Parent’s worst nightmare followed by torture of public scrutiny

Sergio and Becky Celis, parents of Tucson missing child make plea for daughter's safe return.

My Examiner.com article about the difficulty the parents of Isabel Celis are experiencing as they become target of public debate. 


With every investigation of a missing child, law enforcement must investigate everyone - including the family. Sadly, public figures and members of social networking sites begin to draw conclusions and target their speculation publicly. While there is a little six-year-old child missing, this only hinders the investigation and further traumatizes a famiy desperately pleading to have their child returned safe.


Read the Examiner.com article and find out what we can do as a nation to help find Isabel.

Click here to read the article http://www.examiner.com/article/tucson-missing-child-is-parent-s-worst-nightmare-worsened-by-public-scrutiny

Information to help keep your children safe from online enticement

www.missingkids.com

My recent Examiner.com review contains information about where to go for information to help keep your children and teens safe from online enticement and sexual exploitation. Please take a moment to read, share, and help keep America's children safe from online predators.

Click here to read the article http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-phoenix/kym-pasqualini

Statistics grim as days pass in disappearance of Tucson child Isabel Celis - Examiner.com

Isabel Mercedes Celis, missing from her home in Tucson, AZ on April 21, 

My Examiner.com article about the disappearance of Isabela Celis from Tucson, AZ is a reminder that even in light of grim statistics there is reason to maintain Hope. 

Click here to redirect to Examiner.com  - Statistics grim as days pass in disappearance of Tucson child Isabel Celis.

Who does the advocating when the Advocate's family is a victim of crime?

Who Protects the Victims?

A young girl becomes the victim of a violent crime while babysitting. The perpetrators threaten her life in an attempt to scare the young girl into silence, then threaten her mother's life if she reports the crime. Following the police report, the mother make the difficult decision to send her daughter out-of-state for safety. She remains at their home to pack up their belongings and immediately sets out to secure community services for emergency assistance to help her move as fast as possible. Sounds easy right?

The young girl and her mother already in emotional crisis, the girl's mother attempts to find resources to provide financial assistance to help relocate and secure a new residence in a safe zone. An airline ticket, moving expenses, new security deposit, utility transfer fees, moving truck, fuel, boxes, tape are expenditures a crime victim's family doesn't simply anticipate and save for.

Mom's priority - to move to a new location where her daughter can return to a safe and supportive environment, the comfort of her own bed, and proceed to secure the emotional and psychological resources her child will need. This mom knows all to well the severity and long-term effects of trauma and the courage her child will need to battle the emotional turmoil in the aftermath of crime. She also knows the importance of empowering her daughter so she can eventually face the perpetrators in court. She knows the support her child will need to overcome the entire traumatic experience. Lives totally uprooted, she knows the risk factors if  a child is not treated as soon as possible following a traumatic event.

First problem she encounters is local community services are fragmented and duplication of services among community agencies is commonplace. She finds each agency refers her to call another agency for assistance . . . and then another, and another. Second problem, despite documented threats of death and bodily harm to the mother and child, she finds the State of Arizona does not have an official program to relocate crime victims (similar to federal witness protection). Her and her daughter now separated by thousands of miles, at a time she knows her daughter needs her most, now both feel abandoned by the system they thought was there to protect and support them.

When a child is victimized, it is the parent's first instinct to do anything to protect their safety and it makes sense the first step to rebuilding is removing the need to live in fear and relocating. However, this mom has found the financial burdens of moving are all hers. She knows she can't be the only one in this situation. When there is risk to life the issue becomes a critical need in the community but agency after agency informs her safety relocation is not one of the services offered and told to call another. It isn't enough that a child has already been victimized and dangerous individuals have vowed to protect themselves by making death threats?

When are the needs of the victim taken into consideration? The child's need for stability, to return to the the comfort of home and to be embraced by her mother who will walk the road of recovery alongside her? It now becomes unbearably clear state and community service agencies are willing to gamble with lives as she has now spent two weeks asking for financial help to move, repeating her story over and over to each new person that answers the phone . . . a move that would be considered pennies in the Arizona state budget. Pennies that would ensure the child not only has a home to return to but her mother too. 

Maybe because the mother has spent nearly 20-years working as a crime victim advocate she's just being critical? Maybe those years working in the criminal justice system she knows all too well perpetrators who have already committed a heinous crime are likely to commit another and become totally unpredictable when they realize they are facing significant time incarcerated. She knows unpredictable criminals could very well follow through on their threats or trade a $40 dollar fix to have someone do the dirty work for them. Weeks have now gone by, sleepless nights with her firearm by her side while hyper-vigilance sets in, jumping at every noise. Despite multiple calls to the advocate supposedly assigned to her daughter's case, she's yet to have a conversation with the woman. She has to wonder if everyone is everyone treated this way.

The recent local Fox 10 report should make those responsible for serving crime victims quiver as they watch. This is proof those who underestimate a desperate criminal, choose to pass the buck or victim on to the next agency, rather than truly advocating for the victim and finding solutions - are gambling with victim's lives.

Maybe, just maybe, it takes the advocate to recognize significant deficiencies in state and community advocacy programs and bring it to the attention of law-makers, program management of advocacy centers, the media, and public. Maybe that advocate is me.

2 Men Arrested in Phoenix Murder-for-Hire Case: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

America's Missing - Has the response to missing person cases improved in a decade?

Below is a several year old interview with Kym L. Pasqualini, founder of the National Center for Missing Adults, appearing on tru TV Crime Library pointing out how race, gender, age, and even socioeconomic status affect the response to missing person cases. To read Damsels in Distress click on the link below. Has enough been done to create social awareness?

tru TV Crime Library with Kym L. Pasqualini

Advancements in the national response to missing person cases

Working eighteen years in the field of missing persons and homicide victims, I have witnessed significant advancements, yet there are still many necessary improvements needed to ensure all missing persons have equality of services and fairness in media.

Desperately needed is increased federal and state funding to improve and expand direct support services for families of the missing and training for law enforcement. Also crucial are efforts to passing pass state and possibly even federal legislation to effect universal protocol across jurisdictions requiring proper response and effective handling of missing and unidentified person investigations by law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

Recently, several states have passed laws requiring law enforcement to immediately accept a report of a missing adult and enter the descriptive data into federal databases. In addition, significant advances in technology utilizing DNA obtained from relatives of missing persons are now solving cases that are decades old and providing families with answers. 

As founder of the National Center for Missing Adults, I had the honor of serving on several task forces with experts in the field of missing persons, forensics, anthropology and all levels of local, state, and federal law enforcement. 

In 2005, President's DNA Initiative announced "Advancing Justice through DNA Technology”. As the research, development and evaluation arm of the United States Department of Justice, the National Institute of Justice tasked the groups with presenting the national scope of the problem and formulating recommendations utilizing existing and advanced technology to improve the response to missing person and unidentified cases.  

One such recommendation to improve identification methods of missing and unidentified was the development of DNA collection kits. At the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI), medical examiners, coroners, and law enforcement agencies throughout the country are now provided DNA collection kits to submit Direct Reference Samples (DRS) obtained directly from the victim or personal items belonging to the victim for analysis. In addition, law enforcement agencies may submit a DNA cheek swab obtained from a family member of a missing person referred to as a Family Reference Sample (FRS). Once processed and analyzed at the Center for Human Identification, DNA profiles are uploaded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) where they are cross-referenced for matches.

Time is the enemy in any missing person investigation. With each passing day families of the missing suffer significant trauma caused by ambiguous loss, the "not knowing" the fate of their loved ones. Programs like these have proven successful in expediting identification and providing families with answers. 




Uniting Efforts


Every time a missing person case receives attention from the public it creates the potential of generating that one lead that law enforcement needs to solve a case. In most every case, someone out there knows something. Solving missing person cases is dependent upon information sharing and involvement between government programs, law enforcement, advocacy groups, the media and the public. While we have made significant and in my opinion historical technological advancements, we still face the fact that we rarely see minorities in national news headlines and improving methods to create awareness is necessary to create social change.

Introducing One Agency Creating Social Change and Raising Awareness of Missing Minorities

I would like to introduce an organization and acknowledge the tireless efforts of a woman I admire and respect who is working to help missing persons of color and their families by providing resources and tools to respond, search, and cope with the disappearance of a loved one. Derrica Wilson is a veteran official from law enforcement and founder of the Black & Missing Foundation (BAM), a nonprofit 501c3 organization.

BAM provides services to victims, training to law enforcement, and educates minority communities about personal safety. Since 2008, BAM has focused on a segment of the national victim population that has been under-served and continues to make significant contributions to the missing person field.

BAM recently teamed with TVONE to present the all-new television series Find our Missing. 

Missing NC Senior, Hollis Jennings

Hollis Jennings is classified as 'endangered missing' and vanished from his residence in Charlotte, NC on November 22, 2011. To view additional information about the disappearance of Hollis Jennings and many other missing persons please visit www.blackandmissinginc.com.  

Other National Resources

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System

Information sharing is vital to the recovery of missing persons and the identification of unidentified decedents. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) is the centralized national repository and resource center that maintains data for missing persons and unidentified decedents throughout the country. NAMUS is a free public database that enables anyone to enter information about a missing or unidentified person, to include a new section for Unclaimed Persons (those identified but unclaimed by next of kin).

The website at www.namus.gov provides numerous resources for the public and families of missing persons such as links to state clearinghouses, advocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners. It also provides the end-user the ability to print full-color posters and search the database using descriptive information such as gender, race, scars, tattoos, and dental records.

NAMUS also provides free DNA testing, odontology (dental), anthropology, and additional forensic services. National Institute of Justice requires all DNA samples submitted to the Center for Human Identification at University North Texas also entered into NAMUS by law enforcement, medical examiners, and coroners.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The disappearances of children during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s would forever change how law enforcement responded to missing children cases.  Etan Patz, only six-years old, vanished in 1979, while on his way to school in New York City and never seen again. Over a two-year period from 1979-1981, approximately twenty-nine African American children and teens were abducted and murdered in Atlanta Georgia. Following these tragedies, six-year-old Adam Walsh vanished in 1981 while at a Florida shopping mall with his mother. Little Adam’s disappearance would become the most recognizable missing child case in US history.

In 1984, the United States Congress passed the Missing Children’s Assistance Act designating the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as the national clearinghouse and resource center for missing children. In June 1984, during a Whitehouse Ceremony, President Ronald Reagan opened NCMEC and launched the national 24-hour hotline 1-800-THE-LOST (5678).

Funded through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), NCMEC provides a vast array of services to include assistance and training to local, state, and federal law enforcement and support services to families of missing children. In addition to recovery, training and investigative services, NCMEC introduced the CyberTipline  and associated programs focused on prevention and response to child sexual exploitation such as child pornography, child prostitution, and sex-slavery.

Over the years, NCMEC has developed outstanding resources and education programs families, schools, child-care facilities, and providers to help keep children safe. The NetSmartz program also provides educators and families with information to help keep children safe while using the Internet.

To obtain information and free resources to help keep your children safe, visit www.missingkids.com.

America’s Most Wanted

America’s Most Wanted (AMW), probably most recognized as the national television show hosted by John Walsh and responsible for apprehending over 1,000 fugitives. John is also one of the most outspoken and well-known missing person advocates in the world. Since AMW’s national debut in 1988, the show has been credited for the recovery of approximately 50 missing children.

John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted

When John’s son, Adam Walsh, vanished on July 27, 1981, his life took an unexpected turn and he turned his grief into action. A former hotel marketing executive turned Crime Fighter, John’s tireless efforts were instrumental in the establishment of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and he continues to assist other families of missing persons across the country.

Two weeks after his son vanished, Adam’s decapitated body was located in a canal. For 27 years, John and his wife Reve waited for justice. In December 2008, Hollywood (FL) Police Department announced they had identified evidence that drifter, Ottis Toole, an already convicted killer was responsible for Adam’s abduction and murder. Toole had made two admissions he was responsible for Adam’s death and then recanted. Toole died in prison in 1996 and never convicted for the Adam’s homicide but the Walsh family acknowledged there was a peace at least having an answer.  John reminds other families never to give up hope.

In addition to profiling dangerous fugitives, AMW features missing children and adults on the show’s website www.amw.com and regularly features missing person cases on the weekly program now on Lifetime television. Resources for families of missing persons can be located on the website as well as resources for sex trafficking, legislation, current Amber Alerts.

You can also find resources and stories about child and teen safety, family and community issues, emergency preparedness and much more on the AMW Safety Center website. The website includes a searchable sex are offender registry listing photographs, convictions and addresses of sex offenders in your area. The website even provides a section where you can submit questions directly to John. You can visit the website at http://safety.amw.com.

Local Phoenix woman determined to change missing person laws in Arizona

My recent EXAMINER.COM  article regarding a courageous Phoenix woman, Amy Dattilo's tireless effort to change Arizona law for other families of missing.

Kelly Armstrong Deserves Justice and a Proper Burial

KELLY ARMSTRONG INCLUDED ON LIST OF MISSING MOMS

A 28 year-old mother of four children, Kelly Armstrong from Kokomo, Indiana joined a seemingly ever growing list of missing mothers throughout the United States last September 2011. Though there are no official statistics that reveal the true number of missing young women with dependents, as of January 31, 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Crime Information Center (NCIC) reports there are 3,699 active missing person cases of women between the ages of 22-29.  NCIC reports a total of 83,743 active missing person cases to include men and women of all ages as of January 31, 2012.

Last September, Kelly’s family became concerned for her well-being when they had not heard from her in several weeks. Their concern elevated when they visited her residence and began talking to neighbors who said they had not seen her in weeks. Her family immediately reported her disappearance to Kokomo Police Department. By the time the report was made Kelly’s family knew something was wrong as she would have never left her 18-month old son alone and now in CPS custody.

Following the family’s report, Major Brian Sheldon of the Kokomo Police Department stated, “We are behind the eight ball a little bit, so we are doing a lot of follow up talking to individuals who might have known her or her acquaintances to get some information about where she could possibly be.” Kelly is believed to have vanished in early August so it is estimated they may have been approximately six weeks behind the eight ball.

Kelly Armstrong, photo courtesy of her sister Shelly Rush

LOST IN TIME

Elapsed time between a person’s disappearance and when police are notified is not uncommon when family and friends do not live in close proximity of each other and usually occurs after friends and family become concerned when they have not heard from the individual.  As time passes, the more complex the investigation can be for authorities on the onset.  Unlike a homicide crime scene investigation where there is a definitive starting point for investigators, missing person investigations can be especially challenging because all too often a person vanishes without a trace, no witnesses and no scene of a crime.

When the disappearance of an individual has been determined suspicious or involuntary, statistically if not located within the first 24-48 hours the chances of finding the person safe significantly diminishes with each passing hour. It is always a race against time when searching for a missing person and every piece of information and physical evidence paramount to the outcome of the case. Along with each passing day, traces of evidence at the crime scene lose physical integrity and reliability, deterioration occurs, and contamination.

If foul-play is suspected in the disappearance, securing the crime scene and preservation of physical evidence is vital to potentially locating the victim and building a solid case against the perpetrator of the crime.  Evidence becomes the voice of the victim; the story-teller. Whatever the perpetrator touches, wherever he steps, fibers, blood spatter give investigators the ability to reconstruct the crime scene. When properly collected, physical evidence rarely fails to accurately represent what occurred at a crime scene and human failure to find it.

ADMISSION TO MURDER

On February 21, Kelly’s live-in boyfriend Travis Funke, 34, was charged for her death. The prosecutor confirmed Funke had admitted to beating Kelly to death with a hammer and throwing her body in the trash.

Travis Funke

In an affidavit it states during the initial phase of the investigation in September, Funke cut off his ankle bracelet and apparently tried to commit suicide shortly after being questioned by police. This resulted in a preliminary arrest for charges related to cutting off the ankle monitor and escape.  While incarcerated, a cellmate told police Funke admitted to killing Kelly with a hammer and concerned there may still be evidence remaining at his residence.

It has been confirmed in a probable cause affidavit police did locate several large blood stains on the walls, furniture and carpet along with a hammer covered with blood. A DNA family reference sample was obtained from Kelly’s parents confirming a 99.9 percent match.

While Funke admits to killing Kelly on July 8^th and dumping her body, he claims Kelly initiated the attack with the hammer claiming she may have hit him in the head knocking him unconscious and had vague memories hitting her repeatedly with the hammer that he was able to take away from her but claims he thought the entire incident was a dream awaking to find Kelly lying deceased on the floor. According to Funke he placed her body in a trash receptacle and proceeded to try to clean up the blood stains with bleach.

To the dismay of Kelly’s family, Funke has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, which carries a much lighter sentence than a first-degree murder charge. The current voluntary manslaughter charge only carries 45 years, 10 years suspended and the potential Funke could be out within 17 years.  Kelly’s family is outraged. An injustice when one weighs the loss of a young woman’s life and children who now must face life without their mother.

Questions remain as to how the investigation has been handled and if there is a possibility evidence may have been compromised early on. While Funke’s residence should have been sealed off early on with the discovery of blood, information surfaced that a young relative had broken into the house while Funke was incarcerated and proceeded to have a party and help herself to Kelly’s personal belongings. When David Armstrong arrived at the residence to retrieve photographs that his daughter had in her home, he was met by Funke’s mother who had moved into the residence. “I showed up and couldn’t believe Funke’s mother’s suitcases were there and the washer running,” said Armstrong. “I have no confidence in this investigation when my family was told to stay away because police considered it a crime scene, yet Funke’s family had been permitted to come and go as they pleased.”

A FATHER’S PROMISE

The Kokomo Police conducted a six day search of the Wabash Family Landfill but have since discontinued search efforts to retrieve her remains. The family was told police have depleted resources, unable to continue and suspended the search. Since Kelly’s disappearance the family has courageously and tirelessly continued the search for her. The pain of living the nightmare of ambiguity evident in their faces and the anguish in the voices.  All along Kelly’s family remained determined to bring her home and they still are.

Wabash County Landfill 

David Armstrong says he will not accept a landfill as the final resting place for his daughter. No parent should have to live with the thought of their child lay amidst refuse let alone have to personally pay to have their daughter’s body retrieved. Working nearly 20 years in the field of missing persons and homicide cases,  I find this not only a disservice to Kelly Armstrong’s family but a slap in the face to every family in this country who awaits the return of their missing loved one, if even to give them a proper burial. It is heart-wrenching to think that this family does not have the assistance from authorities to search for Kelly but being expected to visit a landfill to pay respects to your murdered child is unthinkable. When a family is told their loved has been murdered yet their remains are not returned the family is sentenced to a tortuous limbo and unable to begin a natural mourning process.  For the family of Kelly Armstrong, their sentence could last well after Funke is released from his voluntary manslaughter sentence.  This is the epitome of injustice.

What if this was your daughter?

Though David has vowed to recruit help from across the country to include search teams to ensure his daughter’s remains and give his daughter a proper burial. It is my hope the Indiana Attorney General and state congressional representatives will closely evaluate what they would do if their child had been murdered and what it would be like to visit their child’s final resting place and lay flowers at a dump. No family deserves to be abandoned and the state should ensure this does not happen. If I were in state leadership in the state of Indiana I would make it my mission to find the resources.

A father’s vow to his child that he will find her, bring her home and give her an honorable burial. Going back to the ancients a proper burial of another human being was seen as a requirement; to think any father would have to do this alone is unimaginable.

David Armstrong is asking anyone who would like to help to visit Operation Find Kelly.

Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder, National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Advocacy Network
Phone: 800-889-3463 (FIND)

Does Arizona Governor Jan Brewer have a heart?

I've dedicated my life to seeking justice for missing persons, victims of homicide and their families. Compassion has been a driving force in my life and there is nothing in comparison to the good feeling that you are simply doing the right thing. 

I'm often left perplexed when I see stories on the news about people who are witness to a crime being committed and simply walk in the opposite direction as if they didn't see a thing. I've wondered why so many people lack one of the most basic of human characteristics - a heart. 

Recently, I became aware of the story of William Macumber, a man who has been in prison for 37 years and believed to be innocent by well-respected attorneys, a Superior Court Judge and even the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. I was both inspired and disgusted by his story. I was inspired by the many professionals who stepped up to do the right thing, yet there is one person who has looked the other way. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Not only has she refused to commute Macumber's sentence at the recommendation of her own Executive Board, she refuses to provide the public with a valid explanation of why.  

I've seen the Good, Bad and the Ugly after working in criminal justice and victim rights for nearly two decades and I thought I had seen it all. We place our trust in those we appoint into leadership positions to represent the people and make proper decisions in times of peace and in times of crisis. Not only has Governor Brewer looked the other way when confronted with injustice, she refuses to answer to the people who I have to assume she has forgotten she answers to.

On February 20, 1975, William Macumber was sentenced to life in prison for the 1962 double homicide of a young couple in the Arizona desert. At the time, the jury was presented minimal evidence, now considered more than questionable. His conviction was primarily based upon the testimony of his former wife, Carol Kempfert, who had been employed at Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at the time. The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency released a letter stating a 'great injustice has occured' and Macumber should be released. The letter also stated Macumber's wife had the motive, means and opportunity to pin the murders on her husband. Even family members of Kempfert have publicly stated she was capable of framing Macumber and had access to the evidence. Reasonable doubt? 

During Macumber's trial, the jury had not been told there was another man who had been arrested five years after the initial homicides for another double homicide that was eerily similar to the 1962 murders. A drifter, Ernesto Valenzuela was convicted of the second double homicide but what is even more significant is Valenzuela admitted to the 1962 double homicide to not only two attorneys but a psychiatrist. After Valenzuela's murder during a 1973 prison fight, the witnesses offered to testify at Macumber's trial as attorney/physician client privilege no longer applied but the judge refused to hear the testimony of all three witnesses. One of the witnesses, Thomas W. O'Toole went on to serve 24 years as an Arizona Superior Court Judge and stated there was no doubt in his mind Valenzuela committed all four murders. 

Despite a direct admission made to reputable witnesses and the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency 2010 unanimous recommendation that Macumber be released, Governor Jan Brewer has refused. The only statement issued by Governor Brewer's office stated the governor carefully scrutinizes every Executive Clemency case and balances real and important concepts of public safety, justice and mercy. I've always been very respectful of Governor Brewer but one must question the timing of her decision and if she felt granting clemency would have compromised the announcement she was running for full-term as Arizona Governor. Political motive?

Now 76, Macumber suffers from serious health ailments and could pose little threat to public safety. From the evidence presented since he was handed down a life sentence with no possibility of parole, Macumber probably never did pose a threat. He has no prior criminal history. During his time in prison, Macumber has worked as a clerk, education aide, academic clerk, law library clerk, cable TV and audio/visual tech among many other respected positions. In the 37 years of incarceration he has only had one behavioral infraction in 1996 for being involved in an Unauthorized Gathering. A threat to society?  Really?

Governor or Tin Man?

Governor Brewer, please explain how the prosecution in this case fulfilled their obligation to 'bear the burden of proof' and prove Macumber’s guilt BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Please explain why you have totally disregarded your own Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. Please explain why you refuse to grant clemency to a man who has served 37 years of his life in prison based upon the testimony of a woman who should be investigated for motive, means and opportunity who had direct access to the evidence in the case. That in itself should have disqualified her testimony . . . you know the powerful testimony that was used to serve up an equally harsh life sentence. Governor Brewer, I have to think there is a heart somewhere in there. I pray you don’t wait to offer your condolences to his family after he has fulfilled his life sentence. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE AND MERCY IN THAT?

For additional information:

KNXV News 15 - Son Confronts Brewer Over Clemency Decision
ABC News - Did Wife Frame Husband for Cold Case Murders?
New York Times - Governor Rebuffs Clemency Board in Murder Case
New York Times - Why Won't You Free William Macumber?

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kympasqualini

ARTSY PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS COMBAT UNDERGROUND WORLD OF STOLEN ART

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the criminal enterprise of stolen art is a continuing problem that is growing with estimated annual losses up to 6 billion. Perpetrators of art theft can be small time crooks or sophisticated thieves who meticulously plan their crimes, often trafficking stolen items through an underground network of buyers. 

Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, an archaeologist who manages the Art Theft program at the FBI, indicates more than half of art related thefts occur at private homes.

What do Art Thieves steal?

Referred to as Art and Cultural Property Crimes, stolen works can include items from private owners, governments, museums or protected archaeological sites to include artifacts, statues, decorative arts, fine arts, scientific and musical instruments, coins, stamps, ethnographic objects, antique jewelry and gems, historical maps, manuscripts and other documents of historical significance. Art theft continues to increase due to market demand, open borders, improved transportation methods and even political instability throughout the world.

16th-century Caravaggio painting referred to'The Taking of the Christ' 
or The Kiss of Judaswas stolen in 2008 and recovered in 2010.

Federal Resources

In 2004, the FBI established the FBI Art Crime Team comprised of 13 special agents with specialized training and responsible for investigating art and cultural property theft in specifically assigned geographic regions worldwide. In addition, the Department of Justice has assigned 3 trial attorneys to provide prosecutorial support.

Applying technology 

The Art Crime Team Unit also works in cooperation with international authorities and maintains the National Stolen Art File (NSAF), a computerized database of stolen property reported by US and international authorities throughout the world. NSAF maintains the physical descriptions, images and case information of items reported serving as an investigative tool and analytical database.

The NSAF online database is available to the public and contains information regarding the description, title, maker, and period it was created but does not contain police reports or investigative information. It can be accessed at National Stolen Art File (NSAF). Despite international resources and specialized federal units, international art theft continues to increase and investigations can last years. According to the Public Broadcast Service (PBS), as many as 90 percent of art thefts going unsolved, stating the additional difficulties investigating stolen works is commonly attributed to poor documentation of the item, an unregulated market and failure of collectors and curators to submit reports or descriptive data into existing databases.

The  Art Loss Register (ALR) is another international resource with locations in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Netherlands and France that serves as an international database where owners of art works can report a lost or stolen item or register legitimate ownership of valuable possessions. It is also a public searchable database that buyers or investigators can utilize is as a tool to inquire if an item has been reported stolen or lost. ALR also offers registrants expert provenance research and investigative services by qualified art historians.

The Getty Museum developed the Object ID in 1993, creating an international standard for proper documentation and recordkeeping for valuable objects to be used as a preventive measure to theft. The manual, Introduction to Object ID: Guidelines for making records that describe art, antiques, and antiquities can be found in libraries. More recently, The J. Paul Getty Trust published Collections Theft Response Procedures manual used by international authorities, museums, collectors and libraries throughout the world. The guide helps those responsible for works by providing a checklist and guidelines addressing preventive measures and effectively responding to theft. The manual includes how to properly report stolen works, work with authorities, insurance companies and private detectives. For more information you may visit The J. Paul Getty Trust Museum.

Private Detectives Specializing in Art Recovery

Art thieve investigators can be hired by private owners, financial institutions, insurance companies, museums, art dealers and collectors to investigate and recover trafficked art and archaeological items and forgeries. For private investigators to effectively investigate and recover stolen works it is necessary to work cooperatively with federal and international authorities, develop relationships with those within the international art community as well as becoming familiar with the underground networks of unscrupulous art dealers responsible for trafficking and sales of stolen items. Working independently but cooperatively with authorities, private investigators can provide rapid response theft recovery and significantly aide in the prosecution in the dark world of art thievery.

Knowledgeable thieves can sell stolen works for millions while the smaller time thief may sell a stolen work of art for far less than it value and far less cautious in the effort to make a sale. Priceless works of art have been located in Manhattan apartments, at garage sales and even on Craigslist. Many stolen works have been sold to private buyers without the purchaser having knowledge the items is even stolen.

Private investigators specializing in art theft recovery have a desire to preserve history but also knowledge in national and international antiquity investigation techniques, customs and international law, insurance claims, appraisal, forgery analysis, criminal and civil art law, conservation, and art financial services.

Working with private investigators can also prevent victimization when purchasing valuable works. Investigators can assist with due diligence and provenance by analyzing and verifying information, collecting historical data on items and helping coordinate sales and purchases between parties assisting both the buyer and seller by reducing risk of future potential criminal or civil litigation.

Fighting art theft is a worldwide effort that involves professionals from public and private industry but when it comes to piece of history - it is always worth protecting.

Sources:

Federal Bureau of Investigation http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/arttheft

PBS https://www.artloss.com/content/searching

J. Paul Getty Trust www.getty.edu/museum

Author - Kym L. Pasqualini
Director, Missing Media Solutions
www.missingmediasolutions.com

URGENT REQUEST - PLEASE HELP PASS HB 2169

Call to Action - As founder and former CEO of the National Center for Missing Adults (NCMA), I proudly support HB 2169 here in Arizona. The Arizona Campaign for the Missing is part of a national campaign created by Kelly Jolkowski, founder of Project Jason. The goal of the campaign is to pass legislation in each state that will better serve missing persons and their families. 

Time is of the essence when searching for an 'at risk' missing person AND time is of the essence to pass HB 2169 in Arizona by February 14th. I am URGING other Arizona residents to please join in our efforts and call, email or fax our Arizona Legislators stating you support HB 2169. Please read the press release below for your representatives contact information.  

WHY I SUPPORT HB 2169

Equal Services Needed for All Missing - In 1982 Congress passed the Missing Children Act, a federal mandate requiring law enforcement to take an immediate report of a missing child and enter the data into the FBI, National Crime Information Center. No such law exists for those 18 and over. 

My Work with the US Department of Justice - During 2005-2006, I was elected to serve on the President's DNA Initiative - DNA Task Force, the National Missing Person Task Force and the Unidentified Dead Task Force funded through the National Institute of Justice and US Department of Justice (DOJ). Each task force was represented by experts to include local, state and federal law enforcement, anthropologists, FBI criminal profilers, forensic scientists, advocates and victim families.

As members, we were tasked with presenting the scope of the national problem and formulating recommendations utilizing existing and advanced technology to ensure unidentified, missing persons and their families received appropriate services. As a result, model legislation was developed, training initiatives, and DNA collection kits. The DNA program for missing and unidentified is facilitated by University North Texas – Center for Human Identification’s Forensic Services Unit in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Combined DNA Index System.

After working nearly 20 years with families of missing persons I can’t stress enough the importance of passing HB 2169, as recommended by the DOJ. I commend the families of missing persons who are determined and courageously speaking out not only on behalf of their own missing family member, but the thousands of missing persons who have never had a voice. It is time our Arizona lawmakers hear their voice and pass HB 2169!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact:

Amy Dattilo: amy_dattilo@hotmail.com

Kelly Jolkowski: kelly.jolkowski@projectjason.org

Arizona State Representatives Rueben Gallego and Jeff Dial Co-sponsor HB 2169

Although there are 2,000 missing person cases and close to 300 unidentified human remains in the state of Arizona, there are no formal statewide mandates in place to be sure those 300 remains are thoroughly and systematically compared to the 2,000 missing persons to potentially identify the remains, close the cases, put a stop to criminals and bring some missing person home to their families. Families of the missing have therefore begun a grass roots effort to pass legislation which will aid authorities in resolving these cases and giving a name to the unidentified.

The Campaign for the Missing is based on the United States Department of Justice's Model Legislation for best practices in handling missing persons and unidentified remains cases, and the bill takes advantage of new advances in technologies and resources, providing valuable tools for law enforcement. Nonprofit organization Project Jason keeps the bill updated as advances such as national databases and DNA emerge. Project Jason helps facilitate efforts to pass it in each state. Thus far, 10 states have adopted the law.

Amy Dattilo, cousin of missing Molly Dattilo from Indiana, is the citizen lead in the Arizona campaign. Amy states: "I became involved with the bill because of my experiences when Molly disappeared. When my sister called me to tell me that Molly was missing from Indianapolis, I was shocked to find that Molly was not classified as a high risk missing person, and there was no sense of urgency due to the fact she was over the age of 18. Two weeks later, a ground search had not been conducted nor offered, so I organized it without any experience or knowledge. Time and evidence were lost forever in those first weeks. Molly has now been missing since July 6, 2004. “

Project Jason's founder, Kelly Jolkowski, is no stranger to living with ambiguous loss, as her son Jason has been missing for more than 10 years. Jolkowski feels a significant component of the proposed law is the systematic and consistent matching of key identifiers, such as fingerprints, dental records, and DNA, from a missing person to those of the unidentified. "My son's body may have been found in another state and either buried or cremated without DNA taken, processed, and entered in the national database. If that has happened, we will live the rest of our lives not knowing what happened to him. If the available identifiers are not taken and entered into national databases by both law enforcement and authorities in charge of human remains, we'll continue to have unresolved cases, and criminals will remain free to commit more crimes," she explains.

Arizona state Representatives Rueben Gallego and Jeff Dial are the co-sponsors of HB 2169. In addition to clearing missing and unidentified person cases through the collection of critical identifiers, the bill provides a checklist of data that can be collected from the reporting party, and numerous resources that will aid law enforcement in investigation and case resolution.

How the public and media can help

Arizona residents can contact all state senators and representatives, asking for support for the bill. Media assistance is requested to facilitate awareness for the Campaign for the Missing. Often, citizens are not aware of the sheer numbers of missing persons right in their own communities, and the great difficulty the investigation of these cases presents.

How to find your legislators: http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp

The Bill: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/50leg/2r/bills/hb2169p.htm

Background of the Campaign: http://projectjason.org/legislation.shtml

The purpose of this law:

House Bill 2169, Campaign for the Missing is a grassroots effort to pass legislation in each state that will serve to improve the law enforcement community's ability to locate and ensure a safe return of missing persons. It will address the local & national problems of missing persons and the identification of human remains and provide the framework for improving law enforcement's response. It will also improve the collection of critical information about missing persons, prioritize high-risk missing persons cases, and ensure prompt dissemination of critical information to other law enforcement agencies and the public that can improve the likelihood of a safe return.

About Kelly Jolkowski and Project Jason

Kelly Jolkowski, president and founder of Project Jason, is one of the few non-law enforcement people trained in missing persons and has more than 100 hours of professional training on missing persons from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The U.S. Department of Justice, and Fox Valley Technical College.

In 2010, the U.S. Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime named Kelly Jolkowski as the Volunteer for Victims Honoree. Jolkowski was one of eight people honored by US Attorney General Eric Holder for their work assisting victims of crime.

Project Jason, founded in 2003, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting families of missing persons. The organization offers tactical guidance, emotional support, and hope for families continuing their searches for answers. Project Jason is based in Omaha, Nebraska. For more information about Project Jason’s objectives, activities and services, go to http://www.projectjason.org