GABRIEL JOHNSON - 8 months (2009) - Tempe AZ/Miami Beach FL

Miami Beach Police have arrested an Arizona woman wanted for allegedly
kidnapping her own baby in a custody dispute; now, police are searching
for her missing 8-month-old child.

Police in Tempe said 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson was found Wednesday
with the help of local police in Miami Beach, after she allegedly left
Arizona December 18th. Police say she doesn't have legal custody of her
son Gabriel; she officially lost her parental rights after missing
Arizona custody hearing just four days ago.

Police said Johnson has previously made threats against the child, who has not been seen since December 26th.

In addition, police are searching for Johnson's white 1995 Oldsmobile bearing Arizona tag AGZ4214.

Police say Johnson has not explained where the baby or the car might be.

Anyone with information is asked to contact their local police department or the Tempe Police Department at (480) 350-8311 or Silent Witness, a program similar to Crime Stoppers, at (480) 948-6377.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- A Tempe woman has been arrested
in Florida on suspicion of custodial interference but police say the
whereabouts of her infant son remain unknown.Elizabeth Johnson,
23, was taken into custody Wednesday by Miami Beach police, authorities
said. They said Johnson was in San Antonio, Texas, from Dec. 22 to 27.Johnson
was scheduled to appear in Maricopa County Superior Court's Family
Court in Phoenix for a Dec. 28 custodial hearing. But authorities say
she failed to appear and lost custodial rights to 8-month-old Gabriel
Johnson.Authorities said Elizabeth Johnson has yet to reveal the
wherebouts of her baby and they also are searching for the car she was
driving."We're obviously very concerned that we right now have
an 8-month-old child whose whereabouts are unknown," said Sgt. Steve
Carbajal of the Tempe Police Department."Our investigators have
been working around the clock trying to locate him, and the bottom line
is, we know as parents what it's like to have children and to have that
8-month-old out somewhere where we don't know and we don't have
information to locate him, that's very disturbing to our
investigators," he said.Johnson was driving a white 1995 Oldsmobile Delta-88 with an Arizona plate number AGZ4214.

MIAMI BEACH, FL--Miami Beach Police have detained an Airzona mother who
is suspected of 'custodial interference' of her own baby boy.

Now the search is on for Elizabeth Johnson's 8 month old child.

Arizona authorities say that they know Johnson was in San Antonio, Texas from December 22nd through December 27th.

Her son Gabriel has not been seen since December 26th.

Police arrested Johnson Wednesday night at a youth hostel on Miami Beach.

Johnson was scheduled to appear in Maricopa County Superior Court's Family
Court in Phoenix for a Dec. 28 custodial hearing. But authorities say
she failed to appear and lost custodial rights to 8-month-old Gabriel
Johnson.Authorities say Elizabeth Johnson has yet to reveal the
wherebouts of her baby and they also are searching for the car she was
driving.

The FBI is now searching for missing 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson.
His mother, Elizabeth Johnson, 23, was caught Wednesday in Miami after spending Christmas in San Antonio.
According to police, Johnson left Arizona with her son, but, she does not have custodial rights to him.

In the past, Johnson made threats to harm the baby. She lost
custodial rights on December 28, 2009, when she failed to appear at a
custody hearing .
So far, there have been no signs of Baby Gabriel since December 26.
He was not with Johnson when she was arrested, and she refuses to say
what she did with him.
Johnson, who has a criminal record that does not include violence,
will not cooperate with investigators, and neither will her family
members, even though Johnson was facing a loss of custody. Her
desperate moves have baffled authorities.
Officers have not found Johnson's car, a white 1995 Oldsmobile Delta-88 with Arizona plates AGZ4214.
Anyone who has information regarding the whereabouts of little
Gabriel Johnson is asked to contact the FBI Hotline at 210-225-6741.

Police fear 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson could
be dead, sold or simply given away to a stranger after his mother, who
had threatened to harm him, was arrested in Miami Beach, Fla., without
her son.
Elizabeth Johnson was arrested in Florida on a custodial
interference warrant and is awaiting extradition. She invoked her right
to a lawyer and has not given detectives any information on her son's
whereabouts, said Sgt. Steve Carbajal, a Tempe Policespokesman.
Johnson made threats to the boy's father that she might hurt or kill
the boy, and later made threats to sell him or give the child up for
adoption, Carbajal said.
The drama began Dec. 27, when the boy's father, Logan McQueary, 25,
told police Johnson threatened to hurt the boy. Police then began
searching for the mother and son for a welfare check, since the mother
still had joint custody.
The next day, Johnson didn't show up for a scheduled custody hearing
the next day in Maricopa County Superior Court
and the father was automatically given custody. A nationwide warrant
was immediately issued for Johnson.
Police chased her to San Antonio, where they learned she was with
the child on Dec. 26. That's the last time police know the child was
alive and well.
Johnson was scheduled to check out of a hotel
in the area the next day, but didn't formally do so. Police caught up
to her four days later in Miami Beach, where local police were able to
find her and arrest her.
The child was not with her and she was no longer driving the same
vehicle she had in San Antonio. Police are not sure how she got to
Miami Beach and said she did not have family in the area.
Five days later, on Monday, police still have no leads.
"We have a big gap between San Antonio and Miami Beach," said Carbajal.

TEMPE, AZ -- The father of a Tempe infant missing for more than a week
says he still believes his son is alive, despite threats from the boy's
mother.

Tempe police spokesperson Molly Enright said the boy's
23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson, was being sought in connection
with a custodial interference case, and was located in Florida last
week.

Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal said Johnson left Arizona with her 8-month-old son Gabriel on December 18.

"Everybody
knew where she was and that was OK," Carbajal said. "She just wanted to
get away for a while and then these series of events happened where it
was a concern for the father that she would not show up for a hearing.
His fears were confirmed."

Gabriel's father, Logan McQueary, was
awarded sole custody of the infant when Elizabeth did not show up in
court on December 28.

According to officials, McQueary earlier reported that he had received threats from Johnson.

In
a press conference Monday, McQueary said he received several text
messages from Gabriel's mother saying she had killed the child.

But
McQueary says he believes Gabriel is still alive, considering he and
Johnson were last seen at a park near Six Flags in San Antonio, Texas
on December 26 -- after McQueary received the threatening messages.

On December 29th, Johnson was found and arrested at a Youth Hostel in Miami Beach, Florida.

Gabriel was not with her and detectives said she refuses to tell them where he is.

"She
was confronted, arrested and interviewed exhaustively about the
whereabouts of the child," said Wayne Jones, with Miami Beach Police.

"All we know at this point is Gabriel can be anywhere between San Antonio and Miami Beach," Tempe police say.

Carbajal
confirmed Johnson has reportedly made threats to harm Gabriel, but says
there is no evidence yet that the threats were carried out.

"Is
she saying these things to hurt the father or would she actually hurt
her own baby?" he said. "We don't know yet. We're hoping the baby is in
good condition and will be returned safely."

Police are still
looking for the vehicle Johnson was driving -- a white 1995 Oldsmobile
Delta-88, with Arizona license plate AGZ4214.

Anyone with
information as to the whereabouts of Gabriel Johnson is urged to
contact the Tempe Police Department at 480-350-8311 or Silent
Witness at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377).

Tempe, Ariz. -- Tammi and Jack Smith say they
were looking out for the best interest of Gabriel Johnson when they
started spending time with him and his mother, Elizabeth Johnson,
nearly a month ago."We had a complete bond with him," said Tammi Peter-Smith.The
Smiths are confident little Gabriel is alive. They were
in contact with Elizabeth Johnson up until she was arrested, and they
could hear Gabriel through the phone in the background."I heard the baby babble...
I heard the baby cry, " Smith said.They even received text messaged disputing the
threats Elizabeth made about hurting Gabriel."Immediately
after she sent him the text that said she killed the baby, she sent us
a text saying that she did that to get back at the father and that the
baby was fine," said Jack Smith.Authorities say Johnson, who
failed to appear for a custodial hearing last week in a Maricopa County
court, was arrested Dec. 30 in Miami Beach on suspicion of custodial
interference.The Smiths spent significant time getting to know
Gabriel and have several pictures with the boy in their home, playing
with their own four-year-old daughter.They say they didn't
involve the father, Logan McQueary in the adoption procedures because
Elizabeth Johnson told them he was abusive."As soon as she got
away from Logan and we had the baby, and he was not a part of her life,
all of the sudden she had a bright cheery attitude about herself," said
Tammi Smith.But at an emotional press conference Monday,
McQueary said that after Gabriel disappeared, the Smiths tried to
strong-arm him into giving up his child."When Gabriel
disappeared, they said to me basically if you really care about your
son and you want him back and you want Elizabeth to bring him back,
than you'll sign the paperwork and she'll bring him back," said Logan
McQueary.The Smiths said they were only passing along the
messages they were getting from Elizabeth. They also say they are
cooperating fully with the investigation and no longer believe the
adoption is possible."Now the father is so deeply into this that his ego would
never allow him to sign papers," said SmithBut they still may have a role to play.
The Smiths believe Elizabeth Johnson will tell them Gabriel's location Tuesday.
"She wants to talk to me tomorrow at 2 o'clock to see if I will help her
with attorneys to gain custody of Gabriel. If she hurt the baby, I
don't think she would be trying to get custody," Tammi Smith said.
If you have any information that could help investigators in this case.
You are asked to call Silent Witness at 1-480-WITNESS.

SAN ANTONIO
— Authorities have found the vehicle belonging to an Arizona mother who has refused to say where her 8-month-old son is.
FBI
spokesman Eric Vasys says San Antonio police and FBI agents found the
vehicle outside a San Antonio motel Tuesday night and are processing
the car for evidence that might point to the whereabouts of 8-month-old
Gabriel Johnson. There were no obvious signs of violence.
Johnson's
mother, 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson, was arrested in Miami Beach,
Fla., last week after she failed to appear for a custodial hearing in
Phoenix. The baby's father told authorities the mother had threatened
the child.
She has refused to say where the baby is.

Seven months ago, Tammi Peters Smith saw a young, worn-out mother at an airport during a long layover.
Elizabeth Johnson, 23, looked tired and depressed as she held her newborn son, Smith said.
"I looked at that situation and said, 'She doesn't want that baby,'"
Smith said, before walking over to Johnson and asking her if she
was looking for someone to adopt her child.
"She said, 'yes, but the dad won't sign the papers,'" Smith said.
Now the baby, Gabriel, is at the center of a nationwide search.
He has been missing for nearly three weeks since his mother took off with him from Tempe
and police are scrambling for clues as more details emerge in the
bizarre story involving fighting young parents and the couple who
wanted to adopt their son.
Smith said she and her husband, Jack, wanted to adopt Gabriel and
that both of his parents wanted to give him up at different times,
though never seemed to be on the same page about it.
Logan McQueary, 25, told reporters Monday that wasn't the case,
and said he felt extorted by the family.
Johnson, his ex-girlfriend, was arrested in Miami on Dec. 30 without
her son, who was last seen by witnesses in San Antonio, Tex., on Dec.
26. The next day she sent Logan a text message telling him she'd killed the baby.
That's when he went to the police.
At pre-scheduled hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court the
following day, on Dec. 28, a judge automatically awarded McQueary the
custody of the child when Johnson didn't show up. A warrant for
custodial interference was issued immediately and since her arrest,
she's invoked her right to remain silent and refused to say what
happened to the child.
Police also haven't found her 1995 white Oldsmobile Delta 88. She's awaiting extradition in Miami.
Smith said she's been working with police and had sporadic contact
with Johnson up until her arrest, including a text following up the one
she sent Logan saying that she hadn't harmed Gabriel. Rather, she said,
she sent him the text to get back at him.
Smith said neither parent is fit, pointing to McQueary's past
run-ins with the law, including 2004 burglary charges, to which he
pleaded guilty and served nearly four and a half years probation.
"Neither of them want the baby," said Smith, who lives North Scottsdale
and owns a colon hydrotherapy practice with several locations around
the Valley. "Most likely she's left him with another family she's
chosen like she had chosen us."
Police have no idea where the child is, saying they can't account
for the mother's whereabouts during the four days between her stay in
San Antonio and her arrest in Miami.
"We were the duped family between him and her and their problems," Smith said.
Smith also she and her husband had temporary guardianship of the boy
in late November and early December for about 10 to 12 days while the
couple was deciding what to do.
A Tempe detective was at the Smith home when they took in Gabriel and saw paperwork on
the matter, though spokesman Sgt. Steve Carbajal said it's unclear if
there the documents had any authority since they weren't court-issued.
Gabriel went back to living with Johnson, and she and the boy's
father broke up on Dec. 8. He left the home where they were living
together, and the next day she called him at work to ask him to sign
over his rights, McQueary said at the news conference Monday.
He refused and he hasn't seen Gabriel since.
Smith said she and her husband spoke to Johnson and tried to coax
her to return, but had little luck. They cooperated with police, but
didn't offer any information on where Gabriel might be, Carbajal said,
disputing earlier reports that the couple hadn't been talking with
police.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bob Johnson said his granddaughter, Elizabeth, has always been secretive.
"If she didn't want you to know something, you ain't gonna find out," Johnson said.He
said moving in and out of five foster homes as a child made her that
way. But he said the straight "A" student also developed an irrational
temper that led to bouts of rage."She should have sought professional help.
She did seek help for post partum depression and she was on medication
and during that time she seemed a lot more mellow and everything was better," Bob Johnson said.
But she stopped taking that medication shortly before she hopped in Bob
Johnson's car with 8-month-old Gabriel and headed to Texas.
"She had this cockamamie idea that she was going to change her Social Security number
and name and his Social Security number and name and run forever,"
Bob Johnson said.Instead, Elizabeth Johnson said she simply gave Gabriel
to a couple she met in a park."I trusted them. I believe in my heart
they're good people," said Elizabeth Johnson on the phone from jail.
But her grandfather doesn't buy it. He tried to envision her scenario.'Oh
by the way, how would you like to have a baby, oh it's free, yeah it's
free,' Bob Johnson said. "That's hard. That's hard to really believe,
but it's a simple story. It's a story that you can repeat without
stumbling."The last time Bob Johnson saw Gabriel was when the
whole family got together for Thanksgiving. He has pictures of
Elizabeth Johnson posing with the boy's father, Logan McQueary.
"She's the sweet Elizabeth," Bob Johnson said when pointing to a picture of her smiling.He
thinks she gave Gabriel to a family in Texas, and is lying now so the
boy will never be found. But she has threatened to harm the child, and
Bob Johnson wonders if her past and her struggles with self control
eventually got the best of her."It's possible that in a moment
of anger, depression, whatever, that she carried out her threat. I
don't even want to think about it because, what a waste. What a waste,"
said Bob Johnson.

Raw: Missing Baby Mom Speaks With CBS 5 News

Elizabeth Johnson reveals new details in an exclusive CBS 5 News phone interview.

Audio: http://www.kpho.com/video/22155911/index.html

PHOENIX - The case of missing baby Gabriel Johnson has taken another bizarre twist.
Tempe Police are now calling the Scottsdale couple, Jack and Tammi
Smith, who offered to adopt the little boy "persons of interest in the
case."
"We have received some indications that the Smiths maybe have
more information than they're telling investigators," said Tempe Police
Sergeant Steve Carbajal.
Carbajal said the withheld information could lead them to the missing
8-month-old baby, who police believe is alive.
In the meantime the Smiths insist they do not know where the
little boy is, and they told members of the media that they would
take polygraph tests to prove it. Regardless, Carbajal said the most
important thing is not catching who
did this, but instead finding the child, who has not been seen since
Dec. 26, safe. "If somebody has baby Gabriel and you are fearful of any law
enforcement trouble, bring him forward to a fire station, a hospital,"
he said. "Put him somewhere where he can be safe."

Police have named a couple who wanted to adopt a 8-month-old Tempe
baby as persons of interest in his disappearance, weeks after the boy's
mother left with the child and was then arrested in Miami without him.
Police believe Jack and Tammi Smith, of Scottsdale
have information that could lead to finding Gabriel but are not
cooperating with investigators, said Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal.
Tammi Smith told reportersearlier this week that she had
been texting and talking to Elizabeth Johnson, the baby's mother, up
until her arrest, although Smith insisted she was trying to find out
where the baby was and coax Johnson into returning.
Logan McQueary, the child's father, told reporters that he felt
extorted by the couple and that they told him the only way Johnson
would come home is if he would agree to sign over his rights.
Tammi Smith disputed that and said she was only trying to help get Gabriel back in Arizona.
The child was last seen with his mother in San Antonio, where she
spent Dec. 22 to 27 at two motels in the city. She then left her car at
a Motel 6 near a bus stop. She was tracked down and arrested in Miami
on Dec. 30.
Authorities say that since her arrest, she's refused to tell
investigators what she did with the child, although she told a local media
that she gave the baby to a couple she met in a San Antonio park.
Originally, she told the boy's father in a text message and in a phone call
that she had killed the child and was leaving the country, according to
court documents. She told him she would call him and let him know where
he could find the child's body, the documents state.
McQueary has since said he "has a feeling" that his son is alive, and Police
have been hopeful that's the case. The police have "indication" that
Gabriel is alive, Sgt. Carbajal said, but he added they have no
definitive location.
Police have questioned the Smiths since the ordeal began.
Tammi Smith claims that she met Johnson
at an airport during a layover. She spotted the young mother and said
she looked tired and depressed.
Smith said she went up to Johnson and asked if she was looking fro someone
to adopt the child, and Johnson said yes, but that the father refused to sign over his rights.
Since then, the Smiths said they had been working with Gabriel's
parents for the adoption that both McQueary and Johnson reportedly
wanted. The child's parents, however, never seemed to be on the same
page, Tammi Smith said.
McQueary challenged that account and said he never favored an adoption.
Johnson is scheduled for a Jan. 19 extradition hearing in Miami before
11th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel.
Police have set up a new tip line with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children and are asking anyone with information
on where Gabriel might be to call 1-800-THE-LOST, or 1-800-843-6578.

mom_in_il wrote:Raw: Missing Baby Mom Speaks With CBS 5 News

Elizabeth Johnson reveals new details in an exclusive CBS 5 News phone interview.

Audio: http://www.kpho.com/video/22155911/index.html

---This is excellent and she gives a different point of view on Logan. Of course, as we all know there are THREE sides to every story...
His side, Her side and the RIGHT SIDE!
Thanks for posting MIL!

TEMPE, Ariz. - January 8, 2010 --
A couple from Scottsdale, Ariz., who wanted to adopt a woman's baby may
know more about the missing child's whereabouts than they're telling
investigators, police said Thursday. Jack and Terri Smith are now "persons of interest" in the investigation
into the disappearance of 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson, according to
Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Steve Carbajal. The baby was last seen in San Antonio in late December with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson.Johnson was arrested last week in Florida on suspicion of custodial
interference after she didn't show up for a custody hearing in Arizona.
Her car was later found by the FBI in San Antonio. She has since
told a Phoenix television station that she gave the boy away in San
Antonio. She made the statement after she sent a text message to her
ex-boyfriend telling him she had killed the baby. Police believe the baby has not been harmed."We are getting some indications that Gabriel is alive," Carbajal said
Thursday. "We can't say specifically just what those are, but we are
getting some indications that those are correct." The Smiths
have given numerous media interviews in recent days where they said
they met Johnson at an airport during a long layover and befriended
her. Terri Smith said the young mother wanted to give up her baby for
adoption but the ex-boyfriend wouldn't go along. Terri Smith
told the media in Phoenix on Thursday that the couple has cooperated
fully with police and have nothing to hide. The baby's father,
Logan McQueary, has said Johnson tried several times to get him to sign
away his parental rights but that he refused. Tempe police have
been inundated with tips and are now directing callers to the National
Center for Missing or Exploited Children. Carbajal urged anyone
who has the baby to bring him to a safe place like a fire station or a
hospital if they are afraid to come forward. "Our focus has always been the same, and that is locating Gabriel," he said.

TEMPE, AZ – Two people named 'persons of interest' in the disappearance of a missing Tempe child say the have taken a polygraph test.

Tammi and Jack Smith said they were willing to take the examination after being named suspects on Thursday.

Police spokesperson Steve Carbajal confirmed Tammi then took the exam late Friday, but did not release any further details. It is unknown when Jack took the test.

According to Carbajal, investigators believe the Smiths have undisclosed information that will lead them to baby Gabriel Johnson.

"We should have been persons of interest from day one," said Jack Smith. "We are persons of interest. We were probably the last people to see Gabriel before he left town."

The Smiths had apparently tried to adopt the 8-month-old from mother Elizabeth Johnson last month, but Gabriel's father, Logan McQuary refused to sign the adoption papers.

"When Gabriel dissapeared, they said basically, if you really care about your son and you want him back, and you want Elizabeth to bring him back, that you'll sign the paperwork and then she'll bring him back to us, and you'll know he's safe," said McQueary. "And I said, no, I'm not signing any paperwork."

The Smiths said they were just relaying messages from Johnson to McQueary after she had taken off with the baby.

"Let's do this paperwork, and maybe she'll tell us where the baby is," said Tammi Smith. "It's not legal anyway, but does she have to know that? I mean, I'd rather get the baby back and sign the phony papers, but I guess the detectives don't want us to do that."

When McQueary tried to gain custody of Gabriel, 23-year-old Elizabeth apparently disappeared with the infant.

Carbajal said Elizabeth initially told authorities she gave her baby to a couple she met in San Antonio while on the run after skipping out on a custodial hearing in Phoenix.

"They wanted the baby and she simply gave it to them," said Bob Johnson, Elizabeth's grandfather. "It sounded like a pretty weak story. It was almost on the border of unbelievable that a person would do that with an 8-month-old child."

But Johnson also said he doesn't believe the Smiths had anything to do with Gabriel's disappearance.

"That's ridiculous... no, God, no," he said.

Bob Johnson said Elizabeth met Tammi Smith at an airport when Gabriel was just a month old. He said Gabriel was fussing and Tammi came to help Elizabeth, and then cared for Gabriel the entire flight home. After that, they apparently kept in touch.

Despite reports that they wished to adopt Gabriel, the Smiths now say they have nothing to hide, and that they're doing all they can to reunited Gabriel with his father.

"We were actually just thinking of maybe just getting a dog," joked Tammi Smith. "It seems to be a hard process adopting, and I don't know that we want to go through this again, unless the courts said, here's a baby and the parents both signed. That's different."

Both police officials and the Smiths say they believe Gabriel is alive. Now the challenge is finding him.

Tempe police say detectives are in Miama, Florida waiting to bring Johnson back to the Valley.

Police are working with the FBI, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and are taking tips from all over the country from anyone who may have spotted the baby.

If you have any information regarding Gabriel's whereabouts, officials ask that you call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).




Carbajal said Elizabeth left Arizona with Gabriel on December 18. There have been no signs of the boy since the day after Christmas.

Police did find Elizabeth in Florida last week and arrested her for failing to appear at her custodial hearing.

But Gabriel was not with her and detectives said she refused to tell them where he is.

"She was confronted, arrested and interviewed exhaustively about the whereabouts of the child," said Wayne Jones, with Miami Beach Police.

Earlier this week, the Smiths defended Gabriel and Elizabeth on national TV.

"She's completely innocent," said Tammi, speaking about Elizabeth. "She loves that baby, and just wants to find a good home for that baby. As a mother, I commend her."

Gabriel's father, Logan McQueary, said Elizabeth had been pushing him to sign adoption papers granting the Smiths custody of Gabriel.

McQueary also said that after the baby disappeared, Smith approached him with similar requests.

"When Gabriel disappeared, they said basically, 'if you really care about your son and you want him back, and you want Elizabeth to bring him back, that you'll sign the paperwork and then she'll bring him back to us, and you'll know he's safe,'" said McQueary. "I said, 'no, I'm not signing any paperwork.'"

McQueary was on several TV morning shows Thursday, pleading to the public to get his son back.

"Please don't be afraid of getting into trouble, just drop him off at a fire station, help me get my son back," he said.

McQueary said he had previously received text messages from Gabriel's mother saying she had killed the child.

"She basically said, 'there's no way in Hell you're ever seeing your son again,'" he said.

"Is she saying these things to hurt the father or would she actually hurt her own baby?" said Carbajal. "We don't know yet. We're hoping the baby is in good condition and will be returned safely."

But McQueary says he believes Gabriel is still alive, considering he and Johnson were last seen at a park after McQueary received the threatening
messages.

Elizabeth's twin brother, Robert Johnson, said he doesn't believe his sister's story, but also said he has to support her.

"She's stubborn and hard headed. If she doesn't want Logan to have the baby, she will do everything she can to keep Gabriel from Logan."

Johnson has a history of eratic behavior.

In September of 2009, police arrested Johnson for criminal damage.

According to a police report, Johnson broke several of her apartment's windows and mirrors, destroyed a television, and a video game system.

The report also said she used a knife to cut McQueary's clothes.

Then in December of 2009, another police report revealed Johnson called police and told them McQueary had taken Gabriel and would no give him back.
Police later accused Johnson of filing a false police report after learning Johnson herself gave Gabriel to Tammi and Jack Smith.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A nationwide search for a
missing baby has sent agents to Nashville. The FBI has been trying to
determine if the 8-month-old baby boy, named Gabriel Johnson, could
have been in the city at some point.On
Thursday authorities in Tempe, Ariz., said a couple who used to live
and work in middle Tennessee may know something more about the child.The
couple have said they wanted to adopt the child and spent significant
time getting to know the baby, even taking pictures with Gabriel and
their own 4-year-old daughter in their home.Police said Gabriel
Johnson was last seen with his mother, Elizabeth Johnson, Dec. 26 in
San Antonio. Four days later, Elizabeth was arrested in Miami, Fla.,
for failing to show up at a custody hearing in Arizona.Gabriel was nowhere to be found.Police later recovered the 23-year-old mother's car with a baby seat in the back outside a hotel.The day after Johnson was arrested in Florida, FBI agents in Nashville were called.“We
were called by FBI agents in Miami and asked to check out an address
here in Nashville," said Keith Moses, assistant special agent in
charge. "We went and knocked on the door, interviewed occupants and, at
this point, were unable to locate the child.”Tempe police are now focusing on Tammi and Jack Smith.In
2004, Tammi opened her first colon hydrotherapy clinic, "Healing
Waters," on Central Court in Hermitage. Three years later, she sold it
and moved back home to Arizona. Her former business is now called
"Cleansing Concepts" and is owned by a woman who used to work with
Smith. She said she's
shocked to hear Smith and her husband have been named persons of
interests in the case. She also said she just spoke with Tammi about a
week ago and she knew she was trying to adopt.Police in Tempe,
Ariz., are focusing on the Smiths because they believe the couple know
more about the baby's whereabouts than they are saying.Authorities in Tennessee will continue to help.“We've
found no indication that Gabriel has been in the area, but because of
the two ties we have with Elizabeth Johnson and Tammi Smith, obviously
we're going to make sure every stone is uncovered that we can to find
this boy,” said Moses.The FBI could not elaborate on where the house was it searched or how the occupants knew Johnson.As
for the baby's father, Logan McQueary, he's the one who first reported
his son missing to police. Authorities believe the child is alive.The Smiths have cooperated with police and said they have nothing to hide.If
you think you have seen Gabriel Johnson, you're asked to call the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST OR
1-800-843-5678.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- FBI agents in Nashville
rushed to a home after getting a tip from agents in Miami that missing
baby Gabriel Johnson might be there.Exactly what evidence Elizabeth Johnson
offered that led authorities to Nashville is still unclear.But it was enough to have
FBI agents rush to the home in Nashville, a city to which her friends say Elizabeth has never been."We
went, knocked on the door, and interviewed the occupants and have been
unable at this point to locate the child," said FBI Special Agent Keith
Moss.Unfortunately, that search was just the latest in a growing list of dead ends.
Tammi and Jack Smith, the couple who
tried to adopt Gabriel and who have been named as persons of interest
in his disappearance, used to live in Nashville.And late Friday
night, Tammi Smith said she knew what the Nashville search was all
about. It was the home of a friend of hers, Janet Morris, who she asked
to counsel Elizabeth Johnson about what she could face legally if she
tried to disappear with Gabriel."I called (Elizabeth) and said
'look, you've got to call this girl Janet,' and so Janet basically, she
called her and as far as I know, Janet told her the same thing that
we've been telling her and begged her to come back. 'And if you don't
come back, you could be facing these charges and these charges,'" said
Tammi Smith.Tammi Smith also explained a post on her Facebook
page, where she asked people to pray for Elizabeth because the mother
had found 'undercover' help in Texas to change her's and Gabriel's
identities. Smith took Elizabeth's comments to mean that she had found
a women's shelter that provided "extra" and illegal services.
All of these connections have FBI agents in Nashville very active in the search."As
leads develop to the area, Tammi Smith is one individual who formerly
resided in Nashville. As leads are developed by the Phoenix field
offices, the Miami field offices, we're following up on those," said
Special Agent Moss.Friday, the Smiths agreed to take polygraph
tests to prove they have no knowledge of where Gabriel may be. The
results of those tests have not been released, but the Smiths remain
resolute."There would be nothing that they could charge us with
because we have done nothing we've done everything that the police have
asked us," Tammi Smith said.But investigators still believe the
Smiths know more than they are telling.Elizabeth
Johnson's grandfather, Bob Johnson, even felt the Smiths were speaking
in code to her when we recorded a group phone call including the Smith's
and Elizabeth from jail in Miami.What is clear is that the Smiths, even then,
were trying to clear their names."Did we try really hard to get you back here?"
asked Tammi Smith."Yes," replied Elizabeth Johnson."And did we offer to get
you an attorney and help you to keep custody?" Smith asked."Yeah," said Johnson.
Elizabeth did lie about the location of her car several times during the call.
After the polygraph tests Friday, investigators hope to soon know whether the Smiths are lying now.

PHOENIX --
The mother at the center of a missing baby case is back in Arizona.Maricopa
County sheriff's deputies say Elizabeth Johnson was extradited from
Miami where she had been held since her recent arrest.Authorities
are trying to determine what happened to Johnson's 8-month-old son
Gabriel, who was last seen with her in San Antonio last month.


She has said she gave the boy away there. She made that statement after
she informed her ex-boyfriend that she had killed the baby. But police
don't think the child has been harmed.Now,
authorities say a couple from Scottsdale have been named persons of
interest in the case. They say they earlier wanted to adopt the baby
may know more about the missing child than they're telling
investigators.

Elizabeth Johnson's grandfather says she grew
up with a drug-addicted father and an alcoholic mother and then bounced
around five different foster homes.
She has always been impulsive, secretive and prone to fits of rage.
A relative says that as a child, she would break windows in her home
and chased her father with a plunger.
Yet she carried a 4.0 GPA through high school, and she was
determined to not let her son suffer the same kind of childhood she
had.
That is why her grandfather Bob Johnson says he can't believe she
would harm her baby, Gabriel, even to get back at the boy's father.
Elizabeth is now sitting in a Miami, Fla., jail, awaiting
extradition to Arizona, and a nationwide search is on for her
8-month-old baby after she sent text messages
to the boy's father, Logan McQueary, saying she'd killed their baby.
She later recanted, saying she'd given Gabriel to a couple she met in a
park in Texas.
The drama played out on national television all last week, with
McQueary, appearing on national cable news stations and network morning
shows pleading for Gabriel to be returned.
"She's got a spiteful streak," said Bob, who is the person Elizabeth has turned to the most since her parents died.
"She has a pattern of physical destruction," he said. "I don't know
why she hates Logan so much. He tried as hard as he could to make her
happy, but she's a tough horse to ride."
Court records and interviews show that Elizabeth's fights with
McQueary were so violent that she cut up his clothes and broke windows
in the apartment
they shared. Elizabeth was charged with domestic-violence-related
criminal damage and went into a diversion program, court records show.
McQueary got an order of protection against her in September, but
it took only days for the couple to make up. He didn't appear in court,
and the order was quashed.
In early December, three days before Elizabeth took her baby and
left Arizona in her 1995 Oldsmobile, she told her grandfather, "I'm
taking care of business."
She rented out a room in her home at a Tempe trailer park to a man found through Craigslist.
She told Bob she had a job interview and needed a ride. The next
time he heard from her was nearly two weeks later, when she called
collect from jail.
Elizabeth has refused to talk to police or the FBI, who are trying
to piece together her cross-country odyssey. Before she was arrested in
Florida, she texted McQueary from Texas and said she killed the boy and
left him in a dumpster. She later told to a local TV station that she gave
him away to a couple she met in a San Antonio park.
According to McQueary, the couple broke up on Dec. 8. Around the
same time, Elizabeth told her grandfather about the plan to give
Gabriel to Jack and Tammi Smith, a Scottsdale couple.
She had met Tammi at Boston's Logan International Airport. The
Smiths spent the following seven months trying to adopt Gabriel. They
even had custody of him for 10 to 12 days.
Police now suspect the Smiths may know the child's whereabouts
and have named them persons of interest in the case.
Bob said his granddaughter told him the baby's best future lay with the Smiths.
"I want him to have a better life than I did," she told him, "and
the way things are going with me and Logan, he doesn't (have) a
chance."
McQueary refused to sign over his parental rights. Elizabeth told
her grandfather she planned to circumvent McQueary by avoiding him for
30 days and then claiming abandonment. It didn't take long for him to
catch on. He petitioned for full custody on Dec. 11.
A week later, McQueary went to Elizabeth's trailer to pick up the boy, but she was gone.
Since then, Bob has heard from his granddaughter twice. First, she
called to ask for Tammi Smith's home phone number to call her collect
from jail. In the second conversation, which was recorded by a local
television station, Elizabeth said she had not killed her baby but had
given him to a couple in a San Antonio park.
Bob said he is not sure he believes that story, but he does think the boy is alive.
He has photos of Gabriel with his parents at Thanksgiving. One shows
them feeding him. Another shows Elizabeth lying on the couch with her legs
draped across McQueary, both smiling. The whole day, relatives
commented on how much McQueary doted over the boy. The couple seemed
happy.
When asked if Elizabeth was capable of following through on the threats she made to McQueary, Bob paused.
"I think anybody is capable, including Elizabeth, in a fit of rage," he said.
"I just hope they find the baby healthy and well, and these criminal
charges get worked out," he said. "I'd like to see that baby put in a
good home."

TEMPE - A 23-year-old Tempe mother at the center of a missing baby case has left Miami and arrived at the Maricopa County jail. Elizabeth Johnson has been charged with kidnapping, child abuse and custodial interference.

Tempe Police say that Johnson is being held on a cash-only $1.1 million bond, after being extradited from Florida. Johnson
was arrested in Miami on Dec. 30 after failing to show up for a
custodial hearing in Phoenix. Johnson had apparently driven
cross-country with her 8-month-old son Gabriel. Gabriel was last seen with her in San Antonio. She tells police she gave him up to an unknown couple in Texas for adoption. Authorities
are calling a Scottsdale couple "persons of interest" in the case. The
Smiths tell police they befriended Johnson at an airport and she
offered to give her son to them to adopt -- but the baby's father
didn't agree. TIPLINE: 1-800-THE-LOST

TEMPE, AZ -- As the search continues for a missing Tempe baby, we're learning more about the family at the center of the case.

Police
say mother Elizabeth Johnson is not cooperating with authorities who
are working with the FBI in at least four states to find her baby,
Gabriel.

"Just tell me where he's at," said Gabriel's father, Logan McQueary.

McQueary
was granted custody after Johnson didn't show up for a custodial court
hearing and allegedly fled the state with the child.

He has
made many public appeals to find the 8-month-old, but court documents
now reveal he may not be Gabriel's biological father.

In her
petition for custody on Dec. 14, Johnson wrote that there were "two
potential fathers," and requested that both McQueary and another man,
Craig Cherry, take paternity tests.

Cherry said he had no comment on the case when reached by phone Sunday.

"If
they're looking for a place for Gabriel to go, we have the father, and
the father wants his baby boy back," said Sgt. Steve Carbajal. "That's
the bottom line of this whole case."

In court documents, Johnson said she feared McQueary would kidnap the baby and leave the state.

Three
days earlier, McQuary filed for custody, saying he feared Johnson would
kidnap the baby, and that she was neglectful and unstable.

In
the statement, McQueary wrote that Johnson would leave Gabriel crying
in his crib for hours without changing his diaper, and that she kicked
McQueary out of their apartment, saying, "Take that damn baby with you."

According
to documents, he had previously filed a restraining order against her,
after he said she trashed their Tempe apartment, causing thousands of
dollars in damage.

A protective order was later dismissed when the couple got back together.

On
Dec. 14, McQueary wrote in his complaint that Johnson hid the baby at a
friend's house until police finally found the boy at 3:30 in the
morning.

That's when Johnson allegedly told him she wanted to
give Gabriel up for adoption to another couple, the Smiths, who are now
persons of interest in the case.

"She called me on the phone and
said, you need to sign these papers," said McQueary. "I said, 'What
papers,' and she said, 'I already gave them to the people that are
going to adopt him.'"

The Smiths have been making regular
appearances on news programs and recently took polygraph tests. Police
have not released the results of those tests.

"We should have
been persons of interest from day one," said Jack Smith. "I mean, we
are persons of interest. We were probably the last people to see
Gabriel."

Though police say they are confident the baby is
alive, McQueary said in his statement that Johnson called him after she
disappeared with the boy, saying she was planning to leave the country,
and that she would tell him where Gabriel's "blue" dead body was once
she had crossed the border.

McQueary also said she texted him around that time period, saying she had killed the baby.

Johnson later recanted and said she gave Gabriel to a random couple she met at a San Antonio park.

The search for Gabriel continues.

Police said Monday
they are continuing to investigate conflicting statements made by a
couple involved in the case of a missing 8-month-old Tempe boy.The results of a polygraph test taken Friday by Jack and Tammi Smith
of Scottsdale, who wanted to adopt Gabriel Johnson, came back as
“inconclusive,” according to Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal.
The Smiths were named persons of interest by police last week
because investigators believe they are withholding information that
could possibly lead them to the whereabouts of the child.
The baby’s mother, Elizabeth Johnson, was extradited late Saturday
from Florida to a Maricopa County jail, where she is being held on a
$1.1 million cash bond. Johnson remained uncooperative with authorities
about the child’s whereabouts and also is facing charges of kidnapping
and child abuse, police said.
The Tempe woman claimed she killed Gabriel and left him in a
dumpster, but police believe the child is still alive. The child’s
disappearance has sparked a nationwide search.
Gabriel was last seen with his 23-year-old mother Dec. 26 at a hotel
in San Antonio. She lost custody of her son to the boy’s father, Logan
Scott McQueary, two days later when she failed to show up at a custody
hearing.
Johnson was arrested Dec. 30 at a youth hostel in Miami Beach, Fla.,
and held while awaiting extradition. She told McQueary that she killed
the baby and left it in a trash bin. But police have said they believe
Gabriel is alive, and they are investigating whether she gave him away.
Results from a polygraph test can be “deceptive,” “truthful” or
“inconclusive,” Carbajal said. In this case, the results came back
inconclusive.
“It doesn’t really clear things up,” Carbajal said of the Smiths’
polygraph results. “We’re still investigating and asking for leads and
looking at everything.”
Kim Hale, commander of investigations for Tempe police, said Monday
that Johnson was “very quiet and standoffish” when aboard the plane
back to Arizona from Florida.
“She was not forthcoming with any information — and she’s been that
way since she was arrested,” Hale said. “At this point, the baby could
be anywhere. When asked if she wanted to be helpful in locating where
her baby was, she had nothing to say.”
Authorities appealed to whoever may have Gabriel, saying the child
can be turned over to a fire station or hospital if that person is
afraid to come forward.
If anyone has any information about the boy’s whereabouts, they can
call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800)
843-5678.

Video of court appearance of Elizabeth upon return to Arizona

Where’s Gabriel? 8 Month Old Boy Still Missing after Mother Kidnapped Him



Tuesday, January 12, 2010
By Robert Franklin, Esq.


It
should surprise no one that the case of missing Baby Boy Gabriel has
more to it than first met the eye. As you no doubt recall, Gabriel's
father, Logan McQueary was awarded custody of 8-month-old Gabriel when
his mother, Elizabeth Johnson kidnapped the boy and failed to show up
for a custody hearing. The next thing we knew, Johnson had been
arrested in Florida without Gabriel. She's since been extradited to
Arizona, all the while claiming that she gave Gabriel to strangers in a
park in San Antonio. She also told McQueary that she would kill the
child and later that she had killed him. Police say they don't believe
that the boy has been harmed.
The latest, here, is that Johnson stated in a court filing that there are two potential fathers, McQueary and another Tempe man, Craig Cherry (ABC 15, 1/11/10).

McQueary was granted custody after Johnson didn't show
up for a custodial court hearing and allegedly fled the state with the
child.
He has made many public appeals to find the 8-month-old, but court
documents now reveal he may not be Gabriel's biological father.
In her petition for custody on Dec. 14, Johnson wrote that there
were "two potential fathers," and requested that both McQueary and
another man, Craig Cherry, take paternity tests.

Also, McQueary had requested and received a restraining order
against Johnson because she reportedly had "trashed" their apartment,
doing thousands of dollars worth of damage and cut up all of McQueary's
clothing. She also secreted Gabriel at the house of friends on a
previous occasion. In his court filing, McQueary alleged that Johnson
was neglectful of and even hostile toward Gabriel.
After all of that, Johnson apparently decided to place Gabriel for
adoption with a Tempe couple, Jack and Terri Smith. Terri Smith has
appeared on various radio and television shows defending Johnson and
denigrating McQueary. The couple have now been named "persons of
interest" in Gabriel's disappearance by the Tempe police. They have
been interviewed and given polygraph tests, the results of which have
not been released.
Throughout the custody fight, Johnson and the Smiths seem to have
demanded that McQueary sign documents terminating his parental rights
to Gabriel. At one point Johnson reportedly told McQueary that he
would never see Gabriel again if he didn't waive his parental rights.
McQueary has at all times refused.
What began as a case that looked like it would be quickly resolved
with Gabriel's recovery, has begun to look ominous. By now, the case
has gotten enough media attention that anyone who has the child and
who's not part of a conspiracy to keep Gabriel away from his father,
would have come forward and turned the boy in by now. Johnson's story
about the couple in the park in San Antonio never had the ring of
truth, and now it sounds even less so.
So where is Gabriel? If the Smiths have him or know where he is,
police questioning surely would have uncovered the fact. The
possibility that Johnson placed him with an adoption agency somewhere
and told them she didn't know the father's identity is an outside
possibility, but doubtful given the short time in which all of this has
happened. Also, while adoption agencies are far from the most
scrupulous of places, I suspect most would have turned the child over
to authorities by now.
All this leads to an uncomfortable conclusion - that Johnson did
what she said she would do - take the boy's life. That's highly
speculative of course and the police don't believe that's what
happened. But given all the media attention to this case, the question
remains, "where is Gabriel?"