7.0 Earthquake Rocks Haiti, Reports of Much Damage, Casualties and Deaths

CATASTROPHIC!!!

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 7.0 quake struck Haiti shortly before 5 pm and was centered about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. As reported by the AP, US officials reported bodies in the streets and many feared dead. An aid official described “total disaster and chaos.”

Numerous pics of the devastation can be seen HERE.

Please pray for those in Haiti. The Haiti Ambassador to the US said stated, “please tell the world that Haiti needs them right now.”

The United States has always come to the aid of Haiti in the past and will once again step up to the plate to help the people of Haiti in the wake of this terrible disaster.

A major earthquake struck southern Haiti on Tuesday, knocking down buildings and power lines and inflicting what its ambassador to the United States called a catastrophe for the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation.

Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening, but the U.S. State Department has been told to expect “serious loss of life,” department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.

Many more pics can be seen HERE.

There are reports of damage and casualties. Communications have been badly affected and in many areas there have been loss of electricity.

“It’s really dark, there’s no electricity. There’s a lot of cars on the streets, and people are afraid to get inside of the house. We cannot expect electricity for anytime soon,” said Pedrel.

“I see a lot of people on the streets, crying for help. I know there’s a lot of people under the building collapse. A lot of traffic, people crying, people bleeding. It’s a disaster,” Pedrel said.

It is also being reported that there are bodies in the street. US official said a “serious loss of life” was expected. I cringe to think what the loss of life may be like in this impoverished Caribbean nation.

Witnesses reported damaged buildings throughout the capital, including the president’s residence and century-old homes nearby, and The Associated Press reported that a hospital collapsed. President Rene Preval is safe, Joseph said, but there was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, this is about the last thing that Haiti needed. What they will need is our support, help and prayers.

The NY Post is reporting it as a 7.3 magnitude earthquake with two powerful aftershocks measuring 5.9 and 5.5 on the Richter scale.

The Red Cross pledged an initial $200,000 in aid. “We do have staff on the ground – we have not been able to reach them,” said Red Cross spokesman Abbi Weaver.

Witnesses said the streets of the capital were full of panicked people, and screams were coming from under the piles of rubble seen everywhere.

People were clawing at the rubble with their bare hands, trying to save loved ones, witnesses said.

Relief Agencies Ready Haiti Preparations: Government Agencies and Nonprofits Ready to Help Haiti after Earthquake and Reports of “Significant Damage”

UPDATE I: Disaster Alert: Earthquake in Haiti

The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake, and is prepared to take further action as local responders assess the situation. As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support.

The American Red Cross is accepting donations, you can donate through their International Response Fund.

Phone lines are down in Haiti, he said, but families can call the embassy in Washington at 202-332-4090.

23 Year Old Neha Chhikara, Wife of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Crewmember Jumps Overboard in Bahama (Update: Search Called Off)

The wife of a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship crew member aboard the Monarch of the Seas is reported missing. It was initially thought that she fell off the cruise ship; however, it is now being reported that she jumped overboard in the Bahamas. 23 year old Neha Chhikara was reported missing at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Thursday; however, ship surveillance video later showed the passenger jumping overboard at 4:11 a.m.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says the guest was reported missing by her husband. Security camera footage showed the 23-year-old woman going overboard from the 11th deck early that morning.

Martinez said Friday that Bahamian government officials reviewed the footage and determined that the woman jumped overboard.

The ship left Port Canaveral, Fla., on Monday for a five-day cruise through the Bahamas. It’s due to return Saturday.

UPDATE I: Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas Back in Port, Still no sign of  Neha Chhikara

A C-130 aircraft was dispatched Friday afternoon to aid in the search for Neha Chhikara, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Ameen of the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami. The 23-year-old was reported missing from Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas at about 2 p.m. Thursday. A helicopter, a jet and a cutter were sent out to look for the woman.

“The search is continuing today, although so far we’ve had no leads,” Ameen said Saturday.

UPDATE II: Family of  Neha Chhikara Crying Foul

Well this is rather bizarre, the family claims dowry harassment led to incident on New Year’s Eve; couple worked on luxury liner going from Miami to Bahamas.

The family of former air hostess Neha Chhikara, who allegedly committed suicide on January 1, has submitted a written complaint to the Gurgaon police alleging that she had been physically and mentally tortured for dowry by her husband and in-laws. The police are yet to register an FIR. Neha’s father-in-law is the Gurgaon civil surgeon, S S Dalal.

‘She sent SOS before her death’

Neha, 23, daughter-in-law of Gurgaon Civil Surgeon Dr SS Dalal, got killed under suspicious circumstances on a luxury ship on way from Miami in the USA to Bahamas.

Nearly an hour before her death, Neha had reportedly sent an e-mail to her brother, Anuj Chhikara, a local advocate, complaining about torture by her husband.

In the e-mail, reportedly sent on the afternoon of December 31, 2009, Neha had written that her husband Ankit Dalal, a manager with the Royal Caribbean Cruise “Monarch of Seas”, often used to get impulsive and beat her up without any reason.

UPDATE III: Search Called Off for Cruise Ship Passenger Neha Chhikara in Bahamas

The Coast Guard stopped searching Saturday afternoon for 23-year-old Neha Chhikara. She was reported missing Thursday afternoon from Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas as the ship headed from Nassau to CocoCay.

7 Year Old Somer Renee Thompson Missing in Orange Park, FL Since October 19, 2009 (Found Deceased in Landfill)

Another child is missing in Florida.

7 year old Somer Renee Thompson has been missing since the afternoon of October 19, 2009. She was walking home from the from Grove Park Elementary School at approximately 2:50 pm with her twin brother, her sister and some friends when she ran ahead of the group and was never seen again.

An AMBER ALERT has been issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Police suspect foul play in the 7 year olds disappearance. After 200 leads, questioning of 58 sex offenders and searches by 100’s of law enforcement, there are no “persons of interest” or physical evidence indicating where missing Somer Renee Thompson might be.

It appears that Tim Miller and the volunteers of Texas EquuSearch will be coming to Florida to help search for Somer Renee Thompson.

Plea from mom Diena Thompson: “She’s One of the Most Loving Little Girls in the Whole Wide World”

“They should know that she’s one of the most loving little girls in the whole wide world. She doesn’t know a stranger,” Diena Thompson said of her daughter, Somer. “And if somebody has her, please just bring her home.”

UPDATE I: Body of Missing Somer Renee Thompson found in Landfill

Sadly, the body of 7 year old Somer Renee Thompson has been found in a Georgia landfill. Investigators have confirmed that the body of a young girl that was found in a Georgia landfill about 50 miles from the Jacksonville, FL area where Somer went missing was Somer Renee Thompson.

Officials from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation say that they will not determine, nor disclose, until an autopsy is performed tomorrow morning if the body is that of  little Somer Thompson. Thompson vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park, Florida. John Bankhead, spokesman for the GBI tells Fox that the investigators are still at the scene where the body was discovered, but that the body of the young female has been sent to Savannah, GA for the autopsy in the morning.

UPDATE II: Florida Police Confirm Body in Landfill Is That of Missing Girl

After sifting through 100 tons of garbage, investigators found the body of deceased 7 Year Old Somer Renee Thompson. One thing is for certain that if Somer was sexually assaulted and DNA evidence can be found, it is most probable that there will be an arrest. It is hard to believe that this was not an abduction of opportunity by a sex offender. The fact that she was walking home from school, a prime opportunity for a sex offender to snatch a victim, cannot be lost here. Predators wait until one separates from the pack and then they pounce.

The partially covered body was found in a Georgia landfill near the Florida state line, after investigators followed garbage trucks leaving the neighborhood where Somer disappeared.

Beseler said investigators searched through 100 tons of garbage before finding the body.

CNN: The body of a small child found in a south Georgia landfill has been identified as that of a missing 7-year-old Florida girl, Clay County, Florida, Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday morning.

Our hearts and prayers are with the family and friends of Somer Renee Thompson and may she rest in eternal peace.

For more details on the disappearance of 7 year old Somer Renee Thompson, go to Missing Exploited.com or to provide your opinion and discuss the case, go to Scared Monkeys.net: Missing Persons Forum.

49 Year Old US Diplomat James Hogan is Missing in Curaçao … Bloody Jeans Found

Curaçao trying it’s best not to become the next Aruba. It is amazing how fast and thorough an investigation into a missing person occurs when an individual is wanted to be found.

49 year old  James Hogan, a US Diplomat vice-consul has been missing in Curacao since last Thursday evening when he left his home in Toni Kunchi, went for a walk and never returned. His wife filed a missing persons report the following day.

The investigation into his disappearance began Friday as police started a search along the route that Hogan usually walked.

On Friday afternoon, the Public Prosecutor and the police started with the Team Large-scaled Search (TGO), which consists of fifteen to twenty persons. The police circulated an official missing person report later on. This led to tips, which are currently being investigated

Bloodstained jeans have been found Baya Beach on Friday afternoon that were forwarded to the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI) in Rijswijk.

The clothes possibly belong to the vice-consul James Hogan (49) who is missing since Thursday evening, but the NFI is yet to give a definite answer. Officer of Justice Ludmilla Vicento stated the aforementioned during the press conference yesterday. For the time being, the authorities are assuming that the man is missing, but they are also taking into account all scenarios from a crime, a kidnapping to an assault. A team from the NFI with four specially trained dogs arrived on the island last Sunday. The area surrounding Baya Beach at the peninsula of the Caracas Bay is fenced off until further notice. Family, colleagues, and neighbors have meanwhile been heard, but this did not yield any results yet.

FBI and State Department officially joins search for James Hogan

It would appear that the cooperation and rush for resources and help into Curacoa for missing James Hogan is occurring at a much more brisk pace than it was for Natalee Holloway in Aruba. It’s amazing how fast a government and LE operate when they actually want to find a missing person. Earlier disappearances are still fresh in the memory of the Netherlands Antillean people like Dutch trainee nurse Marlies van der Kouwe who was killed on Bonaire and US teenager Natalee Holloway who disappeared without trace in Aruba.

Read more

Sighting Tip Leads Investigators to Cape Cod, MA in the Search for Missing Haleigh Cummings

Haleigh Cummings has been missing since February 10, 2009 when she disappeared from Satsuma, Florida. Suddenly the search has shifted to Cape Cod, Massachusetts with a tip of a possible sighting at an area Walmart. Timothy Croslin, the brother of Haleigh’s stepmother and his wife were questioned by police.

According to reports, the police questioned the couple Saturday at the South Yarmouth state police barracks.

A Cape Cod couple has been questioned in the case of a missing Florida girl who disappeared from her father’s mobile home in February.

The Cape Cod Times reported Florida authorities questioned the couple Saturday at the South Yarmouth state police barracks about Haleigh Cummings. Authorities have not said why they were questioned. No other details were given.

To discuss the case, get updates and provide your opinions on the case, go to Scared Monkeys.net Missing Persons forum.

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 – Texas Equusearch Yearly Fundraiser … Party for a Cause

• The search and recovery team will be holding their annual fundraiser on the 24th-26th of July. Check out the website at texasequusearch.org for more details.

More can be read HERE, regarding Party for a Cause, Texas Style.

 Daily Commentary – Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 – Texas Equusearch Yearly Fundraiser [1:45m]:  | Download

Tracy Ocasio Case: Sewer By Hataway Home To Be Searched Today

Ocoee, FL– Additional search plans for Tracy Ocasio, 27, last seen at the Florida Tap Room leaving with Jimmy Hataway on May 28, are focused on the sewer by Hataways home today.

Read the rest at Blink on Crime:

10 Year Old Lindsey Baum Missing in McCleary, WA Since Friday, June 26, 2009

10 year old Lindsey J. Baum has been missing since Friday night, June 26, 2009 in  McCleary, WA. Lindsey J. Baum was last seen Friday night at approximately 9:15 pm walking home on Maple Street from a friend’s house. The distance was only about four blocks, she never arrived home. According to reports, Lindsey has no history of running away.

10 year old Lindsey Baum Missing

If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of Lindsey, please call Grays Harbor E911 Center at 360-533-8765 or McCleary Police at 360-495-3107.

For more details on the case, go to MissingExploited.com or to discuss the case and provide your own comments and opinions, go to Scared Monkeys.net Missing Persons Forum.

The Dana Pretzer Show On Scared Monkeys Radio – Wednesday, June 17, 2009 – Special Guests: Alexis Moore and Maria Phelps, Mark Williams, Tim Miller, Steph Watts and Robin Sax with “Nothing but the Sax”

Listen to Dana on The Dana Pretzer Show on Scared Monkeys Radio. Dana’s Special Guests will include:

• Alexis Moore and Maria Phelps - Victims Advocates who are will discuss the NY Bill to extend Statute of Limitations for Domestic Violence civil cases from 1 to 2 years in the state of New York  
• Mark Williams - News Commentator who will be talking about the new Casey Anthony Evidence Released in the case of murdered Caylee Anthony
• Tim Miller from Texas EquuSearch will be discussing the search for missing Tracy Ocasio
• Robin Sax with her weekly segment, “Nothing But the Sax” will be discussing all things crime
• Steph Watts Producer of Nancy Grace, Greta and GMA

 The Dana Pretzer Show On Scared Monkeys Radio – Wednesday, June 17, 2009 – Special Guests: Alexis Moore and Maria Phelps, Mark Williams, Tim Miller, Steph Watts and Robin Sax with “Nothing but the Sax” [83:00m]: | Download

Tim Miller & Texas Equusearch Join the Search for Missing Tracy Ocasio in Florida

Tim Miller and the volunteer search team Texas Equusearch has joined the search for the missing Ocoee woman, Tracy Ocasio. According to reports, Tim Miller arrived in Florida at 4:45 p.m. Friday to start on their search efforts.  Tracy Ocasio has been missing since leaving the Taproom Bar in Orlando, FL at approximately 1:30 am Wednesday, May 27, 2009.

Miller and his crew set out Saturday at 8 a.m. By 10 a.m., nearly 60 members of Texas Equusearch were at the search site, coming through the thick brush and wooded areas. They said it’s better to start their day earlier, especially working outside in the Florida heat.

At about 10:30 a.m., Equusearch requested help from the public in the search for Ocasio beginning Sunday.

Joe Ocasio, the missing woman’s father, said he has come to the reality that he may never see his daughter again.

“I somehow fear that this is not going to turn out the way that we hope,” Ocasio’s mother, Liz Ocasio, said. “But we can only do our best to find her.”

Texas Equusearch is asking for volunteers to help in the search that are willing to search the wooded area on foot as well as searchers with ATVs or horses.

People who are willing to participate in the search must report no later than 8 a.m. to Vignetti Park at 1906 Adair Street in Ocoee. They also are required to be 18 or older with photo identification, and must be able to bring their own food, insect spray and sunscreen.

Tracy E. Ocasio

Texas EquuSearch is searching the area in Ocoee where Ocasio’s car was found after she disappeared.

27 year old Tracy E. Ocasio has been missing since May 27, 2009.

Ocasio is 5-foot-6, weighs 124 lbs., has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black tank top, jeans, a green and white hat, and a black hooded jacket.

Tracy E. Ocasio, who lives on New Victor Road Ocoee, left the bar on Raleigh Street about 1:30 a.m. Her vehicle was later found abandoned in Ocoee.

EquuSearch Looks For Ocasio’s Body, Suspect Gives DNA Sample