Cops think missing N.H. kids were murdered

CONCORD, N.H.--New evidence found in the search for two children missing since the Fourth of July has led authorities to think they may be murder victims, the state's assistant district attorney said Saturday.

Police haven't found the bodies of Sarah Gehring, 14, or her brother Philip, 11, but the investigation has changed from a missing persons case to an apparent double-homicide investigation, Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin said.

When their father, Manuel Gehring, 44, of Concord, was arrested in California on Thursday, the children weren't with him. Authorities have said he drove more than 3,200 miles from Concord to Gilroy, Calif., between July 4 and July 10.

According to court documents, the children were in tears when they and their father left an Independence Day fireworks display. The documents also say Gehring did not agree with a new custody arrangement between him and his ex-wife reached a week earlier.

There was no answer Saturday afternoon at the Hillsboro home of the children's mother, Teresa Knight. Her husband, Jim Knight, had declined to comment Friday.

Strelzin said Gehring is being held on interference with custody charges and additional charges may be brought later.

''We've developed information through investigation in California, throughout the country, through the various agencies involved,'' Strelzin said.

He wouldn't discuss what evidence had been discovered, but he said officials continue to ask for help from people who might have seen the family or their green minivan.

Gilroy police and FBI agents described Gehring as cooperative, but said Saturday that he had revealed nothing about what had happened to the children.

''We're hoping to focus on that continued cooperation that will lead us to the location of these children,'' FBI agent Arthur Balizan said.

The FBI was tracking his financial accounts, and when he used a credit or debit card to check in at a hotel Thursday, federal officials asked police to investigate, Gilroy Police Chief Gregg Giusiana said.

Neighbors who know Gehring in New Hampshire described him as a quiet and responsible man.

''He was soft-spoken and polite, and Sarah seemed to have a good relationship with her dad,'' said Carolyn Edy.

She said she has known the family for more than 10 years and used Sarah as a baby-sitter.

I've been hearing about this case, but what bothered me was hearing yesterday an unidentified female was found in a lagoon in Skokie, bound and duck taped. The police have said they believe this is now a homicide case but will not say why.

From Sun Times

July 13, 2003

Body in plastic found in lagoon

A female body wrapped in plastic was recovered from the Chicago Skokie River Lagoon in a forest preserve area, according to State Police Sgt. John Hernandez. Police gave no details on the age of the victim or how long her body may have been there. State Police were notified of the body shortly after 6 p.m., Hernandez said. An autopsy will be performed today, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.


How about the new highway named for Clinton in his home stste of Arkansas? It's a little crooked, and has a long yellow streak down the center. Be careful if you drive on it, it's a little slick. Manufacturers announced today that they will be stocking America's shelves this week with "Clinton Soup, to honor one of the nation's most distingushed men". It consists primariy of a weenie in hot water.
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Maybe this Dad wants them to think the kids are dead for some reason. The mother "has slipped into seclusion"...

There are lots of people jumping out in defense of Dad, but has anyone seen anything written about the MOM?

Could this Dad is sacrificing his freedom for his kids safety?

Sounds a bit farfetched, but there has to be a reason that Dad was granted full custody of the kids.

Update (more details) KTVU News:

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A Santa Clara County judge Monday ordered Manuel Gehring to be return to New Hampshire where authorities believe he is connected to the alleged murder of his two missing children. Gehring's public defender Charles Gillam said he will likely begin his journey back to the East Coast within a few hours.

A subdued Gehring briefly answered questions from Superior Court Judge Jerome Nadler while wearing a jail-issued yellow top indicating that he is being housed in the Santa Clara County Jail's psychiatric facility.

Earlier in the day, court documents in New Hamsphire revealed that Gehring told his ex-wife shortly before he and his two children disappeared from their New England hometown that he would not abide by a new custody arrangement. Authorities say Gehring, 44, drove across the country starting July 4 or 5, possibly with his children. Court records say 14-year-old Sarah and 11- year-old Philip were in tears when they were last seen with their father leaving a July 4 fireworks show in Concord.

FBI agents and officials searched for the children Sunday without success and again Monday at points along Gehring's route between Concord and Gilroy, Calif., where Gehring was arrested Thursday.

New Hampshire Attorney General Peter Heed declined to release further details about the search Monday, but in a brief interview, he said he held out little hope that Sarah and Philip would be found alive. "Until we find bodies, you never say never. But, based on everything we know, our level of confidence that they are dead is very high," he said. Prosecutors have said Gehring is the sole focus of the investigation.

Gehring, a naturalized citizen from Nicaragua, was out of work after finishing a year-and-a-half contract job with a Nashua firm last month, according to a petition for emergency custody of the children filed by his ex-wife, Teresa Knight, on July 7.

Gehring and Knight signed a mediated agreement on June 24 -- the day they were supposed to go to trial over custody -- that said Sarah and Philip would go to school in Concord, where their father lived, but would spend two or three days and nights each week with their mother in Hillsboro.

After signing the agreement, Gehring "called (Knight) and advised her that he had no intention of following the agreement," according to her July 7 petition in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord. Gehring "was very agitated and angry in his last telephone call with (Knight)."

A woman who considered Gehring her closest friend and spoke to him every day said he was thrilled when Knight signed the agreement allowing Philip to go to school in Concord and spend about 60 percent of his time at his father's. "He really liked being around the kids," Linda DeSantis told the Concord Monitor.

The focus of the search for the children is the Midwest, according to Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Jeff Strelzin. FBI Special Agent Robert Hawk in Cleveland said information that he would not disclose prompted a seven-hour search Sunday near Toledo, Ohio. FBI agents and police searched on foot and in a helicopter in open areas and parks along major highways and thoroughfares but did not find the children.

Officials said unspecified evidence found Friday night and early Saturday led them to believe the children are dead. Strelzin would not discuss the evidence or say whether Gehring was helping them find the children.

Gehring was being held in the mental health unit of the Santa Clara, Calif., county jail. A jail spokesman said Gehring is depressed but was not considered a suicide risk.

Teresa Knight, who is four months pregnant with twins, has not spoken to reporters, but her husband, James Knight, the children's stepfather, told the Monitor they were struggling to cope with the news. He said they last saw the children on July 2 when they dropped Philip off at his father's home. "There were no problems as we saw them," he said.

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