Michelle McMullen: FOUND

Police in Oakland, California, have arrested 30-year-old Michelle McMullen, who disappeared from Harrisburg in September 2008 while police were investigating the theft of more than $2,000 from a Susquehanna Township church where she worked. 

Investigators believed she took off — leaving her son behind — to avoid prosecution, while her parents said she was abducted. 

McMullen's story was the feature of Investigation Discovery’s “Disappeared” in February 2010 that was shown in multiple reruns, and police say they received a tip from a person who had seen the show. The episode, titled “The Long Drive Home,” led the Oakland Police Department's Fugitive Task Force to McMullen's job at a beauty supply store. 

She is being held in the Almeda County Jail awaiting extradition to Harrisburg to face charges of theft and forgery. 

McMullen knew of the church-theft investigation weeks before she disappeared, Susquehanna Township police said. In September 2008, she drove her 6-year-old son from Louisiana, where she was attending school, to stay with her parents in Harrisburg while she finished her schooling. Her family reported her missing after she didn't return to school. McMullen's car was found in Hagerstown, Md., a little more than a week after she disappeared.

McMullen's mother, the Rev. Lillie McMullen, said that her family has remained "prayerful" during the time her daughter was missing.

After hearing the news that her daughter had been located, she said, "We're excited and we're thanking God that's she's been found alive."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/01/police_in_california_arrest_mi.html

Melanie Metheny

There is a letter on the family website of Melanie Metheny that her family discovered among her belongings that they didn't even know was there. At the end of the letter Melanie writes the following:

"Being a single mom is not easy at all but watching my kids grow up and watching them learn new things is the greatest feeling that I ever had. I would not change them for the world and I don't know where I'd be right now if I didn't have them but I know my life wouldn't have as much meaning."

The rest of the letter is a mother's tribute to her children, a heartfelt look at them individually, something deep for young 21 year old mother with 3 children. The letter gives the reader a peek into the depths of love a mother has for her children.

After reading those words lovingly put down on paper by Melanie Metheny, there can be no question in the reader's mind that she did not drop them off at day care on the morning of July 19, 2006 and walk away into a new life. Something has happened to Melanie and someone knows exactly what that something is.

Melanie had too many life plans in place to just take off, 3 children, nursing school, and money saved in the bank for a new home. Not the typical things someone who is unhappy with their life would have. Melanie had a lot to look forward to in her life and in the lives of her children.

There have been extensive searches which have turned up nothing so far except her minivan found parked on "the wrong side of town", which, as usual, leaves rumors and speculations running rampant. It is reported that she was last seen by her boyfriend of 5 months, Jared Davis. The family has not given up, and will not give up, looking for her. Her children ask questions and in an earlier article in the WV Gazette, grandmother Sandra Winnings is quoted:

“What can you tell them? What can you say?” Winnings said. “They don’t understand time, thank God. The one says, ‘Mommy’s going to come and get me when she finds her keys.’”

To further put pressure on the "someone" who must know what happened to Melanie Metheny,
CUE Center from Wilmington, NC has erected a billboard with Melanie's information on it in hopes of finding a resolution to this case for her family. After erecting a billboard in Whiteville, NC, within 2 weeks there was a break in the case of Carol Dowless, someone came forward, and she was found after 3 years. We hope that the same answers can come for the Metheny family and that 3 children will have answers.

For further information, updates, or to leave an anonymous tip:

Official Family Website
Find Melanie
Charley Project
Missing Pieces
CUE Center

Investigative Agency:  Kanawha County Sheriff's Office
Phone:  (304) 357-0169
Investigative Case #:  71924
or contact CUE Center For Missing Persons
24 Hour Tip Line  (910) -232-1687
or submit a confidential tip Here

Stacy Peterson: A Birthday Wish

Today, January 20, 2011 marks Stacy Peterson's 27th birthday.  Our hope is that her children, family and friends have the opportunity to remember her for the love and kindness she brought into their lives.

What makes Stacy Peterson so special that she has garnered the attention most missing person's families could only hope to get. Could it be the fact that so many women can identify with her circumstances? We live in a world filled with flaws and yet we only seek the love and security that Stacy once had.

There are thousands that have been drawn to this case for a variety of reasons, and some have drawn on their passions and life experiences to try to solve the puzzle of why Stacy would walk away from her children, her nice home, and the lifestyle that she enjoyed. This is what her husband would like us all to believe, and yet, as women, we know better.

Whatever the reasons for the fascination behind the Stacy Peterson case, she is first and foremost a missing mother with children who need to know the truth. They need, and will continue needing, to know that she did not abandon them.

Everything happens for a reason, but too often, we want the reasons revealed before the "happenings" happen. So many unanswered questions swirl around this case, but in perfect order, and in perfect timing, they will be answered and truth will be uncovered.

May we remember Stacy today with dignity and find a way to honor her and bring comfort to her family that misses her so much.

I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still

The deepest impressed on my heart.

~Eliza Cook

Looking For Lily: Investigation Heats Up For Lily Aramburo

When first hearing about missing mother, Lily Aramburo, her little son, Palden, was not even a year old, only a baby.  Remembering his first birthday, and second, and can't believe that he is now 4 years old and being raised by his grandmother, growing up too fast without knowing his mother.


To see that a new detective is being assigned to the case is like breathing fresh air! A new set of eyes and a new direction is what this case needed, in my opinion.  Lily's friends and family have done every kind of awareness campaign available, taking all the necessary steps to keep Lily's case out there, but without the help of an active investigation, there have been no answers.  Now, there is hope.


Facebook Support Page for Lily Aramburo:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Find-Lily-Aramburo/193954499815


From CBS Miami:




Lucely Saldina says she is not giving up, she is determined to find her daughter.

It has been more than three years since Lily Aramburu vanished, and nowMiami-Dade Police tell CBS4 that they are stepping up their involvement in this troubled case, and they are also asking for the public’s help.

Aramburu was 23 when her boyfriend says he last saw her leaving their apartment not far from the Dadeland Mall. She has not been seen since.

“Lily represented everything that I knew that was good to me and always wanted,” said Saldina, whose Dania Beach apartment is filled with photos of her daughter and her grandson, Palden.

Palden, 4, now lives with Saldina.

“She represented happiness to me,” Saldina told CBS4’s Peter D’Oench, as she fought back tears. “Hope is always there. I just want to find out if she is out there. Is she alive?”

Bud Aramburu had a problem.

“She was involved with drugs but was getting her life together,” Saldina said. “She was going to drug court and she had everything to live for.”

Her little boy, Palden, was just 6 months old when she disappeared.

“The baby meant everything to her, she has a reason to stay alive,” Saldina said. “But I am realistic enough to realize that she may not be alive… I know somebody out there knows something.”

While there are no clues as to what might have happened, Saldina said “I know that Lily did not just disappear. She is a human being. She is a daughter and a mother. And that must be respected.”

Saldina and Private Investigator Joe Carrillo have been circulating flyers describing Aramburu; she was 4-feet and 11-inches tall and weighed just 100 pounds. Her hair is brown and her eyes are hazel. She has pierced ears, a scar on her left hand and a scar on her lower abdomen. And she has two large, distinctive music symbols tattooed on her lower back.

Aramburu also had previously broken her right wrist and back.

Aramburu also has a medical condition and may need medication.

Carrillo said some key, potential witnesses have not come forward.

“We’ve attempted to speak to them,” Carrillo said. “And when you’re asking for help from people who know her and they won’t help, that raises some big red flags. I think there’s people out there who know who they are. We’ve managed to identify two groups of people who are of interest to police.”

D’Oench also spoke to the lead detective in this case Ray Hoadley who has just been assigned to this case.

Hoadley has been a detective for 25 years with Miami-Dade and says that it is too early to have additional details in this cold case.

“We’d like anyone who is in her circle of friends or anyone who was around her at the time she disappeared to come forward,” said Hoadley.

“There’s some people out there who we have made contact with. I don’t know if they are deliberately trying to avoid us or whether it’s just that they are out of town,” Hoadley said.

“Are you eager to solve this case?” asked D’Oench.

“Absolutely,” Hoadley answered.

Saldina’s daughter has been featured on billboards and posters statewide since 2007, and Saldina says she welcomes the stepped-up efforts by Miami-Dade Police.

“Solving this would mean closure,” Saldina said. “It would mean answers. Answers for my grandson when he asks what happened to his mother.”

Anyone in the public who knows anything about this case is urged to call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at 305 471—tips.


Other Current News Stories about Lily..........


http://justiceinmiami.blogspot.com/2011/01/lily-in-news-thank-you-cbs4.html


http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/01/police_suspect_missing_mom_lil.php