Apartment Searched Near Disappearance Site
Posted: 8:20 a.m. EDT July 19, 2002
Updated: 11:29 a.m. EDT July 19, 2002
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Deputies in Stanton, Calif., say they're pursuing more than 1,000 leads in their hunt for the man who kidnapped and killed Samantha Runnion.
The 5-year-old girl's body was found in a field 50 miles from her home Tuesday, a day after she had been pulled into a car, kicking and screaming.
So far there have been no arrests, but police searched an apartment complex late last night not far from where the body was discovered. They also served a search warrant at a business in Temecula, Calif. Authorities aren't saying for what they were searching.
Sheriff Mike Carona says authorities are "relatively convinced" that the killer is still in California.
Carona said that law enforcement officials worked through the night serving search warrants at various locations and gathering a "tremendous amount" of evidence in Samantha's case.
Police think whoever killed Runnion is a sexual predator and possible serial killer who may strike again.
Samantha was taken from outside her home, and her body showed signs of sexual assault.
Carona says there is no suspect in custody, but several people have been taken in to custody for questioning.
He wouldn't give more details.
Runnion was abducted Monday outside her home in Stanton by a man who said he needed help finding a puppy. Her body was found the next day 50 miles away in a field near Lake Elsinore.
Police earlier released a man captured after a police chase Thursday. He's being charged with gun offenses, but police said he isn't a suspect in Samantha's murder.
Carona said Samantha's parents are heartbroken. He says they are very thankful for the community's support, but "they miss their daughter."
Samantha and a 5-year-old friend were playing near her home Monday evening when a man drove up and grabbed her after asking for help finding his puppy.
The Orange County sheriff says police are getting closer "every minute" to finding the man who killed Samantha.
Could the rush to "pin" Westerfield, based upon the "suggestions" by neighbors have allowed a possible serial killer to remain free?? Something to consider maybe? (Comments by FDA)
IMO if they catch the guy and he confesses to killing Danielle also, the trial will proceed...too much invested to stop the train now...another multimillion dollar settlement could loom for the government..If there is forensic evidence connecting the two cases, heads should roll...JMHO
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58148,00.html
Friday, July 19, 2002
STANTON, Calif. — Authorities are focusing on several suspects in the killing of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, officials said early Friday as hundreds of police officers, sheriff's deputies and FBI agents continued to scour Southern California for clues.
"I think it's safe to say that we've narrowed our field of investigation to several people," Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said in an interview Friday on NBC's Today show, "and that this puzzle is coming together and every minute we're getting closer to solving this crime."
The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Friday morning that a 27-year-old man in Lake Elsinore, not far from where Samantha's body was found, has become a chief focus of the investigation.
Carona said that search warrants had been served at four locations, including an apartment complex near Lake Elsinore and at a business in Temecula, both in Riverside County. No one was arrested.
Adelina Avila of Lake Elsinore told reporters her apartment was searched Thursday and her 27-year-old son had been detained earlier that day.
A Los Angeles television station identified Avila's son as Alejandro Avila, who told his mother via telephone that Orange County sheriff's deputies were holding him in a motel as the waited for results to tests done on physical evidence.
The TV station reported that Avila's mother said that authorities took away a computer, a few shirts and a pair of shoes from the apartment.
Avila's mother said her son had been on his cell phone at about the time Samantha was abducted Monday night, and that he had told her he was at a shopping mall in Ontario, San Bernardino County, about 40 miles from Lake Elsinore and about 25 miles from the girl's home in the Orange County city of Stanton.
Avila told television reporters by telephone that he did not buy anything at the shopping mall.
The Times did not say whether Avila's son was the man police were focusing on, but reported that three cars resembling the abductor's vehicle had been confiscated from the apartment complex.
AP
A police sketch shows the man suspected of kidnapping Samantha Runnion.
According to the only witness to the abduction, 5-year-old Sarah Ahn, the kidnapper was driving a light green Honda or Acura when he bundled the kicking and screaming Samantha into his car after luring her to him with a story about a lost puppy.
FBI agent Richard Garcia described the suspect as a Hispanic man between 25 and 40, with black hair, a thin mustache and a Spanish accent. Carona said he may also bear the physical signs of a struggle on his hands, arms and face.
"Those individuals who are driving green cars, those individuals who generally meet and match the description [of the suspect] are going to be detained and questioned," said Orange County Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo Thursday.
Between 10 and 50 people had been detained and questioned by Thursday night, said Carona, and more than 1,000 leads had come in to the command center across the street from Samantha's home in the suburban community of Stanton.
"We are also relatively convinced that this individual has not left California," Carona said of the wanted man.
Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the girl's killer.
Investigators said they were checking to see if Samantha's case was similar to unsolved child killings nationwide. However, the focus of the manhunt remained in Southern California, where about 400 Orange County sheriff's deputies and local police officers were joined by nearly 100 FBI agents.
Samantha's nude body was discovered Tuesday afternoon in Riverside County near Highway 74 on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest, about 50 miles from Stanton.
An autopsy revealed the girl was alive for several hours after she was snatched and was killed sometime Tuesday by asphyxiation.
Early Thursday, the California Highway Patrol arrested a man after a 40-mile chase from Visalia to Fresno that was prompted by a citizen's 911 call reporting that he looked similar to a drawing of Samantha's killer that authorities have circulated nationwide.
He was questioned for more than 10 hours and then released, and sheriff's Lt. Lloyd Downing said afterward, "I have no information to say that he is a suspect."
The man's lawyer said it was a case of mistaken identity, adding that his client, who lives in East Los Angeles and works in Stanton, was in the Fresno area to visit his children. He was cited for investigation of evading arrest, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and possessing a loaded gun, all misdemeanors. He was released on $4,800 bond.
"There have been numerous detentions, there have been a few arrests, there have been vehicles impounded," Jaramillo said of the search for Samantha's killer.
Meanwhile, in Sunderland, Mass., Samantha's biological father, Derek Jackson, mourned her Thursday at a news conference from his home.
"I will always stay connected with her. She will live in my heart when I wake up every day," Jackson said. "I love her dearly. I miss you, Samantha."
Jackson also offered advice to other parents.
"Please watch your children. Every second, don't let them out of your sight, especially now," he said.
Outside Samantha's home, a memorial continued to grow. Flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, candles and personal messages to her were laid out on 14 tables in a courtyard of the housing complex.
Once full of children playing and skateboarding, the streets inside the cluster of condominiums were vacant Thursday morning. A nearby park was also sparsely populated, and parents kept a careful watch.
Tara Frietas, 13, walked with her grandfather, Art Domen, 79, from their Garden Grove home a few blocks away to pay their respects.
They said they had taken extra precautions.
"I have to be home before dark. I can't go anywhere alone, and I'm not to speak to strangers," Tara said, adding she was afraid after hearing the sheriff comment Wednesday that the killer could strike again.
Stranger Abductions Are Rare
Share Your Thoughts