11 replies to this topic

[Lori Davis]

Project Jason Profile:

 

Name: Christopher Abeyta

 

 

Date of Birth: 11/28/1985

Date Missing: 07/15/1986

Age at time of disappearance: 1

City Missing From: Colorado Springs

State Missing From: Colorado

Gender: Male

Race: White/Hispanic

Height: 2"2 at time of disappearance

Weight: 17 lbs at time of disappearance

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Blue

Complexion: White

Identifying Characteristics: The age progression photo to the right shows what he may look like at age 27.

Circumstances of Disappearance: Christopher was kidnapped from his crib between 12:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.. The family believes he may still be alive and the age progression photo may be the key to finding him.

 

His family wrote this message to him:

 

We have searched for you for 27 years. Our lives have forever been changed by this cowardly act done to an innocent baby, and there is no such thing as closure. We have lived with the hope that you were raised with a family whom has loved and cared for you. Your family continues to investigate your disappearance and will not stop until we have answers and justice has been served. You have loving parents and 6 older brothers and sisters who play an active part in your investigation. We love you!

 

Investigative Agency: Colorado Springs Police Department

Agency Phone: (719) 482-7179

 

Link To Poster: http://www.projectja...opherAbeyta.pdf

[Lori Davis]

http://www.charleypr...hristopher.html
Charley Project profile for Christopher Abeyta

[Lori Davis]

http://www.kktv.com/...s/77774642.html

Age Progressed Photo, Have You Seen Him?
Nov 28, 2009

Christopher Abeyta would have been 24-years-old on November 28th, 2009. Abeyta was only 7-months-old when he was snatched from his Colorado Springs home nearly two and a half decades ago, but his family believes he is still alive. "That's what we live for. We're not going to give up," said Gil Abeyta, Christopher's dad.

Friends and family packed Quail Lake Park off East Cheyenne Mountain Blvd. in Colorado Springs on Saturday where hundreds of balloons were released. Some balloons even had little notes attached to them with messages for Christopher.

Gil Abeyta says revenge on whoever stole his little boy is one of many emotions that consumed him for many years. This year it's different. "At this point after all these years all we want to know is that Christopher is safe and well," said Gil Abeyta.

The night Christopher vanished he lay asleep in his crib in his parent's bedroom. "Someone walked in and took him and then to think that they could have gotten away with it after all of these years," said Denise Alves, Christopher's Sister.

Emotions are still raw, but hope is what helps keep family and friends going. Along with a newly released age progressed photo of Christopher. The National Center For Missing Children are the ones who formed the composite photo.

"I think it's going to be the circumstances along with the photo," said Denise Alves. The Abeyta family says it takes just one person to recognize his face.

The family put up family photos of themselves on www.findchristopher.com in case the age progressed photo is not as accurate as they hope. People can go to their website to see what his other siblings look like in case you believe you have spotted Christopher.

The Abeyta family says Christopher's disappearance is considered a cold case, but is still active.

The family also started up, Families of Missing Children International, and have since helped find dozens of missing children.

[Jenn]

http://www.krdo.com/....asp?S=11585197

24th Birthday of Missing Man Celebrated in Springs

Posted: Nov 28, 2009 06:51 PM Updated: Nov 28, 2009 07:10 PM
By SCOTT HARRISON

COLORADO SPRINGS - Balloons floated high and songs were sung Saturday at Quail Lake Park, to celebrate the 24th birthday of Christopher Abeyta.  He made national headlines when he was seven months old, after he disappeared overnight from a crib in his parents' home near the park, in July of 1986.  He has not been found, and the case remains unsolved.

Still, the Abeyta family believes Christopher is alive and will reunite with them someday.  His mother says the family suspects someone kidnapped him for unknown reasons, and she hopes that eventually, he will become curious about how he grew up.

"Think of the circumstances of how he was raised, what he was told--and we'll certainly give him a DNA test any time he wants us to," says Bernice Abeyta.  "It's not about me feeling really bad and hurt.  It's about finding Christopher.  There's a cold case that has been opened.  For the first time, I'm really positive."

Sister Denise Alves says it's the first time the family has celebrated Christopher's birthday.  About 50 relatives and friends gathered at the park.  Alves says the family still copes with a perception that it was responsible for Christopher's disappearance.

"Yes, we didn't hear anything--and we have to live with that," Alves admits.  "But the only person that theory hurt, was Christopher, because someone has gotten away with him."

Early in the investigation, the family blamed police detectives for being too inexperienced to properly handle the case.  Bernice Abeyta failed a lie detector test, which she says was because of medication she took at the time.

Sgt. Chuck Potter, one of the few members of the police force still on duty from the disappearance, says he doesn't believe Christopher will be found.  "I remember tracing footsteps where we thought the child may have been taken or led.  Walking around that lake, through the neighborhoods.  I did a lot of that myself, and it does bring back a lot of memories."

If you have any information about the case, call police at 719-444-7000.  The Abeyta family also has created a website about the case. 

[Lori Davis]

Springs baby has been missing 25 years

by Jaryd Wilson
Posted: 07.06.2011 at 10:16 AM

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A Colorado Springs boy taken from his parents' bedroom back in 1986 has now been missing for almost 25 years.

The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) said 7-month-old Christopher Abeyta was taken from his parents' bedroom in Colorado Springs between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. July 15, 1986.

Abeyta was born Nov. 28, 1985 and would be 25 years old today. He weighed 17 pounds and was white with blond hair and blue eyes.

Read more: http://www.coloradoc....aspx?id=637590

[Lori Davis]

https://www.colorado...ail.html?id=312
Colorado Bureau of Investigation profile for Christopher Abeyta

[Lori Davis]

Unit at CSPD finds answers for families of missing persons

January 29, 2012 4:15 PM
MARIA ST.LOUIS-SANCHEZ
The Gazette

On July 15, 1986, 15-year-old Denise Alves was having a happy summer night with her family and friends.

Her baby brother Christopher Abeyta, just 7 months old, was the star of the gathering.

“He laughed really hard, he laughed with all his gut,” she said. “He was the youngest and was the focus of attention for the whole family.”

Read more: http://www.gazette.c...-dedicated.html

[porchlight]

http://www.koaa.com/...iew.asp?ID=5171
Abeyta files among evidence lost

News First has learned most of the evidence in the case of little Christopher Abeyta , missing for nearly 20 years, was destroyed by the Colorado Springs Police Department. As it turns about an officer looking for information last December was the first to figure out something was wrong. The Abeyta family didn't know about it until we told them Thursday.

Christopher Abeyta 's father, Gil was upset by the news. He told News First he always believed the clue to who took his baby son was somewhere in those files. "W hat happened here in Colorado Springs is a disgrace. It's a disgrace to the community, it's a disgrace to law enforcement," said Abeyta Thursday afternoon.

The Police Department's report on the missing evidence shows that a major crimes detective was following up on the Abeyta case when he discovered that most of the evidence was missing.

Gil Abetya and his wife have never given up hope of finding their son. Christopher was 7 months old when he disappeared from his own bedroom in the middle of the night in July, 1986.

The Police Chief in Colorado Springs may soon be subject to a "no confidence" vote according to several high level sources in the department. City Councilman Jerry Heimlicher says the fallout is just beginning. He's concerned that the head of Major Crimes was reassigned to an overnight shift a day after talking with Heimlicher. Heimlicher says he was told the move was unrelated, but he believes the timing is suspicious.
Posted By: Greg Boyce (Updated: 6/8/2006 5:45:37 PM)

[Lori Davis]

http://gazette.com/n...ScaYoGyp7CkK.99

Nearly three decades after Colorado Springs boy went missing, Christopher Abeyta's family seeks justice
By Andrea Sinclair Updated: November 26, 2013 at 2:03 pm • Published: November 24, 2013 | 8:35 pm

More than a quarter century after 7-month-old Christopher Abeyta went missing from his Colorado Springs home, family, friends and supporters braved below-freezing temperatures Sunday to ask the district attorney's office to convene a grand jury investigation about the disappearance.

With his 28th birthday approaching on Thanksgiving day, Christopher Abeyta's family felt the time was right to pressure District Attorney Dan May into moving forward with their son's case.

Bernice and Gil Abeyta, Christopher Abeyta's parents, and his sister Denise Alves, led the half-mile walk from the Police Operations Center in South Nevada Avenue to the District Attorney's Office in Vermijo Avenue, followed by people holding signs reading, "Justice for Christopher!" and "what if this was your child?"

"There are family, strangers, friends of friends, there are faces I don't know, which is awesome, because it's great to have that support," Alves said.

Christopher will be 28 on Thanksgiving day, so it was appropriate for us to do this for him this week. Christopher needs peace."

The district attorney's office could not be reached Sunday for comment.

When Christopher Abeyta went missing from his Cheyenne Hills home in southwestern Colorado Springs on July 15, 1986, every family member was investigated by detectives, which is standard practice. Eventually, Gil Abeyta said, police considered other suspects and leads, but an arrest was never made.

"It should've never gone this far. Bernice is optimistic and wants to believe that Christopher is alive, but I look at this case constantly, all the time.

We've always had one main suspect, and I believe that because of this, a grand jury needs to convene as soon as possible," Gil Abeyta said.

The Abeytas have circulated an online petition asking the district attorney's office to convene a grand jury investigation, gathering 2,338 signatures. National attention to her missing brother's case and the evidence collected over the past 27 years, Alves said, should be enough to help bring this matter to a resolution.

"It's been too long," Alves said. "The community in Colorado Springs experienced that crime; anyone who's been around for 27 years remembers it. There's no reason not to have a grand jury convene at this point."

Bernice Abeyta still holds out hope that she will be reunited with her seventh and youngest child, a baby she remembers as always happy. His mother said never giving up has gotten the family through every painful moment.

"You look at all the children that are found after so many years," Bernice Abeyta said. "Their families never gave up on them, and they worked with organizations and agencies, then they were found."

According to police records, Christopher Abeyta was abducted from his crib between 12:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. that day, without anyone in the home hearing or seeing anything suspicious.

"It's become a part of our life, we've never given up, and we've always been hopeful that Christopher is alive," Alves said. "Unfortunately, so many years have gone by that hope has diminished that we haven't found him, and he may not even be here anymore. We want those answers, that's all we want. We want the truth, and we want justice."

[Kelly]

CHRISTOPHER ABEYTA

DOB:  Nov 28, 1985
Missing:  Jul 15, 1986
Age at time of disappearance: 7 months
Sex:  Male
Race:  White
Hair:  Blonde
Eyes:  Blue
Height:  2'2" (66 cm)
Weight:  17 lbs (8 kg)
Missing From:
COLORADO SPRINGS
CO
United States

Age Progressed
 
The photo on the right is a composite image of how Christopher may look at age 27. He was taken from his parents' bedroom between 12:30-2:30 a.m.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado Springs Police Department (Colorado) 1-719-444-7000 Or Your Local FBI

View Poster

[Kelly]

http://www.kktv.com/...-346469952.html
 
UPDATE: Jury Sides With Woman Who Sued Family Of Missing Boy

Updated: Fri 5:33 AM, Nov 13, 2015

UPDATE (11/12): The family of a missing boy must pay more than $155,000 in damages to the woman they accused of being a suspect. That woman, Emma Bradshaw, filed a civil lawsuit for defamation of character. The jury sided with her.

Christopher Abeyta disappeared from his crib nearly three decades ago from his Colorado Springs home. Police have never named a suspect. The Abeyta family has always believed it was Bradshaw.

After the verdict was read, Christopher Abeyta's family told us they were disappointed. They said everything they've done is to try to find answers about the disappearance of baby Christopher.

The jury sided with the Abeyta family over Facebook posts Christopher's sister, Denise Alves, made about Bradshaw.

"It's all information that she either received from her parent's investigation, the police investigation, the public records," said the Abeyta's attorney Rick Bednarski.

But the jury said the family went too far when Alves sent an email to Bradshaw's boss. It cost Bradshaw her job. Now Alves has to pay for it.

"It's just disappointing in the fact that I intended no harm with my email that I sent to Mr. Spicer," Alves said. "It was just to gather information about, to find more information about my brother."

The Abeyta family's attorney explained the ruling.

"The jury found that there was one defamatory statement and it did not relate to the Facebook posts," Rick Bednarski said. "It was a statement that was in the email letter to Mr. Spicer. ... That was the only statement that was defamatory. They gave her a $1 nominal damage on that.

"The second aspect which is obviously the one that we’re very disappointed about is on the intentional interference on a contract. They found that Denise’s intent when sending that letter was to interfere with her employment contract and then because she lost her job, they awarded her economic damages of $155,000.”

The Abeyta family filed a countersuit, but it was rejected.

The family tells us their focus is still the same.

"Christopher will be 30 years old this month, and we've never stopped our search and we don't intend on stopping our search for answers," said Alves.

11 News tried to talk with Emma Bradshaw after court. Her attorney told us, "It's a sad situation all around and out of respect for the Abeyta family, they don't want to comment."

_______________________________________
PREVIOUS STORY (11/11): The back and forth accusations over a missing baby boy will come to a head Thursday. 11 News has confirmed the family of Christopher Abeyta will be back in court battling a lawsuit filed against them.

Christopher disappeared from his crib in Colorado Springs nearly 30 years ago. We've told you before that a woman filed a lawsuit against Christopher's family because they accused her of being a suspect.

Thursday, the lawyers will have one last chance in their closing statements. There's been no coverage of this trial until now.

Christopher Abeyta's family tells 11 News they don't want to comment on the case until it's over, but we've talked to them in the past about the mystery of baby Christopher.

Twenty-nine years ago, in 1986, at just seven months old, Christopher Abeyta disappeared from his crib in Colorado Springs. We've talked to his family over the years.

"I never anticipated that we'd ever go 30 years you know, I figured it was just around the corner, somebody's going to give up or something like that," said Christopher's father, Gil Abeyta.

"Someone came into our house and snatched him from his crib and he was gone," said Christopher's sister, Denise Alves. "We've never seen him since."

Thursday, the jury will hear closing statements in the civil suit.

Emma Bradshaw sued Christopher's family for defamation of character because they say Bradshaw is a suspect in Christopher's disappearance, despite the fact that police have never named a suspect.

Bradshaw reportedly had an affair with Christopher's father, Gil. Bradshaw said Christopher's family members went as far as sending an email to her boss that cost her her job.

The Abeytas said Bradshaw is abusing the court process and fired back with a countersuit for what it's costing them to fight this case.

All the while, decades later, the grief remains.

"The only answer we want is where is he -- is he dead or alive?" said Gil.

Again, police have never named a suspect in the disappearance of Christopher. We'll let you know what happens in the case.

You can see a composite picture on the right side of your screen showing what Christopher Abeyta might look like. If you have any information, you can call the Colorado Springs Police Department or call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

[Kelly]

http://kdvr.com/2016...ng-a-loved-one/

Families don’t give up hope after 30 years of missing a loved one

Posted 5:12 pm, August 6, 2016, by Joe St. George

DENVER -- While Mona Blee, Jean Rahier Langness, and Bernice Abeyta live in very different places, all have a unique and tragic bond.

Each mother, for on average 30 years, has been looking for a lost child.

On Saturday, all attended a first of its kind gathering in Denver aimed at helping families of missing persons. The Longmont Police Department served as the primary coordinator. Investigators re-interviewed families and provided tips on what they can to help their cases.

“I want answers, I want to know what happened to my son,” Langness told FOX31's Joe St. George.

Langness’ son Robert Rahier went missing in Colorado Springs in 1990.

“I didn’t know we could take that step and talk to various supervisors,” Langness added.

Mona Blee learned about a canine program that searches remote areas for free.

Blee’s daughter Marie went missing in 1979 while attending a dance in Craig, CO.

“That’s something we haven’t been able to do is get a dog,” Blee said.

As for Bernice Abeyta, she is just grateful to attend an event where she feels her son is not forgotten.

Abeyta’s son Christopher was snatched from his crib in 1986.

“I loved meeting with the parents of other missing children – we encourage each other a lot,’ Abeyta said.

There are currently over 1300 missing persons cases in Colorado.