Monday, October 1, 2012

Search for 2 Children Continues


 Authorities in Tennessee are asking for the public's help to find two children presumed missing after a fire destroyed their home.

The children -- identified as 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel -- were last seen Sunday around 6:30 p.m., approximately three hours before their home burned down, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, or TBI.
They lived with their grandparents in Unionville, Tennessee.
"After an extensive five day search, multiple fire experts have processed the scene and are unable to locate evidence that Chloie and Gage were victims of the fire. The location of Chloie and Gage are unknown at this time," the TBI said.
Investigators recovered the bodies of the grandparents, according to Kristin Helm, a TBI spokeswoman, and feel fairly certain they would have found the children if they had been there. They have no theories as to the kids' whereabouts.
The TBI concluded its search of the home Friday, Helm said. She said the biological parents of the children have been contacted and are cooperating.
There was nothing to indicate Chloie and Gage were home at the time of the fire, the spokeswoman said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.
When asked whether the TBI fears for the children's safety, Helm responded: "Yes, because we have two children who are outside their personal zone of safety. ... We consider them endangered."
Meanwhile, the marquee outside Community Elementary School in Unionville has morphed into a makeshift vigil. Flowers and gifts are piled around a sign that reads: "Pray for Chloie and Gage's family."
Tim Miller, the school's principal, told CNN affiliate WTVF that he feels he's on an "emotional roller coaster."
"We're like the family. At this point, we don't know, but we would like to see closure," he told WTVF.
Chloie is 4 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs 75 pounds, has brown hair and blue eyes. Gage is described as 4 feet, 50 pounds, with brown hair and eyes

9 comments:

MissUnderstood said...

"After an extensive five day search, multiple fire experts have processed the scene and are unable to locate evidence that Chloie and Gage were victims of the fire. The location of Chloie and Gage are unknown at this time," the TBI said.

The TBI concluded its search of the home Friday, Helm said. She said the biological parents of the children have been contacted and are cooperating.

There was nothing to indicate Chloie and Gage were home at the time of the fire, the spokeswoman said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.

********************

Multiple fire experts have processed the scene. The search concluded on Friday. The cause of the blaze *was not immediately clear*.

Is the cause of the blaze clear now? Where are the kids??

Jazzie said...

"The State Fire Marshal's Office said in a statement that it has concluded "that there are no remains of the two children in the structure. The children's location at this time is unknown." Its investigators will determine a cause. Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce said investigators did find the bodies of 72-year-old Leon "Bubba" McClaran and his 70-year-old wife, Molli McClaran. He said Monday that investigators had found three bodies, but now says one turned out to be that of a dog."

http://www.fireengineering.com/news/2012/10/01/kids-missing-not-dead-nl-remains-of-tennessee-children-not-found-with-step-grandparents-in-burned-fa.html

Jazzie said...

http://www.t-g.com/story/1898851.html

awhitcomb said...

I'm stumped by this case. Did one of the parents set the fire and take the kids? Did some stalker do it? Did the kids set the fire themselves and run away? Was it not arson and the kids took off? I'm afraid for these kids. Amaleen6

Jazzie said...

Amaleen6:
Shelbyville Times Gazette is reporting that firefighters found 30-35 propane tanks (the kind for outside grilling) in basement (but they still do not state what caused the fire). Because no remains of children have been found in the debris, they issued Amber Alert but most do not believe they are alive (based on interviews with eyewitnesses, neighbors, family). Despite extreme temps of inferno destruction, experts say there would be remains found if the children died in the house fire. TN has experts/state-of-art forensic labs plus they called in a 9-11 expert. They sifted through the site as forensic archaeologists. Two adults and one dog found (the grandparents had more than one dog).

This case is bizarre. The question everyone is asking "Where are the children?"

http://www.t-g.com/story/1898851.html

MissUnderstood said...

Wow! Who has that many propane tanks, in their basement no less? That could have caused an accident. Or, someone could have known there were that many tanks down there. But, like you said, this case is bizarre. Where are the children??

awhitcomb said...

Jazzie, I wonder if the kids were playing in the basement and accidentally set one of the propane tanks off, causing a chain reaction. Then again, there'd be evidence of an explosion, and they haven't mentioned that. Any remains of the children would be fragmented, but they would've found them. I can't wrap my mind around this case at all. Amaleen6

Jazzie said...

Shelbyville Time Gazette appears to be the local, on spot reporting source. If you do Google Earth, the farm property is quite large with woods nearby. Searchers employed helicopters with infra-red technology to located children. Why would anyone (or farm) store that many propane tanks (empty or not) in basement? Children seen @6:30 by neighbor, fire reported about 3 hrs later. 9:30pm - Were kids in bed? What was the usual routine for a Sunday night?

Lucy said...

There are so many questions here. Was it normal for them to store their propane tanks in the basement? On a rural farm with outbuildings? I have never heard of such a thing. No one with any brain at all would think that a good idea. Were they always there or were they placed there in the hopes of creating an earth shattering kaboom that would disguise the cause of death for the adults and the lack of remains for the children?

What is the cause of death for the adults?

What was the cause of the fire?

It's been almost a week. Answers are needed to these questions immediately if there is any hope of locating these kids.

Also, the robot denial test is extremely frustrating. It's often blurry and sometimes takes multiple tries to get the right answer. And I assure you I am a non-robotic human who has recently passed a vision test.