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Missing Child Alert Emails, Spam and Hoaxes
Despite all the good organizations and people in this world who are here
to help save missing children, there seem to be a number of those with nothing better to
do with their time than to flood the net with email hoaxes concerning missing children.
We at CAF would like to urge each of you to investigate unsubstantiated
email reports that you receive before passing them on to others on the net. About.com has
an archive section of reporting such cases of these hoaxes and there are links to other
areas on the net to seek information about such hoaxes.
Missing Alert Emails and What to Watch Out For
If you ever
receive a missing child email, these are a few things to watch out for.
Look for information in the email such as an informative physical
description of the missing person, the time and place of disappearance,
and contact information with telephone numbers. Make note of what
police department is to be contacted and if there is an incident number
associated with the report. If these things are missing, the odds are
that the email is not valid.
Missing
Children Email & Hoax Archive
| Name |
Hoax / Valid |
Information |
| Evan Trembley
|
Hoax |
This email states: Please look at the picture, read what his mother
says, then forward this message on. My 15 year old boy, Evan Trembley,
is missing. He has been missing for now two weeks.
This email is another prank by a teenager that has mushroomed into a
full-scale hoax. Evan Trembley, 15, of Wichita Falls, Texas, is not
missing and has admitted to the police that he created this message
himself to amuse his friends.
For a full report, click here. Please do not forward this email any further.
|
| Jewel Mahavia Strong
|
Was Valid |
Our
reseach indicates that 3-year-old Jewel Strong of Morrow, Ga., went
missing Sunday, May 28th, 2006 after she and her 18-year-old cousin
drifted on a raft out of the kiddie pool area over a dip in the jetty
and into the pass, witnesses reported to authorities. They fell off the
raft and although the teenager from Marianna was rescued by a passing
boater, Jewel was never found.
According to the News Herald in Panama City, FL, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended
the search June 1st, 2006 for the body of 3-year-old Jewel Strong who disappeared near St. Andrews State Park’s west jetty.
The
Bay County Sheriff’s Office, however, continued the search Wednesday,
May 31st, 2006 with a helicopter and patrol boat, but the body was
never recovered.
For a full report, click here.
|
| Larisha Denise Blackledge
|
Valid |
This email is a picture of an young black woman age 17, DOB 2/24/89,
5'8" and 180 lbs. Readers are asked to call the SDPD at 619-527-3500.
In researching this email we contacted the San Diego Police Department
and their Missing Persons Division and were told that no report of any
individual by this name has been filed. All attempts to reach the other
phone numbers were unanswered and no other reports from other agencies
could confirm the report yet it does appear that this is legitimate.
San Diego's KUSI News does have a video report (see: http://www.kusi.com/home/4839181.html) that reports that Larisha is missing and reported being held against her will.
|
| Reachelle Marie Smith
|
Valid |
According to the Minot, N.D. Police Department, Reachelle (Peanut) was
reported missing and suspected of being abducted by 22 year old Leigh
Cowen who lived with Reachelle's aunt, her legal guardian. However,
Cowen has since been found dead of an apparent suicide, and Reachelle
has still not yet been located. If you have any information, contact
the ND Police Dept. at (701) 852-0111 |
| Sara Marie VanVeckhoven
|
No Longer Valid |
Rankin County Mississippi law enforcement requests that any emails
regarding Sara Marie VanVeckhoven be terminated. While this was a
legitimate report issued on 5-12-2006, Sara has since been returned
safely home and there is no need to have this email circulated. Please
do not forward this email any further.
|
| Ashley Flores
|
Hoax |
The
email states: We have a Deli manager (Acme Markets) from Philadelphia,
Pa who has a 13 year old daughter who has been missing for 2 weeks.
Keep the picture moving on. With God on her side she will be found. "I
am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to
anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 13 year old girl, Ashley
Flores, is missing.
She has been missing for now two weeks.
This is a hoax. Ashley
Flores is not missing. According to our research it was issued as a
prank that was even posted on MYSPACE.COM by some individuals who
thought it would be funny.
Please do not forward this email any further.
|
| Janelle Woloshyn
|
No Longer Valid |
The email states: URGENT!PLEASE HELP ME FIND JANELLE!
Hello, my name is Melissa Woloshyn, my sister is Janelle. I need help
from everyone. My sister Janelle has disappered, and we
has no idea where she is or what is going on. She is 15 years old,
5'9", around 130-140 lbs, she wears glasses/contacts, blonde chin
length hair, blue eyes. She has a scar under her chin, has her nose
pierced. She was last seeing(we think)wearing a black hoodie, and
jeans, along with a blue school bag and black Point Zero Purse.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Detachments in Saskatchewan, this report was valid at one time but
Janelle has since returned home safely.
Please do not forward this email any further.
|
| Mia Carter
|
No Longer Valid |
The email states: Her name is Mia Carter.
She is about 5' 7" and 117 lbs.
She has long wavy black-brown hair usually up in a ponytail or bun.
She was last seen on June 19, 2005 in Glenarden Maryland.
She has a light mole on the left side above her lip.
This report was valid at one time but Mia has since returned home safely and is back attending school.
Please do not forward this email any further.
|
| Help Burned Baby Alexandra
|
Hoax |
Email
claims that recipients can help pay the medical bills of 14 month old
Alexandra, who received horrific burns in a house fire, simply by
forwarding the message. Although Alexandra is a real child and she was
badly burned. However, the claim that money will be donated when the
email is forwarded is completely false. Please do not forward this
email any further.
|
| Identify a Young Girl
|
No Longer Valid |
Email
is a picture of a young girl said to be a lonely survivor of the 2004
Tsunami in Thailand. From what we have found, this girl was a victim of
the South Asian tsunami, but has been identified as Sophie Marleen
Micl. She did becom separated from her parents in Phuket, Thailand on
the day of the tsunami waves and when she was found, she was taken to a
hospital in Phuket.
Sophie was not identified until several days later and her parents have
never been found. According to reports she was returned to Germany for
further medical treatment and is in the care of relatives. Please do
not forward this email any further.
|
| Kimberly Poland
|
No Longer Valid |
The
Montclair Police Department has received numerous calls regarding a
spam type e-mail giving information on this child being abducted.
Please DO NOT contact the Montclair Police Dept. about this mailing and
please help to stop it's circulation. While the case is no longer
valid, the email being circulated was not authorized or released by
them. |
| Dong-Yue (Cecilia) ZHANG
|
No Longer Valid |
Celia Zhang's body was found March 27 2004.
Her killer was found in July 2004, and was sentenced for murder. For a full report, click
here.
|
| Kelsey Brooks Jones |
No longer valid |
Was missing for a few hours on Oct 11, 1999 but the email still circulates and has
become a huge headache. If you receive this email, please reply to let the senders know
the case is closed and do not forward it to others. |
| Krystava Patients Schmidt |
No longer valid |
Recovered unharmed within days of disappearance, but email alert still circulates |
| Andrew Russell Steinmetz |
No longer valid |
Kidnapped by father, recovered unharmed 2 months later. Email alert is still
circulating. |
Christopher John
Mineo Jr. |
Hoax |
The email that reports this child as missing has been thoroughly researched by David
Emery of About.com - Urban Legends. Read the full report here. |
| Penny Brown |
Hoax |
The
email requests that you PLEASE LOOK AT PICTURE THEN FORWARD. There is
no record of this child being reported missing. The true identity of
the child photograph is unknown. Do not forward it to others.
For a full report, click here |
| Rachael Arlington |
Hoax |
The
email is a charity request purporting to have been written by the
father of a 10-year-old girl named Rachel Arlington, who is supposed to
be dying of brain cancer. Do not forward it to others. For
a full report, click here |
| Jessica Cortez |
No longer valid |
Jessica
Cortez is home, safe and sound, with her family in Los Angeles. The
four-year-old, disappeared from Echo Park on August 11, 2002, turned up
three days later "dirty and dishevelled" but otherwise in "good
condition" doctors said. For a full report, click here |
Feel free to contact us with any other Hoax sites concerning missing
children
Email Us
This page is updated as soon as we verify hoax information provided to us.
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