Source claims Arizona sheriff is blocking FBI access to evidence in Nancy Guthrie abduction case — but sheriff pushes back



A U.S. law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told Reuters that an Arizona sheriff is blocking FBI access to key evidence surrounding Nancy Guthrie's abduction and that it's hampering the federal agency's ability to assist in the probe.

The FBI asked Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for physical evidence in the case — including a glove and DNA from the home of the 84-year-old victim — to be processed at the FBI's national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, but Nanos insisted on using a private lab in Florida instead, the official told Reuters.

'It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute.'

While Reuters said Nanos didn't respond to its requests for comment, the outlet noted that Nanos said in a late Thursday interview with Tucson television station KVOA-TV that the FBI agreed with his decision to send newly discovered evidence to the lab, which has worked with his office for years.

However, the U.S. law enforcement official noted to Reuters that move is delaying the FBI's ability to assist in the case.

Still, Nanos denied the allegations, Reuters said, and called them "not even close to the truth" in the KVOA interview.

"Actually the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene. ... I said, 'No, why do that? Let's just send them all to where all the DNA exist, all the profiles and the markers exist.' They agreed, makes sense," Nanos told KVOA, according to Reuters.

More from Reuters:

In a daily press update released earlier in the day, the sheriff's department said investigators had "recovered several items of evidence, including gloves," adding that all viable evidence is submitted for analysis." The agency did not elaborate.

The Pima County sheriff has primary jurisdiction over the case, and FBI assistance must be officially requested by the county, otherwise the FBI is legally precluded from taking part in the investigation. The official said the county has spent some $200,000 so far to send evidence in the Guthrie case to the Florida lab.

"It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute," the official told Reuters earlier Thursday, citing unspecified "earlier setbacks" in the investigation.

RELATED: How the FBI actually got the Google Nest footage of Nancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnapper

The official added to Reuters that "it's clear the fastest path to answers is leveraging federal resources and technology. Anything less only prolongs the Guthrie family's grief and the community's wait for justice."

More from Reuters:

Signs of friction between the FBI and sheriff's department emerged as the search for Nancy Guthrie stretched into its 12th day, as investigators intensified their search for clues in the presumed kidnapping for ransom.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31 when family dropped her off at her home following an evening dinner with them, and relatives reported her missing the following day, authorities said.

The sheriff has said the elder Guthrie had extremely limited mobility and could not have wandered off far from home unassisted, leading investigators to conclude early on that she had been abducted by force.

In addition, officials said last week that DNA tests confirmed traces of blood found on Guthrie's front porch were Guthrie's blood, Reuters reported, adding that law enforcement and family members have described Guthrie as frail health-wise and requiring daily medication to survive.

What's more, Reuters also noted that at least two purported ransom notes have surfaced since Guthrie vanished — and both of them initially were delivered to news outlets and set two deadlines that have since lapsed.

However, Reuters noted that no proof of life is known to have surfaced following Guthrie's abduction.

Savannah Guthrie, 54 — co-anchor of the popular NBC News morning show "Today" — has posted several video messages with her brother and sister that appeal to their mother's captors for her return, Reuters said.

The siblings even state a willingness to meet ransom demands in the clips, Reuters added.

In addition, authorities released doorbell camera video at Guthrie's home near Tucson showing an armed prowler in a ski mask and gloves trying to disable the camera, Reuters said, adding that the clip was recorded around the time that Guthrie was believed to have been taken from her residence by force.

More from Reuters:

Investigators were likely seeking to bring facial recognition analysis to bear on the video to produce a composite image of a suspect that they can run against a national database that includes all U.S. drivers with Real ID licenses, according to a former FBI agent.

Law enforcement officials on Thursday said a black latex glove found discarded on a roadside was recovered and undergoing forensic examination.

The FBI on Thursday doubled the reward offered for information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie, or arrest and conviction of a suspect in her abduction, to $100,000.

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Illegal alien allegedly abducts, takes 'indecent liberties' with Louisiana girl: Report



A suspected illegal alien has been arrested and charged with several crimes in Virginia after he reportedly abducted a Louisiana girl and held her "against her will."

Just before 4 a.m. on Wednesday, a young Hispanic girl phoned police to request assistance at a Love's truck stop in Covington, Virginia, about 90 miles northwest of Lynchburg.

The press release described Castro only as 'an adult male' and implied that he is in the U.S. illegally since ICE has issued an immigration detainer against him.

Members of the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office and the Virginia State Police were quickly dispatched to the scene. When they arrived, they located the girl who had called them.

Few details have been released regarding the immediate investigation into the girl's complaint, but a press release from the sheriff's office said that "the officers determined that the female was from Louisiana and was being held captive against her will."

In the Love's parking lot, officers located a dark gray four-door sedan registered in Arkansas and came to believe that a man had abducted the girl and kept her inside the vehicle.

Police also quickly zeroed in on a suspect: Diego Soch Castro. The press release described Castro only as "an adult male" and implied that he is in the U.S. illegally since ICE has issued an immigration detainer against him. Blaze News reached out to the sheriff's office in hopes of learning Castro's age and presumed nation of origin but have not yet received a return call.

It is unclear where the alleged abduction may have occurred: Arkansas, Louisiana, Virginia, or someplace else. Whether the suspect and victim knew each other prior to the alleged abduction and how long the suspect had allegedly been holding the girl hostage are likewise unknown.

Castro was arrested and charged with abduction, indecent liberties with a minor, and assault and battery. The girl was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and then placed into the care of child protective services. The press release claimed that an investigation into the matter remains "ongoing."

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Chilling video shows moment California man attempts to kidnap 8-year-old in front of dad, abduction thwarted by good Samaritans



Gripping video shows the hair-raising moment when a California man attempts to kidnap an 8-year-old boy right in front of his father. Thankfully, good Samaritans step in to thwart the heinous abduction attempt.

Adrian Villanueva was with his family enjoying dinner on Wednesday night in Ocean Beach, California. Suddenly, a man came up behind Villanueva's 8-year-old son and seemingly appeared to attempt to abduct the boy right in front of the concerned father. The boy had been playing on the sidewalk when the man allegedly attempted to kidnap the boy.

Chilling video shows Villanueva jumping into action to stop the apparent child predator from kidnapping his young son.

The alleged kidnapper reportedly told Villanueva, "This my son, this is my son."

Villanueva told KMFB-TV, "I pushed him. I said, 'No, he is not your son,' and then I tried to get him out. And that’s when he grabbed my kid, and he started running away through the street."

Good Samaritans and security guards from nearby bars helped thwart the kidnapping attempt and restrained the suspect. The man was held until police arrived to arrest the suspect.

Villanueva expressed that he initially sympathized with the suspect and didn't want to press charges.

The suspect was allegedly crying and repeatedly saying, "I miss my family."

Villanueva said, "Because my human side said this guy, he was missing his child."

However, Villanueva reconsidered after thinking about the potential for more crimes against children.

"Today was my kid, tomorrow can be someone else kid. So that’s why I'm pressing the charges," said Villanueva.

The San Diego Police Department said Christopher Higginbotham, 38, was arrested and charged with false imprisonment and battery.

Villanueva's son is traumatized over the kidnapping attempt, telling his father he never wants to go back to the area where he was almost abducted.

The boy said there are "bad people on the streets" and begged his father to never take him back to the area.

However, Villanueva is a part owner of a deli in the area that opened a week ago.

Villanueva noted, "He was crying. And then I feel so bad for him. I feel so bad. I feel terrified when I saw somebody taking my kid."

Citing jail records, KMFB-TV reported that Higginbotham is a wanted fugitive with a "history of felony convictions involving assault with a deadly weapon."

Stranger grabs 8-year-old child in Ocean Beach leaving him traumatized www.youtube.com

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Illegal alien arrested after foiled abduction of girl at Utah school



The mother of a 13-year-old Utah girl discovered troubling messages exchanged between a man and her daughter on social media. The concerned parent notified police — and just in the nick of time, too.

Miguel Angel Vega Sedano, a 21-year-old illegal alien, was arrested Friday and charged with a first-degree felony count of child kidnapping and two third-degree felony counts of possession of forgery writing/device.

The girl's mother alerted Granite School District Police last week to indications on Instagram that Sedano allegedly planned to abduct the child from her West Valley City school, reported KTVX-TV.

According to a statement of probable cause, police ultimately found Sedano waiting for the girl in a vehicle on school property. Officers reportedly found a fraudulent Social Security card and a false permanent residency card on his person.

The Granite School District said in a statement obtained by KTVX that on Friday afternoon, "Granite District Police detained the suspect as he entered the campus after school had been out for about 30 minutes. West Valley City Police responded and took the man into custody."

"We are grateful the student disclosed the conversation to their parents and the student was not harmed," the district added. "This is an unfortunate, but very real, reminder of the dangers of social media. Almost 60% of teenage girls say they've been contacted by a stranger on social media platforms in ways that make them feel uncomfortable."

Following his arrest, Sedano allegedly admitted to police that he intentionally communicated with the 13-year-old girl and had traveled to the school to "pick the girl up and take her home."

KSL-TV indicated that Sedano indicated he neither knew the girl's parents nor had their permission to pick her up.

The would-be abductee is apparently not the only minor the illegal alien has targeted. Sedano also reportedly told authorities he had been communicating with another 13-year-old girl whom he has met in person three times.

In addition to confirming his intention to abduct the minor, Sedano reportedly admitted to obtaining his false documents from a family member in Arizona.

Sedano was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on Friday. Jail records appear to indicate that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer request over the weekend against the illegal alien.

In fiscal year 2023, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations made 170,590 administrative arrests. 43% of those arrested had previous criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. There were nearly 300,000 charges and convictions spread among those 73,822 illegal aliens picked up who had criminal histories, including 1,713 for homicide; 1,655 for kidnapping; 4,390 for rape; 33,209 for assault; 3,097 for robbery; and 6,964 for burglary.

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Parental rights advocates secure victory in Maine with death of 'transgender trafficking bill'



The Maine House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee was poised Thursday to advance a bill that threatened to allow the state to seize custody of children whose parents refused them sex-change mutilations and other irreversible medical interventions. It was evidently not meant to be.

Following some Republican backlash and a successful pressure campaign led by the parental rights advocacy group Courage Is a Habit, the committee voted 12-0 on the motion that LD 1735 — dubbed the "transgender trafficking bill" by critics — "ought not to pass."

Courage Is a Habit said the victory demonstrated "what happens when you stop letting the Transgender cult emotionally blackmail you. The every-day-American Patriot is not helpless."

The so-called "Act to Safeguard Gender-affirming Health Care" was the handiwork of Democratic state Rep. Laurie Osher, leader of the Legislature's LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.

The bill would have:

  • prevented courts from considering the abduction of a child from a parent who has legal custody "if the taking or retention was for obtaining gender-affirming health care";
  • authorized courts to "take temporary jurisdiction because a child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care"; and
  • prevented law enforcement from participating in the "arrest or extradition of an individual pursuant to an out-of-state arrest warrant" based on laws against the sexual mutilation of children.

Republican state Rep. Rachel Henderson warned, "This gives the state jurisdiction to effectively come into your home and take your kids based on a medical decision you made for the well-being and mental well-being of your child."

Courage Is a Habit president Alvin Lui stressed to Blaze News that LD 1735 was a "sex trafficker's dream come true."

Lui previously indicated that an early death for LD 1735 was critical, as the Democrat-controlled state House and Senate would likely pass the bill if given the chance. That opportunity was wrested away from them Thursday.

State Rep. Katrina Smith, a Republican on the judiciary committee who has been critical of the bill, confirmed the result of the successful 12-0 vote, telling the Daily Signal, "Today we won a victory for our children who have been fooled into thinking they are not perfect the way God made them."

"With the death of LD 1735 we have proven that when evil is brought out of the darkness and exposed in the light, it can be vanquished. The people spoke loudly and it mattered," added Smith.

Shawn McBreairty, a parental rights activist who campaigned against the bill, said its defeat was a "massive win for parental rights all over our nation."

"This is not Tennessee or Indiana or Oklahoma," Lui stressed. "This was 12-0 in Maine."

Lui highlighted that even Democrats who have supported other radical legislation — legalizing abortion at nine months and sex-change surgeries for minors without parental consent — were not able to bring themselves to vote in favor of LD 1735. The parental rights advocate does not credit the bill's fate to a change of heart on the part of the committee members, but rather to their inability to pass it on the sly.

Despite having previously supported the bill, Democrats on the committee retroactively claimed its language was flawed, reported WGME-TV.

While her bill was thwarted Thursday, Osher threatened to keep trying.

"We will make sure that people are protected, that our care providers are protected," Osher told WGME. "Today was a moment where we're not getting that done, but we will get that done."

"The national significance of [the bill's failure] is twofold. First, it's one less state where children who have been lured into the Transgender Cult can go to and risk being trafficked," Lui told Blaze News. "Second, it sends a national message that the emotional blackmail hold the Transgender Cult has over parents is breaking."

Lui, who credited the hard work of his co-founder Jennifer McWilliams, indicated the fight is not over.

"Currently there are 15 states with a Transgender Trafficking Bill (12 legislative bills and 3 by executive order)," said Lui. He indicated his group will now work to "ensure not another state passes a Transgender Trafficking Bill."

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Fight to stop Maine's 'transgender trafficking bill' is coming down to the wire



Parental rights advocates in Maine are campaigning to kill an LGBT activist bill that would allow the state to take custody of children whose families refuse to subject them to sex-change mutilations and other irreversible medical interventions. The legislation, LD 1735, would also effectively have Maine disregard the rights of parents in all other states and bar officials from reuniting runaway children supposedly seeking confusion-affirming treatments with their out-of-state families.

While the bill's interstate implications might ultimately set the stage for a battle before the Supreme Court, opponents of Democratic state Rep. Laurie Osher's so-called "Act to Safeguard Gender-affirming Health Care" are concerned that multitudes of children will be transmogrified and trafficked in the interim — all ostensibly for the benefit of leftist ideologues, predators, pharmacists, and willing surgeons.

Alvin Lui, president of the parental rights advocacy group Courage is a Habit, stressed to Blaze News this week that there is hope yet to stop LD 1735 from advancing.

If you want to take a chunk out of the Transgender Cult, help us stop this Transgender Trafficking Bill. Take action now, regardless of which state you live in. We provided a fast two-step process, including sample emails. Deadline Wed, Jan 24 to submit your disgust to this\u2026
— (@)

Lui indicated the Democrat-controlled state House and Senate will likely pass the bill if given the chance — even though organizations similarly captive to LGBT ideology like the World Health Organization are beginning to openly admit there is a dearth of evidence to support so-called gender-affirming care for children and adolescents.

However, a judiciary committee must first decide to advance LD 1735.

That hearing was initially scheduled for last week but is now set for 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.

"We stopped this bill in Maine last year around this time and they quietly tried to sneak it in this year again. They almost snuck it by us," said Lui. "And we brought a lot of heat."

Lui credits the attention his organization helped direct last week to LD 1735 and the resultant backlash for prompting the delay of the hearing. The official claim was that the hearing was postponed due to bad weather.

"The first reason [for the delay] was that seven days is an eternity online, as you know, in the public, in the political sphere. They're hoping that at least 1,000 stories will distract people by the time it comes around again," said Lui. "Secondly, it gives them time to reach out to the transgender hordes to give them some cover. Get emails from these transgender cults so that they look like they have support from places like EqualityMaine, which is the most radical transgender cult organization."

While advocates for the bill might be better positioned this week, so are its opponents.

Courage is a Habit, conservatives, and concerned parents in the state previously faced a squeeze when attempting to get the word out. The delay has, however, provided them with ample runway to get a concerted pressure campaign off the ground.

The parental rights group has been imploring Americans in and outside Maine to seize this last opportunity to advise the committee members — state Sens. Eric Brakey (R), Anne Carney (D), and Donna Bailey (D) and Reps. Matt Moonen (D), Amy Kuhn (D), Adam Lee (D), Stephen Moriarty (D), and Erin Sheehan (D) — against giving their blessings to legislation that might separate countless children from their parents over a "social contagion."

Courage is a Habit has simplified things by providing sample opposition letters and the email addresses of committee members on its website. Messages can be sent until Thursday, but Lui indicated that unless sent by Wednesday evening, it is unlikely they'll be read.

LD 1735 resembles similar laws and executive orders in several other states, which have been characterized as a "kidnapping" bills. Lui alternatively figures LD 1735 for a "transgender trafficking bill."

In addition to pushing confused children into the foster care system where their parents will be precluded from rescuing them, Lui suggested the bill would lead to interstate trafficking — by strangers who want to ferry kids to Maine for irreversible surgeries and for strangers who want to abduct kids on the pretense of ferrying them to Maine for such interventions.

"Schools have already told these kids that their parents are unsafe and abusive and that their parents 'don't love you and that they're out to hurt you because they don't see you for who you really are,'" said Lui. "Because they've already set the kids up to look at other people as their family, think about how easy it will be for a sex trafficker to go up to a girl, 14, 15, 16, 13, whatever, and say, 'I see you for who you are.' Call them by their right pronoun. Get them the right clothes. And say, 'I'll take you to Maine so that you can get the health care that you need. ... I'm your family now.'"

"This bill is a sex trafficker's dream come true," added Lui.

In the absence of criticism or pressure, Lui suggested the Democratic committee members might support LD 1735 reflexively because it comports with one of what he regards as the Democratic Party's animating theorems: critical race theory and queer theory. However, he intimated Democrats are unlikely to be so automatic and uncritical in cosigning the "trafficking bill" in the face of significant public outcry, hence his hope for critical mass in the pressure campaign under way.

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Ohio woman allegedly abducted, locked in a shed, and brutalized by felon for 4 days speaks out about the ordeal



Akron Police rescued a woman last week who said she had been held against her will for four days and savagely beaten by a felon with a track record of brutalizing women. Chloe Jones, 23, is now speaking out about the nightmare that left her with a fractured skull and bruises all over her body.

"I want to tell the young girls across America, it's not safe to get into a car with people you don’t know or a friend of a friend," Jones told WJW-TV.

Living nightmare

Jones' mother, Jessi Barham, told WEWS-TV her daughter had spoken to 33-year-old William Mozingo online and had planned to hang out with him earlier this month.

Mozingo has been imprisoned three times for kidnapping in the past ten years — twice in Stark County, in 2017 and 2019, and a third time in Adams County back in 2014.

The Akron Beacon Herald reported in April 2019 that just four months after getting out of jail for kidnapping, Mozingo was accused of beating his ex-girlfriend, strangling her, putting a knife to her throat, then restraining her so she couldn't escape over a four-day period. He was convicted in 2020 of kidnapping and aggravated assault.

According to investigators, Mozingo offered Jones a ride home but had no intentions of taking her home. Instead, he took her to a garage belonging to a friend's parents, where he kept her captive, reported WJW.

"It was terrifying," said Jones. "Being in fear of your life countless times, I can't even count how many times he threatened my life."

Mozingo allegedly beat her with a baseball bat and suggested she would never be able to see her son again.

Barham claimed Mozingo "would cuddle her in between beatings."

Extra to allegedly threatening to slit her throat, Barham said Mozingo "doused her in gasoline and was threatening to catch her on fire."

Jones underscored that the thought of her son kept her alive, telling WJW, "I thought about him every day. I just saw his face in my head every day."

The elderly homeowners' son-in-law told police he was making repairs around the house in the early hours of Oct. 16 when he encountered the victim and her abductor, the latter of whom he was familiar with. The man ventured out to his in-laws' unattached garage in search of a moving dolly but instead found Mozingo lurking inside, reported the Akron Beacon Herald.

"I was in there grabbing the dolly when I heard, 'Bro,'" the man told police.

After Mozingo addressed him, the son-in-law recalled hearing a voice from the attic-like space above say, "Can I come down now?"

The son-in-law claimed he ventured up to see the victim after hearing her call out a second time.

"I'm so scared, I don't know what to do," she allegedly told him.

After consoling the victim, the son-in-law claimed he returned to the house and spoke to his wife. They decided to wait five hours before calling police.

"I didn't know how to handle this while keeping her safe and without getting anyone else [hurt]," he told police. "He wasn't in his right state of mind. I wanted to make it look like I wasn't doing anything so he wouldn't get panicky."

The elderly couple's daughter who ultimately called police referred to Mozingo as a good friend, telling the 911 dispatcher, "He used to live here; he paroled here at one time before he went back."

According to the woman, who claimed to have seen Jones on multiple occasions, Mozingo had escaped from a community correctional facility six weeks earlier.

The residents suggested they didn't know how Mozingo and the woman could have been there for four days without anyone cluing in.

The rescue

Akron Police officers arrived around 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 16, finding the garage closed and locked. They grouped at the side door entrance and gave Mozingo an opportunity to surrender.

"William, last chance," shouted one officer. "Come out with your hands up."

With a K-9 unit at the ready, the officers busted open the door. Pre-empting a raid, Mozingo presented himself with hands behind his back.

The Herald indicated Jones carefully made her way down the ladder from the attic space wearing soiled and tattered clothes. Both her eyes were black, framed by yellow and purple bruises. One was swollen shut.

Jones was taken to a nearby hospital.

"I saw this person that I didn't recognize. Her face was twice its normal size," Barham told WEWS.

Mozingo was booked into Summit County Jail and charged with felonious assault, parole violation, escape, unlawful restraint, kidnapping, and abduction.

23-year-old kidnapped woman rescued by Akron policeyoutu.be

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Devastated Irishman says he was grateful to learn his daughter had been killed by Hamas rather than taken hostage: 'Death was a blessing'



Hamas terrorists have taken as many as 150 captives into Gaza following their savage attacks on Israel. Thomas Hand's daughter is not among them. Rather, she is among the over 1,200 Israelis murdered in recent days.

Upon learning that his little girl may ultimately have been spared the inhumanities captives often suffer at the hands of Hamas, the devastated Irishman reportedly rejoiced, later telling CNN, "Death was a blessing."

Hundreds of hostages facing unimaginable horrors

The Israel Defense Forces indicated Thursday that more than 95 families have been notified that their loved ones were taken hostage.

The New York Times noted that most of those Hamas has taken hostage were seized from their homes along Israel's border with Gaza. Among them are infants, children, people with disabilities, and geriatrics. Many are believed to have been stowed away by Hamas in various tunnels beneath Gaza.

Some Israelis have seen footage of their abducted family members circulated online.

Yoni Asher told the Times he saw a video online of his wife, Doron Asher Katz, in the back of a pickup truck surrounded by Islamist terrorists.

"I can't sleep — I'm living outside my own body," said Asher, noting that his 5- and 3-year-old daughters were with his wife when she was taken.

Writing in Newsweek, Asher said, "The captors need to release them as soon as they can. It's a critical window of time. There's not much time for little babies in captivity. Adults can hold on a few days. But not them."

Another couple saw their two children, including a 9-month-old, among the hostages in another video.

According to the Times of London, the terrorists are divided on what to do with the abducted women and children. Some allegedly are eager to get rid of them, recognizing that the videos of their beaten and bloody victims have unified support against them even in parts of the Arab world and have further legitimized the ballistic fury of the Israeli military.

Other factions want to keep the victims alive and use them as bargaining chips for prisoner exchanges.

"The idea of a prisoner swap now seems very distant," said Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for the New York Times.

Monday night, Hamas threatened to butcher a civilian hostage every time an Israeli airstrike hit Gazans "in their homes without warning."

Extra to executions, there have been multiple reports of Hamas terrorists sexually abusing their victims.

One survivor of the massacre at the Supernova music festival told the Tablet, "Women have been raped at the area of the rave next to their friends' bodies, dead bodies."

Several of the apparent rape victims were reportedly later executed, while others were taken to Gaza, where they were paraded through the city's streets with bloodied pelvic regions.

A 2022 U.N. report detailed various accounts of how Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have subject prisoners to various tortures in the past, including systematic abuses of a sexual nature.

A father's grief and unexpected solace

Unlike Asher and other family members whose loved ones were taken by Hamas, Thomas Hand is now certain of his 8-year-old daughter's fate.

Hand moved to the Be'eri kibbutz as a volunteer from Ireland 30 years ago and has lived there ever since. Although his wife recently died of cancer, he has not been alone thanks to his daughter, Emily, reported CNN.

Hand's daughter, Emily, went to a neighbor's house in the Be'eri Kibbutz for a sleepover Friday for "a girly night," according the grieving father.

The next morning around 7 a.m., terrorists stormed the kibbutz.

"Until I heard the shots. And it was already too late. If I had known … I could have maybe ran, got her, got her friend, got the mother, brought them back to my place. But by the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late," said Hand, noting the kibbutz had then been overrun by terrorists.

Hours later, Hand and other survivors were evacuated by the military to a hotel on the Dead Sea. Two days later he learned that Emily was among the 120 who had been massacred.

"They just said, 'We found Emily. She's dead,' and I went, 'Yes!' I went, 'yes!' and smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew," Hand told CNN. "That was the best possibility that I was hoping for. She was either dead or in Gaza."

"And if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death. That is worse than death," continued the grief-stricken father. "She'd be in a dark room filled with Christ knows how many people and terrified every minute, hour, day, and possibly years to come. So death was a blessing, an absolute blessing."

"In this crazy world, here is me hoping my daughter is dead," Hand later added.

In a heart-wrenching interview on @CNNsitRoom, CNN reporter Clarissa Ward speaks with @WolfBlitzer about a grieving father who finally received confirmation of his daughter's tragic death during the Hamas attack. Watch:
— CNN (@CNN) 1697082327

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9-year-old abducted while on family camping trip found alive in cupboard of suspect's trailer: Governor



Charlotte Sena, a 9-year-old girl from Saratoga County, went missing Saturday while on a camping trip with family in upstate New York. Police suspected that she had been abducted and was "in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death."

Hundreds of first responders, family members, and friends scoured Moreau Lake State Park and the surrounding area for the girl, hoping to find the child unscathed.

Following a tactical raid on a trailer just miles away from the family's home, New York State Police announced Monday night that the fourth-grader had been found "safe and in good health."

According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Charlotte's "abductor is behind bars."

While police employed various high-tech aids in their search, it appears what ultimately led them to the girl was the suspect's brazenness.

What's the background?

TheBlaze previously reported that the NYSP issued an AMBER Alert Sunday morning, indicating that the girl, from Greenfield, New York, had been abducted on Saturday around 6:45 p.m. near Moreau Lake State Park, Loop A, Site 18, in Gansevoort. The alert noted the girl "was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death."

Missing posters noted that the girl is blonde, green-eyed, 4 feet 6 inches tall and 90 pounds, and had last been seen wearing her bike helmet, an orange Pokemon shirt, and dark blue pants.

Charlotte Sena was out bike-riding with friends but had elected to do one more loop down a paved road, which cut through a heavily wooded area.

When she didn't return after 15 minutes, her family began looking for her.

Police indicated that her bicycle was located in Loop A around 6:45. Two minutes later, her mom called 911 to report Charlotte missing.

Bloodhounds, divers, forest rangers, air boats, ATVs, and drones were deployed in the search that followed, which ultimately involved roughly 400 people. The FBI and 34 volunteer fire departments also jumped in to assist state and local law enforcement.

Moreau Lake State Park was closed to the public, and the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily restricted the airspace over the park to protect search aircraft.

Trisha, Charlotte Sena's mother, told the Albany Times Union her daughter is a "good kid" and "trusting," stressing, "I just want my daughter back."

The Sena family told NBC News in a statement, "We just want her returned safely like any parent would. No tip is too small, please call if you know anything at all."

Hand-delivered evidence

Hochul told CNN that around 4:20 a.m. on Monday, the suspect "literally drove up to the family's mailbox assuming they were not home" and left an apparent ransom note.

The NYSP had been monitoring the home while the child's parents continued their search in Monreau Lake State Park. However, when the suspect hand-delivered the note, police were absent, having reportedly been called to another scene. While thus able to slip away, the suspect unwittingly left critical evidence behind: his fingerprints on the letter.

"That was instrumental in leading us directly to the suspect," added Hochul.

The police reportedly tested the note for fingerprints and searched law enforcement databases for a match. Although unsuccessful in their first attempt, the second search resulted in an apparent match to fingerprints from a 1999 DUI conviction in Saratoga, according to Newsweek.

After investigators identified 46-year-old Craig Nelson Ross Jr. as their suspect and ascertained that he was living in a trailer behind his mother's home on Barrett Road, Milton, two SWAT teams were dispatched.

Around 20 Special Operations Response Team members and an FBI SWAT team reportedly made entry just after 6 p.m. on Monday.

"They had what they call a dynamic entry tactical maneuver, and within the camper they located the suspect," said Hochul.

Ross got banged up in the process, having reportedly resisted arrest.

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Police found the 9-year-old stowed away in a cabinet in the trailer.

"She knew she was being rescued," said Hochul. "She knew she was in safe hands."

"Law enforcement teams were relentless in finding this little girl — putting the pieces together and leaving no cabin unturned — to bring Charlotte home to her parents," Hochul wrote on X. "Charlotte is safe and her abductor is behind bars tonight."

The Albany Times Union indicated that Ross' arrest was made less than three hours after NYSP said the search had been expanded over 46 linear miles.

It is unclear whether Ross knew of the Sena family prior to the abduction; however, Newsweek noted that his car registration is listed at an address near the Sena family home.

FBI joins search for missing 9-year-old Charlotte Senayoutu.be

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