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Snoods

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A relative of 16 month old Semaj said she could barely walk, having just learned. She was last seen playing with other children in her front yard. A witness said she was right there playing one minute, gone the next.

Joliet, Illinois Local and federal authorities are searching for a 1-year old girl who went missing from her home April 25 in unincorporated Will County on Tuesday evening.

Authorities searching for Semaj Crosby scoured the Joliet Township neighborhood where she lived and a nearby pond Wednesday with no results. Her family reported her missing around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, about three hours after investigators with the state's Department of Children and Family Services saw her safe at home, officials said.

The FBI has joined the search, authorities said.

Semaj was last seen playing with other children in the front yard of her home, located in the 300 block of Louis Road in Joliet Township, authorities said. She was wearing a gray or pink shirt with a picture of a cat and jeans. The toddler was barefoot and had multiple pony tails with white beads.

On Wednesday morning, the girl's mother pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.

"I just want my baby home," she told WGN-TV. "I just want her home, I just want to know she's safe. I just want to know she's OK."

Numerous police and volunteers searched the area surrounding the neighborhood Tuesday night and throughout Wednesday. Search efforts have included canine units and dive teams. Some residents also reported seeing helicopters searching the area Tuesday night. Investigators have not found any sign of the young girl.

"We're trying everything we can to find her," Will County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Rick Ackerson said Wednesday. "We do need the community's help in this. We want to bring Semaj home tonight."

The sheriff's department is working with the FBI and has activated the Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force for the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL FBI (1-800-225-5324).

"In the case of a missing child of this age, the first few hours of the investigation are critical," FBI Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg said. "If there's anybody in the community who knows anything, suspects anything, or who has any information to provide, please call. No tip that you may have is too small for us to follow up on."

Ackerson said police have interviewed family members and other residents in the neighborhood. He added that family members have been cooperative.

The search has included various police departments along with dive crews from the Joliet and East Joliet fire departments. The dive crews searched nearby creeks and ponds. Ackerson said the toddler has been to those areas in the past with other people.

DCFS has been contacted by the sheriff's office. Its investigators were at the home Tuesday at about 3:20 p.m. and saw all three of the family's children including Semaj, DCFS spokeswoman Alissandra Calderon said in an email. Calderon said the agency is investigating the girl's mother for neglect, and has had prior contact with the family, including four unfounded investigations and two pending investigations that were opened in March. The agency has been providing services to the family since September, she said.

"There were no obvious hazards or safety concerns at that time," Calderon said in her email.

Relatives, friends and volunteers roamed the streets of the Joliet Township neighborhood. Luis Duenez, of Joliet, was one of many volunteers who showed up to aid in the search.

"I know the feeling," said Duenez, whose granddaughter recently died from a heart condition. "I hope everything goes well and they find the little girl alive."

Volunteers were asked to search nearby fields. Authorities instructed them to be on the lookout for articles of clothing that may be suspicious or out of place, volunteer Jayme Hawker said.

"We looked everywhere," Loretta Westbrooks, a volunteer from Joliet, said Wednesday afternoon. "We have searched every block.

Ashley Thompson, a Joliet woman who identified herself as a cousin of the child's mother, said Semaj could "barely walk," having just learned.

"I know she couldn't walk that far," Thompson said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ssing-toddler-from-joliet-20170426-story.html
 
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How the hell do you LOSE your 16MO Baby from in front of your own damn house? I bet those other children got their asses beat for not watching her.
 
She never left the house. RIP Semja.

“On Wednesday 4/26/17 at approximately 11:00PM, the Will County Sheriff’s Office along with the FBI gained consent to search the residence of 309 Louis Rd. Joliet with the assistance of the attorney the family had obtained. At approximately 12:00AM the deceased body of Semaj Crosby was located inside the residence.
...
an autopsy will be scheduled for later today to determine the cause of death.
http://wgntv.com/2017/04/26/one-year-old-found-dead/
 
So she went missing Tuesday evening and was found inside her own home late Wednesday/early Thursday.....something wrong here. Maybe mom/dad/relative killed her and hid her inside the home?

Poor baby...there was obviously a good reason why dcfs was involved already :(
 
Will County Sheriff’s Office along with the FBI gained consent to search the residence of 309 Louis Rd. Joliet with the assistance of the attorney the family had obtained.
Oh ... I see now.
"I just want my baby home," she told WGN-TV. "I just want her home, I just want to know she's safe. I just want to know she's OK."
But she makes it hard for the POLICE to help her ... OMG.
 
What the hell is happening here ?!?!
How old are the other children? Since they can't be trusted in this day n age :shifty: (vile little humans a lot of them :facepalm:sorry)
What was "super mom's" issue with DCF?
A sad story full of bullshit and angles ...
 
DCFS spokeswoman Alissandra Calderon said in an email. Calderon said the agency is investigating the girl's mother for neglect, and has had prior contact with the family, including four unfounded investigations and two pending investigations that were opened in March. The agency has been providing services to the family since September, she said.

I'm wondering what they mean by "unfounded".
Did they do the checks and find no problems, or were these cases made by someone angry with the mother/family and turned out to be false complaints/allegations?

“On Wednesday 4/26/17 at approximately 11:00PM, the Will County Sheriff’s Office along with the FBI gained consent to search the residence of 309 Louis Rd. Joliet with the assistance of the attorney the family had obtained. At approximately 12:00AM the deceased body of Semaj Crosby was located inside the residence.

This indicates the family consented to the search, or otherwise (one would think/assume) that if a warrant was necessary it would have mentioned a warrant in the article.

It does look like the family was involved at this point, but I'll reserve judgement until more information has been released to the public. Sometimes things are exactly what they seem, other times appearances are very deceiving.
I remember a local case that went national, and the family was suspected right up until the neighbor across the street admitted that a relative who was a registered sex offender had been staying there throughout the child's disappearance. The neighbor then pointed out a plywood board on the ground, and it was there LE
found the body of 9 year old Jessica Lunsford.
 
http://headlinesnetwork.com/article...ws/missing-1-year-old-joliet-girl-found-dead/
A missing baby girl who vanished Tuesday eveningwas found dead late Wednesday in a home in “deplorable condition” near southwest suburban Joliet — and police said a lawyer for the girl’s mother made them get a search warrant before they entered the home and found the girl’s body.
[...]
“All indications at that time point to, the child was outside and wandered off,” he said — a version substantiated by witnesses from the neighborhood who told deputies they had seen the child walking down the street. Those witnesses were credible and are not suspected of knowingly misleading investigators, Ackerson said.

He said the mother was not as forthcoming as she could have been.

“I won’t say totally reluctant, but I wouldn’t say 100 percent cooperative, either.”

At some point, Ackerson added, the family retained an attorney, who “interjected himself in the case, and cut us off. He said we were not allowed in the house without a search warrant.”

“The house was in very deplorable condition,” Ackerson said, noting that five to 15 people living there at any given time. Other than the mother and her three children, the attorney for the family described the other people living in the house as “squatters.”
 

Well, that's beaucoup more information, thanks Muriel.
15 people living in the home, and all but the mother and her 3 children were "squatters"; who the fuck does that, especially with children? It sounds like a damn shooting gallery/crack house.
Now, I'll say the mom knew exactly where her dead baby girl was, otherwise she'd have gladly consented to a search and any other request to keep LE focused on finding her baby.
It's this shit, and the Susan Smiths of the world that make it so much harder on parents who's children have been abducted to be taken seriously, and Amber alerts aren't issued unless someone actually sees the child being taken.

There's a special place in hell for people that kill a child and report them missing, all those people searching and hoping when you know the baby is rotting somewhere.

Agreed, also a very special place before they get to hell for killing their children and then calmly watching others in frantic search mode trying to find and save a child that the parent knows is dead, and that place is called "general population".
Bitch needs to start praying for solitary, 'coz somebody's gonna shiv her ass otherwise.

(etd: sp)
 
Ok so let's break this down.
Mother has CPS called and has a long history with dealing with them.
Has all her children living in a "house" filled with 5-10 squatters and is in deplorable condition.
CPS comes to house for the Lord knows how many times and checks it off as livable and leaves!
1 year old girl is then said to be playing outside with other kids.unsupervised to the point where she suddenly disappears.
Then found to be dead inside the same home that CPS was just inside the day before, but at this time it is described by police as deplorable living conditions and a squatter home.

Yep this all sounds just about right to me.

Oh let's not forget the mother can't even give a detailed description of what the little girl was wearing. Grey OR pink shirt. (This right here is what stuck out to me when I first read. What mother who cares for her kids and has one go missing doesn't know what they were wearing) I still iron, lay out and dress Devi everyday and she is 5.

Sadly this little girl never had a chance. CPS in these areas keeps hiring inexperienced, stupid,lazy workers. They were JUST there and saw the conditions of this home and LEFT!!! WTF :banghead:
Once again people breeding that have no business and it's the children and babies who suffer. THIS right here is why I think to be on welfare, mandatory B Control shots should be given..... And if you refuse? NO money and your kids are taken. For fucks sake.
Then you can live with all the squatters you want.
[doublepost=1493333792,1493333317][/doublepost]"Ackerson had noted that police had previously been called to the home a few times, most recently for a “domestic situation” on Easter Sunday. No arrests were made in that incident."

Really?

DCFS has been working with the family since September 2016, with four unfounded investigations for neglect, and two other pending investigations for neglect opened in March 2017, agency officials said.

Oh and she still has the other two children!! WTF people

A massive search of the Preston Heights subdivision with bloodhounds and a helicopter included more than a hundred volunteers. A dive team also searched a pond in the Sugar Creek subdivision."
Thanks for costing tax payers more money you self entered bitch.
All the while you knew your little girl was dead up in your house! I also love how the "mom" stated this 16 month old little girl was out side with 8 other children playing! Who allows this? Who allows a 16 month old BABY to play out side with all these other kids unsupervised? We now know she was dead up in the house though.
 
News report with shot of police carrying out a couch on live television, Natalie Bomke Fox 32 Chicago reporting.

Semaj was apparently found stuffed inside the couch, holy fuck. So police did have to get a search warrant before they were allowed to search the inside of the house? They might as well have tattooed "dead baby in house" across their foreheads, dumbasses.

Entire video:

[doublepost=1493335003,1493334125][/doublepost]It sounds like they were all complicit, adults saw her outside playing with the other kids, adults saw her there one minute and boom! Gone the next. Bullshit bullshit bullshit!
 
OMG! Stuffed inside the couch!! And I also read that she is NOT arrested yet and the other two children are still there!!! Please GOD tell me this isn't true!
[doublepost=1493335118,1493335016][/doublepost]Nevermind she was finally taken into custody. Thank god
 
News report with shot of police carrying out a couch on live television, Natalie Bomke Fox 32 Chicago reporting.
Semaj was apparently found stuffed inside the couch, holy fuck.

Discarded and shoved away like a piece of used Kleenex or a gum wrapper, dear heaven.
That beautiful baby girl, and they thought no better of her than to stuff her tiny remains in a nasty and probably bug infested sofa. Then monster dearest sits on the makeshift grave, crying to LE about her missing-but really dead and I'm sitting on the body-baby.
Her little face looks so forlorn in those pictures, it makes me wonder if she ever had a truly happy day or smiled in her short life.
I'm grateful this is a thousand+ miles from me, because I could easily just kill all the adults involved in that home without hesitation or remorse; the only difference is they'd all die much more painfully and far slower than this beautiful child.
 
Her little face looks so forlorn in those pictures, it makes me wonder if she ever had a truly happy day or smiled in her short life.

I was going to comment on her sad little face when I posted it, but thought 'well, maybe she was just having an ornery moment', but now I agree with you. I also thought it odd that Mom wasn't able to provide a better photo of her, like one with her smiling.
[doublepost=1493342499,1493342238][/doublepost]
DCFS has been working with the family since September 2016, with four unfounded investigations for neglect, and two other pending investigations for neglect opened in March 2017, agency officials said.

The house has now been condemned, according to the news, so how did DCFS allow the children to live there? With random squatters?
 
The house has now been condemned, according to the news, so how did DCFS allow the children to live there? With random squatters?
I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out the DCFS worker didn't visit and signed off.
"random squatters" may be something like couch surfing acquaintances. Ominous words either way.
 
CPS isnt going to pull kids from a home JUST cuz there's a bunch of other people there. THe mother could simply lie and say theyre friends visiting or relatives, the people themselves could have lied. Also possible they werent there, or at least most werent there, at the time of the visit.

All that said, it's not gauranteed that that alone would be reason enough for the State to take kids away. If there's no evidence of abuse or drug usage in the home, CPS isnt going to do a damn thing. I'd actually be shocked if they would take action simply due to a living situation like that

Really not fair to blame the CPS worker in this situation, at least not with the info we have thus far. If you want to criticize the system on the whole and how absurdly lenient they and their policies are, that's another issue and one far more ripe for badmouthin.
 
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CPS isnt going to pull kids from a home JUST cuz there's a bunch of other people there. THe mother could simply lie and say theyre friends visiting or relatives, the people themselves could have lied. Also possible they werent there, or at least most werent there, at the time of the visit.

All that said, it's not gauranteed that that alone would be reason enough for the State to take kids away. If there's no evidence of abuse or drug usage in the home, CPS isnt going to do a damn thing. I'd actually be shocked if they would take action simply due to a living situation like that

Really not fair to blame the CPS worker in this situation, at least not with the info we have thus far. If you want to criticize the system on the whole and how absurdly lenient they and their policies are, that's another issue and one far more ripe for badmouthin.
Not true. CPS CAN and will remove children for these type of conditions due to the fact of sleeping arrangements. Also the issue is not just the squatters that the police and CPS knew about but the condition of this home that people are now saying should have been condemned
 
Not true. CPS CAN and will remove children for these type of conditions due to the fact of sleeping arrangements. Also the issue is not just the squatters that the police and CPS knew about but the condition of this home that people are now saying should have been condemned

The problem with DCFS in Illinois is that the standards of living are so low, it is very hard to make a case to remove children from the home based on environmental neglect alone.
Having adopted two children from foster care, I can tell you that most of these case workers hands are tied.
It is not necessary for a child to have a bed. A child has to have a place to lay his or her head at night. It can be a cot, a couch, a recliner, a sleeping bag, or a carpeted floor, as long as there is a blanket and a pillow, it constitutes as a place to lay your head.
There only has to be one can of something in the cubbord to qualify as having food. So, if the fridge is entirely empty, but there's a can of corn in a cabinet somewhere, or a box of crackers, then there's food.
A home does not have to have running water. It does have to have a toilet that flushes.
But according to the standards of living, the toilet can be flushed with a bucket, and you can get a bucket of water from a well, or a neighbors house.
Utilities are not necessary unless there is inclement weather. For example if the gas is shut off in July, it's not a problem, January is a big deal of course.
And just because your electricity is off your children will not be removed if you are attempting to get it turned back on. If it's needed to run the furnace, then it's a problem.
Insect infestations are not considered a removable offense. And the department of public health here now even says that children will not be removed from classrooms in public schools due to head lice, because it is no longer considered a health issue.
Basically, unless a caseworker finds children playing in poop, showing obvious signs of malnutrition, covered in bruises, or the child states that they are being sexually abused, they can't remove them from the home on an emergency order.
Even if the house is absolutely filthy, the caseworkers are mandated to, open a case, and assign a homemaker to supervise the parents while they clean it up. There just has to be "marked improvement."
It's unfortunate that these caseworkers are overworked, under paid, and desperately lacking legal authority.
 
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It is not necessary for a child to have a bed. A child has to have a place to lay his or her head at night. It can be a cot, a couch, a recliner, a sleeping bag, or a carpeted floor, as long as there is a blanket and a pillow, it constitutes as a place to lay your head.

I don't think a child can be taken from a parent even if they're living out of a car, correct me if I'm wrong.
[doublepost=1493357410,1493357301][/doublepost]
you'll be surprised by how many babies are outside being supervised by kids in my area. smh

Sadly, I believe this baby would have been better off being supervised by kids. :(
 
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better and better, read the comments by locals of the area in the local new stories about this:
http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/...was-found-under-couch-in-family-home/a3zplox/
JOLIET TOWNSHIP – The discovery of a 1-year-old girl’s body under a couch inside her residence after an intensive search for her in the Preston Heights neighborhood has shocked and saddened investigators and the community.

“This has been a very emotional situation for family members, friends and first responders,” Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Rick Ackerson said. “The entire community has been deeply concerned about the safety of Semaj.”

The girl was reported missing Tuesday afternoon from her home in the 300 block of Louis Road. Police, firefighters and volunteers searched throughout Wednesday but did not find the girl. While Semaj’s mother, Sheri Gordon, was being questioned for a second time Wednesday morning, she decided to stop the interview and speak with an attorney, Ackerson said. A woman who accompanied Gordon was outside banging on the door of the police trailer and telling Gordon not to answer questions, he said.

After negotiations with the attorney Wednesday evening, Gordon gave police consent to search her residence. Gordon is being represented by Chuck Bretz & Associates.

“We had sought a search warrant [throughout the day], but the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office noted witnesses had reported seeing [Semaj] walking down the street,” Ackerson said.

Police entered the house at 11 p.m. Wednesday and found the girl’s body inside after about an hour into the search, Ackerson said.

A source with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak on the matter confirmed the body was found under a couch that did not have legs and could not be crawled under.

The Will County Coroner’s Office confirmed the girl was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:27 a.m. Thursday. An autopsy was conducted Thursday morning but will “require further study” to determine the cause of death, according to the coroner’s office.

“There was garbage strewn in the house. The house was in deplorable condition,” Ackerson said.

A source said there were obvious signs of cockroach infestation.

The home was deemed uninhabitable Thursday by officials.

Including Gordon, her two sons and Semaj, five to 15 people were regularly living in the house as “squatters,” Ackerson said.

“We aren’t sure if they’re all friends or relatives. But there were different people there off and on,” Ackerson said.

“There are a lot of people from Chicago in that house,” said one neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous. “They’re [regularly] louder than the average neighbor around here. Lot of people out in the yard throughout the day.”

No arrests have been made, but the investigation is “ongoing and active,” Ackerson said.

The Department of Children and Family Services opened two investigations of Gordon for allegations of neglect last month. DCFS spokeswoman Veronica Resa said in an email that DCFS personnel had been at the home about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday “and had seen all three of the mother’s children, including Semaj. There were no obvious hazards or safety concerns at that time.”

Resa said DCFS has been offering services to the family since September. Deputies responded to a 911 hang-up from the residence on Easter Sunday. There was no reported disturbance, but deputies provided some candy and toys for the children at the house, Ackerson said.

On Thursday, Semaj’s father, James Crosby, appeared in court before being released from the Will County jail, where he has been locked up for two months on theft and domestic battery charges. Defense attorney Cosmo Tedone said James Crosby has been “in a state of shock” since learning of his daughter’s disappearance and death. According to a source, one of Semaj’s brothers has been hospitalized.

Gordon’s attorneys released a statement Thursday evening.

“During the search, Ms. Gordon and law enforcement engaged in a high level of communication and cooperation,” the statement said. “Ms. Gordon, [through] her attorneys, continues to contact and communicate with the Will County Sheriff’s investigation team and other agencies. Ms. Gordon is extremely distraught over the death of her only daughter. ... She prays for her daughter and appreciates the community’s support in this matter. We look forward to when we can put this tragic incident behind us and allow the healing to begin.”

Louis Road remained blocked by crime scene tape until Thursday evening. A memorial to the 17-month-old girl was set up in the area Thursday.

Markesha Walter came Thursday morning from Chicago to place a stuffed giraffe near the street as “a show of respect.”

“I’ve got a baby of my own about the same age. It’s very sad. [Her death] just seems so senseless,” Walter said. “To have everybody out here searching when [someone] knew she was in the house. That’s crazy.”
 
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