ALISA MAIER - 4 yo - Louisiana, MO (SW of Springfield, IL)

Amber Alert Issued for Missing Missouri Girl


LOUISIANA, MO -

Authorities in eastern Missouri have issued an Amber
Alert for a four-year-old girl who they believe was abducted.

Alisa Maier, 4, is described as white, 3', 40 pounds with brown hair and
brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and blue jean
shorts. Police say that she was playing in her front yard with her
brother when a black four-door passenger car pulled up and took the
child from the yard.

Authorities say that she may in the company of a 20-year-old white male,
traveling in a black vehicle.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Alisa Maier, please
call (573) 754-4021 immediately.





http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-amber-alert-070510,0,5491119.story

An Amber Alert has been issued for four-year-old Alisa Maier.
According to her family, Alisa was playing with her brother in her
front garden in Louisiana, Missouri on July 5^th when a black
four-door passenger car pulled up. A white male in his late teens or
early 20s took Maier into the vehicle and drove away.
Alisa’s great grandmother, Mary Foiles, says the girl’s five year old
brother saw Alisa get in to the car with a man. She also says the
child’s parents were both inside when Alisa went missing.
Alisa is described as white, having brown hair and brown eyes. 3’
tall and weighing approximately 40 pounds. She was last seen wearing
blue jean shorts and a white tee-shirt.
The man is described as being in his late teens, early twenties, dark
haired and tanned skin.
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Alisa Maier
you are asked to call the Louisiana Police Department at
573-754-4021. In case of an emergency, contact 911.

http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/alisa-maier-4-feared-abducted-from-family-yard/

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=206036&catid=40

local station carrying news -

This happened 20 miles from my house and I grew up with her aunt..Praying for Alisa...

Police request surveillance video from gas station near abduction scene of missing girl

KMOV.com

Posted on July 6, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Updated today at 4:37 PM

(KMOV) – An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing four-year-old girl from Louisiana, Missouri.

Police say Alisa Maier was playing with her six-year-old brother in their front yard sometime after 7 p.m. on Monday when a black four-door car pulled up and took the girl. The car may have damage to the hood or front end.

Alisa is a white girl about three feet tall, weighs 40 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts when she was taken.

The suspect is described as a white man in his late teens or early twenties with dark, curly hair.

Police have called in the FBI for help. According to Louisiana Police Chief Richard Hughes, the police department and the FBI are following several leads in this case.

Hughes also says that investigators are looking at surveillance tapes from area businesses to help in their search. Police have requested surveillance video from a Shell gas station at 601 South 3rd street which is near the abduction scene. Police are also putting up road blocks and working with Illinois State Police.

Volunteers are gathering at the Elks Lodge at 5th and Georgia in Louisiana, Missouri. So far, dozens of people have turned out to help search for Alisa. Volunteers are going door-to-door looking for the little girl.

Hughes says police believe the kidnapping is a random act. The family says there are no family members or friends who they suspect would take Alisa.

Alisa's grandfather Roy Harrison says he believes that the suspect was just waiting for an opportunity to snag Alisa. Neighbors reported seeing the black car drive down their street several times before Alisa was taken.

Harrison says that Alisa and her brother were only outside alone for 10 minutes when the little girl was taken.

Family members are concerned that a recent carnival in town had brought outsiders into their small community.

Anyone with information about Alisa is encouraged to call police. The direct line for investigators is 573-754-4021. You can also call 314-612-3000 or e-mail stlouis_tips@ic.fbi.gov if you have any information in this case, or contact the Missouri Amber Alert here.

Louisiana, Missouri is about 80 miles north of St. Louis.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/4-year-old-girl-taken-from-front-yard-97826599.html

RAW VIDEO: Grandpa of missing girl talks to News 4

http://www.kmov.com/home/related/RAW-VIDEO-Grandpa-of-missing-girl-talks-to-News-4-97868934.html

RAW VIDEO: News conference on missing girl

http://www.kmov.com/video/raw/RAW-VIDEO-News-conference-on-missing-girl-97869469.html

Authorities Believe 4-Year-Old's Abduction Was Random

Grandfather, Police Chief ask for girl's return

Paul Schankman FOX2now.com

12:16 PM CDT, July 6, 2010

LOUISIANA, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - Louisiana Police Chief Rich Hughes fought back tears as he briefed the media on the status of missing 4-year-old Alisa Maier. Chief Hughes said there were very few details into the abduction but they do believe it was random and are looking at surveillance video froma nearby convenience store and looking into all leads. The FBI is also investigating.

Alisa Maier was taken from her front yard around 8 p.m. Monday night. Her parents were home at home at the time of the abduction. An Amber Alert was issued after her five-year-old brother told police a man in a black 4 door passenger car pulled up and took the child from the yard. Louisiana, Missouri is in Pike County, about 90 miles north of St. Louis and sits along the Mississippi River.

Alisa is a white female, 3 feet tall, weighs 40 lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes. She is believed to have been wearing a white t-shirt and blue jean shorts.

There is very little description on the suspect in this case. It is believed Alisa was taken by a white male around 20 years old. He took off in the 4 door passenger car.

The Illinois State Police and the FBI are assisting in the investigation and search. About 60 officers are on the case. Authorities are also asking for the public's help. Anyone who wants to volunteer should go to the Elks Lodge in Louisiana, Missouri, 120 North 5th Street. They will be given assignments.

If you have information, please contact the Louisiana Police Department at 573-754-4021 or the FBI at 314-589-2500. You can also call 911.


http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-amber-alert-alisa-maier-louisiana-mo-070510,0,3543711.story

Live at 5:00 CDT

http://www.fox2now.com/news/livestreaming/

Area sex offenders questioned as search for Alisa Maier continues


KSDK -- Investigators seeking missing four-year-old Alisa Maier are now questioning local registered sex offenders, hoping to gather new leads.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=206036&catid=3

http://www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=478879

There will be a prayer vigil for Alisa Tuesday night at the Louisiana, Mo. riverfront at 7:00.

The FBI is releasing more details this
afternoon about the search for Alisa Maier -- the 4-year old Louisiana ,
Mo girl abducted from her front yard Monday night, while her mother was
inside fixing dinner.
FBI Agent Mike Kaste says it's not clear whether the little girl was
taken by a stranger or someone she knew.
"Right now what we're looking at is an abduction," Kaste said, "For
me to stand here and tell you that she knew or did not know him, it
just wouldn't be appropriate, because right now we just don't know."
Kaste indicated that the family is not a focus of the investigation,
but added that they will go "where ever the investigation leads
them." The town's police chief, Richard Hughes, was asked about the
marital status of the parents, and he remarked that it has "no bearing
on the case."
Anxious to find the girl, agents are asking for the public's help
from anyone who may have seen the vehicle, described as a black
four-door passenger car with some front end damage.
Authorities have also obtained surveillance video from several
locations in the area, hoping for more clues.
Earlier today, police searched a creek looking for clues.
Volunteers are going door to door and passing out fliers
The only witness to the abduction was the victim's six-year old
brother, and authorities say it's unclear from his description whether
his sister went to the car willingly, or against her will.
The suspect is described as a white male with dark hair in his late
teens or early 20s.
Alisa Maier is white, 3-feet-tall and 40 pounds with brown hair and
brown eyes. She was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts when
she was taken.
Louisiana, Mo., is located near a bridge that crosses the Mississippi
into Illinois. Authorities say it's possible the abductor went to
Illinois with the girl.

I would think that it is most likely someone not known to the family if the boy did not recognize the guy.

Also, I do not understand why the article makes a point of "whether
his sister went to the car willingly, or against her will.", does that matter. Even if they tricked her into going "willingly", she technically still went "unwillingly", a child can't make the decision to leave with a stranger.

Mitestarossa wrote:I would think that it is most likely someone not known to the family if the boy did not recognize the guy.

Also, I do not understand why the article makes a point of "whether
his sister went to the car willingly, or against her will.", does that matter. Even if they tricked her into going "willingly", she technically still went "unwillingly", a child can't make the decision to leave with a stranger.

---Again, Welcome to J4C mitestarossa!
I think the question here is not whether she could legally make the decision, rather was there a ruckus? Was she kicking and screaming? Most likely, even at that age.

Hundreds join search for missing girl

By BRENT ENGEL Hannibal Courier-Post

Posted Jul 06, 2010 @ 10:03 PM

Louisiana, MO — The family of missing Louisiana four-year-old Alisa Maier joined in prayers for a safe return as hundreds of searchers looked for her Tuesday.

The brown-haired, brown-eyed girl was abducted at about 8 p.m. Monday from the yard in front of her home at Fourth and North Carolina just south of downtown.“Thanks for everything you do,” Alisa’s father, David Maier, said during a prayer vigil at Riverfront Park. “I just want my little girl home.”

Maier said he had “no idea” who might have kidnapped his daughter. He and his wife, Kimberly Harrison, embraced and cried as the Rev. Terry Cook led the crowd of several hundred people in bowing their heads. He was joined by other Louisiana pastors.

“Anytime we go before the Lord, it makes a difference,” Cook said afterward.

Family members said they believed God was with the girl.

“We’re a very faithful family, and we know God will take care of her,” said a grandmother, Angela Reddick of Palmyra. “We just pray this man will have a change of heart and drop her off somewhere safe.”

“We’re all upset and want her back safe and sound,” said another grandmother, Carol Harrison of Louisiana.

Ground searches were called off at dusk Tuesday, but were to resume by 7 a.m. Wednesday. Aerial thermo-imaging was to continue through the night.

Family members joined more than 200 volunteers and dozens of law enforcement officers and fire department personnel from Missouri and Illinois in the hunt for clues.

Alisa was described as three feet tall with a weight of about 40 pounds. She last was seen wearing blue jean shorts and a white T-shirt.

Alisa’s five-year-old brother told investigators that the suspect was a white, tanned man with dark, curly hair in his late teens or early 20s who drove up in a black, four-door sedan and grabbed Alisa. The car may have had front-end damage, authorities said.

Alisa’s parents were in the house at the time and the kids had been playing outside for only about 10 minutes.

The brother “went inside and said ‘Mom, Alisa just got in a car with a man,’” Reddick said. “It was a stranger. Nobody recognized the description of the car or him. It wasn’t a family member or friend.”

By the time the parents ran outside, the car was gone.

A nationwide Amber Alert was issued shortly after the incident was reported. A grandfather of the girl issued a plea for her safe return.

“She’s a really good girl,” Roy Harrison said about his granddaughter. “Always smiling, happy-go-lucky. We really appreciate everybody getting together to help find her.”

Nikki Jones of Pleasant Hill, Ill., a niece of Alisa’s mother, was one of the family members who aided in the search.

“I tried going to work today and felt sick to my stomach,” said Jones, who has a job in the shipping department at a Louisiana firm. “As long as I’m allowed to miss work without getting in trouble, I’ll keep coming out.

Louisiana Police Chief Rich Hughes, who has children about the same age as Alisa, began to weep as he discussed the investigation.

“Our goal is to bring her back here to her family,” Hughes said. “We are following up on all leads. We are getting a lot of leads.”

Hughes would not discuss whether the suspect was connected with a carnival that was set up on the Louisiana riverfront from July 2 to 4 for an Independence Day celebration. Neighbors had reported a black car cruising in the area around North Carolina Street.

Hughes called the incident a “random abduction.” Authorities said they were reviewing surveillance tapes from local convenience stores and interviewing area registered sex offenders.

Special Agent Mike Kaste of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said no tips were being ruled out.

“We’re exhausting everything,” Kaste said. “We’re looking at every possible avenue to generate leads.”

Kaste said some physical evidence had been gathered at the family’s house, but would not elaborate. Toys the children apparently had been playing with remained in the yard. The block surrounding the home was cordoned off by crime scene tape Tuesday.

The search began door-to-door targeting every dwelling in Louisiana at least three times. Volunteers also were looking through area woods and camps along the Mississippi River. Counties surrounding Louisiana in Missouri and Illinois were combed.

“We’re working in concentric circles,” Kaste said. “We expand as the leads take us.”

The search was done with maps, cell phones and other technology, and included authorities in helicopters and volunteers on all-terrain vehicles and in sports utility trucks.

The family had moved to Louisiana recently. Alisa was born in Ohio, Kaste said. A neighbor, Leon Reeves, said the home was being remodeled.

Other agencies providing assistance were the Missouri Highway Patrol, Illinois State Police, Pike County Sheriff’s Department and Louisiana Fire Department.

The Elks Lodge at 120 N. Fifth in Louisiana served as a central dispatch point for volunteers. Many people dropped off donated food and water.

“I’ve been traveling gravel roads,” said volunteer Debbie Early of Louisiana. “Then I searched the caves. There was a whole lot of nothing.”

Fifteen-year-old Schyler Cadwallader, who joined the search with his mother, said he felt a little less safe for his two young sisters, ages six and four.

“I’ve never heard of this happening in Louisiana,” Cadwallader said.

Alisa’s photo appeared on television shows and in newspapers across the nation. Many volunteers handed out fliers with her photo at junctions in Louisiana or gave copies to friends for distribution in area communities.

“We’re heading up toward Chicago, and we’ll take one along,” a motorist told Rachel Ryland as she stood at the corner of Third and Georgia.

People with information were asked to call Louisiana police at (573) 754-4021.

http://www.hannibal.net/news/x41622264/Hundreds-join-search-for-missing-girl

Missing Alisa Maier found alive in Fenton

KSDK -- Four-year-old Alisa Maier has been found alive, more than 24 hours after an Amber Alert was issued for her.

Investigators believe a man snatched her from the front yard at her Louisiana, Missouri home.

Sources tell NewsChannel 5 she was dropped off--unharmed--at a car wash in old town Fenton around 9:45 p.m.

Investigators had been questioning local registered sex offenders, hoping to gather new leads.

Family members say Maier was playing in her front yard Monday evening with her brother when a brown four-door passenger car pulled up and took her.

The description of the abductor is still vague. Police say he is possibly a white male with dark hair maybe in his late teens or early 20's.

The FBI joined the investigation after the Amber Alert was issued.

Louisiana Police Chief Richard Hughes said that the only witness to the alleged abduction remains the girl's brother. The brother told police he had seen his sister get into the car with a man he did not know.

Authorities said both of Alisa's parents were inside the home when the abduction occurred.

FBI agent Mike Kaste told reporters at an afternoon news conference that the family had moved to the area recently and Alisa was born in Ohio. He said the Maier's have family in the area. He said no one has been ruled out as a suspect in the kidnapping.

Agent Kaste said some physical evidence had been gathered at the scene, but he would not go into details. A neighbor was quoted by numerous media outlets as saying the mother pursued the vehicle after the abduction. Kaste said he has no report of such an event.

The FBI is also looking at surveillance tape. For instance, there are 19 Shell gas stations in northeast Missouri, three of them in the Louisiana, Missouri area.

Surveillance cameras are in each one. The managers of the stores are downloading all the video from the past couple of days for the FBI in the hopes of finding the driver of that dark vehicle.

Federal investigators have also called in a child interview specialist to interview Alisa Meier's six-year-old brother, still the only known witness. The national media also is in Louisiana and investigators hope their presence will help generate more leads.

He also said a carnival had been in town over the weekend, which brought a large number of strangers to the area. He did not say any connection had been made between the carnival and the abduction.

"This is a very tight-knit community so someone here would stick out. This would not be like New York, where you're going to be bumping shoulders with people," Kaste said.

Anyone with information on where Alisa Maier may be is asked to call police.


http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=206036&catid=3

Missing Alisa Maier found alive in Fenton

KSDK -- Four-year-old Alisa Maier has been found
alive, more than 24 hours after an Amber Alert was issued for her.

Investigators believe a man snatched her from the front yard at her
Louisiana, Missouri home.

Sources tell NewsChannel 5 she was dropped off--unharmed--at a car wash
in old town Fenton around 9:45 p.m.

Investigators had been questioning local registered sex offenders,
hoping to gather new leads.

Family members say Maier was playing in her front yard Monday evening
with her brother when a brown four-door passenger car pulled up and took
her.

The description of the abductor is still vague. Police say he is
possibly a white male with dark hair maybe in his late teens or early
20's.


http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=206036&catid=3

Thank God! A happy ending!

Missing Mo. girl found alive in Fenton

BY STEPHEN DEERE | Posted: Wednesday, July 7, 2010 12:16 am

FENTON • A girl missing from Louisiana, Mo., for more than a day was found Tuesday night in a strip mall parking lot on the other side of the St. Louis metro area in Fenton, police said.

St. Louis County police said they received a call at 9:45 p.m. for a boy wandering around in the parking lot of a strip mall near Highway 141 and Gravois Road. The "boy" turned out to be 4-year-old Alisa Maier, police said.

Additional details were not yet available.


http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_6fc3a6bb-9c7b-53a6-ac34-92e06ceb3638.html

Missing Mo. girl found alive in Fenton

BY STEPHEN DEERE | Posted: Wednesday, July 7, 2010 12:16 am

FENTON • A girl missing from Louisiana, Mo., for more than a day was found Tuesday night in a strip mall parking lot on the other side of the St. Louis metro area in Fenton, police said.

St. Louis County police said they received a call at 9:45 p.m. for a boy wandering around in the parking lot of a strip mall near Highway 141 and Gravois Road. The "boy" turned out to be 4-year-old Alisa Maier, police said.

Additional details were not yet available.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_6fc3a6bb-9c7b-53a6-ac34-92e06ceb3638.html

There's going to be a press conference about Alisa Maier soon . . .

KMOX radio: http://player.play.it/player/player.html?id=87

Posted: Wednesday, 07 July 2010 1:12AM

Alisa Maier is found "unharmed"

FENTON,Mo. (KMOX) -- 4 year old Alisa Maier was found alive and unharmed in Fenton.

The Louisiana Missouri girl who was abducted Monday night in Louisiana was dropped off at a car wash in Old Town Fenton before ten o'clock last night.

She is now hospitalized in Fenton as a precaution while police continue to look for her abductor, a man said to be in his twenties driving a dark colored car.

Alisa was playing with her brother in the front yard of their home on Monday when Alisa was abducted.

An Amber Alert was issued by police. Search parties spent the day looking for the girl. A prayer vigil was held in Louisiana, Missouri on Tuesday evening.

http://www.kmox.com/Alisa-Maier-is-found--unharmed-/7629072

From the FBI:

Do not have a suspect in custody. She was found wandering around a car wash in Old Fenton, near St. Louis.

There were witnesses to her being dropped off. A black or dark brown car, possibly an Escort, missing a wheel cover. Possible front end damage.

She is being looked over at a medical center.

Woo Hoo! That is incredible. Thanks, mom in il for keeping us informed.