JIM CONOVER

Author of Slayer of Innocence welcomes you to his

Missing/Abducted Child Page

A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE

If you know or suspect that a child living in your neighborhood; going to your school; attending your church; or whatever, might be a missing child, contact your local authorities immediately! It's better to be safe than sorry. Even if it is a family abduction you should report it. We must all work together to protect our children. You can click on the following link and it will connect you with The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children web site. There, you can view almost all missing children to see if your suspect child might be listed.

Children Missing From Illinois

AMBER ALERT

This page contain important information on missing, abducted and murdered children, predator pedophiles and serial killers, with great tips on how to reduce the chances of your child becoming a victim of one of these monsters.

MISSING AND MURDERED CHILDREN

I think the biggest problems plaguing our nation today is not terrorism, but young children being abducted and/or murdered. The number of children being abducted and murdered by strangers is terrible enough, but lately we have seen many children being murdered by their own parents or by a parent's boyfriend. Over the past year, here in central Illinois, we have had many cases of live in boyfriends murdering children while the mother watches and does nothing.

In one still active case, three very young children were seat belted in a car and the car pushed into a local lake. Very reminiscent of that Smith woman who claimed that she had accidentally driven into a lake and her three children had drowned. Later it was proven that she had locked the three children in the car and pushed the car into the lake drowning the three children intentionally because her new boyfriend did not want them around. She is now serving time.

In the recent case, this mother and her boyfriend claimed the car malfunctioned and ran into the lake before they could get it stopped. The mother and boyfriend had managed to escape from the sinking car but according to them, they were unable to rescue the children. They chose to walk to a telephone and call for help. The rear of the car was in only four feet of water. Had this really been an accident anyone could have saved the children and kept their head above water. As it turns out, the mother had the very same problem as the Smith woman - her boyfriend didn't want the children. The mother went to her own mother and tried to give the children to her. When her mother turned her down she and the boyfriend decided to kill the children. They were arrested and now we, the tax payers, are footing the bill to defend these monsters.

In another case that happened only a couple of weeks ago, a woman filled her bathtub with scalding hot water and dropped her 18 month old son in it, then left the house. She went to her sister's house where she stayed for an hour, then asked her sister to go home with her. They found the child dead. She later said she knew he would be dead when she put him in the tub and left. She gave no reason for what she had done. She was arrested, and again, we tax payers are footing the bill for her defense.

Why in the world would a mother stay with or want to be around a man who would even suggest that her own flesh and blood had to be murdered or he would leave her? Whatever has happened to that "protective mother?" The one that fights to the death to protect her offspring. I think our society has part of a generation that has deteriorated to the point where there is no honor, no sense of responsibility, no love. Whether the cause of these murders are drugs, alcoholic beverages, or just plain sociopathic, I don't know, but I do know that if we don't do something to stop this murderous behavior before it becomes wide spread like the mad cow disease, we may have to lock that whole generation away.

Besides the murdering of children by their parents, we have to worry about stranger abductions of our children. Strangers that abduct, molest, release, sell or murder. The bodies of some children are found, but many others are not. They remain missing.

We have no idea whether these children are alive or dead but we must never give up hope of finding them alive. It has happened in the past, even after many years. When I was investigating the cases of missing and murdered young boys in Central Illinois back in the 1970s, I had sent out letters asking for information on similar cases from other agencies. I received a phone call and a letter from a sergeant on the Anchorage Alaska Police Department who didn't have a similar case, but just wanted me to know that we should never give up on the missing. He went on to say that his department had recently received information from a 17-year-old boy that a man he was living with had a 9-year-old boy living with them that the man had kidnapped in Florida six months earlier.  When they raided the house, they discovered the 9-year-old boy and just as the 17-year-old had said, he had been reported missing in Florida 6 months earlier. The man was arrested, the boy was rescued and his overjoyed parents were notified. But, the story didn't end there. It was discovered that the 17-year-old boy had also been abducted from California several years earlier. The abductor had used the same ruse on both boys. He had stopped each of them away from their homes and told each one that his parents had been killed in a car crash and he had to come live with him. He never gave the boys a chance to confirm his story because he would leave town right away. This man was still in a mental institution the last time I checked.

There are groups right here in the United States that are buying abducted children and reselling them to childless people for as little a $10,000 to as much as $100,000 each. These children are usually under the age of 2 years. A few years back, one woman in Illinois had been kidnapping and selling children for a long time. This woman also bought children from young mothers who didn't want them. She kept no records of her illegal transactions. When she was finally discovered, warrants were issued and she was arrested, but managed to skip the country for several years, before finally being caught. This woman was only one among many who are engaged in the illegal selling of children.

America is not the only country that has to be concerned with abducted children. The FBI and authorities from a Middle East country where hundreds of children were being abducted recently arrested more than one hundred people and rescued scores of children. The huge child abduction organization had been dealing in the abduction and selling of children as slaves to other countries.

You can see now why  we should never give up on finding our children alive. If you have a child missing or murdered and the investigation seems to have stalled, be sure to stay in touch with the authorities and insist they keep you up to date on anything they do. Don't let them stick the case back in some dark closet and forget it.  And don't let the police intimidate you. If they get upset with you, so what? Stay on them. It's their job to investigate. Remember it's the squeaky wheel that gets the attention. I know. I was a policeman for twenty years.

One thing you can do is visit the web site of the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children. That site has an abundance of information useful in the investigating of missing or murdered children. They will also assist you in searching. There are booklets on how to conduct a proper search, with every step clearly spelled out. There is an investigative manual for police departments on how to conduct a proper investigation of a missing person. Not only that, the Center will help in distributing posters on the missing child. Be sure to let the authorities who are investigating your case know about The Center For Missing and Exploited Children.

Recently the Center for Missing and Exploited Children has implemented a new team of experts who are available to assist any police agency with searching as well as with manpower to help with the investigation.  This team consists of more than 130 retired police officers with experience in child abductions and murder cases. Their expertise will far exceed that of most police departments across the nation.  So be sure to get on that site right away. Here's the address: www.missingkids.com.

One other thing you should do. Check with your police department or the state police and see if they have missing children programs in which they take DNA swabs from children for later identification. A swab is nothing more than running a cue tip along the inside of the child's mouth to take fluid samples. It's harmless and non intrusive. This swab will last indefinitely and it is the ultimate in positive identification even years later.

***

Here are a couple of my books on the subject .

Slayer of Innocence chronicles

author's long investigation of child

abductions and murders and a

predator pedophile serial killer

brought to justice.

Slayer of Innocence, published by Lynch Law Production April 2003, is a 280 + page, nonfiction, true crime, hardcover book. The book details in first person narrative the true events of a lengthy investigation and nine-day, twenty-four hour surveillance of a suspected pedophile serial killer at the State Fair in Springfield, Illinois. Over a period of seven years, from 1972 until 1979, sixteen (16) young boys who's ages ranged from seven to fourteen, disappeared. They had been victims of nonfamily abductions, commonly known as stranger abductions. Fourteen were found murdered in much the same manner and type of locations. Two of the victims have never been found. In almost all the cases, a railroad track or switchyard was nearby and in many cases a county or state fair was in progress.

In July and August of 1979, in a joint effort led by Lieutenant Donald Benassi and I of the Pekin Illinois Police Department, city, county, and state, detectives from Lincoln, Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, Rock Island, Illinois, Normal, Illinois, Springfield, Illinois, Fort Madison, Iowa, Topeka, Kansas, Ottawa, Kansas, Chandler, Arizona and Santa Ana, California worked desperately to gather evidence and locate one suspect originally developed by a detective in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1976 before he could kill again.  This suspect, a lifelong hobo, nicknamed "Freight Train" because of his ability to imitate the sounds of a freight train whistle, rode the rails, drank wine and worked at state and county fairs helping cattlemen clean up. Dubbed The Pied Piper of The Fair Grounds by Lt. Benassi, he was well liked among the cattlemen and children. However, his friendly personality could turn deadly in a flash, especially, when someone called him a bum or tramp. While we searched desperately for this man, he was popping the anti-psychotic drug Thorazine and drinking cheap wine while riding the rails and enjoying life to the fullest at state and county fairs and cattle shows all across America.

By writing this book, I hope to point out the extreme dangers that lurk among our children today and to encourage everybody to take an active role in reducing such abductions. Hundreds of child molesters lurk among us and will go undetected stalking our children unless we wake up to their presence and identify them. Working to increase child safety is a must if we are to prevent these killers, these child murderers, from grabbing more children.

This book also talks about the number of missing kids, about pedophiles and who they are, and gives some great tips on what steps you can take to reduce the odds of your child becoming a victim of these predator molesters.

***

BOOKLET!

Pedophile!
Predators Among Our Children
Tips For Protecting Your Child From Pedophile Abductors

I recently published this booklet which contains 38 pages of powerful information about pedophiles, pedophile abductors, and tips on how to reduce the chances of your child being abducted by a pedophile predator abductor. I believe it is essential that every parent be aware of the dangers to their children that lurk among us today and the steps they can take to reduce the chances of their children becoming a victim.

***

PREDATOR PEDOPHILE ABDUCTORS, SERIAL RAPISTS AND OTHER MONSTERS

There are thousands of sex offenders roaming our streets today just waiting for a chance to jump out and grab their next victim.

Not only are there pedophiles out there but there is another extremely dangerous sex offender out there that we must call attention to as well. That is the serial rapist. A sexual predator of women, serial rapists, like the pedophile, cannot be cured, only treated and constantly supervised. Though I speak mainly about the pedophile or child molester in my book, Slayer of Innocence and here on the web site, the laws I suggest most certainly should include the serial rapist.

Definition of Pedophilia.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, pedophilia is defined as a person involved in sexual activities with a prepubescent child. Also according to the American Psychiatric Association Pedophilia is an incurable mental disorder. Do not misunderstand this. It does not mean the person is mentally ill, just that that person has a mental disorder about sex.

There are many types of pedophiles.

The ones who watch and fantasize, the ones who have sexual activities by friendly persuasion, those who use threats such as if they tell they will be arrested and go to jail or the molester will kill them or their family. There are those who abduct and murder their victims and finally there are the vilest of all pedophiles. The ones who abduct and get sexual satisfaction, not by having sex, but by watching the desperate struggles and hearing the screams of the child as he is being tortured, cut, mutilated and finally killed.

Repeat Offender

Ten-year old Christopher Meyer was missing. His mother had given him permission to ride his bicycle down to the city park along the Kankakee River as long as he was back by 4:30pm.

When he hadn't returned home on time, Mika Moulton went to the city park and searched for him. Finding no sign of the boy, she did the right thing. She hurried to the Aroma Park, Illinois police department to report him missing. Because someone in the park had told Mika Moulton they had seen Christopher talking to a strange man at the park, an immediate search began by city policemen.

Young Christopher enjoyed coming to Aroma Park, Illinois from Walla Walla, Washington where he lived with his father, Jim Meyer. Because of a divorce, Christopher lived with his dad, but spent the summer months with his mother, Mika Moulton, in Aroma Park. Like any young boy with adventuresome blood, he loved the riverfront. There were intriguing things along the river that could set a young boy's heart pounding and his mind soaring.

Around noon on August 7, 1996, Christopher had asked his mother if he could go for a bicycle ride to the city park. Mika Moulton told Christopher he could go, but he had to be back by 4:30 pm. Christopher said he would be home on time and rode off. That was the last time his mother saw him alive.

Searches for the boy failed. Many thought he might have fallen into the river and had been swept downstream in the fast moving currant and drowned. Each day, the searchers found pieces of the boy's clothing. First, pieces of his shirt, then pieces of his pants, his underwear and then finally his bicycle was found across the river.

By now law enforcement officers, his family and everyone searching knew something terrible had happened to Christopher.

The boy's body was found a week later. Within days a suspect was rounded up. It was Timothy Buss. A man who had grown up in the area but had been gone for a long time. He had been in prison for murdering five-year old Tara Sue Huffman in Bradley, Illinois in 1981. Buss was 14 years old at the time and was tried as an adult. He had been found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 1993, Buss had been paroled after serving 12 years of the 25-year sentence. He had been living in Florida but had moved back to Aroma Park in May of 1995. He had been back in the area for three months and no one, not even the police knew he was in town.

Buss was found guilty of killing young Christopher Meyer and this time sentenced to death. However, former governor George Ryan placed a moratorium on the death penalty and commuted all sentences to life including Buss. Now he is living in general population enjoying his life while his little victims lie in the ground. What happened to our right as a free society to see justice handed down to those who commit such heinous crimes against us?

Where do you find pedophiles?

You will find pedophiles everywhere. From large cities to small villages. Wherever you are right now, if you look around you might see a pedophile but you won’t recognize him as a pedophile. You won’t recognize him because a pedophile cannot be identified by just looking at him. Pedophiles have no certain look. They look just like ordinary people. They come from all walks of life. They are among our most prominent citizens and our poorest. From elected officials to the educators of our children and on down to the homeless. They are among the married as well as the single.

Things to watch for.

I said you can’t recognize a pedophile by looking at him but you can identify one by watching his actions. Here are some things to watch for:

● Watch for the man who seems to hang around children a lot. The one that stands across from the school grounds watching, the one that watches the children getting off school buses, the man who hangs around playgrounds and city parks.

● Watch for the man who likes to take your child for ice cream to the local store but never

invites you along.

● Watch at little league ball games for the lone man who watches the children more than he

watches the game.

● Watch for the man who likes to give your child gifts.

● Watch for the man who seems to pay particular attention to just one of your children.

● Keep a close eye on your child’s employer if employed.

● Be alert to a teacher who is overly fond of certain children, who is always putting his arm

around them or telling them secrets.

Other things you can do.

Talk to your child!

One of the most important things you can do is talk to your children. Get involved with your child’s everyday activity. Listen to your child. A lot of parents talk to their child, but don’t listen to what that child has to say.

If your child gets a job, talk with that child about his or her work relations. About their boss. Their co-workers

In Pekin a mother interested in her son’s new job at a fast food place, was listening to him talk about his experience in getting the job when he told her that he had passed the physical test. This alert mother asked him what physical test he was talking about. She had never heard of any physical being given at fast food places. He explained the manager had told him that a physical was mandatory to make sure the boy didn’t have a hernia. He said the manger took him into his office and had him drop his pants. The manager then felt around his penis area to make sure he was OK. This mother called the police. When we arrested this man and checked his background, we found he had a lengthy record for sexual molestation of children and was in fact on 4-years parole from a Missouri prison. He was sent back to the Missouri prison to serve out the remainder of his time.

Talk to your child, boy or girl about scout leaders or counselors. About their actions toward your child. Improper touching, improper suggestions. Scout leaders have committed many pedophile sexual assaults. This is a prime gathering ground for pedophiles.

Talk with your child about his or her teachers, their ministers, or anyone who they spend a lot of time with. Again in Pekin, a mother called the police after her son told her that while on an overnight camping trip with the minister of their church, the minister had checked each of the boys’ penis’ for proper development. We arrested the minister and he said he had a right to do this because he was their minister. He later pled guilty and was placed on probation. You’d be surprised to learn that his congregation was quite upset with police for making the arrest.

After all the horror stories about priests came to light not long ago, a man in his late 20’s came in to report that as a child he was molested for years by one of his teachers. I read a 17-page letter from this young man who described his life of hell with this teacher. Among the things this teacher did was to drive up to him as he was delivering newspapers in the evenings, point a pistol at him and order him into the car. This teacher was always telling the boy how he had been a marine and could kill easily. He threatened to kill the boy and then threatened to kill the boy’s parents if he ever told on him. After molesting him in the car, the boy was taken back to the paper route. These sexual assaults continued until the boy was 16-years old and decided to refuse to go along with his demands. This man is 73 years old today and still has not been arrested because the statute of limitations has long since ran out on the offense.

Never let you child go alone into a public restroom at a city park, a rest area or even a shopping center or grocery store. There was an incident in California where a woman had her young nephew at a city park and when he had to go to the restroom, she waited outside as he entered the public restroom. After a length of time, a young man walked out. She asked him if he had seen the boy inside. He told he the boy was still inside. Minutes later when he hadn’t came out. She went inside to discover the boy lying dead on the floor. His throat had been cut.

Neighborhood Awareness of sex offenders

Be watchful in your neighborhood. Report any suspicious person or automobile to the police. Maybe they already have information on that person or auto. Make your neighbors aware of any known sex offenders in the area. Call the police and see if they know this offender is living in the area.

In a recent case in Streator, Illinois 7-year old Dalton Mesarchik was waiting on a van to take him to church. He disappeared. His body was later found along a nearby river. He had been beaten to death with a sledgehammer. In checking for registered sex offenders in Streator, I found there were nine. Two living within two blocks of the boy’s home. Two had addresses listed as Illinois Department Of Corrections. In checking the inmate file of our prisons, I found that these two men had been released. What happened to the mandatory registrations for these men? Where are these two men? This case is still unsolved.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

I want to tell you about the web site of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Not only does this site feature photos of missing children, it is also the wealthiest source of information on child safety you will find anywhere. This site can be reached at missingkids.com. This site is the result of the perseverance of John Walsh and a hand full of other people after the abduction and murder of John's son, Adam. His actions revolutionized the way law enforcement handles missing children cases. John Walsh has testified many times before congressional hearings in Washington DC on child abduction and predator pedophiles. His America's Most Wanted is a God sent to law enforcement. It is one of the most watched television shows in the world.

On The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children web site you can request – free of charges – dozens of books, pamphlets and flyers on everything from police investigative instructions to child safety to information on pedophiles. It is a must see for all parents.

They have a pamphlet titled “Just In Case.” Parental Guidelines in case your child might someday become the victim of sexual exploitation. It tells you the proper way to communicate with your child to let him know it is not his or her fault. It tells you what to say and do and what not to say or do. Get it. It’s free.

New Tougher Laws For Sex offenders

There are vicious predator pedophiles out there and at this time there is no known cure for them. Pedophilia is a lifelong mental disorder. Therefore, we must enact new laws with enough teeth to give us the means to imprison these devils for the longest terms possible. We must seek new laws that will incarcerate the child molesters and serial rapists life long terms.

For those that kill their little victims, we must enact laws that demand mandatory death sentences.

And for those convicted of these crimes we must have laws that limit the length of time in which appeals are heard -- laws that limit to a time of 12 to 24 months to exhaust all appeals.

If for some reason a sentence is cut short and the offender is released from prison, we must have laws on the books that make mandatory natural life long supervision as well as introducing new and state of the art monitoring equipment such as the Global Positioning Systems. On the subject of monitoring offenders presently on parole from prison or on probation, we have in place laws that allow ankle bracelets for those declared sexually dangerous for a period of time determined by their probation officers or parole officers. Then they are only required to register every year or when they move for the next 10 years. I know several sex offenders who have long ago passed the 10-year mark who are probably out there molesting children or raping women as we speak. Where are these people today? Do they live in your neighborhood? With lifetime Global Positioning Systems on these predators, we would know exactly where they are and where they have been at all times.

Global Positioning Systems

The GPS might be a little more expensive per day than what we have now, but then what is the life of a child or for that matter any human being worth? Today we are paying some $4.95 a day for ankle bracelets that do almost nothing. The GPS will cost between $6 and $12 per day. One thing more. To off set the cost we can demand the offender pay that $6 or $12 a day for the privilege of being able to stay at home instead of being locked away in some prison.

Let's get busy and make it near impossible for predator pedophiles to grab our children. Law Enforcement officers and missing children need our help.

* * *