JERMAINE DAVIS - 10 yo - Pamplico (NW of Myrtle Beach) SC

Police are still trying to find a 10-year-old Florence
County foster child, missing now for more than a week.
Joyce Chandler of Pamplico has been in daze since her
10-year-old foster son, Jermaine Davis, ran away from her home last
Monday. "My heart sunk. I couldn't believe it," she said.

She sent Jermaine to his room for misbehaving, and the next
thing she knew he had left through the window.
Joyce drove around her neighborhood looking for Jermaine, but
couldn't find him anywhere. She spotted a Florence County sheriff's
deputy and flagged him down for help.Joyce
told that deputy she believed Jermaine headed toward Lake City to try
and find his biological mother, whose parental rights were terminated
last November. Jermaine has been in Joyce's custody since March of 2007.
Deputies checked Jermaine's biological mother's home in Lake
City several times, according to Capt. Mike Nunn with the Florence
County Sheriff's Office. "We don't believe he is imminent danger, but we
want to return him to his foster home as promptly as we can," Nunn
said.Tuesday afternoon, investigators
learned the child's mother, Josephine Burgess was arrested in Horry
County Sunday for shoplifting. She remains in the jail as of Tuesday
afternoon.There was a reported sighting of
Jermaine at a Lake City store this week, but police can't confirm that.
Nunn said, "The investigative division, along with the national center,
are doing everything we can to locate the child."
Officials with the Department of Social Services said they were
immediately notified that Jermaine ran away and are helping police to find him.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

JERMAINE DAVIS
Case Type: Endangered Missing
DOB: Aug 11, 1999	Sex: Male
Missing Date: Jun 7, 2010	Race: Black
Age Now: 10	Height: 4'6" (137 cm)
Missing City: PAMPLICO	Weight: 85 lbs (39 kg)
Missing State :SC	Hair Color: Black
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Black
Case Number: NCMC1149215
Circumstances: Jermaine was last seen at home on June 7, 2010. He may be traveling on a light blue mountain bike. He was last seen wearing a brown T-shirt, blue and brown shorts, and flip flops.

Pamplico SC ---- A 10-year-old missing from

his foster home continues to be the subject of a search by deputies from
the Florence County Sheriff's Office.

Capt. Michael Nunn, spokesman for the department,
said Jermine Davis of Pamplico went missing from his foster home on June
7.The child was last
seen riding a blue bicycle and wearing a brown
T-shirt, brown and blue plaid shorts, and flip-flops.

A handful of investigators from the Florence
County Sheriff's Office have actively been exploring leads, and based on
information received, believe the 10-year-old has not been the victim
of foul play.

Nunn said anonymous tips reveal the child has been
seen in the area of Eugene Street in Lake City within the last few
days.

Anyone with information on the location of Davis
is asked to contact the Florence County Sheriff's Office at (843)
665-2121 ext. 478. Tips can also be called in to the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children at 1-877-446-2632.

Police say a missing a 10-year-old Florence County boy has been
spotted in Lake City.According to the Florence County Sheriff's
Office, Jermaine Davis was seen on Eugene Street in Lake City, where his
biological mother lives.Police say they believe the child
was trying to get to his mother when he ran away from his foster home
nearly three weeks ago.Police say they don't believe the he is
any imminent danger.If you have seen the child or know where he
is, you're asked to call the Florence County Sheriff's Office at (843)
665-2121.

The Florence County Sheriff's Office has dedicated four full-time
investigators in the search for a missing boy.Jermaine Davis was
seen on Eugene Street in Lake City, where his biological mother lives. Police
say they believe the child was trying to get to his mother when he ran
away from his foster home nearly three weeks ago.If you have seen
the child or know where he is, you're asked to call the Florence County
Sheriff's Office at (843) 665-2121.

The biological mother, grandmother, and sister of a Florence
County foster child who was missing for 22 days are now accused of
hiding him from police.Josephine Burgess, 38, of Lake City is
charged with Kidnapping, Unlawful Conduct Toward a Child and Giving
False Information to Law Enforcement.Galanda Quilnett Burgess,
22, and Diane Burgess, 58, both of Lake City, are charged with
Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping, Unlawful Conduct Toward a Child and
Giving False Information to Law Enforcement.Police say
that after 10-year-old Jermaine Davis left his foster home in Pamplico
on June 7, the three family members hid him for 22 days from
investigators who were trying to find him.According to
investigators, on multiple occasions the suspects hid Jermaine in the
attic of their home on Eugene Street in Lake City and once as
investigators executed a search warrant in an effort to locate the
child.Investigators further believe that the suspects moved
Jermaine from Eugene Street to other locations in order to keep law
enforcement from returning him to the foster mother, who has legal
custody of the child.According to a release from the Florence
County Sheriff's Office, from the outset, evidence led investigators to
believe that Jermaine was not the victim of foul play and was possibly
with family members."It is disturbing that at a time when we have
marshaled the resources of this office as well as others in an effort
to locate a missing child that anyone would interfere with that
process," Sheriff Kenney Boone stated. "We repeatedly requested that
anyone, including family members, with information on the whereabouts of
this child to contact us. Not only did they not do that, they actively
took steps to prevent us from finding him. We cannot tolerate this
interference with the search for a missing child."

The Florence County
Sheriff's Office says the biological mother of a 10- year-old boy hid
him for 22 days.Deputies say she even hid the child in the attic
in 100 degree temperatures as they searched her home.38-year-old Josephine Burgess
and her 22-year-old daughter Galanda Burgess faced a judge on charges
they intentionally hid 10- year-old Jermaine Davis.Wednesday, he showed up at the
Florence County DSS building, alone."We have put in a lot of
manhours, spent a lot of time looking for this young man," Lt. Brett
Camp, Florence County Sheriff's Dept., said.Jermaine is Burgess' biological
son. Her parental rights were terminated back in November.On June 7, Jermaine ran away
from his foster mother's home in Pamplico.Burgess told the judge that same
day her son showed up on his bike at her home in Lake City. "When
Jermaine came to my home, he rode all the way from 378 Highway. That's a
busy highway, all kind of tractor trailers, came to my house and was
dehydrated," Josephine Burgess saidBut police say when they asked
Burgess where Jermaine was, she and her daughter lied to them and all
along were moving him from house to house. "At one point, he said he was
in the attic in 100 degree weather," Gail Creel, Florence County DSS,
said.When the judge asked Josephine if she had anything to say, she
said she loves her son. "I am guilty. I feel I'm guilty in a way, and I
feel I'm not guilty in a way because of the love I have for my son."The judge set bond for his
mother at $50,000, his sister's at $16,000. For now, they remain in jail
and Jermaine remains in the custody of DSS.Josephine Burgess' mother,
Diane, is also charged.All three faces charges of kidnapping, unlawful
conduct toward a child and giving false information to law enforcement.