Saturday, August 22, 2009

Foster dad threatened to abandon California boy with CP 10 days before he went missing

From the San Jose Mercury News:

OAKLAND, Calif. — Ten days before Hasanni Campbell (pictured) was reported missing, the foster father of the 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy sent a text message to the boy's foster mother threatening to leave the child alone on a BART platform, a source close to the case confirmed August 20.

Louis Ross texted Jennifer Campbell that he would watch over the boy's one-year-old sister, but that he would leave Hasanni "out on the BART." The text was sent at 9:50 a.m. July 31, the source said.

The Alameda County Superior Court records showing that police recovered that information were temporarily available early Thursday but were quickly sealed by police once the information about the text message got out to the media.

The past two days have brought out more questions than answers about Ross and Campbell and their roles — if any — in the disappearance of the boy.

Authorities said August 19 that Ross failed a polygraph test given by the FBI a few days after the boy was reported missing. Campbell, 30, did not take the test because she is six months pregnant and told authorities she was worried the test could harm her unborn baby.

Information in a search warrant issued at 5:45 a.m. Aug. 11, the day after the boy was reported missing, shows that police were looking for a "sword or cutting instrument" and biological evidence (hair, blood or skin cells) from the 5-year-old boy at the Roxie Terrance home in Fremont, where the family lives. They did not recover a sword or cutting instrument and it is not clear why police were looking for such an item.

An inventory sheet from the warrant also shows that police recovered a pair of latex gloves, eight DNA swabs and four "fingerprint lifts" from Ross' 2002 BMW. Investigators took nothing from the home during the search.

Ross, 38, has not returned repeated calls for comment.

Oakland police spokesman Officer Jeff Thomason said Thursday that investigators have no new leads and have received no new tips about the missing boy. About 50 tips have come into police to date.

Police have become increasingly concerned about the boy because the longer a child is missing, the slimmer the chances are for a positive outcome, Thomason said.