Posted on 06/25/2005 4:18:48 AM PDT by kcvl
June 25, 2005 -- CAMDEN, N.J. — The father of a missing 6-year-old boy dropped to his knees and let out a blood-curdling scream after opening the trunk of a parked car last night to discover the body of his son and two young friends who had been missing since Wednesday.
The bodies of Jesstin "Manny" Pagan, 5; Daniel "Danny" Agosto, 6; and Anibal Cruz, 11 — who were last seen playing in a yard in this hard-luck suburb of Philadelphia — were found by Danny's father, David Agosto, shortly before 7 p.m. in the maroon Toyota Camry.
"Anibal's father told me that there was a plastic bag over his son's head," Anibal's babysitter, Nancy Santana, told The Post last night.
The death car belongs to Anibal's grandmother and had been parked in the driveway of the family's house throughout the three-day search for the boys in neighboring woodlands and the nearby Delaware River.
Hearing Agosto's anguished screams, family and friends frantically ran from a nearby porch where they had held a vigil hoping for a miracle. The grim discovery echoed across the community.
"This is a moment that the families and the city hoped and prayed we wouldn't have to face," said Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi.
Last night, law enforcement officials declined to elaborate on their investigation, but said they were searching for Angel Martinez, 28, of Camden, as a "person of interest" in the case.
snip
Sarubbi and Figueroa said the car had been searched on Thursday with a canine unit.
snip
"We looked in the car on Thursday," an anguished neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told The Post.
"I can't believe we didn't look in the trunk."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Shouldn't they have thought of it?
Or what the hell are they paid for, anyway?
To run around looking like fools while three bodies lie within feet of the house, right under their noses?
I agree with you. The human scent has to be on the ground in order for the dogs to pick it up.
Ok. I'm just in a goofy enough mood lately. I just ran my own experiment (admittedly, flawed.)Not trying to show anyone up or anything, but just out of curiosity.
No- I didn't lock myself in the trunk of a car ;>)
What I did do was take 2 thermometers, and place one in a trunk, and the other a shaded part of the same car's back seat.
The thermometers where not calibrated, and were not identical, but were the same type, and both had been in stored in the same inside area, and were reading 80 F before I placed their persective places.
Our outside temp was 88. I left them both in place for 20 minutes. The one in the trunk read 115. The one from the passenger area, 113.
Of course, this doesn't take into account the carbon dioxide factor, but 3 young boys in that sort of heat, in an enclosed area, would have succomb rather quickly...
I think two of the boys were "special needs" children and the 11-year-old was said to have the mind of a four-year-old. I can see them experimenting with fitting into the trunk and not being able to get out. Young boys don't understand the dangers of tight quarters.
We used to live in a beautiful house whose previous owners sold it because their young son died there. He climbed into the meat freezer in the garage and then shut it behind him.
I may be wrong but I think this will turn out to be entirely accidental.
But they used more than one dog. Those kids weren't in that trunk all that time.
Bill, I think reports say they DID search the car-almost right away.I believe the dogs checked it too.
If the person responsible waited until the search had moved on, then moved the bodies into the already-searched trunk,a very different picture emerges.
30 days to check the logs?
LOL! Are we sure they aren't all affirmative action hires from the local mental institution?
Exactly. Dust the trunk for prints and if the kids' aren't there, they weren't alive when put in the car.
ya got me. Something fishy about this one
Because it's about 1000 degrees here in NJ right now which is normal for this time of year? This is no different then overheating in a locked car on a hot day.
As Spectre posted, dust the trunk for the kids' prints. If alive when put in the car, their prints would be all over the inside. If no prints, the kids were killed and placed there afterward.
True. The cops always eye the person who finds the body with suspicion.
I have a feeling the media will make sure they check the logs faster the 30 days
IMO .. that was a stupid thing for the Police Chief to say
sw
Hey, if I ever make a mistake of that magnitude, I want you as my RR agent. 8^)
I call that rank stupidity by many people doing acts of life & death importance.
Thanks.
I also read that they searched the interior of the car, but did not think to pop the trunk and look inside.
I agree, but I'm saying that mistakes happen.
Ever own a dog?
Then you know that they aren't perfect and make mistakes from time to time.
Howlin says MSNBC announced no foul play. What does this mean if there was a plastic bag on one kid's head? They're going to say the 11 year old had anger management problems? If this is so, the mother never should have left him alone with the younger two children for more than 10 seconds. And even that's too long.
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