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Re: National Search for Vegas Boy Taken by Police Impostors
National Search for Vegas Boy Taken by Police Impostors
Friday , October 17, 2008
AP
LAS VEGAS '”
Two men posing as police officers kidnapped a 6-year-old boy in a drug dispute after entering his family's home and tying up his mother and her boyfriend, police said Thursday.
An Amber Alert was expanded nationwide as police searched for Cole Puffinburger, who was taken Wednesday, police said.
There is a definite "drug nexus," Las Vegas Police Capt. Vincent Cannito said at a news conference Thursday. "Significant money and drugs" were involved, he said, but he would not provide more details.
Two men identified themselves as police officers to gain entry to the home several miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas, Cannito said. They demanded money, and the home was ransacked and the couple tied up, he said.
"This child witnessed that," he said. "This child was ripped from the home."
Cannito would not say whether the family had been contacted about paying a ransom.
The boy is described as 3 feet 11 and 48 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and silver-framed glasses. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, a black shirt, and a black zip-up sweat shirt with white, black and blue stars.
Authorities said that the two men posing as police were Hispanic and that a third man was also believed to be involved.
One suspect is described as having black, shoulder-length, slicked-back hair. The man, in his early 30s, is about 5 feet 7 and 150 pounds and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
Authorities do not have a description of the other men or the getaway car, which delayed the initial posting Wednesday of the statewide alert.
"We're urging people, if they've seen anything, to contact our missing persons detail," Las Vegas police Officer Bill Cassell said.
"We've had a lot of tips," Cassell said. "The frustrating thing is we have nothing new at this point."
Re: National Search for Vegas Boy Taken by Police Impostors
Hopefully the kid is ok, and they only kidnapped him for ransom, & to make a statement to the parents who owed them their debt. Hopefully once they find the police are involved they drop the kid off somewhere safe to avoid further charges.
Re: National Search for Vegas Boy Taken by Police Impostors
Abducted boy found in Las Vegas
Alleged drug dealers kidnapped 6-year-old Cole Puffinburger, police say
The Associated Press
updated 4:12 a.m. ET, Sun., Oct. 19, 2008
LAS VEGAS - A 6-year-old kidnapped from a Las Vegas home by alleged drug dealers was found alive late Saturday in a neighborhood northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, police said.
Cole Puffinburger was recovered at around 11:30 p.m. after a citizen informed detectives about a child walking the streets, Las Vegas police Officer Jay Rivera said. He said the child appeared healthy.
Puffinburger was abducted Wednesday morning by two men posing as police officers.
Authorities arrested Puffinburger's grandfather Clemens Tinnemeyer late Friday in connection with the boy's disappearance.
Kidnapping a 'message'
Police believe that the abductors were Mexican drug dealers and that the kidnapping at gunpoint was a "message" to Tinnemeyer, 51, whom they said may have stolen millions of dollars from dealers.
Tinnemeyer was arrested in Riverside, Calif., and was being held in nearby San Bernardino on a material witness warrant issued by a federal court in Nevada.
Officer Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas police spokesman declined to say what role Tinnemeyer played in the drug operation or whether the kidnappers had been seeking a ransom.
Police believe methamphetamine was involved, Johnson said.
Las Vegas police didn't know Saturday whether Tinnemeyer had a lawyer. He was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate Monday in Riverside.
Authorities investigating the abduction were also focussing on two other men, including a Mexican citizen identified as Jesus Gastelum.
Gastelum, who is in his mid-30s, is believed to be in Las Vegas or Southern California, police said. The other "person of interest" was not identified.
Man sought
The Mexican man being sought, identified as Jesus Gastelum, is in his mid-30s and believed to be in Las Vegas or Southern California, police said at a news conference. The other "person of interest" was not identified.
"Clemens Tinnemeyer has been interviewed, information is still forthcoming in this investigation," Las Vegas police Capt. Vincent Cannito said at a news conference Saturday.
Cannito told reporters the investigation had resulted in "a number of search warrants in several jurisdictions." Officials also uncovered a "large amount of cash," but Cannito would not say where.
Authorities had issued an Amber Alert that triggered a public search for the boy and flashed his photograph on billboards and highway signs throughout Nevada and California.
Boy abucted
The two abductors entered the home and tied up the boy's mother and her boyfriend. The home was then ransacked and the boy taken; Cannito said earlier that a third man was believed to be involved.
Tinnemeyer may have stolen millions of dollars from the Mexican citizens, said Officer Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas police spokesman. Johnson declined to say what role Tinnemeyer played in the drug operation or whether the kidnappers were seeking a ransom.
Authorities also were investigating whether other family members had ties to the drug operation, Johnson said.
"Money is a huge factor, obviously. Drugs are a huge factor," Johnson said. "The only innocent person involved in this entire operation is the boy."
Court records show Tinnemeyer and his wife filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2001, claiming $226,500 in assets and $329,000 in liabilities. The couple listed more than $15,000 in credit card debt.
NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
