Located Safe: Jean Marie Berlinghoff--CA--11/10/2010

[Jenn]

http://anewscafe.com/2010/12/11/judge-baker-sets-1-million-for-charles-berlinghoff/

Missing Girl Found Safe; Judge Sets Bail at $1 Million for Charles Berlinghoff
 
By Doni Greenberg December 11, 2010

First, Christmas came early Saturday afternoon for the family and friends of Jean Berlinghoff, the 15-year-old Redding teen who'd been missing for a month, when she was found safe and alive in San Francisco.  The break came when one of Jean's cousins, who lives in the Bay Area, spotted Jean walking in San Francisco with Charles Berlinghoff, the girl's uncle; the focus of an intense manhunt since last month.

Bay Area police arrested Charles Berlinghoff on two felony warrants related to Jean's disappearance from her Redding home Nov. 10.  Since then, law enforcement, family and the public had conducted a tireless search for the pair. The most recent major lead came a few weeks ago after Berlinghoff's car was found abandoned in Dunsmuir on Nov. 27.

Second came a welcome gift to Shasta County law enforcement Saturday night when Shasta County Superior Court Judge Stephen H. Baker set Charles Berlinghoff's bail at $1 million.

Baker signed the papers authorizing the bail  Saturday evening, following a Shasta County Sheriff's department press conference that gave details about the arrest of Charles Berlinghoff in San Francisco, where he and Jean Berlinghoff were spotted earlier in the afternoon by Jean's cousin, Jennifer Berlinghoff, at a retail store.

Shasta County Sheriff's Sgt. John Hubbard said that Jennifer Berlinghoff was shopping with her boyfriend in downtown San Francisco when she saw some familiar faces. He said Jennifer said, "That looks like Charles and Jean," then she called 911.

Hubbard said Bay Area law enforcement responded to Jennifer's call, and Charles Berlinghoff was arrested "without incident" after giving a false name. Hubbard said that nevertheless, Charles Berlinghoff was ultimately identified through tattoos and other evidence.

Jean Berlinghoff was then taken into protective custody, Hubbard said, though he couldn't speak to the girl's condition, or her reaction during her uncle's arrest, or other details regarding this incident.

"I'm as anxious to hear as anyone," he said.

Most likely he won't need to wait long, because three Shasta County Sheriff Department detectives were already en route to San Francisco, one by plane; the other two sped there via California Highway Patrol, to conduct interviews.

Regarding Charles Berlinghoff's bail, Hubbard said the Sheriff's Department requested the enhanced bail, which they deemed justified, considering the circumstances.

"We believe Charles Berlinghoff is a flight risk," Hubbard said. "And he's obviously eluded us for 30 days."

Hubbard gave special credit to law enforcement, his office, media and citizens for work done to find the Berlinghoff pair. He sighed heavily when he spoke about Jean Berlinghoff, the Enterprise High School teen who'd been missing for a month, now found safe and alive.

"Thank God, thank God," Hubbard said. "This is just a huge, huge relief for everyone. This is Christmas. What a gift."

Jean Berlinghoff's family agrees with that sentiment.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic to find that Jean is OK,"  said Jake Berlinghoff, Jean's father, who said he was in the mountains searching for his daughter when he got the news that she'd been located.

Right now, Jake Berlinghoff said that his family's most pressing goal is to be there to help and support Jean in every way.

"Over the last few days I was very uncertain if Jean would be found alive," he said. "I'm so happy my little girl is on her way home."

[Jenn]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/13/california.missing.teen/

Police: California teen home safe after month in shelters with uncle

By the CNN Wire Staff December 14, 2010 3:19 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Charles David Berlinghoff, 44, is in a California jail on a child-stealing warrant
    * Police say he ran off with his 15-year-old niece, prompting a month-long search
    * The two spent much of their time at homeless shelters, the girl's father says

(CNN) -- A California man who spent a month on the run with his 15-year-old niece is now in a San Francisco jail, and the girl is back home with her parents, according to police and relatives.

Charles David Berlinghoff, 44, was caught this weekend, four weeks after the Shasta County Sheriff's office urged the public and law enforcement to be on the lookout for him. At that time, the police issued statements indicating his niece, Jean Marie Berlinghoff, was with him and "is believed to be endangered."

The girl, meanwhile, was reunited with her family at 8 a.m. Sunday, according to police. Her father called the meeting very emotional, full of hugs and tears.

"I was able to put my arms around her and hug her," Jake Berlinghoff told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell on Monday. "Amazing is an understatement. I can't put to words how happy I was to see her again, and how happy her mom was to see her."

That feeling was the opposite of the parents' feelings in previous weeks, while their daughter's whereabouts and condition were unknown.

Charles Berlinghoff had been in and out of his extended family's life, even losing regular contact for a full decade, his brother told HLN..

In 1998, Charles Berlinghoff pleaded no-contest to one count of child molestation -- part of a deal in which three other child molesting counts were dropped, according to California court documents. But his brother said that the extended family didn't know about that sex offense, a charge that the judge in 2002 expunged from his record.

On November 12, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office issued a statement saying that Jean Marie and her uncle were missing, having last been seen in North Redding, California, traveling together in a 1987 gray Oldsmobile.

A felony arrest warrant for child stealing -- when a person entices, takes or hides a child from his or her lawful guardian -- was put out soon thereafter for Charles Berlinghoff. Police said that an additional arrest warrant, details of which were not released, was obtained December 6 by Shasta County detectives.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got involved, helping publicize information about the girl and her alleged abductor on transit and other signs in northern California. A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to Jean Marie's recovery and her uncle's arrest, and authorities were on the look-out for the car.

While on the run, Charles and Jean Marie spent much of their time staying in homeless shelters and eating in soup kitchens, Jake Berlinghoff said.

Their run ended when one of Jean Marie's cousins, who lives in San Francisco, spotted the pair Saturday while shopping for a jacket, said Jake Berlinghoff. The cousin called 911 and trailed the pair from a distance before police arrived.

Jake Berlinghoff said that he was "ecstatic" when he got word that Charles was in custody and his teenage daughter was safe, adding that a tearful Jean Marie told him "she was happy to be home."

[Kelly]

http://www.krcrtv.com/news/26336670/detail.html


Jean Berlinghoff: In Her Own Words

By Amaka UBAKA
POSTED: 7:37 pm PST December 31, 2010
UPDATED: 2:16 pm PST January 1, 2011

REDDING, Calif. -- She was missing for more than a month, but now the Redding teenager who made national headlines says she wants the community to know why she disappeared with her uncle.

Jean Berlinghoff, 15, and her uncle Charles Berlinghoff, 44, vanished from her Redding home November 10th after Jean says she got into a physical altercation with her father, Jacob, when he tried to take her cell phone away. She says leaving Redding was her idea, not that of her uncle.

"I decided to leave and he decided to go with me," Jean said. "I think it was like a protection thing."

After leaving Redding, investigators say the two traveled to Castella, where they ditched Charles' car. From there, Jean says they spent about three weeks in Portland until she heard she was listed as missing on a website. Jean and her uncle then headed south to San Francisco, where they stayed until eventually being found by a family member.

Jean says they stayed at homeless shelters, and she doesn't regret her decision to leave.

"When we were on the streets, that was the greatest time of my life," Jean said. "I experienced so much. Yeah, times were hard, but I ate well and I slept decent and I was warm."

Now that she's home, Jean says her life is slowly getting back to normal.

"It's changed my life drastically. I go out places and I get stared at," Jean said. "I hear people whispering, and I can't go anywhere without someone saying 'hi' and coming up to me."

Jean is scheduled to return to school next week.

Her uncle, Charles Berlinghoff, is being held in Shasta County Jail. He's facing around 100 counts related to the disappearance of his niece.