TRINI GRIER - 5 Months - Tucson AZ

Officers with the South Tucson Police
Department are asking for the public's help in finding a 5 month old girl
who was reported missing by her grandmother.

Authorities say that the grandmother was at a
party with several individuals and fell asleep. When she woke up she
found the 5 month old missing along with a 40 year-old
Native American male who was at the party.

Investigators located a car seat a block away
from the home. Officials with the department say that they have not
issued an amber alert because the criteria for an alert have not been
met.

Officers are asking for the public's help in
locating the suspect who goes by the name of Merle. Merle is described
as a 40 year-old male; approximately 5'8" , 160 lbs, wearing a black
shirt with red and blue writing ,and red shorts with blue and white
stripes. Officers believe that Merle is homeless but is known to
frequent the South Tucson area.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of
the child or 'Merle' is asked to call 9-1-1 or 88-CRIME.

The South Tucson Police Department is investigating a possible child
abduction Thursday.
Officers were called to the Borden's Court Apartments at about 10:25
p.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of a missing five-month old girl.
The child and her sister were staying with a grandparent when the
alleged abduction occurred.
The child was apparently taken sometime between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on
Wednesday. The child's carrier was located a block away from the
grandparent's home.
Police are attempting to locate a man who goes by the name of "Merle"
and who may have been the last person to see the child. "Merle" is
described by police as a family friend.

"Merle" is a Native American male, 40 years of age, 5'6" tall, and weighing 160 lbs. He was
last seen wearing a black shirt with red and blue writing and red shorts
with blue and white stripes.
Police believe the man is homeless, making it more difficult to find
him without a permanent address or vehicle description.
They also believe Merle is a nickname posing another challenge when
trying to find him.
The baby's grandma Tawana Quezada said, "I miss her, I love her and I
want her back. It's like a big ol' weight is on my heart and I can't get it off."
Anyone with information that may be helpful in solving this crime is
asked to call 911 or 88-CR1ME.

It's a bit unusual that LE has not released a name for this baby.
I understand that at that age she couldn't respond or understand
but that's no reason to leave her nameless in the reports.
Unless, of course, there's something going on that we don't know about.
Do we have any corroboration of GM's story?
How about other people at the party? Could "Merle" be fictitious?
What about the parent(s)?
Who falls asleep between 7 and 10 PM at another's house unless there are some mighty
heavy-duty intoxicants involved?
Something's fishy in Tucson....

This case doesn't sound like it's going to end on a good note. What kind of a party does a grandmother go to that she would "fall asleep" leaving her grandchild unattended?

Police have safely recovered an infant girl who was allegedly taken
from her grandmother's apartment Wednesday night.



Early Friday morning police arrested 27-year-old Merle Vincent Zeena
in connection with the abduction of the girl.
The incident happened at the Borden's Court Apartments near South 4th
Avenue and 33rd Street sometime between 7 and 10 Wednesday night.
The missing girl and her sister were staying with their grandmother.
"Apparently the grandmother fell asleep with the children, when she
awoke the 5-month-old was missing. We're investigating whether Merle may
have taken the child and the welfare of the child since everyone else
was intoxicated we're not sure at this time," explained Lt. Jeff Inorio
of the South Tucson Police Department after the child was reported missing.
Merle was booked into the Pima County Jail and charged with kidnapping.
The uninjured girl was taken into temporary custody by CPS.

The 5-month-old girl reported missing
Wednesday was found at 4 p.m. Thursday at an apartment with Merle
Vincent Zeena, 27, who told police he thought he could do a better job
of raising the child than her own family.

The child, Trini Grier, was not
injured. She was placed in temporary custody of the state by Child
Protective Services, according to Lt. Jeff Inorio, a spokesman for the
South Tucson Police Department. He said Zeena admitted concealing the
baby all day. Inorio said the suspect had "no deviant purpose" in taking
the child.

He said Zeena was an acquaintance of the
child's grandmother. It was she who was caring for the baby in her
mother's absence, Inorio said.

Zeena has been charged with one count of
kidnapping. Police said he knew the mother of the child, from a period
when they both lived in White River, Ariz.