LOOK AT THE PARENT WARNINGS AT THE END OF ARTICLE...Brenda and The Demon should pay close attention!!!
Body identified as missing Stanton girl
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ASSOCIATED PRESS July 17, 2002 STANTON – The body of a little girl found in a rugged, heavily forested area was identified Wednesday as that of kidnapped 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, and investigators warned that her killer was likely to strike again. Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona confirmed the identification at a press conference after a nightlong wait by the community where the little girl lived. Samantha was believed to have been sexually assaulted, he said.
"The body was found nude. At this point in time there is no obvious cause of death," Carona said. The killer is likely a serial rapist and serial killer, the sheriff said. The fact the body was easy to find indicated the killer was leaving a "calling card for future activity." "We believe that there is an ongoing risk, based on the profile provided to us by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, that this individual will commit another crime with a similar fact pattern," he said. FBI agent Richard Garcia addressed the unknown killer directly during the nationally televised news conference held near the girl's home. "The individual is in fact watching us right now," Garcia said. "I want to tell you ... we will find you and we will bring you to justice." The body was discovered Tuesday afternoon in neighboring Riverside County near Highway 74 on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest, about 50 miles from where Samantha was abducted. The two-lane road, also known as Ortega Highway, runs east from San Juan Capistrano in Orange County and becomes largely rural in neighboring Riverside County. Two men who were at a hang-gliding location spotted the body in an open field area. Orange County authorities took the lead in investigating the case, even though the body was found outside the county. Riverside County provided bloodhounds to scour the area in an effort to determine if the girl was killed there or if her body was dumped there. Authorities began a massive manhunt just minutes after Samantha was taken Monday evening kicking and screaming from her Stanton townhome complex by a man who lured her toward him by saying he needed help finding his dog. Samantha was playing a board game with her friend Sarah Ahn when the man drove up in a two-door light green car after making a U-turn, police said. Authorities described the car as either a Honda or Acura. The girls were sitting on a short wall about 150 feet from Samantha's home in the complex, which is not gated, when the man got out and asked for help finding his puppy, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino. Erin Runnion had wept as she begged for the return of her daughter. "We don't want vengeance, we just want our baby back," she said Tuesday. Authorities limited access to the Runnion home Tuesday night with police tape and by placing deputies around the perimeter. A police chaplain was seen entering the home at one point. Samantha's mother and stepfather, Ken Donnelly, were at work and her grandmother was inside their home when the kidnapping occurred. Samantha's abductor has been described by police as a Hispanic man with slicked-back black hair and a thin black mustache, wearing a powder blue button-down shirt. Carona said investigators have received hundreds of tips from the public. Samantha's biological father, Derek Jackson of Sunderland, Mass., was contacted by authorities and ruled out as a suspect, Runnion said. Her abduction follows the high-profile kidnap cases of Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City and Danielle van Dam in San Diego. Samantha's family said they moved from nearby Garden Grove to Stanton a year ago because they wanted a safer environment for their three children, one where they could play outside without fear. At the Stanton townhome complex, Alex Quintanar, 34, held his 3-year-old daughter, Alexa, who used to play with Samantha. He said that he did not know how he would answer her questions when she asked for her Samantha. "When she can understand, I'll tell her she went to heaven," Quintanar said. Two rewards have been posted in the case: British Petroleum is offering $50,000 for the safe return of Samantha. The Coalition of Police & Sheriffs posted a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the kidnapper.
Tips for parents (The Van Dams should review this!!) Most of the more than 350,000 children abducted in America each year are taken by relatives. Random abductions by strangers are rare but terrifying; experts offer the following tips to parents for trying to avoid them. –Teach your children in whose car they may ride. Children should be cautioned never to approach any vehicle, occupied or not, unless accompanied by a parent or trusted adult. If a stranger asks for directions or assistance, the child should tell them to ask an adult. –Create an atmosphere in your own home where your children feel safe confiding information about uncomfortable experiences. Ensure a sense of confidence in your children that you will believe them and be responsive to them if they need your help. –Tell your child not to go out alone – always take a friend, sister, or brother. Teach them always to tell an adult where they are going, and never to take a ride with someone they don't know. –Discuss with your children whose homes in the neighborhood they can visit, and the boundaries of where they can and can't go in the neighborhood. –Make sure your children know their address and telephone numbers, and how to use the telephone. Be sure they know what to do in an emergency, and, if appropriate, how to reach you using cell phones or pagers. Make certain they do not tell anyone who calls that they are home alone. –Don't drop children off alone at malls, movies, video arcades or parks.
 Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
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