ROBERT MANWILL - 8 yo (2009) - Boise ID

Police
continue to search for a missing eight-year-old Boise boy - and say
they have no good leads into his disappearance. Robert
Manwill was last seen by family Friday night. Over the weekend, the
search for the boy intensified, with hundreds of volunteers, police and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation joining forces in an effort to find
the child. Helicopters from the Idaho National Guard have
also joined in on the search, and are hovering over the area where he
went missing - near Vista Ave. and Cherry Lane in Boise. During a Monday morning news conference, police say they have received
a number of leads - but nothing concrete that tells them where the boy
may be. The child’s family thanked the community for the
response they’ve received, and for the large-scale search response. "It's tough. It really is tough, this is very difficult to go through
as a family," said Trish Burrill, who is Robert's aunt. Police say this is one of the most important cases they’ve covered in a
while – but despite the intense effort, they have so far come up empty.
Description
Robert Manwill
8-years-old
4' 2" tall
50 Lbs.
Last seen wearing jeans, black shoes, either a brown or blue shirt
Call 570-6457 with info

"At this point, we don't know where Robert is. We're trying to
determine what has happened, and we're pleading with the public for
their assistance in locating Robert Manwill," said Deputy Chief Jim
Kerns with the Boise Police Dept. Twenty FBI agents are in the area, and more may be called in. "We're leaving no stone unturned in that investigation,” Kerns said.
“We're looking at all of the potential leads. We're looking at all
possibilities in our attempt to find out what's happened to Robert.” Search crews have been looking in sheds, garages, abandoned cars,
homes, in bushes, behind fences and anywhere a small boy could hide. Officers and volunteers say they will not stop until he's found. “I don't recall a time where I've seen this much community support in
Boise come out for a search,” said Lt. Doug Shoenborn. “It's really
been nice to see a lot of support from the local community.”

The search for 8-year-old Robert Manwill continued Monday, on several fronts:— A National Guard helicopter covered as much ground as the boy could have wandered on his own.—
Officers, FBI agents and some 100 volunteers canvassed the area around
the Vista Boulevard neighborhood the boy disappeared from, including
the areas around the New York Canal and nearby railroad tracks.Police
will update the media and public at a 7 p.m. press conference Monday
night. Check back at IdahoStatesman.com for the latest information
after that.Earlier Monday, police issued a renewed call for the
public's help to find the boy, who disappeared Friday evening from an
apartment complex near the intersection of Vista Boulevard and Cherry
Lane in Boise.They want anyone who lives or works around that
area to look again in nooks and crannies and quiet spots — anywhere a
50-pound 8-year-old boy might be hiding. "We hope to convey a
message of hope... we have no reason to believe Robert is not safe,"
said Jim Kerns, deputy chief of operations for Boise police. Police
— with help from other local agencies and the FBI's Child Abduction
Response Team — were also expanding their search beyond the half-mile
around the apartment complex, which was combed over the weekend.
Officials are also re-interviewing family members and neighbors. Some
50 leads have come in, officials said, but none have panned out. The
boy was last seen on the complex's playground after 7 p.m. Friday night
and was gone by 9 p.m. Though some initial reports indicated the boy
had wanted to go to a birthday party, police said they had no evidence
of that."It's hard to speculate on his mental state," Kerns said.About
20 FBI agents and dozens of local residents were assisting in the
search over the weekend. Officials drained a pond near the apartment
complex and were finishing the search Monday.The police have set
up a special phone line and e-mail address to make it easy for anyone
who to contact them with information: (208) 570-6457 and
findrobert@cityofboise.org.Robert is described as 4-feet,
2-inches tall, about 50 pounds, and wearing blue jeans, black shoes,
and either a brown shirt with the words, "Andy don't need no Mic" or a
blue shirt with a superman symbol on the front.

Pam Yancey skipped her hair appointment Monday afternoon when a pair
of plainclothes FBI agents showed up at her Oak Park Village apartment
in Boise.Yancey answered questions, filled out a questionnaire
and let the men search her apartment and her car. It was the third time
since Friday that law enforcement officials had come knocking, and the
second time she let them search her apartment.She said she
didn't mind because scores of local and federal police officers and
hundreds of volunteers are conducting an unprecedented search for an
8-year-old boy who has been missing since Friday night."I just hope they find the kid," Yancey said.Boise
police say family and others last saw Robert Manwill on a playground at
the apartment complex where his mother lives. He went missing between 7
p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, according to Deputy Chief Jim Kerns. Police say
there is no evidence of foul play.The complex is about a
half-mile north of Interstate 84, just off of bustling Vista Avenue.
It's near the strip mall on Vista that has a liquor store and the
Willowcreek Grill, and has three entrances - on Cherry Lane, Targhee
Street and Shoshone Street. Cars were stopped on Vista Avenue
on Friday night so police could talk to motorists about whether they'd
seen the missing boy. Two motorists complained to the Boise Community
Ombudsman Pierce Murphy that the checkpoints were too intrusive. Byron Ryals was dismayed when the officer asked for his driver's license and called in his license plate."I've
never been through a checkpoint like this, where I was shaken down,"
said Ryals, 80, noting that the 40-minute wait meant his wife didn't
get her medication on time that night.The police department underscored the gravity of the situation Monday."This
is the most important investigation that we have had in a long time,"
Boise police Chief Michael Masterson said at a press conference Monday.
Kerns said he's been with the Boise Police Department for 27
years and doesn't remember another child going missing for this long.
The department took 154 missing-child reports last year and 86 through
June this year - and most are quickly resolved. The department said it
filed within a few hours of the report the paperwork for an Amber Alert
- a fast and wide-ranging notice designed to find abducted children -
but it didn't meet the necessary criteria, including a reasonable
belief that an abduction has occurred.Police are investigating about 75 tips received since Friday. An Oak Park pond was drained, but no evidence found.Initial
reports indicated that the boy may have gone to a birthday party, but
police have since said they found no evidence of a party.The
search area expanded Monday and police asked for public help in the
hopes that someone might find the boy in one of the many "nooks and
crannies" in or near his neighborhood. Police urged residents to look
for any place a boy might hide - under bushes, in cars or garages."The
family has said that he likes to sneak around and crawl in little
places. He's an inquisitive little kid," said police spokeswoman Lynn
Hightower.From an Idaho National Guard helicopter, police
scanned the New York Canal and nearby railroad tracks and pools. Police
interviewed sex offenders registered in the area.About 126
volunteers from the community teamed up with police officers for a
ground search of public areas starting about noon Monday. The search
teams were looking beyond the half-mile radius from the apartment where
the boy was staying with his mom to about 1 mile away, Boise police Lt.
Michael Majors said. A similar police-volunteer effort focused on the
inner circle Sunday.Robert lives with his father in New Plymouth, but was visiting his mother and her family Friday, police said.Another
ground search will be conducted Tuesday, Majors said. He praised Idaho
Mountain Search & Rescue Unit coordinating volunteers who showed up
to help.The search-and-rescue workers also responded to a police
request for search dogs Saturday and Monday. Spokesman Rick Thompson
said they were air-scent dogs; such dogs are good for finding missing
people in avalanche debris. A second request seeks tracking dogs, which
are trained to hone in on specific scents. Boise residents
Sherry Blanchard and Debbie Pew weren't part of the official search
Monday, but they were out in the Oak Park neighborhood with fliers in
hand to search for the boy. They looked under trees and bushes as they
walked near the Oak Park apartments."It's just heartbreaking," Blanchard said.The pair said they - along with a team of Boise police officers - had already looked in an abandoned house for the boy.

The search in Boise for a missing 8-year-old boy continues to expand. Robert Manwill lives with his father in New Plymouth most of the year
but is spending the summer with his mother in Boise. While we have seen Robert's mother and her boyfriend at many of the
news conferences, we know very little about them. Many of the adults in Robert's life have a criminal history. Police won't address the family's issues telling us they are focused on finding this missing child. But court records obtained by NewsChannel 7 say Robert's mother,
Melissa Scott Jenkins, was charged with felony injury to a child in
October 2008. She later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. The documents say Jenkins hit her 9-month-old son's head on a surface.



Robert Manwill

The infant suffered a fractured skull that caused not only physical pain, but mental suffering as well. The mother's boyfriend, Daniel Edward Ehrlick, is the father of the infant. Ehrlick has a criminal history including burglary and has served time in prison. According to sealed documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman, during a
visitation hearing for Jenkins' two-and-a-half-year-old daughter,
Jenkins stated she did not want her boyfriend, Ehrlick alone with her
daugther. The reason she said that was not stated. Robert's father, Charles Manwill, has had custody of Robert since January of 2008. According to the Statesman, a former wife served 10 years in prison for
the voluntary manslaughter of the couple's 4-year-old son, an incident
that happened 15 years ago while he was stationed on a military base in
Louisiana. The Statesman uncovered federal court
documents saying "upon sudden quarrel and in the heat of passion" Silke
Manwill stabbed the child in the chest. There is
discussion and debate on whether this information is relevant since
police have not charged anyone with a crime at this time. Family members have been attending daily news conferences assisting police in the search.

The Boise
Police Department is ready to mount a large-scale search for missing
Robert Manwill, and is asking for a big push of community volunteers
Friday. Three 3-hour shifts are being set up - and
officers are hoping 700 to 1,000 volunteers will turn out and help
scour an area on the Boise Bench near where Robert went missing. "The Boise Police Department is asking for volunteers to help us in a
one day push to find Robert," BPD Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said. "This
will allow the BPD to put in place a massive strucuture to handle the
volunteers." Kerns also says a better timeline is coming
together regaurding Manwill's whereabouts, after more than 5,000 man
hours and hundreds of volunteer hours. Manwill went
missing Friday, and was last seen near his Boise apartment complex in
the area of Targee and Vista Avenue in Boise. Since that time, crews
have scoured the area looking for the boy. He is 4-foot-2, weighs 50
pounds, and has short brown hair. If you would like to
volunteer, you are asked to show up at one of three locations - South
Junior High at 805 Shoshone, Garfield Elementary at Broadway and Boise
avenues or the Hillcrest Branch of the Boise Public Library at Overland
Road and Orchard Street. You must be 18 years or older
and have ID to prove it. Also, this is a search by foot, so they're
asking you wear sturdy shoes, bring water and sunscreen. Police ask
that you not bring bicycles, strollers or pets. The three
shifts will begin at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Volunteers may work more
than one shift if they choose. Those showing up are asked to be
prepared to walk, and should bring sunscreen and water. Dogs and small
children should be left at home. Businesses are being asked to
volunteer workers as well. Kerns says they are not sure
how far the search will stretch - that will be determined by the number
of volunteers that show up. "Our top priority is to find
Robert, even when other significant events are happening in our city,"
Kerns said. It takes a lot of logistical organization to
properly do a search like this, so police say Friday is the soonest
they can get their ducks in a row.

The National Guard is now involved in the search for 8-year-old Robert Manwill who has been missing for six days. And for the first time today Robert’s father speaks out publically about the search for his son. "My heart goes out to the community for all the help we have received
in the search for my lost son. I also want to thank the Boise Police
Department for their tireless effort, the FBI and my brothers in the
National Guard, they're family men, family women, they want to bring
this boy home, that all that matters to us at this point," said Charles
Manwill, Robert’s father. Manwill went missing Friday,
and was last seen near his Boise apartment complex in the area of
Targee and Vista Avenue in Boise. Since that time, crews have scoured
the area looking for the boy. He is 4-foot-2, weighs 50 pounds, and has
short brown hair. Anyone with information is urged to call the tip line at 570-6457.



Robert Manwill

Today is the first day since the search
began that citizens didn't go out and search, but that doesn't mean
people weren't out searching. Between last night and
today, 135 men and women from the Idaho National Guard and the Idaho
Bureau of Homeland Security searched for Robert. Lt. Col.
Tim Narsano with the Idaho National Guard says they add a skill set
that the general public doesn't necessarily have. We’re
also told that 75 police officers are going to be leading Friday's
massive search. That’s on top of the other officers and detectives
working behind the scenes. Here are the details of Friday's public search for Robert: - Three 3-hour shifts are being set up - and officers are hoping 700 to
1,000 volunteers will turn out and help scour an area on the Boise
Bench near where Robert went missing. - If you would like
to volunteer, you are asked to show up at one of three locations -
South Junior High at 805 Shoshone, Garfield Elementary at Broadway and
Boise avenues or the Hillcrest Branch of the Boise Public Library at
Overland Road and Orchard Street. - You must be 18 years
or older and have ID to prove it. Also, this is a search by foot, so
they're asking you wear sturdy shoes, bring water and sunscreen. Police
ask that you not bring bicycles, strollers or pets. - The
three shifts will begin at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Volunteers may work
more than one shift if they choose. Those showing up are asked to be
prepared to walk, and should bring sunscreen and water. Dogs and small
children should be left at home. Businesses are being asked to
volunteer workers as well. Police are not sure how far
the search will stretch - that will be determined by the number of
volunteers that show up.
Ribbons for Robert


An effort is underway to make green ribbons for all the people helping in the search for Robert Manwill.

Meanwhile, one Boise woman is taking on a large effort as well. A couple of days ago we talked to Devon Jacobson, who's been making
green ribbons to show support for Robert Manwill. Today, she's trying to make more ribbons for all the volunteers who will help look for the boy Friday. "My new goal is to have at least a thousand by tomorrow morning when
volunteers start to show up for this big, massive search. I mean if
somebody wants to come down here with me and sit on a blanket and tie
ribbons and put pins on that would be great as well," said Jacobson. Jacobson says she needs more supplies and more help. She plans on being at Targee and Vista Friday with all the ribbons made.

Police
investigators are currently searching the apartment of the mother of a
boy who went missing nearly a week ago. Officers began
searching the home of Robert's Manwill's mother - Melissa Scott Jenkins
- just after 8 p.m. Thursday night. Boise Police spokesperson Lynn Hightower was tight-lipped, and would
only say the search is "another step in the investigation." Police tape has been strung up around the area, and residents are being
told police may be in the area for some time. Reporter
Scott Evans says that cabinets and drawers were being taken from the
home, among other items. A woman with "crime lab" on her uniform was
seen removing boxes of items from the home while wearing gloves - and
loading the boxes into a van on scene. Canine dogs were also seen at the complex. A vehicle was also towed from the scene just after 12:30 a.m. Friday
morning. The car was removed in coordination with police and FBI
officials. A large-scale search is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Friday, and is will still go forward according to Hightower. Police say they hope these developments will not tamp down support for
the search, and they say the search is still an important part of
finding Manwill. Police have not identified anyone as a suspect in the case, nor have they given any indication of wrongdoing.

The mother of a Boise boy missing for
a week is on probation for fracturing the skull of the boy's infant
half brother, who was removed from her custody by the state.
Robert Manwill, 8, was last seen near the apartment of his mother, Melissa
Scott Jenkins, in Boise last Friday. Police detectives, FBI agents and
more than 100 volunteers have searched extensively, but haven't found
the boy.
Boise police have said there is
no evidence of foul play in the disappearance of Robert, and that the
family is cooperating fully.
The missing boy's father, Charles Manwill, has had custody of him since 2008.
Jenkins has visitation rights, and the boy was visiting her the night
he disappeared.
Court records show a history of family tragedies involving children.
Melissa Scott Jenkins pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of injury
to a child following an October 2008 incident that fractured her infant
son's skull, according to The Idaho Statesman.
Court records say Jenkins "did willfully inflict" the injury to her other son
"by striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the
child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She was sentenced to 29 days of work
release, fined $75.50 and put on probation for two years.
The child is the son of Jenkins' boyfriend, Daniel Edward Ehrlick, and was
in the care of the state Department of Health and Welfare through at
least February, according to court documents. The agency on Wednesday
would not release his whereabouts, citing policy.
Jenkins has a third child, a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, fathered by a third man,
who has custody of her. Jenkins has visitation rights. Ehrlick, who has
been convicted of burglary, battery and possession of drug
paraphernalia, is banned from being alone with the girl, but court
documents don't say why.
In another case, Charles Manwill's wife, Silke Fatma Manwill, stabbed their 4-year-old
son, Michael, in the chest in 1993, killing him. She was sentenced to
federal prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and was
released in 2002.
Meanwhile, Jenkins has declined to comment on her son Robert's disappearance.
"We are a joined family at this time in this crisis," said Trisha Burrill,
Robert Manwill's aunt. "We are acting as one, with one goal in mind. To
bring Robert back."

Boise police investigators say new evidence suggests that an
8-year-old boy who has been missing for a week may have been the victim
of a tragic event.Police and FBI detectives Friday coordinated a
massive search for Robert Manwill, who reportedly disappeared July 24
after leaving his mother's apartment on the southwest side of Idaho's
capitol city.Early in the week, investigators said they had no evidence suggesting foul play.But
Deputy Chief Jim Kerns changed course Friday, saying new evidence
recovered in a Thursday night search of the apartment of the boy's
mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins, has detectives tracking new leads."The
evidence we've uncovered shows that there are suspicious circumstances
surrounding Robert's disappearance," Kerns said during a press
conference. "Volunteers assisting in the search today are being given
the information by search team officers that Robert may indeed be
injured or the victim of a tragic event."So far, police say there are no arrests or suspects in the case.Jenkins has been at previous press conferences, but didn't attend Friday. Police wouldn't say where she was.The
boy was visiting her the night he disappeared. His father, Charles
Manwill, has had custody since 2008 and lives in New Plymouth, about 45
miles northwest of Boise.According to court records, Jenkins
pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child
following an October 2008 incident that fractured her infant son's
skull. Jenkins "did willfully inflict" the injury to her other son "by
striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the
child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She was sentenced to 29 days of work
release, fined $75.50 and put on probation for two years, according to
court documents.That child is the son of Jenkins' boyfriend,
Daniel Edward Ehrlick. The boy was in the care of the state Department
of Health and Welfare through at least February, according to court
documents.Investigators were seen taking an SUV and other items during the search of Jenkins' apartment Thursday night.Boise
police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said more than 1,000 volunteers
showed up early Friday morning to help search, making it the biggest
missing-person search in the city's history.In the early days of
the search, police were aided by the help of hundreds of volunteers who
scanned neighborhoods surrounding the mother's apartment complex.

For the first time,
Boise Police admit missing 8-year-old boy Robert Manwill's
disappearance is suspicious. At a press conference this afternoon,
Deputy Chief Jim Kerns revealed police found evidence to indicate
Robert may be injured or the victim of a tragic event. Police would
not say what evidence they found.Also
today, a crime scene van was seen at the Ada County Landfill. A
portion of the landfill was marked off with crime scene tape. Boise
Police will not confirm or deny if the crime scene van is related to
the search for Robert Manwill.]Police
showed up at the apartment complex on the Boise bench where Robert
Manwill lives late last night and stayed until the early hours of this
morning.Police did tow away a car
belonging to the family and removed several bags of items from the
home. It's unclear exactly what was in the bags. Today's
developments did not stop the massive search for Robert Manwill.
Hundreds of people responded to the public call for volunteers to help
look for evidence.

* * * *

Authorities are currently at the Ada County landfill.

At this time, it's unclear whether this investigation is connected to the case of missing 8-year-old Robert Manwill.

A
reporter on scene says an area of the landfill has been cordoned off. A
deputy on scene says he was told by Boise Police to go to the landfill
and "sit on some trash."

When asked whether the landfill
investigation is connected to the missing boy, he said he couldn't
confirm and referred any questions to Boise Police.

Dave Neal,
director of the Ada County Solid Waste Management Department, says the
landfill was asked by authorities to leave a half-acre alone for
investigative purposes.

Neal also said Friday afternoon that no
new trash has been brought to the landfill since last Saturday, so
sifting through trash in that half-acre wouldn't be an issue.

Poster's Note: I found this "reverse timeline", a writer's notes, on the Idaho Statesman site. It indicates to me that late in the evening on Friday LE started concentrating their search in a backyard near Robert's Mother.
I will continue to look for updates...

8:44 p.m.Crime scene investigators have brought
buckets and shovels and set up a canopy with walls in the backyard of
the home at the 6600 block of Southdale Avenue. 6:38 p.m. More than 2,300 volunteers turned out to search today. "The
search was extremely helpful," Boise police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower
said. Specific areas of interest now have to be searched by trained
investigators."Developing leads" led police to the house on Southdale where investigators have converged Friday evening.

The man whose Boise home and yard were being searched Friday night
for evidence related to Robert Manwill's disappearance says he knows
the 8-year-old's family but has no idea what may have happened to him.Evan
Wallis told the Idaho Statesman that he doesn't know what police are
looking for at his rental home in the 6600 block of Southdale Avenue,
near Five Mile Road in Southwest Boise."If it's going to help
anything, do it," Wallis said. He said he knows Robert's mother and her
boyfriend but is much closer to the boyfriend's brother, David Ehrlick.
"I'm innocent. I'm an innocent bystander."Wallis' comments came
after 24 hours of drama that began with a Thursday night police search
of the apartment near Vista Avenue where Manwill's mother, Melissa
Jenkins, lives with her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick Jr.On Friday,
police said they had discovered "suspicious circumstances," and as
night fell authorities were searching Wallis' backyard.The
Statesman interviewed Wallis at David Ehrlick's home in the 2800 block
of Bannock Street. Also interviewed there was Daniel Ehrlick Sr., the
father of David Ehrlick and Daniel Ehrlick Jr.Daniel Ehrlick Sr. said that his son Daniel had accused him of taking Robert and that police had questioned him repeatedly.
THE BACKYARD SEARCH, A STOLEN SUBURBAN
Wallis said the police were digging up his backyard after bloodhounds picked up a scent at his house.He
said his black-and-gray Chevy Suburban was stolen July 22 after someone
came into his house and took the keys. He found it Monday after
returning from a weekend away and called the Ada County Sheriff's
Department.When officials investigated, he told them of his connection to the Ehrlick family."I mentioned that I know these guys. I've met the little boy," Wallis said.Wallis said he last saw Robert at David Ehrlick's home a few months ago.He
said he and his wife have been re-doing their backyard, planting grass
and adding a sandbox. He said he did not notice any disturbances in the
backyard, which he said was large and had "a lot of junk" in it."It
makes me sick to know this is going down at my house right now," he
said. "I didn't do nothing back there. I'm not going to say for the
record nothing's back there because I don't know. Maybe something did
happen along the lines when I was out of town.
"EHRLICH'S FATHER: MY SON ACCUSED ME
A man Robert called "Grandpa" said Friday that he has been questioned
repeatedly by investigators after his older son accused him of taking
Robert and told investigators the same thing. Daniel Ehrlick
Sr., a former Marine who served in Vietnam, said he thought he saw
Robert on the day he was reported missing when he stopped by Ehrlick
Jr.'s apartment to drop off money to help pay bills."(Ehrlick
Jr.) told me that Robert was down in the back. When I came to the door,
I don't know if it was then that I spotted it, or I spotted it before,
but I spotted another boy that looked just like Robert with a white
T-shirt on," Ehrlick Sr. said.Investigators have said Robert was wearing a blue Superman T-shirt at the time of his disappearance."I
haven't talked to him since he accused me Sunday. I haven't talked to
him," Ehrlick Sr. said. "I don't know if (Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr. have)
been real truthful with me."David Ehrlick, Ehrlick Sr.'s youngest son, said he was with his father the entire day on Friday.Ehrlick
Sr. said he used to pick up Robert at his father's house in New
Plymouth and bring him to Boise. He teared up as he discussed the
missing child while smoking a cigarette in his front yard.Ehrlick
Sr. and his youngest son, David, told a story of a boy that was
constantly in trouble with his mother for the pettiest of infractions.
David Ehrlick said that Robert was not allowed to go outside and play
during a recent birthday party."It was scary around her with her
children. Robert would get in trouble for everything. It didn't matter
if it was asking a question, he'd get grounded. He'd have to sit on his
hands," said David Ehrlick. "He's just a little boy."Said Ehrlick Sr.: "That's why I was afraid to even say, 'Robert, let's go fishing.'"They said that they told investigators their concern when Jenkins was investigated for injuring her infant in October 2008.Ehrlick Sr. praised the volunteers and investigators. "People
have been awesome. I just wish there was something I could do for all
the people involved," he said. "In my opinion, the Boise police are
doing a good job.
"POLICE AT THE APARTMENT, THE LANDFILL, THE HOUSE
The police and FBI have been investigating some of the people closest to
Robert - including the boy's mother, her boyfriend and his father.After
spending hours searching the apartment shared by Jenkins and Ehrlick
Jr. - and removing at least two cars from the Oak Park Village
apartment complex near Vista Avenue - police announced that they had
found new evidence that showed Robert could have been "the victim of a
tragic event." They asked the more than 2,300 volunteers scouring Boise
to start looking for signs of a crime.Meanwhile, officers
converged on Wallis' home and cordoned off an area of the Hidden Hollow
Landfill that had been left alone since trash was dumped there the
morning after Robert was reported missing. Landfill operators said they could use a backhoe to spread Saturday's refuse thin enough to be searched, if asked.Boise
police had said all week that they had no reason to suspect foul play
and had no suspects. But friends and family members say officers had
been examining several people close to Robert.Sean Buffington,
who lives upstairs and across the hall from the apartment shared by
Jenkins and Ehrlick Jr., said Ehrlick Jr. told him last Sunday that
"basically the two of them were the No. 1 suspects" already."He said they had been through the wringer as far as interrogations," Buffington said.Jenkins
is on parole after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of injury to
a child in relation to an October 2008 incident that left her infant
with a fractured skull. Ehrlick Jr. has been convicted of
burglary, battery and possession of drug paraphernalia, and is banned
by the courts from being alone with Robert's half-sister.The couple, who had appeared but not spoken at many of the police updates, did not attend Friday's news conference.A
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center spokesperson said Friday that
Ehrlick Jr. had been admitted and released from the hospital but did
not say exactly when or for what he was treated. Police plan a news conference at noon Saturday to update the public.

Ada County
Sheriff's Deputies and Boise Police Officers spent Friday evening
searching a home on Southdale St. near Five Mile and Lake Hazel.
Officials received a search warrant, and began looking through the
scene at 6:15 p.m. The people who rented the home spoke
to KTVB and said they knew the Manwill family, but would not elaborate
further. Officers began searching the backyard of the
home, including an RV and car. The search also focused on an area of
disturbed earth. Equipment from Boise State University was brought in -
which was said to be sonar. Later, a group of seven
people used a series of four foot rods and went through the area. They
also used shovels to probe the dirt. They then marked off
the area with red evidence flags. The work wrapped up just before 10
p.m. Friday night. It is not known what was found - if anything. Saturday morning, crews returned to the scene and began digging through the area searched the night before. They then moved on to a small above-ground swimming pool in the yard.
The Boise Fire Department helped drain the pool, and investigators
removed it. Crews then dug up the ground under the pool. At about 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, police crews left packed up the
search materials, tore down a tent they had erected and left the scene.
During a 12:00 p.m. news conference, Boise Police Deputy
Police Chief Jim Kerns acknowledged the Southdale St. search, but would
not elaborate further.

After a day of
rapid developments into the search for missing boy Robert Manwill, the
news again slowed to a crawl Saturday. Boise Police
Deputy Chief Jim Kerns told media during a noon briefing that the
search is still ongoing, and has become "more focused," after a
widespread effort involved more than 2,300 volunteers Friday. Investigators spent much of Friday night and early Saturday searching a
home on Southdale St. in S. Ada County, but those efforts ended at
about 10:30 a.m. Saturday with no announced outcome. Kerns said the
Southdale location is just one of a number of areas being looked at. Kerns says a number of tips continue to pour in by phone, e-mail and
U.S. Mail - more than 300 in all. He said a large amount of evidence
has been collected, but they cannot detail what that evidence includes.
He said activity will continue by the hour throughout the weekend. Boise Police spokesperson Lynn Hightower said the timeline into what
happened the day Manwill was reported missing continues to develop -
but she could not provide further details, other than to say he was
reported missing at 10:11 p.m. Friday, July 24th. As has
become common practice at the media briefings, Kerns was flanked by
members of Manwill's family. For the first time, his older brother was
present. Manwill's his father and wife, aunt, uncle and his maternal
grandparents also attended the briefing. Manwill's mother
was not at the briefing as she was during the early part of the week.
Police said they do know where the woman, Melissa Lee Jenkins and her
boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick are, but could not elaborate. No arrests have
been made in the case. Aunt Trish Burrill thanked the
community for their outpouring of help - including the Friday volunteer
search. She says community members can continue to help by posting
flyers, wearing green ribbons or even simple acts like talking about
the missing boy. For now, no further public searches are
planned. Kerns said efforts for now will remain in the hands of trained
investigators, but further public searches may be needed in the future.
Hightower said the overall case is unprecedented in an informal survey of Boise Police history.

Robert Manwill’s step-uncle said speculation about criminal suspects in his
nephew’s disappearance is premature.Layn Branson of Boise responded Saturday to reports that Robert’s mother,
Melissa Jenkins, and her boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick Jr., were prime suspects.“I would have to say that’s bunk right now because we haven’t been told
anything,” Branson said shortly before Saturday’s press conference with
Boise police. Branson’s sister, Afton, is married to Robert’s father, Charles. Branson said he’s attended police briefings with family members and that
there’s been no suggestion that Jenkins and Ehrlick are targets of the
investigation.“We don’t know,” Branson said. “All we know is that they’ve been talked to.”Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson said he is unaware of any list ranking
suspects. “We are not focused on any one specific area,” Masterson said
Saturday. “We are doing a thorough investigation.”Branson joined other family members at Saturday’s press conference, standing
behind Deputy Police Chief Jim Kerns. Jenkins and Ehrlick, who’d attended
earlier press conferences, weren’t present at Friday or Saturday’s sessions.Boise Police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said she knows where Jenkins are
Ehrlick are, but declined to elaborate. Their apartment, where Robert was
staying before he was reported missing July 24, has been searched at least
twice by police forensics teams since Thursday night.

In this case, we have a woman, Melissa Scott Jenkins, who is the mother of three children, each with a different father (FoxNews,7/31/09). In 2008, she pleaded guilty to willfully fracturing the
skull of her infant son by striking it on "a surface." For that she
was sentenced to 29 days of work release and fined $75.50. Prior to
that incident, the boy was either in state custody or that of his
father, and Jenkins had visitation rights.
Now a second of Jenkins's sons, eight-year-old Robert Manwill, is
missing. Boise, Idaho police fear he may be injured and Jenkins isn't
talking. Robert's father had custody of him and Jenkins had visitation
rights. He disappeared during one of Jenkins' visitation periods.
Jenkins' third child is a two-year-old daughter, also in the custody of her father. Mercifully, she seems to remain alive and uninjured.
Feminist organizations like NOW oppose equally shared parenting on
the spurious basis that, if fathers are allowed equal rights in family
courts, children will be thrust into the hands of violent abusers. The
reasons why that is a nonsensical argument are too numerous to mention
in this posting, but the case of Melissa Scott Jenkins amply
illustrates a few.
First, existing child custody laws don't do a great job of
preventing injuries to children by their parents. In the Jenkins case,
her willful fracturing of a toddler's skull was apparently insufficient
to convince a court to restrict her contact with her other children to
only supervised visitation, or less. Why? We don't know, but whatever
the reason, the fact remains that under the current child custody
scheme, parents injure children. If shared parenting were adopted,
they still would. Shared parenting won't change human nature. To
demand that it do so is to set the bar well too high.
Second, shared parenting essentially is aimed at dispensing with the concept of primary custody and visitation in favor of equal custody by both parents. (That is most importantly because
children benefit from active parenting by both mother and father.
Secondarily, it's to give fathers access to their children - access the
current system all too readily denies.) Why that would increase the
likelihood of child abuse, feminist apologists for the current system
never make clear. As the Jenkins case shows, parents with only
visitation rights can injure as surely as anyone else.
Third, mothers injure children as often as fathers do - maybe more
so. Department of Justice figures indicate that, in cases in which a
child is injured by one parent only, that parent is twice as likely to
be its mother as its father. Now that's not to say that women are more
dangerous to children than are men. Likely the DoJ figures reflect the
fact that women spend more time caring for children than do men. But
the feminist assumption that fathers are inherently dangerous to
children, and therefore any law that seeks to connect children to their
fathers is dangerous to them, is, to say the least, at odds with the
facts.
Under any child custody system, Melissa Scott Jenkins apparently
should at most have some sort of supervised visitation. That's because
she's proven herself to be a serious danger to children in her care.
Equally shared parenting isn't about protecting the rights of women or
men like her. Under equally shared parenting, courts will still have
to decide on whether a parent presents a danger to a child. If she/he
does, then appropriate measures can be taken to protect the child. If
not, then 50/50 custody is the rule.
The next time a feminist organization like NOW argues in favor of
the current, radically unequal system, remember Melissa Scott Jenkins.

The last two people looking after 8-year-old Robert Manwill before
he disappeared were his mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins, 30, and her
boyfriend, Daniel Edward Ehrlick Jr., 36.Robert was reported
missing at 10:11 p.m. Friday, July 24. He was visiting his mother from
New Plymouth, where he lived with his father, Charles Manwill, 38, a
staff sergeant in the Idaho Army National Guard. Charles Manwill took
custody of Robert in January 2008 when Jenkins said she was having
complications with a pregnancy.Attempts to reach Jenkins and
Ehrlick have been unsuccessful. On Saturday, they didn't answer a knock
on their door, and Jenkins' cell phone was busy all day. Here's what we've learned so far about Jenkins and Ehrlick:JENKINS: 3 CHILDREN, NONE LIVE WITH HERJenkins
has at least three children by three fathers. They are: Robert, 8, son
of Charles Manwill; RayLynn Scott Ames, 2, daughter of Russell Ames;
and Aidan James Ehrlick, 1, son of Daniel Ehrlick Jr. She was married
to one of the men, Manwill. Two of the three children, Robert and
RayLynn, live with their fathers.Jenkins is on probation for
fracturing the skull of the third child, Aidan. A tape recording of her
sentencing describes what happened:When Jenkins pleaded guilty
to misdemeanor injury to a child on March 31, 2009, Judge Cathleen
MacGregor Irby asked Jenkins what she did that "would make her guilty
of that offense.""I was burping my son and I accidentally hit his head on the table," Jenkins said.Ada
County prosecutor Fafa Alidjani gave Irby more details. When the
parents brought Aidan to the hospital, "the child had swelling to the
side of his head. É The side of the head kind of felt mushy and
swollen, and the child was in distress. The X-ray revealed the child
had about a 3- to 4-centimeter horizontal fracture to the side of his
head," Alidjani said."Neither parent could provide a history as
to what would cause that kind of injury to the child's head, ..."
Alidjani said. Eventually, Jenkins told police she had been frustrated
and tired because she was unable to take a nap, and while burping the
child she flipped him over and hit his head.A doctor who examined the baby determined a great deal of force was needed to cause a fracture of that magnitude, Alidjani said.The
injury to Aidan Ehrlick occurred at his father's parents' home,
according to court testimony. Aidan was declared to be in imminent
danger and placed in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare in October 2008.Jenkins was placed on two years of
supervised probation, and she agreed to fully cooperate with Health and
Welfare in working toward a reunification with Aidan, which included
supervised visits, according to court records.It is unclear if
the toddler is still in state custody. Idaho Health and Welfare
officials were not available for comment Friday. Jenkins was married at least one other time. She
worked at the Idaho Statesman from October 2004 to May 2005. Stephanie
Lindstrom, the classified call center manager at the Idaho Statesman,
remembered her as Melissa Seiber. She and Frank Ross Seiber obtained a
marriage license in May 2003 but divorced in March 2006.Melissa
Seiber worked as a general telemarketer, and she did her job well at
first, Lindstrom said. Seiber expressed an interest in a higher-paying
job as a retention specialist. Instead of working toward that position,
Seiber started missing work and eventually just left, Lindstrom said. Seeing
Robert with his mother, Lindstrom said, "I just felt something wasn't
right. (Robert was) filthy, rough. One time I saw him in the car, and
he was not in his booster seat," she said.Justin Winegar of Fruitland formerly worked with Stephanie in the call center."The thing that stuck in my mind, she was always really nice to me," Winegar said."She
was always either smiling or sad or depressed. She was emotional," he
said. "There was never any middle ground, it was either a high or low
personality." Bonnie Stogdill is an employee of the Boise Bingo
Center, which previously was operated as Big Bucks Bingo. She knew
Frank Seiber for a long time as the manager at Big Bucks before it
closed down. One day Frank Seiber came in with Melissa, who was
pregnant. She started working there, eventually calling bingo numbers
before she left when she and Frank divorced in 2006. Robert was a
frequent guest at the parlor, but he had to be gone before bingo
started, Stogdill said."He was a cute little kid," she said.She doesn't know where Frank Seiber is now.EHRLICK: A STAY-AT-HOME DADLittle
is known about Jenkins' boyfriend. Daniel Ehrlick Jr. is a stay-at-home
dad, according to his brother, David. Daniel relies on their father,
Daniel Ehrlick Sr., for financial support. "He bails 'em out," David
Ehrlick said.Daniel Ehrlick Jr. has been convicted of burglary,
battery and possession of drug paraphernalia, and he is banned by the
courts from being alone with Robert's half sister, RayLynn. Ehrlick was
sentenced to four years in prison in July 1998 and released in March
2002.

Joe Cook said he thought it was the right thing to do.

Carrie Aguas felt it was about hope and finding a lost boy.

Cook and Aguas were just two people out of a crowd of more than 60 New
Plymouth residents that traveled to Boise Friday to help search for a
missing 8-year-old boy.

The boy, Robert Manwill, disappeared July 24 from the area around his mother’s apartment in Boise.

Manwill is also a New Plymouth Elementary School student and residents of the
small, southwest Idaho town came out in force Friday to find him.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do. I thought it would be
a good idea,” Cook, the New Plymouth mayor, said about the local effort
to find Manwill.

The volunteers converged on the elementary
school Friday, stepped onto a bus and traveled to Boise to assist in
what has become one of the largest search efforts ever in the Gem
State’s capital.

Aguas, the principal at New Plymouth Elementary
School, said the New Plymouth group focused its search in and around
Boise’s Ann Morrison Park.

Aguas said the mood was low-key but hopeful.

“Everyone was very quiet. That was right after they (the Boise
Police Department) announced they might be looking for evidence of a
tragedy. I think everyone was hoping to find something to end it,”
Aguas said.

Cook said it was crucial the New Plymouth community made a statement about the fate of Manwill.

“Community support is important right now for this little boy,” Cook said.

He said the outpouring of concern for Manwill symbolizes the kind of residents that live in the Treasure Valley.
“That’s the whole point. People do care. There are people that
are involved and care but don’t know the family or the boy,” Cook said.

Aguas also said the torrent of assistance from the community in the effort to find Manwill was impressive.

“Parents brought water and snacks and loaded them on the bus,” she said. “I
thought it was awesome that Joe Cook came over to help search.”

Manwill is something of a success story at New Plymouth Elementary School, Aguas said.

“Everyone felt like he was making it. He is a little guy we worked to bring up
his self-confidence. I felt that his time at school had been good. He
is on his way to be a strong student,” Aguas said.

Aguas said she did not want to speculate on Manwill’s fate but instead held out
hope the young man would be found. Aguas said Manwill was full of
potential.

“He is a bright little kid. He just needed some extra time, and he was willing to work hard,” she said.

Published by Dr Robert Brignall on August 2, 2009 in USA & Canada


Boise Police, FBI retrieve evidence suggesting foul play in eight year old’s disappearance.
Young Robert Manwill
disappeared at about 10 PM on Friday August 24, near the southwest
Boise apartment shared by his mother Melissa Jenkins and her boyfriend
Daniel Ehrlick, Jr. Robert was visiting his mother; his custodial
parent is father Charles Manville who lives in New Plymouth, about 45
miles northwest of Boise. AOL News, 7/31/09.

Earlier last week, the Boise Police had declared that there was no
evidence of foul play in the boy’s disappearance. They set Friday, July
31 for a massive search effort, encouraging Boise residents to
volunteer. Yet they were hardly sitting on their hands in the meantime.
They interviewed over 100 known sex offenders in the area. HLN, 8/1/09.
They also questioned the adults who had regular contact with the boy,
including Jenkins, Ehrlick, and Ehrlick’s father. Idaho Statesman,
8/1/09. Then, on the eve of Friday’s planned search effort,
investigators for the Boise PD, with the assistance of the FBI,
descended on Jenkin’s apartment.
Evidence Changes Manville Case from Missing Person to Criminal Investigation


Boise Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said that the search of the apartment
has given investigators new leads: “The evidence we’ve uncovered shows
that there are suspicious circumstances (concerning) Robert’s
disappearance.” AOL News, 7/31/09. That means this case is now a
criminal investigation. Crime News 2000, 7/31/09.
An officer was seen carrying two paper bags from the apartment
Thursday night. Idaho Statesman, 7/31/09. Police would not elaborate on
what was found, but KIVI Channel Six reported that investigators also
towed away Jenkin’s red SUV that same night. The Post Chronicle
7/31/09; Examiner.com, 7/31/09. Deputy Chief Kerns claimed that the
evidence “may bring us closer to finding what happened to Robert.” He
also said: “Robert may be injured.”
That last statement, coupled with the seizure of Jenkin’s vehicle,
leads this writer to believe that investigators found blood in the
apartment. Trace evidence of Robert could be expected in his mother’s
vehicle, but evidence of injury would be an entirely different matter.
Friday’s Mass Search Goes Forward, but on a More Somber Note

About 2,500 volunteers showed up for Friday’s search, the largest in Boise history. At least one Boise officer hinted that the searchers might find a body: “You need to be on the lookout for any place an 8
year old could be. If something bad has happened, it’s possible you
could smell an odor. Don’t start digging. Call one of us.”

Despite the massive volunteer turnout, no one found anything.
A History of Violence

Both Jenkins and her boyfriend have criminal histories
During October of 2008, Jenkins pled guilty to inflicting injury on her
infant son “by striking the child’s head on a surface, causing a fracture
to the child’s skull.” AOL News 7/31/09. This child, which she had by
her boyfriend, became a ward of the state. Custody of Robert went to
his father Charles following the violent event. Jenkins is still on parole
Daniel Ehrlick, Sr. said Robert was almost always in trouble with
his mother, usually over petty things, and that punishment was
inordinately stern compared to the offense.
Jenkin’s boyfriend, Daniel Ehrlick, Jr., has also crossed paths with
the law, having been convicted of burglary, battery and possession of
drug paraphernalia. Idaho Statesman, 8/1/09. This is far less than a
functional householdfor Robert to visit.
Hopes for Robert’s Survival are Slim

Robert Manwill might still be alive. Night time temperatures near
Boise have been in the 60s, warm enough to survive outside. Yet the boy
needs food and water
and his case is so well-known that if he sought sustenance from anyone,
that person would probably have contacted the police. If Deputy Kerns
is correct about the boy being injured, his chances of survival after
being missing for eight days are poor. Regrettably, the police are
likely looking for a body.
So far no arrests have been made nor suspects named. This writer
expects that to change in the not too distant future. Searcher Frances
Gutierrez put it this way: “It would be really heartbreaking (to find
his body) but at least it would be closure. They could then move on and
heal.” Except, that is, for the person or persons responsible.

Boise Police officials had received more than 300 leads as the
search for missing 8-year-old Robert Manwill entered its ninth day on
Sunday, with no sign of the boyBPD Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said
the "Find Robert" help line has drawn more than 315 leads, with more
coming in to findrobert@cityofboise.org and the mail address "Find
Robert," Post Office Box 500, 83701.Searchers have been looking
for the boy since Friday when his family said he disappeared, possibly
to a party at an unknown friend's house. On that day and since, search
dogs and volunteers from the Vista neighborhood where Robert was last
seen and all around Boise combined to look for the young boy.
Volunteers came from as far as Caldwell, Nampa, Mountain Home,
Meridian, Kuna, Cascade, Idaho City and Horseshoe Bend to lend hands in
the search.


" On this Sunday, as many families spend their days together, as
many of us enjoy the blessings of friends and family, we ask that you
remember the investigators are continuing their work and one family
member is missing from a very special family. Please remember to keep
Robert and his family in your heart," Kerns said.At this point, the investigation to find Robert remains an hour to hour effort, officials said."We
do believe that Robert may be a victim of a tragic event. And until we
find Robert we will continue to look and follow up on all credible
leads," Kerns said. "Finding Robert is the top priority for law enforcement all around this valley."Along
with all the leads, officials said some rumors have led to
misinformation. Kerns said the police will continue to update the media
on breaks in the case. Robert's aunt Trish Burrill stood next to family members Sunday as she asked the community to keep Robert in their thoughts."We
know that it is Sunday and you are all gathering with your families on
this day. We ask that u remember there is an empty seat at our table.
Please pray and continue to think about Robert so we may bring him home
- that we may share him with you," she said.

* * * *

On Saturday evening, Fox’s ‘America’s Most Wanted’ featured the case of Robert Manwill, the 8-year-old boy who went missing while visiting his mother in Boise.Robert
disappeared at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday, July 24 and the search
continues. Police have announced that he may have been the victim of
tragic circumstances and factors surrounding his disappearance are
‘suspicious,’ but have not elaborated on their findings.The
focus of the investigation has narrowed to a residence in southwest
Boise, but the reasons why this home is being targeted by authorities
have not been released.Robert may have been wearing a brown
shirt with “Andy don’t need no Mic” on the back, or a blue shirt with a
Superman or Spiderman symbol on the front. He was wearing blue jeans
and black shoes. Robert is 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighs 50 pounds, and
has brown hair and brown eyes.Anyone with any information should call 208-570-6457 or go to findrobert@cityofboise.org.

A Memorial for missing Robert Manwill lines the street in front of his mother's apartment complex.

Letters from the family ask the little boy to hang on and promise they won't give up hope.

But Robert has been missing for nine days now and Heather Estrada is just
one of many who are still praying for the best but wants answers.

"People have probably lost hope and it's hard after nine days," Estrada said. "You start thinking the worst."

At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Robert's family stood behind
authorities. But for the third day in a row, his mother Melissa Jenkins
was absent. Aunt Trish Burrill spoke again for the family.

"Please pray and continue to think about Robert," Burrill said. "So that we can bring him home and share him with you."

Police say they know where Jenkins is but won't disclose her location. CBS 2
knocked on her apartment door but there was no answer.

Authorities say no one is in custody and no arrest warrants have been issued. But
no one has been cleared from the investigation either.

Regardless of any rumors surrounding the investigation, there are thousands of
people in the community like Estrada who want nothing more than to see
Robert Manwill come home.