Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Missing: Eliana Perkins, 13


SEATTLE — Last Friday, Genel Perkins and her daughter Eliana had a milestone moment.
That was the first day I actually let her take the Metro bus by herself,” the missing girl’s mom said.
Eliana boarded the Number 8 Metro bus at 23rd and Jackson at 8:20 that morning.
“She wanted to go on her own and she wanted me to trust her to go on her own and to come back on her own so I just told her to get on the bus and I have not seen her since,” Perkins said.
She was heading to Southlake High School, but friends say she got off the bus at the Othello Transit Center on MLK and arrived later at the school with an unknown man.
Friends say that same man picked Eliana up after school in what they thought was a white Honda.
“There is a grave concern for her safety … being that she is so young and that we don’t know where she is or who she is with,” Seattle police detective Drew Fowler said.
Seattle police are investigating and are searching for Elaina, but they have few leads as to where she might be.
“We are searching multiple addresses, looking through social media pages hoping for any kind of clue that we can confirm she is OK and reunited her with her family but we don’t have a lot of information to go on from this starting point,” Fowler said.
Perkins says she talked to her daughter on the phone after school that day and everything seemed fine, but she says nothing is fine now and won’t be until she sees her daughter again.
I can’t sleep. All I can think about is her. I’m anxious. I’m just beyond worried. I’m sad. I’m angry but most of all I’m worried and just want her to come home,” Perkins said.
Police say it could happen to any child and all parents can do is keep the lines of communication wide open.
In 2015 this is a real challenge; trying to figure out how to strike a balance between letting your children be themselves but also making sure they are safe in their social media adventures,” Fowler said.
Police say that might not be a perfect solution but they say just keeping tabs on what your children do and where they go and who they spend time with, and talking to your children, is a good first step.
If you’ve seen Eliana Perkins or know where she is, call 911.

51 comments:

Anonymous said...

IMO, saying "NO!" is the first good step.

Tania Cadogan said...

off topic

Gruesome details surrounding the tragic death of a toddler are emerging, with one of the suspects in the child’s death reportedly revealing to police that he and 3-year-old Owen Collins’s mother would put “dope in [her kids'] bottles and watch them have fun.”

A police search commenced for Collins over the weekend after he was reported missing, though authorities now believe that the child was actually dead inside of the Bluffton, Indiana, home for almost a day before being put inside of a box and set on fire in the woods. His body was found by cops on Sunday evening, WANE-TV reported.

Collins’ mother, Breanna Arnold, 21, and Zachary Barnes, 30, were arrested and preliminarily charged with abuse of a corpse and neglect of a dependent. An unnamed 16-year-old who had reportedly been living with them and acting as a babysitter for the two children was also detained and charged with abusing a corpse; formal charges have not yet been filed.

Barnes reportedly later told police that he and Arnold, who also has a 6-year-old son, would put “dope in [the children’s] bottles and watch them have fun.” Meth-making materials were found inside the home, though it is unclear if drugs played a role in the child’s death.

Arnold, Barnes and the teen were allegedly “shooting dope” on Friday and Saturday. And when the mother went to check on Collins on Saturday, that’s when she discovered that he had died.

At that point, the three reportedly decided to place the child in plastic wrap and put him inside of a dresser drawer, WANE-TV reported.

It was later that the teen allegedly accompanied Barnes 12 miles away into the woods, where the toddler’s body was placed in a box and burned.

After disposing of the body, Barnes told police that he went to his brother’s home and reported Collins missing, which is what led the Wells County Sheriff’s Department to begin searching for the boy.

If those details aren’t shocking enough, the teenager also reportedly told police that there was talk of chopping Collins up and “throwing him in the river” before the decision to burn his body in the woods was made.

It could take up to two weeks to determine a cause of death.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/01/21/horrific-details-emerge-following-toddlers-shocking-death-they-put-dope-in-the-kids-bottles-and-watched-them-have-fun/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons

John Mc Gowan said...

Her Mums pronoun usage, first person singular "I" is very strong, a good sign. I do wonder though if there may have been some troubles underlining between them both, given the lack of her name being used ?

Although, this is only a snippet, as far as i'm aware, she may have called her by her name in subsequent articles ?

John Mc Gowan said...

Hi Peter,

I would love you to analize Obama's annual State of the Union speech, if you have the time. I haven't myself listened to all of it as yet, i will confess. I would, and this is what peaks my interest, like to see (and as we know, order is important when employing S/A) Hear the what he prioritises, and the order he allocates them. ?

I will see, i know it's long, if i can find a transcript.

Tania Cadogan said...

off topic

A nurse accused of killing three patients and poisoning 18 more at a Stockport hospital has been made a "scapegoat", a jury has been told.

Victorino Chua, 49, of Heaton Norris, denies 36 counts, including three of murder, at Manchester Crown Court.

Defending, Peter Griffiths QC said a "vast number" of police worked on the case, so someone must "carry the can".

However, he said Mr Chua was picked from "a huge number of potential people" to be a "scapegoat".

The prosecution has alleged Mr Chua poisoned patients by contaminating saline with insulin and altered prescribed dosages at Stockport's Stepping Hill Hospital.

The alleged offences against 21 patients are said to have taken place between June 2011 and January 2012.

Mr Chua is accused of murdering patients Tracey Arden, 44, Arnold Lancaster, 71, and Alfred Derek Weaver, 83.

He also faces one count of causing grievous bodily harm, 23 of attempted grievous bodily harm, eight of attempting to administer a poison and one of administering a poison.
'Matter of conjecture'

Addressing the jury, Mr Griffiths said the judge Mr Justice Openshaw had allowed him the "quite exceptional" step of speaking before any evidence was heard so he could point out the "real issues" in the case.

He said whoever carried out the crimes was "a matter of conjecture" and the case against Mr Chua was "circumstantial", adding "we have no idea who has committed some poisonings and some alterations".

A "vast number of officers" had investigated the case, he said, and "huge resources" had been used.

"Could they end up at the end of the day with 'I don't know who did it'? Somebody has to carry the can."

He said Mr Chua denied all the charges and simply "had the misfortune of being on duty in January 2012 when various alterations were found to have been carried out... so the finger of suspicion goes on to him".

"He gets arrested, he's literally on bail for a couple of years, then they decide to charge him and he ends up here."

He said he would call medical experts who would say that, in 15 of the cases involved, it could not be proved it was insulin poisoning and not natural causes that led to the patients suffering a hypoglycemic episode.

In the remaining six cases, he continued, the jury would "probably" be sure insulin did cause the episodes, when blood sugar levels dropped dangerously low, but that it was not Mr Chua who was the poisoner.

Addressing the accusation that the nurse altered medical notes, Mr Griffiths said no-one saw the alterations being made and "many others" had the opportunity to alter them on the "immensely busy" wards.

He also said that the prosecution's link between the poisoning in the summer of 2011 and note-tampering in January 2012 was unsound.

If it was proved to not be linked, he said, it would make the prosecution case "like a ship that's been holed".

The case continues.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-30917844


Guess what caught my attention real fast :)

"we have no idea who has committed some poisonings and some alterations".
The key word here is SOME
Why say SOME and not THE which would be expected if his client were innocent?
This is because he knows who committed SOME of the poisonings and alterations, his client may have admitted to some if not most or all of the deliberate ones and there are a couple they cannot be sure about either he can't remember or it was a natural event.

I also wonder what is his definition of poisonings and alterations and why they differ since he mentions both terms.
Is it perhaps insulin was administered when it wasn't needed making it a poisoning and when an incorrect does was given when required it was an alteration?

Anonymous said...

"told" her to get on the bus

and (missing pronoun) - just want her to come home.

Anonymous said...

I believe mother and daughter had intense fight.

mother can not speak of daughter without raising some red flags.

however -- perhaps that's just what it is - mother and daughter have intense fight. mother may eve tell daughter to get on bus and not come back.

and daughter goes to familiar man who she thinks is her ally but instead he takes advantage and kidnaps her.

Anonymous said...

question:

If a parent of a missing child said "I want to put this nightmare to bed."

would you have any S/A thoughts about it?

John Mc Gowan said...

"we have no idea

This is a classic.

Every has an "idea" on everything. As Mark McClish says. " Everybody has an idea usually several." I can't make a rocket that will get me to the moon. But i have an "idea" how they do. I will be wrong however, i have an "Idea"

It is also and can be (i learned this from Peter) a sign of wanting to terminate a certain topic and or question. "I have no idea" so there is no point in going any further. Another, as Peter points out. It is a sign of a lazy mind.

"What do you think about xyz"

Someone who can not be bothered talking anymore may respond like this. It's not to say they are keeping something back. It's just they can't be bothered engaging in conversation anymore. They maybe tired, late for work etc.

It is a classic response though to allegations.

Jamie said...

She says "I" 7 times in 33 words. She has it in every sentence, twice in the sentence you say she dropped it.

She shows genuine concern for her daughter.

Anonymous said...

you are right -- she totally owned "sad "and "worried". I think I was hasty -

& I agree she didn't do it and loves her daughter for sure,

but it still does sounds like they had a fight before her daughter got on the bus. doesn't make what happened next her fault. just seems like they fought because she says I "told her to get on the bus". but I don't know.

GetThem said...

“That was the first day I actually let her take the Metro bus by herself,” ---- "That" is distancing. She is comparing something by using the word "actually", perhaps not letting her take the bus, or other ways for her to get transportation. We can't know without asking her.

“She wanted to go on her own and she wanted me to trust her to go on her own and to come back on her own so I just told her to get on the bus and I have not seen her since,” Perkins said. ----- Mom is not using daughter's name, but we don't know what other comments were made prior to this one sentence. The rest of the sentence is repeating basically the same info so it is sensitive to her (of course!!). I don't understand why she switches from being so passive to saying "I told" her... Was there more to the sentence? Did she "tell" her instructions on how to be on the bus and to call her when she got off, etc.?

From just the mom's info, mostly her statement seems legit to me. I just don't understand the switch from passive to "told."

Trigger said...

I don't see how this mother could "keep the lines of communication open" with her daughter when it is considered "normal" by young teens to see their parents as the enemy.

This gives a cunning predator an opportunity win the trust of their clueless victim, who is inexperienced and vulnerable when out of eyesight of a protective parent.

Anonymous said...

i expect there was a lot of tension about her daughter riding bus alone first day.

surely this unto itself is pretty commonplace.

Anonymous said...

I'd also like to see Obama's speech analyzed.

John Mc Gowan said...

“She wanted to go on her own and she wanted me to trust her to go on her own and to come back on her own so I just told her to get on the bus and I have not seen her since,” Perkins said.

We note anything repeated as sensitive. Here we have "on her own" x3. This is very sensitive to her Mum. Why ?

Note too "trust" enters her language. Again, why ? What is her subjective internal dictionary meaning of "trust" Is Mum over protective ? Is Eliana rebelling ?

13yr olds, not alway's i may add, are well beyond the stage of getting taken to school by a guardian, be it to the bus stop or school run.

More statements needed..

John Mc Gowan said...

Mums pronouns for me, suggest no involvement. Yet her language "trust" Told" etc, to me suggest that they were not on good terms before they parted ?

Buckley said...

making sure they are safe in their social media adventures

That seems the most unexpected and revealing statement.

Buckley said...

The State of the Union speech was around 6500 words and, with applause, lasted an hour.

I'd prefer Peter not analyze it and give us more, shorter statements to work with.

Lemon said...

“In 2015 this is a real challenge; trying to figure out how to strike a balance between letting your children be themselves but also making sure they are safe in their social media adventures,” Fowler said.
__________

"social media adventures" is unexpected from the police detective with a missing child. Is there evidence of this, or does the detective believe that is what this is indicative of? If this were my child, I would be concerned police were not taking it very seriously.

Lemon said...

OT
A gentle request: please, no SA on SOTU!

Buckley said...

Deja vous :)

Buckley said...

A search is underway for 13-year-old girl who has been missing for four days after getting into a strange man's car in Seattle, Washington.

Eliana Perkins was last seen climbing into a white Honda driven by a man in his thirties on Martin Luther King Jr Way on Friday afternoon, police said.

Her relatives have reportedly been told by another child that the man is of Mexican descent, with 'a scar on his nose and black eyes'. The child was apparently warned by the man 'not to tell police'.

It is unclear whether the driver was known to Eliana. It is also unknown whether the other unidentified child was present at the time of Eliana's disappearance, or if they spoke to the man at a later point.

On Tuesday, Seattle Police Department took to Twitter to appeal for help in tracking down the missing teenager, who was apparently standing at a bus stop on the road when she climbed into the car.

The force tweeted: 'Missing: Eliana Perkins. 13yo 5’2/120. Last seen 1/16 getting into wht Honda w/man in 30s on MLK Wy. Call 911 w/info.'


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2919068/Police-relatives-fear-13-year-old-girl-seen-climbing-strange-man-s-car-Washington-road.html

They "took to twitter"?!? I agree with Lemon- I'd be worried they aren't taking it seriously enough. Also, not sure of the source, but doesn't it seem unwise to state "the child was warned by the man not to tell police." Doesn't that A. Identify the source to the man and B. Automatically comes across as something more than a "social media adventure" as police are notified about CRIMES and moms would be notified about runaways?

Buckley said...


On January 20, the Seattle Police Department took to Twitter to help expand the search for the girl writing, “Missing: Eliana Perkins. 13yo 5’2/120. Last seen 1/16 getting into wht Honda w/man in 30s on MLK Wy. Call 911 w/info.” Around seven hours after that tweet, the Seattle cops erroneously tweeted that Eliana had been found, they swiftly corrected that mistake.

In a Facebook post on January 19, Eliana’s mother, Genel Perkins, said “I just need to know she is safe.” She went on to talk about the man who may have taken her daughter. She offered her daughter’s phone number, saying that Eliana answered her phone at 5 p.m. on January 16. When she called back on January 17, a man speaking Spanish answered. Genel asked her Facebook friends if anybody who speaks Spanish could call the number. Some say they did but got no answer.

Eliana Perkins appears to have several active Facebook accounts. The latest activity is on this page. A picture posted on that page received comments from men who Perkins didn’t appear to know. Those men tell her she’s “pretty” and “cute.” Another man asks if she has the video chat app Oovoo.


http://heavy.com/news/2015/01/eliana-perkins-missing-abduction-kidnap-suspect-facebook/

Kathead said...

Lol, John....did you analize because Obama speaks out of his ass? That made me laugh.


Kathead

Sarah said...

It's been a looong time since I've dabbled in SA or posted, but the two things that caught my eye right away.

“That was the first day I actually let her take the Metro bus by herself" --were there days or times when she took the bus by herself without being allowed to?

“She wanted to go on her own and she wanted me to trust her to go on her own and to come back on her own..." --strange that she said go and come back, as opposed to "ride" on her own. She puts the emphasis on going and coming, which seems more than needed.

I thought other than that that the mom sounded pretty straightforward saying "I" this and "I" that...I'm thinking preliminarily that there might have been an issue with the daughter doing things the mom didn't want her to.

GetThem said...

I am changing my mind. I think the mom has more info. Here's why. I have a teen that likes to say "why don't you trust me?" I do trust her, but I don't trust other people with her. I wouldn't be worrying about explaining that to people if this were me. I would be worried about finding her safely ASAP. AND, I would be RACKED with guilt for making an exception that resulted in a disappearance. I think this mom is holding back info.

Anonymous said...

nah. just cause she's maybe not as selfless or self aware as an ideal parent - - don't mean she did it. i think there's very little chance.

Unknown said...

You don't need statement analysis to know that political speeches are 90% crap.

Buckley said...

The mother let Eliana talk her into something that went against her better judgment and her fears about the consequences are now realized. She's likely kicking herself for giving in.

GetThem said...

Nope, sorry guys, I'm not on the poor-innocent-mom-train on this one. I'm not saying the mom "did it" anon. I'm saying she knows more than she lets on. Between only caring about telling why she let her daughter get on the bus and then in her next sentence only saying "I, I, I, I, I and only once referencing her daughter, something is up. Either that or she is the most self centered person on earth lollll.

Unknown said...

“She wanted to go on her own and she wanted me to trust her to go on her own AND TO COME BACK ON HER OWN so I just told her to get on the bus and I have not seen her since,” Perkins said.

I find it strange that she introduces the topic of her daughter being trusted to "come back on her own".

Was there a reason to question that she would willingly come back?

At a certain age, most kids want their parents to give them a chance to prove they will behave responsibly, and that they can handle these types of daily activities solo. But the way the mother states, "go on her own, and come back on her own", sounds like there were specific concerns about her running away if given the chance.

Sus said...

I believe it is clear the mother had reason not to trust Eliana and they had argued about it. "To go on her own" is repeated and "to come back" is unexpected. It shows she didn't trust her to come back.

The mother TOLD her to get on the bus which indicates tension. "I have not seen her since." Is passive. It abdicates all responsibility for her daughter's disappearance, like she's saying, "Welp, she's gone."

Usually I like to hear a parent using "I", but there's something that stands out to me in the mother's diatribe. She says she's worried about Eliana, yet only focuses on herself. Every statement was about her own rough time. That's a sign of anger at her daughter, of feeling her daughter made her worry unnecessarily.

Sus said...

Oh, forgot to point out, the one place the mother drops a pronoun, she doesn't use "I"...saying she wants her daughter to come home. She does use "just" in front of that statement, meaning she's comparing it to another thought. Maybe that she doesn't want her to come home, maybe that they argue and it's not peaceful when she's home, or maybe that Eliana or others don't believe she wants her home.

Falconwings said...

It doesn't sound to me like they had an intense fight.
The sensitivity in the mother's statement indicates she knew the daughter was going with someone she shouldn't be with on a regular basis. From the sound of it, she would normally have to coax her to come home or go get her and bring her home. The mother is hiding something about whoever this person is, or whatever was going on with her daughter ie. drug use, etc whatever she was doing after school that would cause the mother to have to get her to come home.

Falconwings said...

The mother said "

'She wanted to go on her own and she wanted me to trust her to go on her own and to come back on her own so I just told her to get on the bus and I have not seen her since"

Listen. Don't interpret.

The mother does not say WHERE the daughter wanted to go on her own.

The mother does not say WHERE the daughter was going that she wanted to trust her to go to on her own.

She told her to "get on the bus".

I think it can be inferred from this statement, the mother usually accompanied the daughter somewhere and also was the one who got her home from somewhere. She does not say the place is school, and I cannot say it for her.

falconwings said...

Her friends' statements that she did not get off at school but at a different location that day support my analysis that the Mom would usually accompany her somewhere but she is not saying that somewhere is school, so I cannot say it for her.

Buckley said...

Peter- I'm curious about the definition of "dropped pronoun." I understand sentences that don't begin with a pronoun, it is dropped. "Dropped her off." Or "Saw the Pope."

But when we have a sentence that begins with a pronoun and has a compound verb like the one above:

I’m worried and just want her to come home,” Perkins said.

Is that really a dropped pronoun? Grammatically, the subject "I" works with the verbs "am worried" and "want". People often write and speak with compound verbs as opposed to making a new clause every time; it seems that on it's own shouldn't be any cause for flagging.

Sus said...

Buckley,
I would also like to hear the official take on dropped pronouns. In the meantime, I can tell you what I do.

I take special notice of a dropped pronoun at the beginning of a sentence, a clause...not as much.

Having said that, this mother's case is different. I noted her missing pronoun at the beginning of a clause 1. Because of her string use of "I" and it is the only place she omitted it. 2. She used "I" to begin a clause in earlier statements.

Falconwings said...

In my opinion, the dropped "I" after the word is relevant. It is grammatically correct to drop it, but picture what you would say if it was your child missing. Your emotions would lead you to include the "I". I think the relevance of the dropped "I' after the word "and" indicates the speaker, in this case, is not fully claiming the second part of the sentence. I have wondered about this too, but my opinion is you can't discount a dropped "I" after the word "and".

Buckley said...

I even disagree we should call it dropped.

To me:

"I'm worried and just want her to come home." The only thing I'd question is "just", which I take as a synonym of "only."

If the statement read "I'm worried. Just want her to come home." I'd agree it's dropped and highly sensitive and I'd want to know if she really wanted her home or if she had doubts she would ever come home. I don't think the statement as is raises those flags.

Falconwings said...

Buckley, it's an interesting topic and it is one I've wondered about myself.
Right now, I'm trying to remember similar examples.
I'm going on memory, but I think Phoebe from the Ayla Reynolds case might have done something weird with her pronoun making a similar statement.
I'll try to find the interview, cause I am not sure.
It's definitely a gray area.
I picture myself saying it and I think the heightened emotions of something as serious as a child missing would normally lead to a person using that "I" but I agree with you that it is confusing and a gray area and I am not sure.

FAlconwings said...

I did a google search.

What came up was interesting.

There were many statements of Trista saying "I just want her home", etc.

However, the one statement that came up from the guilty three was from Ayla's aunt saying that she "just wanted to say that I love her and just want her to come home" with the dropped pronoun after "and"..

This is not conclusive of anything, because I cannot find Trista saying "I just want her home" after the conjunction "and" because she simply seems to have not put that sentiment after the word "and".

However, we do see a lying person, Elisha, dropping the pronoune "I" after the word "and".

Anyway, food for thought, but I definitely don't know what the ironclad rule is.

Anonymous said...

don't over analyze it. She talked hard to get her mother to let her go alone. My bet is she had been communicating with this man for a while. He probably led her to believe he'd give her the life she wanted, buy her anything she wanted, blah blah blah and being 13 she bought it hook line and sinker. Her friends knew she got off the bus at an earlier stop and met him. Then he picked her up after school. It was all planned out. She is now likely being trafficked.

Falconwings said...

anon 2:51,

While none of us know what happened, I am following the rules of statement analysis. The mother does not say where "she wanted to go on her own", so I cannot say it for her. I will not interpret and say "oh she meant she wanted to go on her own to school". She does not say that so I cannot and will not say it for her.
You are saying she talked hard to let the mother let her go. She probably did and that can be inferred from the mother's statement. However, you saying this guy made all these promises to her, promised her the life she wanted, and now she is being trafficked, steps FAR outside the bounds of the statement we have to analyze.

Falconwings said...

More info I found about the case:

1) Mom called Eliana's phone the day man picked her up from school, Eliana answered, everything seemed fine.
2) Mom called Eliana's phone the next day, and a man answered speaking Spanish. Mom asked through her facebook if anyone who spoke Spanish could call the number and attempt to talk with the man. A Spanish speaker did agree to help out and call, but there was no answer when he or she called Eliana's phone
.
3) A few older men contacted Eliana through facebook, they posted comments in English.

My only question is if the Mom called and a Spanish speaker answered, are you telling me the Seattle police could not find a Spanish speaker to call the number? I am just asking because it seems like in a situation of this kind of gravity, the police would get involved in making that phone call, so I am confused.

Falconwings said...

Here is a link with the info about the Eliana case if anyone is interested

http://heavy.com/news/2015/01/eliana-perkins-missing-abduction-kidnap-suspect-facebook/

Buckley said...

Yeah, I posted that above with about 3 paragraphs from it.

I also read somewhere that she's in a school/program for kids with behavior issues.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I missed it Buckley. I did read about the behavioral issues. I wish we had more statement-wise from the mother. I feel the girl is in great danger.

Falconwings said...

Sorry I missed it Buckley. I did read about the behavioral issues. I wish we had more statement-wise from the mother. I feel the girl is in great danger.

Falconwings said...

I tried to find any video interviews from the mother, and I am not finding any. Wish there was something like that to look at.