanan
was joined by Nevaeh's father, Shane Hinojosa, and more than a dozen
other family members during the hour-long vigil. They stood before the
crowd as the Rev. Dale Hayford of Crosswalk Community Church in Monroe
prayed."We need closure to this Lord. ... Bring her home, bring her home," Hayford said.Late Friday, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said preliminary DNA results on blood evidence were not a match to Nevaeh.The
samples were found inside a hotel room and on a multipurpose tool found
in a van driven by 39-year-old convicted sex offender George Kennedy, a
friend of Nevaeh's mother.Kennedy -- along with another sex offender, Roy Smith, 48 -- remains a person of interest in Nevaeh's disappearance.

MONROE - Neither the family of Nevaeh Buchanan
nor the authorities searching for the missing 5-year-old girl would
abandon hope Saturday that they will find her alive and unharmed.




But six days after Nevaeh disappeared from the parking lot outside her
home, the frustration of waiting without answers is taking its toll.
"That's the hardest part - just waiting and not knowing, not knowing
where she is," said JoAnn Combs, the girl's great-grandmother.
Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said he is hopeful Nevaeh is
alive and vowed that law enforcement officials will not rest until the
girl is reunited with her family and her kidnapper is arrested.
"The longer that we go without finding any indication of Nevaeh being
incapacitated, the more hopeful we are that we will find her alive,"
Sheriff Crutchfield said at a news briefing Saturday morning.
The child's mother, Jennifer Buchanan, reported
her missing about 8:30 p.m. May 24 after she could not find her in the
parking lot outside their North Macomb Street apartment.Investigators had received 700 tips as of yesterday morning and had processed 640 of them by 10 a.m.
"This case is very near and dear to all the investigators working,"
Sheriff Crutchfield said. "Our sympathy goes out to the family. We will
remain involved in this. We are very hopeful we will solve this, that
we will recover Nevaeh, and that we will apprehend the perpetrator."
Shane Hinojosa, Nevaeh's father, continued searching yesterday - as did
nearly 300 volunteers who combed through wooded areas of Monroe,
LaSalle, Mich., and Erie, Mich.
"We have to help find this little girl," said Jon
Tittle of Monroe. "It appears that someone has taken her, and if that's
the case, she has to be found as soon as possible."
A makeshift shrine of pictures, candles, angels, stuffed animals, and
balloons outside the girl's home swelled with gifts yesterday. A sign
also was erected near the entrance to the complex with written messages
from family members and volunteers.
Mr. Hinojosa, who lives in Toledo, has been sleeping in a tent at the
apartment complex in order to be close to the search. He wrote a note
surrounded by a heart on the sign.
"Daddy loves you very much. I ain't lost hope. I'm still out there looking for you baby. I love you," it read.
Authorities revealed Friday that the DNA of Nevaeh was not found on
bloody items belonging to George Kennedy, a convicted sex offender who
is considered a person of interest and a friend of Nevaeh's mother.
He had been living in a Monroe motel for five weeks and was jailed May 24 on probation violations.
Asked if Kennedy, 39, is considered a suspect, Sheriff Crutchfield said
"he remains a person of interest," but that "we have persons of
interest who come on to the radar scene daily. It fluctuates."
He added, "He is not quite as high as he could have been if the blood evidence had come back positive."
Authorities said items belonging to Kennedy were taken in a search of
his motel room on South Dixie Highway and sent to the Michigan State
Police Crime Lab in Northville, Mich., for analysis.
Sheriff Crutchfield said some of the blood was Kennedy's but would not say how much.
"It is not Nevaeh's blood and we could still find her alive," the sheriff said.
A multiknife tool set and fishing weights that investigators found in a
white GMC van that Kennedy reportedly had used also were sent to the
crime lab for DNA evidence testing.
Other than Kennedy and Roy Lee Smith, 48, another convicted sex
offender who is also in custody on probation violations, no other
persons of interest have been named. The sheriff said he would not
reveal the names of any other people being investigated.
Sheriff Crutchfield said more than 100 law enforcement officials from
half a dozen agencies are involved in the investigation. He declined to
reveal the locations searched yesterday.
Authorities have searched the densely wooded area next to the complex,
the former France Stone Quarry on South Dixie Highway and Dunbar Road
near Kennedy's motel room, and a lake - also a former quarry - near
Heck Park on North Dixie near I-75. The searches yielded no clues.
According to the affidavit for the search warrant executed for
Kennedy's belongings, an 8-year-old boy, one of two children to last
see the girl in the parking lot, told investigators that he watched
Nevaeh go "into the woods" and was kidnapped and stabbed by a "bad man."
Another playmate, a 5-year-old girl, claimed she witnessed Nevaeh being
stabbed with a knife and "tried to help" but "could not" after she saw
the girl "going into the woods … to meet Daddy George."
Volunteers used the 108-unit apartment complex at 1160 North Macomb St.
as a base of operations yesterday - stopping in to collect flyers with
the girl's picture and resting, said Rhonda Cooper, a relative of Ms.
Combs.
"Strangers from everywhere are coming to help us look," Ms. Cooper said. "We are not giving up hope and [we] will find her."
Point Place residents Jerry and Sue Sauter drove to the spot were the girl disappeared to place an angel at the shrine.
"God, I hope they find her," Mrs. Sauter said fighting back tears. "I know everyone - everyone - wants her back safe."

MONROE, Mich. (WXYZ)- Investigators are continuing to search for a 5-year-old Monroe County girl missing for a week.
Nevaeh Buchanan was last seen May 24 in the parking lot of an apartment complex near her Monroe County apartment complex.Authorities have questioned at least three persons of interest, but have made no arrests.The latest is James Easter of Monroe, who's being held on unrelated charges and was arraigned on those charges Sunday.Police
searched the inside and outside of Easter's home on Oak street in
Monroe late last week. It is not clear if items taken out of the home
were related to the disappearance on the 5 year-old.Easter, 64, was
arrested on misdemeanor charges after he was preparing to burn property
in his backyard. Police took the ashes from the fire pit and sent them
to a crime lab.Police also want to question two young boys who may have been playing in a nearby park when Neveah disappeared.Anyone with information on the case is asked to call (734) 243-7070.

Monroe -- The investigative team of a joint task force in
Monroe County has located two young boys wanted for questioning in the
disappearance of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan. The Nevaeh
Buchanan Task Force, composed of the FBI, Michigan State Police, Monroe
County Sheriff's Department and Monroe Police Department, identified
the two boys, who were seen playing at the Hollywood School playground
near the girl's apartment complex last Sunday. Authorities want to
question the boys, believed to be 7-10 years old, to determine if they
witnessed anything related to the girl's disappearance. Two men, both sex offenders, already have been named as persons of interest: George Kennedy and Roy Lee Smith.
Police have identified a third man as a person of interest: James
Easter, 64, of Monroe, who is being held on unrelated charges of
unlawful open burning. Easter was arraigned Sunday afternoon and was remanded to the Monroe County Jail after failing to post a $250 bond. Police
searched the Easter's home Sunday and dug up the back yard of his
property after receiving a tip. Boxes of evidence were taken from
Easter's home to the Michigan State Crime Lab. Neighbors said Easter mows lawns and performs odd jobs throughout the area. "I
didn't know what to think when I heard he was in custody," said
neighbor Donna Werner, 51. "He's always helped me out and was always
kind to me." Werner said Easter allowed her to use his stove to
cook on, and his washing machine to do her laundry when her electricity
was shut off. "I think they've got the wrong man," she said. Meanwhile, blood on a knife confiscated from Kennedy, described as a boyfriend of Nevaeh's mother, was not a match for the girl. Nevaeh
went missing about 6:30 p.m. last Sunday from the apartment complex
where she lived. Hundreds of volunteers have searched the area,
including quarries and woods, looking for clues in the case. Her family remains vigilant.. "It's
been one week today," said father, Shane Hinojosa, 22, of Toledo.
"Sometimes I feel like throwing up, crying, screaming, punching a wall
because it comes from not knowing.