In Fort Lauderdale girl's case, police attention went missing

Finally some tough questions being asked. It looks like the family and police had little regard for this teen's life. It is sad when the police or parents don't even investigate in a small area they knew she went to frequently. Come on,unless this girl was a chronic runway drug addict with long history of aggresion,prostitution and defiance why was no one suspecting she might be in danger???? Truly sad. A young life lost.

Steamboat Willie

Joined: Feb 24, 2007

Comments: 566

fort lauderdale

ISP: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Just because this makes great headlines at the expense of the police doesn't make it true. This was a tragic case all the way but, given the facts, I don't see a lot more the police could have reasonably concluded.

First, family members of the girl (including her uncle) said she had a long standing habit of spending weeks at a time staying with friends before returning home. So, her absence of a week, when reported to the police was nothing unusual.

Second, as reported in the local news, this was no little innocent baby girl. She was already at the point that she would have sex for $50.00 with other kids in the neighborhood. She also apparently had an older "boyfriend" who would beat up those who didn't pay. Anyone else would call him by another title other than boyfriend but we'll let that slide for the moment.

Now, seriously, put yourself in the place of the cop called to the scene of the missing person.. The family tells you she has a habit of spending weeks at a time away from home before returning. Why isn't it reasonable to conclude that this is exactly what was happening and conclude there was no immediate danger? Now multiply this scenario by 1,000 times a year and you can see the magnitude of the problem facing a department with limited resources.

Let's put the responsibility where it really belongs; on the girl, herself, and her family. The girl voluntarily engaged in a conduct notoriously known for its high risk and there was nobody in her family or circle of friends who was willing to put forth the effort to stop her or straighten her out. Even her best friend casually mentioned to a reporter that she knew that this girl was going to have sex for $50.00 with the person under arrest.

Very sad ...

Parents

The only thing the police did wrong was not arrest mom. She waited a week to report her daughter missing and allowed her 14 year old daughter to be a prostitute having sex for $40. Mom should face murder charges too.

Bill

Hollywood, FL

Oh, here we go, Mayo, the arm chair quaterback. How about posting the amount of juveniles that are reported run-aways in this county on a daily basis. If you would post the numbers your readers may get an idea that the numbers are off the charts and that the missing persons system can not be used for every single run away.

It is not a rich v. poor issue, Mayo. I know that it makes for good headlines, but you're way off base. If the missing persons system were to be used for every single run away we would exhaust and deplete the resources. I know, it's a tough one to swallow, but folks the reality is that these are troubled teens with troubled lives, let's look at the troubled teen that killed her, or her troubled parents that could care less about her, and stop shifting the blame. Mayo, you talk a good game, but you are truly a clueless man.

And Justice 4 All

Hey Mayo you forgot to ask why the police don't have a crystal ball issued to them to find all these missing persons. Being missing is not a crime. This is not CSI as seen on TV...cases don't get solved in an hour you dumb s@&t!!!!

Brian of Hollywood

Parents wrote:

The only thing the police did wrong was not arrest mom. She waited a week to report her daughter missing and allowed her 14 year old daughter to be a prostitute having sex for $40. Mom should face murder charges too.

BTW there was no mom.The parents lost custody in 1997 and she was lving with her grandmother whose unfortunate name is Ms. Queer.

Brian of Hollywood

Why was the real name of the grandmother(as published in the media)censored? Are you people nuts? 1984!

sun29

West Palm Beach, FL

Amber Alerts are supposed to be placed on all 18 or under. What I don't understand is how the girls friend and her not speaking to Neica for several days did not know something was up. And the fact that Neica's guardian was not in constant contact with her. There is definately a lack of parenting on all ends, including the mother of the boy who killed her. Between this childs death and the nonsense with the little 2 year old I am so disheartened about the state of family life and care of our children today. Being a mother myself, I can tell you that I would be "on it" if I did not speak to him or know where he was.

Debating

Hey Mayo, I guess you missed the part about her being the neighborhood whore who earned her money by having sex with whoever would pay.

Why would the police waste time looking for a girl who purposefully ran away from home so she could live the life of a party girl on the street?

Why don't you quit your silk panty wearing job at the Sun-Sentinel, become a police officer, and show them all how it is done since you are such an expert crime fighter?

Citizen

What a poor excuse for an article. Sure, lets point the finger at the agency....that is easy to do. Fact of the matter is, there is nothing the police could have done to prevent this tragedy. It's easy to "what if" until you're blue in the face, but there is no wrongdoing there. Hey Mr. Mayo, why not do a ride-a-long to see what these guys go through?
Actually, I stand corrected. What a poor excuse for a journalist. If I were this bad at my job I would have been indicted.

Scott

Winder, GA

Mayo - how are the police supposed to follow a week old trail when what the family told them indicated this was "normal" behavior for this child?

Are you trying to salve your own guilty feelings for not picking up this story yourself? You had 3 weeks to comment on it, why didn't you personally?

Debating

sun29 wrote:

Amber Alerts are supposed to be placed on all 18 or under. What I don't understand is how the girls friend and her not speaking to Neica for several days did not know something was up. And the fact that Neica's guardian was not in constant contact with her. There is definately a lack of parenting on all ends, including the mother of the boy who killed her. Between this childs death and the nonsense with the little 2 year old I am so disheartened about the state of family life and care of our children today. Being a mother myself, I can tell you that I would be "on it" if I did not speak to him or know where he was.

No, they're not. If they were, there would be an Amber Alert every two hours in South Florida for every teeenager who ran away from home. You completely misunderstand what the Amber Alert is for.

brother HPD officer

Lake Mary, FL

Brian of Hollywood wrote:

<quoted text>BTW there was no mom.The parents lost custody in 1997 and she was lving with her grandmother whose unfortunate name is Ms.****.

. Well said,

sun29

West Palm Beach, FL

Debating wrote:

<quoted text>
No, they're not. If they were, there would be an Amber Alert every two hours in South Florida for every teeenager who ran away from home. You completely misunderstand what the Amber Alert is for.

I don't misunderstand anything. If there was an indication that this girl at 14 would not run away from home and there was a worry by the guardian, then an Amber Alert should have been issued. I understand that many run away however if this girl has not shown any indication of wanting to runaway and was doing well in school, etc...., then I believe that there should have been an Amber Alert issued. Just my opinion though. Everyone has one.

Da Truth

Scott wrote:

Mayo - how are the police supposed to follow a week old trail when what the family told them indicated this was "normal" behavior for this child?
Are you trying to salve your own guilty feelings for not picking up this story yourself? You had 3 weeks to comment on it, why didn't you personally?

hey scott! The police did a lousy job! Life is important. Somebody loved that young lady. It's sad that your hatred looms over this forum. Yes, your hatred for a young lady you never knew. You don't know the facts. However, one fact is that the Fort Lauderdale Police did not take this report seriously when so many things are happening to children these days. One should take everything serious when children are involved. Does it matter that she was 14. My God! Bless you Scott! You are sick man!

Da Truth

RETIRED TO MR MAYO wrote:

Well once again you have found the BUTTON to push and it appears you're trying to make things difficult for the Fort Lauderdale Police Dept.
After 29 years with FLPD I read your comments and have this to say. Did you write this article to make FLPD look like they did not care that just another teenager was reported as a runaway? Did you write it to make a racial comparison with the statement that had this girl been from Rio Vista, you think FLPD would have done more? Of course I'm sure you're not hinting that if she was WHITE either are you Mr Mayo?
So let's look at this deeper as you want your article to stir the pot. Tell us, your readers, what did the missing girl's family really do from the time she went missing to the day her body was found? Did they get fliers, t-shirts, go door to door etc? Hmmm can I guess and say PROBABLY NOT!!!
And then where were YOU AND THE REST OF THE MEDIA MR MAYO????? How come 4, 7 and 10 weren't on the air 5 times a day posting her picture and asking anyone who saw her to call in? I guess the answer to that is not by the numbers of 968 missing kid reports just to FLPD, maybe its more BS APATHY from THE MEDIA and the FAMILY, but blame it all on the POLICE and GOVERNMENT when it goes bad!!!!
BULL!!! It's real tragic this child was murdered. It has happened before and will again, no matter what you think you can CREATE or STIR UP because of this tragedy. GO BLAME THE PARENTS of both the dead girl and the sick kid who killed her. Blame the other adults in the area that saw this girl but never bothered to tell her family.
I'm sure th officers who initiated this report asked the questions that led them to believe the girl had run away before for days or weeks. But if you have great ideas of wonderful smart reporter, then why not quit your job as a journalist know it all and put on the FLPD uniform. I'd be delighted to see how you solve this problem and the hundreds of others that cops all over face daily.
Sometimes it's people like you, with their job and power of the press that make it much more difficult to do. You wrote enough to get people interested, maybe you can lead them all in the right path. But I'd really enjoy seeing YOU and other PULITZER DREAMERS strap on a real POLICE UNIFORM before you go shooting your pen off again.......
Yeah it's nice for you to have the power of the press and more so the MONDAY MORNING AFTER THE FACT QUARTERBACK CRYSTAL BALL. Maybe you're trying to get everyone together to devise a better plan when ANY KID, ANYWHERE and at ANYTIME goes missing.

Hey Mr. Retired! Wow! 29 years of watching the racists at FLPD turn their backs on those who do not look like them. Dude you are obviously biased on the side of the police. Yeah we know all about the honor code and how you have probably turned your back on many things that were against the law by your colleagues. No body cares about your 29 years. The community does not trust you dude!

Debating

sun29 wrote:

<quoted text>
I don't misunderstand anything. If there was an indication that this girl at 14 would not run away from home and there was a worry by the guardian, then an Amber Alert should have been issued. I understand that many run away however if this girl has not shown any indication of wanting to runaway and was doing well in school, etc...., then I believe that there should have been an Amber Alert issued. Just my opinion though. Everyone has one.

Apparently you do misunderstand things after all. This was normal behavior for her and the guardian was not concerned because she did not call the police for a whole week after the girl ran away.

Debating

Da Truth wrote:

<quoted text>Another poor excuse for a police officer. All you guys worry about is how the public perceives you. You are rotten little cowards with greed on your mind. You care for no one but you and your sick fraternity of non law abiding officers. Stop with the nonsense. Mayo exposed the sorry department for who they are. BIGGOTS!

This girl was committed to engaging in reckless behavior and no one was going to stop her from doing it. The boy had no right to kill her but given the lifestyle she chose the outcome should not come as a surprise.

Maybe the police should spend their limited resources helping people that want to be helped.

By the way, have you checked out her R-rated Youtube video yet? Yes, she was definetly a delicate flower.

Da Truth

Parents wrote:

The only thing the police did wrong was not arrest mom. She waited a week to report her daughter missing and allowed her 14 year old daughter to be a prostitute having sex for $40. Mom should face murder charges too.

It is is so sad that ignorance has prevailed on this forum! Every time a child or an adult of color have issues that directly relate to their current situation, the perfect trash always finds a way to rule it out as "no excuse". First of all, the child had no mom. Now the killers mom stated that her son was angry because the father was not in his life. Wow! Is that an excuse to take a life? Nevertheless, no one has said anything about that. But every piece of trash commenting on this forum is dogging this poor young lady who lost her life. Even if she was having sex for money, that trash sure wanted some, if that were the case. Come on folks! The hatred sucks and I am sick of the negatives thrown at this little girl.

Da Truth