CLEARWATER POLICE ABDUCTION CASE
TO BE PROFILED ON AMERICA'S MOST WANTED
Clearwater Police detectives
are hoping that national attention focusing on a recent abduction
case will assist them in making an apprehension, said Sid Klein,
Chief of Police.
The recent abduction of a five-year-old
boy has drawn national attention from Good Morning America and
the syndicated Inside Edition. Now the FOX program America's
Most Wanted will include a segment on the abduction. Clearwater
Police Detective David Dalton will fly to Washington D.C. to assist
with any tips that may come in. The segment is set to air Saturday
(January 12, 2002) at 9:00 p.m. locally on the FOX network. Police
are hopeful that the large audience watching the program will
be able to provide the leads needed to bring this case to a successful
closure.
On New Year's Eve, a five-year-old
boy was kidnapped from the parking lot of his 2690 Drew Street
apartment complex in Clearwater. The boy was located some 80 miles
north of Clearwater after having spent 10 hours with the abductor.
Jerry Overshiner of Bushnell spotted the boy around 4:00 in the
morning. The child climbed out of a garbage dumpster near I-75
and State Road 48. The boy was slightly injured, but did not require
any medical treatment. He did undergo a routine medical examination,
and investigators are awaiting the results of the examination.
Because of the victim's age,
detectives have proceeded slowly in their questioning so as not
to overload him. Co-Investigators Dalton and Detective Laura Spelman
have described their interviews with the victim as a "structured
process," rather than a one-time account of the incident.
Clearwater Police have been
working with various law enforcement agencies including the Sumter
County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Today, renowned Criminal Profiler Wayne Porter from the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement began reviewing the case in hopes
of being able to develop further information to assist investigators.
Police have received more than
225 leads, most of them locally (within the State of Florida),
but none have resulted in any conclusive evidence. Authorities
have also distributed flyers to convenience stores/gas stations
along the I-75 corridor. Police do not know for sure if the suspect
was on I-75 or the exact route he may have taken when he abducted
the boy, but are hoping that someone may have seen the vehicle
or suspect on New Year's Eve night.
Clearwater Police have posted
on its web site; www.clearwaterpolice.org,
a picture of a truck believed to be similar in appearance to the
truck the suspect was driving.
Police describe the truck as
a dirty, mid-sized, possibly smaller, white pick-up truck with
an extended cab. It is an automatic, with gray interior, rear
fold- down seats, light-tinted windows, and rear sliding window.
The truck has a silver, metallic type container in the bed of
the truck next to the rear window. The truck also may have the
words "Stone Cold Steve Austin" on its side or bumper
and may also have symbols of ice cream cones and/or waves on the
sides. It is not believed that the suspect or the truck has any
affiliation with the World Wrestling Federation.
The suspect is described as
a white or Hispanic male, 5'05" to 5'08" tall and between
20 and 40 years of age. He has dark hair, dark eyebrows, and was
clean-shaven. His hair length is most probably no longer than
two inches. He was described by the victim as being dirty and
not having any earrings, tattoos, or rings. He was last seen wearing
a black and white jacket, dark blue jeans, and brown non-athletic
type shoes.
Police have also determined
that the suspect stopped at least two times during the 10-hour
ordeal. One of those times was to get gas, which the suspect may
not have paid for and one of the other times was to get himself
a beverage. Deputies from the Sumter County Sheriff's Office took
surveillance tapes from various establishments around the location
where the victim was located, but nothing of evidentiary value
has been located on the tapes.
Police are asking people to
watch the America's Most Wanted program Saturday night and phone
in any tips they may have to either the Clearwater Police Department
at 727-562-4422 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS(8477).
For further information on
this event, contact Public Information Sergeant Doug Griffith
at 727-562-4347.
/s/
SID KLEIN
Chief of Police