|
| Author | Message / Information |
| birgitta_ice Forum Admin and Psychic | Opal Jo´ Dace Jennings posted on: 2/21/2003 4:57:16 AM "Please Help Find this Child" Opal Jo'Dace Jennings  Date of Birth: Nov. 24, 1992 Age (at disappearance): 6 years Height: 4' 0" Weight: 60 lbs Build: Medium Eyes: Blue Hair: Brown Race: Caucasian Missing from: Saginaw, TX Date Missing: March 26, 1999 Notes/Comments: Opal was last seen wearing purple shorts, and white top with flowers and stripes. Her hair was in a ponytail. She is believed to have been taken from her front yard by a Caucasian or Hispanic male driving a black car with a tan top. childsearch.org |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Family hopes for a break in abduction of girl, 6
replied on: 3/1/2003 8:09:28 PM Tuesday, Apr. 6, 1999 Family hopes for a break in abduction of girl, 6 Opal Jennings, who once lived here, is missing from Saginaw, Texas, home By NOVELDA SOMMERS Staff Writer Six-year-old Opal Jo Jennings knew about strangers when a man with a ponytail apparently abducted her March 26 as she played outside her grandparents' Saginaw, Texas, home. The kindergartner, who lived in Corpus Christi until she was almost 5, had been warned the day before by her grandfather to beware of strangers, said her aunt, Teresa Sanderford of Saginaw. Teachers at Opal's school also had presented a program warning students to beware of people they don't know. Ten days after Opal's disappearance, she could be hundreds of miles away from home, Sanderford said. Aunts, uncles and cousins have gathered at Opal's grandparents' home to support each other. Opal's great-grandmother, Leola Hartline, who lives in Corpus Christi but was in Saginaw Monday to help her family, said dozens of people have left messages on her answering machine asking about Opal and offering their prayers. "I got call after call," she said. "I'm praying because she has a lot of friends and people who love her." On the day of her disappearance, Opal's grandfather, Robert Sanderford, told Opal and two playmates to play closer to the house before he stepped inside to watch the beginning of a television newscast. The doors and windows of the home were open, and the children were unattended for just minutes, family members said. But in those minutes, a man described as Anglo or Hispanic, 40 to 50 years old and driving a dark purple or black car snatched Opal from the yard and drove away. The only known witnesses to the abduction were the playmates: Opal's 2-year-old cousin and a 4-year-old neighborhood friend. "It could not have been five minutes," Teresa Sanderford said. "And my little grandson, he was crying. I went out there to see about him and he said Opal's gone, Opal's gone." The children told authorities they saw the man grab Opal, hit her in the chest after she screamed and push her into the passenger's side of the car, Sanderford said. Sanderford described Opal as a smart, vivacious girl who has memorized her telephone number and address. Opal and her younger sister moved to Saginaw, a town of about 12,000 near Fort Worth, with her grandparents in September after first moving to North Dakota with her mother, Sanderford said. Opal's grandparents, Robert and Audrey Sanderford, became the children's legal guardians because her mother couldn't afford to care for Opal and her sister. Hartline said she raised Opal for part of the time that the girl's family lived in Corpus Christi. "She's my great-granddaughter, but she's my girl," Hartline said. "She grabbed my heart right off and that was it." Opal attended preschool in Flour Bluff. During a recent visit, she delighted in pointing out Hartline's former apartment and Opal's former schools, Hartline said. "She's a very bright little girl," Hartline said. "I'm just hoping she could get on the phone. She knows my phone number. Maybe her abductor could find it in his heart to get her home one way or another." Staff writer Novelda Sommers can be reached at 886-3774 or by e-mail at sommersn@caller.com http://www.caller2.com/autoconv/newslocal99/newslocal843.html |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Suspect indicted anew in Saginaw missing-girl case
replied on: 3/1/2003 8:11:41 PM Friday, March 17, 2000 Suspect indicted anew in Saginaw missing-girl case Associated Press FORT WORTH - A Tarrant County grand jury again has indicted a man suspected in the abduction of a 6-year-old Saginaw girl who has been missing nearly a year. The second indictment against Ricky Lee Franks includes new wording, but makes no changes in the charges against him in the disappearance of Opal Jo Jennings. Prosecutors have added several specifics to their allegations contained in a November indictment against Franks. Franks, 30, is scheduled to go to trial April 3 on charges of aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child. The suspect, who remained in the Tarrant County jail on a $1 million bond, has told police he picked up Opal and had sexual contact with her but released her unharmed. The girl hasn't been seen since last March 26. http://www.reporternews.com/1999/texas/poly0822.html |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Remembrance held for missing girl
replied on: 3/1/2003 8:23:56 PM Monday, March 27, 2000 Remembrance held for missing girl, 7 Family wants ceremony to remind parents to be on guard when it comes to children Associated Press SAGINAW - Neighbors and friends wiped away tears Sunday during a ceremony remembering Opal Jo Jennings, who disappeared from a vacant lot next to her grandparent's home one year ago. "Sometimes it seems like it's been two lifetimes," Audrey Sanderford, the girl's grandmother said of the anniversary. The afternoon ceremony included music and well-wishers decorating a newly planted 10-foot crape myrtle with small colored eggs. "I want to be sure that people remember what happened so they don't let down their guard on their own kids," said Sanderford, who with her husband became Opal's legal guardians a few months before she disappeared on March 26, 1999. "No one has forgotten Opal," the retired nurse added. "She's out there somewhere, and I want her back." A man sporting a ponytail and driving a dark car snatched Opal while she and her playmates messed with an ant hill near the curb. A suspect in the disappearance of the girl, who would be 7, is behind bars at the Tarrant County Jail awaiting trial. Ricky Lee Franks, 30, is scheduled to go on trial April 3 on a charge of aggravated kidnapping in connection with Opal's disappearance. The 30-year-old convicted child molester has told police he picked up Opal and had sexual contact with her but released her unharmed. Later, he recanted his admission. "Even with this trial, I don't know who did it," Sanderford said. "He said he did, but I want to hear the evidence then I can make up my mind whether he did it or not." Opal's relatives were joined at the ceremony by the parents of other kidnapped victims, including the mother of Amber Hagerman. The 9-year-old Arlington girl was abducted and killed in January 1996. http://www.caller2.com/2000/march/27/today/local_ne/3617.html |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Tip May Lead To Missing Girl's Remains
replied on: 3/1/2003 8:27:00 PM Tip May Lead To Missing Girl's Remains Search Group Calls Anonymous Source Credible POSTED: 3:07 p.m. CST February 20, 2003 UPDATED: 6:51 a.m. CST February 21, 2003 SAGINAW, Texas -- A missing persons agency Thursday announced it has received a new tip may lead to the body of 6-year-old Opal Jennings, who has been missing for three years, but never confirmed dead. According to Texas Equusearch, a credible source has provided information on the whereabouts of the girl's remains. Opal's family also believes the tip has merit, according to agency representative Dana Ames. "Because of the individual who gave it. He was not a suspect. He was not a suspect in the crime," Ames said. "But other than that, that's the best I can tell you." Ames and the agency remained tightlipped about the details of the tip, revealing only that the girl's body could reportedly be found somewhere in north Texas. Opal has not been seen since she disappeared March 26, 1999 while playing with friends in her grandparents' front yard in Saginaw. After two trials, the first of which ended in a hung jury, a jury found Ricky Lee Franks guilty of kidnapping Opal. Franks is currently serving a 30-year sentence, but has never admitted to harming the girl. Franks did confess to police that he abducted the girl, but released her unharmed in a park. He later recanted the confession and his lawyers maintained that police coerced the confession out of Franks because he has a low IQ. Opal's aunt Teresa Sanderford said Thursday that she believes Franks is responsible for the girl's abduction. "He took away an innocent girl and did horrible things to her," Sanderford said. Family members look forward to the closure finding the girl's remains could provide, according to Sanderford. According to Texas Equusearch, it has shared the tip with law enforcement officials, and will launch a search for Opal's remains sometime next week. Texas Equusearch is a volunteer, non-profit group that conducts mounted searchers for missing persons. Copyright 2003 by nbc5i.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. http://www.nbc5i.com/news/1994096/detail.html |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Group to search for girl missing for 4 years
replied on: 3/1/2003 8:29:05 PM Posted on Fri, Feb. 28, 2003 Group to search for girl missing for 4 years By Paul Bourgeois Star-Telegram Staff Writer BURLESON - The largest search ever mounted to find the remains of Opal Jennings begins today in Tarrant and Johnson counties. A series of tips has prompted Texas EquuSearch, a Houston-based nonprofit search organization, to organize another search for the 6-year-old who disappeared from her grandmother's home in Saginaw four years ago next month. Organizers said they are expecting between 500 and 1,000 volunteers to help in the search. It begins at 10 a.m. today and goes through Sunday. Tim Miller, founder of EquuSearch, said his organization has received a number of tips from different sources in recent months. Several point to the same areas. Jennings family members say they have little hope of finding the child alive, but they believe that finding her body would give them some closure. Opal was abducted March 26, 1999, while playing with two other children. Richard Lee Franks of Fort Worth is serving a life sentence in her kidnapping. He denies knowing what happened to the child. Dana Ames, an EquuSearch administrator, said much of the search will be in areas Franks was known to frequent. Miller declined to reveal specific search areas. He said it will center in Burleson but will cover a wide area of Johnson and Tarrant counties, including some areas around Saginaw. Miller said the searchers will be on horseback, on motorized vehicles, on foot and in the air. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/5284180.htm |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Search For Opal Resumes Today
replied on: 3/1/2003 8:31:48 PM Search For Opal Resumes Today FORT WORTH, Texas, 7:39 a.m. CST February 28, 2003 - The search resumes Friday for 6-year-old Opal Jennings, missing now for nearly four years. The little girl from Saginaw, Texas, was kidnapped from her grandmother's front yard, and a new, unspecified tip may lead searchers to her remains. Ricky Lee Franks is serving a 30-year sentence for the kidnapping, but claims he never harmed Opal. An intense search in the months after Opal's disappearance turned up nothing. At 10 a.m. Friday, volunteers will fan out across areas in south Fort Worth, Burleson and Saginaw. http://www.msnbc.com/local/kxas/a1512684.asp?vts=22820031157 |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Search for missing girl yields no new clues
replied on: 3/2/2003 5:08:11 PM Posted on Sun, Mar. 02, 2003 Search for missing girl yields no new clues By Ayanna Mcphail Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH - Bones and clothing found in a field Saturday did not belong to Opal Jo Jennings, a Saginaw child who disappeared four years ago, officials said. Volunteers from EquuSearch, a Houston organization that specializes in finding human remains, found bones and a shoe in a field near Marine Creek Lake Park in northwest Fort Worth on Saturday. The bones, however -- and those found Friday in a far south Fort Worth field -- were those of animals, said Fort Worth police Lt. Jesse Hernandez. The shoe apparently belonged to a man, Hernandez said. "It's not unusual to find shoes when walking out in fields," Hernandez said. More than 100 volunteers, some on horseback or all-terrain vehicles, searched for the remains of Opal in fields in Saginaw, Burleson, Sycamore, and near Spinks Airport near the Tarrant-Johnson county line. Teresa Sanderford, Opal's aunt, said the family remains hopeful. "But we can't let our emotions get so high," Sanderford said. "If they find something, great. If not, then we've learned something." Opal was 6 years old when she was abducted March 26, 1999, while playing with two other children near her grandmother's Saginaw home. Richard Lee Franks of Fort Worth is serving a life sentence for aggravated kidnapping in her disappearance. Franks acknowledged seeing Opal on the day she disappeared, but he told investigators that he only gave her a ride to a convenience store and later dropped her off safely. Based on "credible" tips, Equu- Search has mounted a three-day search for Opal's remains in several areas of Tarrant and Johnson counties. Volunteers will finish the three-day search today by looking in the same areas that they visited Saturday, said Tim Miller, director and founder of EquuSearch. "I think that we had some kind of emotions and frustration," Miller said. "We certainly followed the leads that we've got, but we are still strong and will be out tomorrow." Miller started EquuSearch in the summer of 2000, six years after his teen-age daughter, Laura, was abducted and killed. He said he was frustrated that it took law officers more than a year to find her body. People interested in helping in the search for Opal can show up at 8 a.m. at the Boulevard Baptist Church in Burleson, 315 North Burleson Blvd. They will be given basic training on how to help, and they will be teamed with experienced searchers. "We appreciate any volunteers we can get," Sanderford said. "Everybody is doing a great job, but we need them one more day." Staff Writer Kevin Lyons contributed to this report. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/5298791.htm |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Team ends search for Opal's remains
replied on: 3/3/2003 1:31:22 PM Posted on Mon, Mar. 03, 2003 Team ends search for Opal's remains By Bill Teeter Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH - Although searchers failed in their latest attempt to find Opal Jennings' remains, it doesn't mean that no pro-gress has been made in the quest to find what happened to the missing girl, her aunt, Teresa Sanderford, said Sunday. "We've learned where she's not," Sanderford said of three days of searches in northern Johnson and Tarrant counties Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "Now, we'll eventually find where she is." Horse-mounted searchers from EquuSearch wrapped up their search efforts about 5 p.m. on Sunday after a full day of looking around Chevy Chase Drive in south Fort Worth and one location near Saginaw, EquuSearch director Tim Miller said. EquuSearch is a Houston-based mounted recovery team that specializes in finding human remains. Equu-Search conducted its search after receiving what it considered credible tips, Miller said. The group and other volunteers covered about 2,000 acres during the three days, he said. About 120 volunteers assisted on Sunday. At the site near Saginaw, a landowner reported finding what he thought might be a grave on his property. The searchers dug at the site but found nothing, Miller said. Other tips received in the past three days could lead to a return of EquuSearch to the area, Miller said. Opal, 6, was kidnapped in Saginaw on March 26, 1999. Police and FBI agents searched around Fort Worth and Saginaw for weeks but reported finding no trace of her. Richard Lee Franks of Fort Worth is serving a life sentence for aggravated kidnapping in her disappearance. Franks has said he gave Opal a ride on the day of her kidnapping but dropped her off unharmed. Posted on Mon, Mar. 03, 2003 Team ends search for Opal's remains By Bill Teeter Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH - Although searchers failed in their latest attempt to find Opal Jennings' remains, it doesn't mean that no pro-gress has been made in the quest to find what happened to the missing girl, her aunt, Teresa Sanderford, said Sunday. "We've learned where she's not," Sanderford said of three days of searches in northern Johnson and Tarrant counties Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "Now, we'll eventually find where she is." Horse-mounted searchers from EquuSearch wrapped up their search efforts about 5 p.m. on Sunday after a full day of looking around Chevy Chase Drive in south Fort Worth and one location near Saginaw, EquuSearch director Tim Miller said. EquuSearch is a Houston-based mounted recovery team that specializes in finding human remains. Equu-Search conducted its search after receiving what it considered credible tips, Miller said. The group and other volunteers covered about 2,000 acres during the three days, he said. About 120 volunteers assisted on Sunday. At the site near Saginaw, a landowner reported finding what he thought might be a grave on his property. The searchers dug at the site but found nothing, Miller said. Other tips received in the past three days could lead to a return of EquuSearch to the area, Miller said. Opal, 6, was kidnapped in Saginaw on March 26, 1999. Police and FBI agents searched around Fort Worth and Saginaw for weeks but reported finding no trace of her. Richard Lee Franks of Fort Worth is serving a life sentence for aggravated kidnapping in her disappearance. Franks has said he gave Opal a ride on the day of her kidnapping but dropped her off unharmed. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/5304084.htm |
|
Thumbelina
Research Admin Psychic |
Database spurs families' hope
replied on: 3/22/2003 1:38:44 PM Posted on Sat, Mar. 22, 2003 Database spurs families' hope By Bill Teeter Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH - Opal Jennings' family holds little hope that she will be found alive. Relatives of the 6-year-old Saginaw girl, who was abducted by a stranger in March 1999, are resigned to the idea that she is almost certainly dead, said her aunt, Teresa Sanderford, on Friday. But the recent opening of a computer database in Fort Worth that will help match remains of the long-dead with the DNA of living relatives has been a new source of comfort, she said. "It gives us hope that if they find some skeletal remains, they will be able to identify them absolutely," Sanderford said. The computer listing of DNA types is part of the DNA Identity Lab at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The lab began accepting samples for the database Jan. 1. The state-funded database is the first of its kind, and it is geared toward comparing DNA samples from family members to unidentified human remains. The database is linked to an FBI database, so it's possible to link unidentified people in Texas with families across the nation. It was started with $660,000 from the Texas Crime Victims Compensation Fund, paid by convicted criminals in court costs and restitution fees. The UNT lab has done DNA typing and comparison for forensic work and paternity tests for years. The new grant makes the lab a library of information on unidentified missing persons. All animal cells contain DNA, the blueprint for the animal's characteristics. Scientists believe it is virtually impossible for two humans to have identical DNA, but family members have some common DNA characteristics. Scientists and law enforcement officers consider DNA to be prime material for identification. The lab is seeking voluntary participation by Texas families searching for missing family members, said Arthur Eisenberg, the DNA lab's director. Families need to submit DNA samples to the lab, so there is something to compare against DNA from unidentified remains, he said. A priority will be to match the unidentified remains of missing children with their families, Eisenberg said. The service is free to any Texas family. The lab may be reached at (817) 735-0188. In a few cases, the lab may be able to help find a missing person who is still alive, he said. In some cases, the missing person may be a child who can't communicate with his or her family, or an adult suffering from a medical or emotional malady, such as Alzheimer's disease, Eisenberg said. The lab is centered around a DNA sequencer that can process 16 samples at once, said Dr. John Planz, associate director at the DNA lab. In Texas, the number of missing is 5,000 to 6,000 people annually, Eisenberg said. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office is among the agencies that hope the database can help with about 150 cases, Eisenberg said. Fort Worth Detective said investigators are reviewing their cases to see which may be helped by the database. They do not want to submit cases for people who have dropped out of sight by choice. "We will consider various factors, like the age of a case. The others are whether we believe the missing person is a victim of foul play or is deceased," Van Meter said. ONLINE: www.hsc.unt.edu. Bill Teeter, (817) 390-7757 bteeter@star-telegram.com http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/5456200.htm |
|
LinkBot
|
Gamers Wanted is looking for people to write game reviews and post news, |
|
|
| Tired of seeing ads? Click here to upgrade to Elite Membership! |
ChatArea.com Help & News Forums | Terms of Use | Contact ChatArea.com | Advertising
Powered By ChatArea.com - Get your free Society today! © Copyright 2003 Wewp!