Missing Kids of Queens

 
Samantha Runnion. Danielle Van Dam. Polly Klaas. Christina Williams. Elizabeth Smart. Children kidnapped from their homes, their front lawns, their neighborhoods. Suddenly gone. All but one confirmed dead, in what might seem to be a nationwide epidemic.
The threat of violent child abduction hit home on Monday, when a man tried to grab a 10-year-old Queens schoolgirl off a street in Long Island City.
The girl, who was not identified, was walking to PS 112 near the corner of 36th Avenue and 24th Street when a man grabbed her from behind and covered her eyes, according to Detective Carolyn Chew, a Police Department spokeswoman.
The girl kicked her attacker and broke away from his grasp, Chew said. He jumped into a burgundy Ford sport utility vehicle, either an Explorer or Expedition, which was driven by a woman. The pair, described only as African-American, fled in an unknown direction.
Detectives from the 114th Precinct are investigating the case, but do not even have a license plate number to go on, Chew said.
"Its got priority because the man who tried this is still out there," said City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., chairman of the Public Safety Committee. The fact that both a man and woman were involved is unusual, Vallone added.
"Thats not the usual M.O. [modus operandi] for these perverts," Vallone said. "So thats something the Police Department is investigating."
The Amber Alert
The incident highlights the need for New York City to adopt the Amber Alert system used by other municipalities, which warns the public of an abduction through the media and highway message boards, Vallone added.
Tamera Brooks and Jacqueline Marris, two teenage kidnap victims rescued last week in California by police who shot their abductor, were saved because of the Amber system, according to published reports. Citizens alerted to the captors license plate number told police where he had gone.
The system, growing in popularity nationwide, was named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl from Texas who was kidnapped and killed in 1996.
"Im also calling on the police to institute the Amber Alert system as soon as possible," Vallone said. "I believe it is on the way and they plan on instituting it."
A police source confirmed the NYPD is looking at the system but could not provide details.
Vallone, a former prosecutor who appears on Court TV as a commentator, sat down two weeks ago with his two daughters, 6 and 8 years old, to talk about kidnapping. They had just seen part of the Astoria Democrats latest appearance discussing the Van Dam case.
"I had a long talk with them about what they should do if a stranger approaches them," Vallone said. "Its a very difficult talk because they got frightened, but its a necessary talk to have. It seems to be an epidemic."
Vallone also was prompted to talk to his daughters because the Long Island City case was not the first abduction attempt reported in Queens this year. At least three unsuccessful kidnap tries were made last spring outside PS 223, on Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica, according to City Councilman Allan Jennings. District officials declined to comment on the incidents.
"They actually tried to abduct two boys and a girl," Jennings said. Police stepped up their patrols around the school in response but the real answer is for parents to not let their children hang around before or after classes. he added: "The police cannot be everywhere, but a parent can take the responsibility and say, I know school opens at eight oclock, I wont drop them off until eight oclock."
Following the attempted kidnappings in his district, Jennings authored a non-binding Council resolution asking educators to keep children in grades five and below at school until a parent or other "authorized adult" picks them up. Thirty-seven other council members signed on as cosponsors. But the bill, introduced on April 24, has not been passed by the Education Committee.
"I think that type of security should be practiced all over the City of New York," Jennings said. "But its stuck in the Education Committee. I think its common sense."
Committee Chairwoman Eva Moskowitz (D-Manhattan) refused to return repeated calls about the bill. Her spokeswoman, Robin Goetz, said Moskowitz has no comment on why the bill has not gone to the full Council.
Despite the recent attempts, no Queens family has suffered the heartbreak of losing a child to stranger abduction in years, according to police. But that does not mean local children have not disappeared for other reasons.
Almost all those missing in recent years are runaways who turned to a life of crime, according to Lieutenant David Ebert, commanding officer of the Police Departments Missing Persons Squad.
"We dont have any stranger abductions," Ebert said. "I dont have anything like that, believe it or not. In Queens most of the girls are group-home runaways and theyre usually engaged in prostitution."
Old Disappearances
Past abductions continue to haunt the city, however. Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who disappeared from Manhattan in 1979, was declared dead only last year. While authorities believe a man imprisoned for another crime killed Etan, they reportedly lack the evidence to charge him.
In another case from a generation ago, a Staten Island man goes on trial next month for allegedly kidnapping Holly Hughes, a 7-year-old girl who disappeared in 1981, Ebert said. The suspect, Andre Rand, is in prison for the kidnapping of another young girl, Jennifer Sweigert, and is suspected in several other cases from the early 1980s. They were the most recent stranger abductions the lieutenant could recall in the city.
"The girls stopped disappearing when he went to jail," Ebert said.
A different story emerges nationwide. Roughly 725,000 children disappear each year, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), although "the vast majority of these cases are resolved within hours."
Most are runaways, followed by "lost, injured or otherwise missing children," those abducted by family members, and lastly, those taken by strangers.
Responding to the cases publicized across the country this summer, President George W. Bush announced Tuesday that he will hold a conference on missing and exploited children on September 24. The NCMEC will be among those groups participating.
"After the terror of September the 11th, many parents throughout America found themselves holding their children more closely," the president said. "Unfortunately, as we work to help our children feel safer by fighting terror, America’s children and parents are also facing a wave of horrible violence from twisted criminals in our own communities."
"Id like to commend President Bush for his leadership in addressing these issues that are on the minds of parents and communities across the nation," NCMEC Board Chairman Robbie Callaway said. "Bringing issue and prevention experts together to examine what weve done so far and what needs to happen next will allow us to implement effective, thoughtful change to better protect children from predators."
Local Unsolved Cases
In Queens, the missing children who are not believed to have run away were kidnapped by parents who do not have custody, according to the NCMEC. The following remain missing, according to the Center. They are listed alphabetically.
Violeta Alovic of Astoria was born on December 14, 1983 and has been missing since November 9, 1999. She is believed to be an endangered runaway. When last seen, Violeta was 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 127 pounds. She has hazel eyes, brown hair, a small scar over her right eye and a black mole on the center of her lower back.
Beatriz Ariza was born on August 5, 1987 and has been missing since April 17 of this year. She is believed to be an endangered runaway who may be in Elizabeth, N.J. with an adult male companion. Beatriz, whose nickname is Bety, was 5 feet tall and weighed 115 pounds when she disappeared. She has dark eyes and brown hair.
Nashwah Lylah El-Sayed was born on September 26, 1990 and allegedly was abducted by her non-custodial father, Mohamed Saad El-Sayed on June 18, 1993. An arrest warrant has been issued for the elder El-Sayed, who is 49. Nashwah was 3 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed 33 pounds when she was taken. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Alicia Marie Fleming was born on May 4, 1987 and disappeared on June 21, 2001. She is believed to have run away and may still be in the city or in New Jersey. Alicia was 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 125 pounds when she disappeared. She has brown eyes and black hair.
Deniese Hiraman was born on October 6, 1985 and was last seen leaving for school on the morning of August 27, 1999. She is believed to be an endangered runaway. When she disappeared, Deniese was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 90 pounds. She has a scar on her right forearm, brown hair and brown eyes.
Michael LoRusso of College Point was born on April 13, 1988 and allegedly was taken by his non-custodial mother, Claudia Zuniga, a/k/a Claudia LoRusso, on June 27, 1996. At the time of his abduction, Michael was 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 98 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Zuniga, 35, is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds.
Carolina Noronha was born on June 8, 1996 and disappeared on December 22, 1997. She was 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 30 pounds at the time. Carolina may have been taken out of the United States by her non-custodial mother. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Melissa Erin Reiter of Little Neck was born on January 17, 1991 and allegedly was taken by her non-custodial mother, Beth Shari Reiter, on May 23, 1992. She was, at the time of the abduction, 2 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 30 pounds. Her mother, a/k/a Beth Shoken, is 40 years old. Melissa has brown hair and blue eyes.
Virginia Maya Rosa was born on August 8, 1986 and was last seen on August 16, 2001. Believed to be an endangered runaway, Virginia was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds when she disappeared. Her nickname is Gina, and it is thought she may have traveled to Georgia. Virginia has brown hair and brown eyes.
Melissa Maria Samaniego was born on October 13, 1987 and was last seen in the company of her non-custodial mother, Ana Fonseca, on March 7, 1994. Melissa was 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 70 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Her mother will turn 41 this week.
Denise Marie Sheehy of Woodside was born on February 20, 1954 and disappeared on July 7, 1970. At the time she went missing, she was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 103 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Daniela Lizet Salgado of Far Rockaway was born on November 21, 1993 and was last seen on December 22, 2000. She may be in the company of her non-custodial father and could be in the Hempstead area. When she disappeared, Daniela was 3 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 40 pounds. She has a scar between her eyes, brown eyes and brown hair.