60 replies to this topic

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/21/05
by Kelly

 

 

Age progressed to 18 years

DOB: Dec 26, 1991
Missing: Mar 10, 2005
Age Now: 13
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)
Missing From:
FOLEY
MO
United States


Both photos shown are of Bianca. She left her home around 6:15 p.m. on March 10, 2005 to go for a walk. She was last seen walking on McIntosh Hill Road in Foley, Missouri. Bianca has scars on her arms and legs, a scar on her abdomen, and pierced ears. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a gray Adidas sweatshirt, and white sneakers. Her nickname is "B". Bianca may be in need of medical attention. / 

[Dan's notes 05/26/07: the 2ndr picture above is the original picture on the poster and has been replaced with then age progressed picture below as reported in post # 28 of Bianca]

[img width=320 height=400]http://www.missingki...MC1009521e1.jpg[/img]

Lincoln County Sheriff's Office (Missouri) 1-636-528-8546 or 1-636-528-6100

Print a poster: http://www.projectja...BiancaPiper.pdf

Print a Poster
http://www.missingki....archLang=en_US

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/21/05
by Kelly



http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=76733

Bianca Piper Case Gets National Help
created: 3/15/2005 5:28 PM
updated: 3/16/2005 1:13:40 PM

(KSDK) -- Bianca Piper, 13, vanished almost a week ago. On Tuesday, her parents spoke to national and local media in an attempt to bring more attention to the case.

Bianca's parents say they are getting help from people around the region. Bianca's mother says she recently talked to Shawn Hornbeck's mother, since both are still looking for a missing child. Shannon Tanner says she was encouraged and simply told to not lose hope.

The Bianca Piper case is also getting some national help from an organization founded to find and protect children.

The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children has activated its "Team Adam Project" and one of its consultants is no stranger to tough cases around here.

Joe Burgoon has brought his 27 years as a St. Louis police homicide investigator to the front of the Bianca Noel Piper case. Retired and now a consultant for the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children's "Team Adam Project," Burgoon says time may be the key to this case.

"Team Adam" is a rapid response concept that is privately funded. The project covers the cost of hundreds of thousands of flyers that are now posted throughout the area, with Bianca's picture.

"The efforts of volunteers is getting the flyers where they need to be, inside schools, in restaurants, in gas stations and convenience stores," said Burgoon.

They have faxed 120,000 flyers nationwide and offered counseling free of charge to members of the missing teens family.

"The Adam Project" was named for 6-year-old Adam Walsh, who in 1981 was abducted and murdered in Hollywood, Florida.

Since then, the center has consulted with police and sheriff's departments on how to best search for missing children, and support their parents.

Burgoon says shock may be one reason why Bianca's piper's mother has been relatively unseen in the search for her daughter, until today.

"They're just devastated their worried, they don't know where to turn," said Burgoon.

Lincoln County authorities say the search for Bianca has now covered 150 square miles. On Tuesday hundreds of volunteers and professional search teams are continuing to search dense, forested areas near water.

Sheriff Dan Torres says his department shares many of "Team Adam" suggestions, and is staying close to the family. "We have an actual detective assigned to them, and a victims advocate assigned to them and they go with them everywhere they go, they keep them aware of everything."

Along with retired FBI agent Bill Raynor, Burgoon says his center will keep him on the case, as long as necessary.

The National Center For Missing And Exploited Children was created in 1984, since then it's helped return more than 71,000 children to their families.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/24/05
by Kelly



http://www.ksdk.com

Foundation Offers Reward In Bianca Piper Case
created: 3/23/2005 4:11:09 PM
updated: 3/23/2005 4:14:13 PM

(KSDK) — Lincoln County investigators hope a $5,000 reward will bring new leads in the search for Bianca Piper, 13.

Police say they are actively working the case, but they've received few leads in the last several days.

They say every day that passes, it's less likely that Bianca is in the area, because they would have recovered some type of evidence.

They say the money could lead to new tips.

Lincoln County Sheriff Dan Torres explained, "It helps some people who are a little reluctant, you know, to come forward. It does help in these matters because there is some information people don't think is that important but really it is. Anything at all can benefit us in the case."

"I ask anybody please who has information about my daughter," said Bianca's mother, Shannon Tanner, as she displayed photo of her daughter, "I miss her very much. Please help us get her home safely to her family."

The reward was posted by the Carole Sund Karrington Foundation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/28/05
by Kelly



http://www.stltoday.com

Clues are lacking in girl's case
By Susan Weich

Of the Post-Dispatch
03/27/2005

Lincoln County authorities have yet to find a trace of 13-year-old Bianca Piper, who disappeared 18 days ago while she was walking near her home in Foley.
Searchers have not been able to find any personal items belonging to the girl or anyone who saw Bianca walking on the road that night.

"That's the most puzzling part," said Sheriff Dan Torres. "It's a big stretch of road and yeah, it doesn't have a lot of traffic, but there's enough that you would think somebody saw something."


Bianca was dropped off by her mother about a mile from their home on March 10 in the hope that walking back to their residence would give Bianca a chance to calm down.

The girl suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder and takes several medications to help control her mood swings and aggressive tendencies. Bianca's mother said mental health counselors had recommended the walks.

Torres said that the lack of evidence was frustrating for detectives, who have been working on the case 12 to 15 hours a day since the girl's disappearance. Even the announcement of a $5,000 reward last week had failed to generate any real leads.

He said that detectives had constructed a timeline based on information they had gathered and had re-enacted the incident on videotape. They also checked to see how far Bianca could have traveled from the point where she was dropped off until her mother returned to look for her about 20 minutes later.

"But after doing all that we're not coming up with anything better than what we had when we started," Torres said.

As a result, Torres said his department would scale back its investigation to two detectives this week from the 10 who had been working the case.

Torres said that after exhausting about 130 leads, most of the information coming into the department now consists of theories, a number of which have been from psychics.

"We check into them all because you never know," he said. "Even a little bit of information is valuable at this point, so something they say might turn us in a different direction."

Torres said he planned to ask experts with the FBI to review the case, too.

Police suspect Bianca could be a victim of foul play due to the lack of any solid leads combined with the fact that no one remembers seeing her.

In the week after Bianca disappeared, volunteers and emergency personnel searched more than 270 square miles - nearly half of Lincoln County. Last week, volunteers continued the search, concentrating efforts in the area where Bianca was dropped off. On Saturday, another extensive search by 64 volunteers under the guidance of the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation turned up no new leads.

Bianca has brown eyes and curly brown hair; she is 5 feet 6 inches and weighs 185 pounds. She last was seen wearing blue jeans, white tennis shoes with purple stripes and a gray Adidas hooded sweat shirt.

The Center for Missing & Exploited Children has been featuring information about Bianca on its Web site, as has America's Most Wanted, which also showed Bianca's photograph on its weekly show.

Anyone with information about Bianca is asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department at 636-528-8546.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 04/05/05
by Kelly



www.ksdk.com/news/news_ar...ryid=77408

Missing Girl's Family Says Search Is Not Over
created: 3/30/2005 12:46:02 PM
updated: 3/30/2005 4:14:11 PM

(KSDK) — It has been nearly three weeks since Bianca Piper, 13, disappeared near her home in Foley, in Lincoln County.

She was last seen walking toward her home on McCintosh Lane in Foley after her mother dropped her off early in the evening of March 10.

In the days right after her disappearance there was an extensive search for Bianca. Since then, interest has waned.

That's why Guy Young, Bianca's grandfather, is asking for volunteers, to keep coming out to help in new searches. He says there are rumors the search has concluded, but that's not true. Volunteers are still needed for weekend searches.

A small group of searchers continue to look for her, but the searching will no longer take place on weekdays.

Instead, Bianca's family is asking for searchers to help on weekends, and to have patience as they search.

Young explains, "People get frustrated, but we have to remember we're just looking for one little piece of evidence involving Bianca, and we just have to go slow."

Sign up to search on the weekend by calling 636-668-6262.

Orange safety vests are needed for the search volunteers. If you can help, please call 636-668-6262.

If you think you may have information on Bianca's disappearance, you're asked to call the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department at 636- 528-8546.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 04/05/05
by Kelly



www.amw.com

Missing Missouri Girl

Bianca's parents, Shannon Tanner and David Piper, are trying to contribute to the search in any way possible.Bianca Tanner is a little girl with a big medical record. Police say the 13-year-old suffered from bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They say her mood swings would often leave her very angry. Her therapists had always said walking off anger was beneficial for Bianca, and her family often took their doctors' advice, allowing the child to go on walks in her hometown of Foley, Missouri alone.

So police say on March 10, 2005, when Bianca and her mother got into an argument over cleaning up the dinner dishes, Bianca went for a walk. Her mother says she dropped Bianca off about a mile from home with a flashlight, hoping the walk back would calm her daughter. But this time, Bianca did not return home.

Bianca was last seen walking on McIntosh Hill Road wearing blue jeans, white sneakers, and a grey Adidas hooded sweatshirt. Her mental disorders reduce her social capacities to that of a 7-year-old, and require her to take medication daily. Without her medication she becomes incredibly disoriented and could have hallucinations.

Investigators and Bianca's parents are extremely worried about the child--and authorities have issued an alert alert due to the extremely cold weather in Missouri and her mental disabilities.


"We're going to leave no stone unturned."
The Search Yields No Evidence
Bianca's case has captured both national and local attention. The Lincoln County Sheriff's office searched the area around Bianca's home. They were assisted by Eureka Fire Protection District's Equine Search and Rescue Team, Lincoln County Fire and Rescue, St. Charles County Mobile Command, and Helicopters from the Missouri Highway Patrol and Airevac.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's office organized a man-powered search using over 100 men on foot, police dogs, and helicopters to search the hills, woods, and gullies near Bianca's home. Simultaneously the department set up a series of check points for motorists on Bianca's long gravel road. Unfortunately no motorists caught a glimpse of Bianca.

After the local search failed to turn up any evidence of Bianca's whereabouts, investigators broadened the search to include nearby caves, thinking she might retreat to a enclosed area due to Missouri's wintry weather.

Although there have been over 270 miles searched and 15,000 man hours dedicated to finding her, Bianca is still missing. Volunteers are passing out flyers, and she has been profiled by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Authorities are still hoping that Bianca has not become the victim of foul play.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 04/14/05
by Kelly



http://www.ksdk.com

One Month After Girl Disappears, Still No Trace Of Her
created: 4/11/2005 12:25:05 PM
updated: 4/11/2005 4:30:21 PM


(KSDK) - One month after Bianca Piper's disappearance, her family and friends refuse to give up hope she'll be found alive.

The 13 year old was last seen walking toward her home on McCintosh Lane after her mother dropped her off the evening March 10.

Authorities called off the official search for Bianca a couple of weeks ago. Family and friends continue to scour parts of Lincoln County, searching for the teenager.

To sign up for this weekend's search, call 636-668-6262.

To report information in the case, call the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department at 636-528-8546.

There is a $5,000 reward for information that helps find Bianca Piper.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 04/15/05
by Kelly



11:12 PM CDT on Thursday, April 14, 2005

By ELLEN CHANG / KMOV-TV



WINFIELD, Mo. -- The CBS show, "Without a Trace," aired a segment Thursday on a missing 13-year-old girl from Lincoln County.



http://www.kmov.com/


Bianca Nicole Piper disappeared March 10 after her mother gave her a flashlight and drove her less than a mile from home. She then told the girl to walk home to vent her frustrations.

Shannon Tanner says she did so on the advice of mental health specialists.

Tanner says that each day search teams do not find her daughter's remains in the woods, it gives her hope that Bianca is still alive.

Tanner also said she never anticipated the tumultuous turn her life would take following what she thought was an ordinary evening.

"I don't feel like I made a poor choice. I feel that we had it under control," Tanner said. "It worked well the night before, so I was confident that it would work again."

Tanner struggles to understand the controversy surrounding the decision to leave her daughter unattended.

"It's really not much different than a mother telling kids to go outside and play or letting a teenager walk to a friend's house."

Bianca apparently was upset about doing chores on the night she disappeared. Tanner says it was Bianca who requested taking another walk that night and to be dropped off even further from where she was dropped off the evening before.

Tanner says she suspects someone who watched her drop off Bianca abducted the child. She is concerned how the passing of time without medication could impact her daughter. Bianca spent her early childhood hospitalized for a severe form of bipolar disorder.

Tanner says the challenges of raising a mentally unstable child pale in comparison to the anguish of losing her.

"I love her so much and it didn't matter how hard it was to take care of her. I knew there was help if i needed help and I sought out the help. I took care of her the best I could."

The family is clinging to hope. After a month of unsuccessful leads, it appears there is little else they can depend on.

There is a $5,000 reward for tips leading to Bianca's return r the arrest of a kidnapper.

The ground search for Bianca is now limited to weekends but the search will be called off entirely at the end of the month.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 06/10/05
by Kelly



http://www.stltoday.com

Town holds out hope for missing girl
By Tim Bryant
Of the Post-Dispatch
06/09/2005

A purple ribbon is tied to the stop sign on McIntosh Hill Road at Highway Y, west of Foley.

More ribbons, meant to signify a missing child, appear on fence posts along the hilly gravel road in eastern Lincoln County. More than three dozen ribbons are tied to cedar trees that line Bianca Piper's front yard. She is the 13-year-old girl who vanished three months ago today.

Bianca's mother, Shannon Tanner, said Thursday she remained hopeful someone would find her daughter. She reported Bianca missing the night of March 10. She told authorities she had driven the girl about a mile from their home and dropped her off with instructions to walk home. Tanner said her hope was that the walk would give Bianca time to calm down from a family dispute over doing the dinner dishes. She has said counselors had advised her to do this to diffuse problems.

Bianca's disappearance prompted a wide search by hundreds of law enforcement officials and volunteers. Searchers on foot, horseback and in helicopters examined miles of woods, fields and streams without turning up a clue. Bianca was gone without a trace. Advertisement


Of immediate concern after Bianca vanished was her need for medication to treat her bipolar and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Bianca attended special school classes but in many ways acted like a normal teen, Tanner has said.

Lt. Rick Harrell of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said this week that while an organized search was long over, investigators were still seeking tips.

"We haven't been able to rule anything out," Harrell said. "We don't have tunnel vision on anything."

But he acknowledged the case "has pretty much broken down to nothing."

Harrell said authorities were aware of a domestic dispute last month between Tanner and her boyfriend, Jim Felt, but were satisfied it had no link to Bianca's disappearance. Tanner filed a complaint against Felt, but they have since reconciled and remain at Felt's home on McIntosh Hill Road, she said.

Tanner divorced Bianca's father, David Piper, a truck driver who lives in Fredericktown, Mo., in 1993.

The girl's case remains on the Web site of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Bianca's family has offered a $5,000 reward for information.

She remains on the minds of many of Foley's approximately 175 residents, said Judy Nealy, who works the cash register at The Pink Store, a general store in a pink building on Highway 79. She keeps a flier about Bianca's case under the store's clear plastic countertop.

"She's kind of slow but acts like a normal teenager," Nealy said. "She's a big girl. If you saw her walking down the road, you'd probably think she's a grownup. Everybody wonders what happened."

Mona Shawmeker, an O'Fallon, Mo., resident who lived in Foley for 18 years, said authorities should still be searching for the girl. She said she feared Bianca had either been murdered or abducted and forced into prostitution.

Shawmeker mentioned another unsolved case from Lincoln County, that of Arlin Henderson, who was 11 when he vanished July 25, 1991. He was last seen that afternoon riding his bicycle near Ethlyn.

Tanner said a psychic from New York has provided tips on where to search for Bianca and clues about a brown minivan that may have been used to abduct her.

"I'm kind of excited about this," Tanner said.

She said Bianca's grandfather planned to search areas the psychic indicated. Tanner, a nursing home worker, added that she was eager to grab at anything that might show what has happened to her daughter.

"I feel excited and scared at the same time, if you can imagine what that might feel like," Tanner said.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 06/29/05
by Kelly


http://www.stltoday.com

Law & Order: Mother of missing girl is charged with assault


06/28/2005

ST. LOUIS
Mother of missing girl is charged with assault

The mother of a missing Lincoln County girl has been charged with domestic assault after police say she hit another daughter in the head with a curling iron and threatened to tie her up and lock her in a bedroom.

Shannon M. Tanner, 38, of the 1000 block of McIntosh Hill Road in Foley, was released after posting $25,000 bond.

Her 14-year-old daughter, Bianca Piper, has been missing since March 10, after Tanner dropped the girl about a mile from their home with instructions to walk home. Tanner said she hoped the walk would give Bianca time to calm down from a family dispute over doing the dinner dishes. She has said counselors had advised her to do this to defuse problems.

Last month, authorities responded to a domestic dispute between Tanner and her live-in boyfriend, Jim Felt. Tanner had filed a complaint against Felt, but dropped it after the two reconciled.

Lt. Rick Harrell of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, said that police view both domestic incidents as separate disputes that are not related to Bianca's disappearance.

In the most recent incident, deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department were called to the home about 10:15 p.m. Saturday and heard shouting coming from inside the residence. When officers got inside, they say Tanner was on top of her 17-year-old daughter, holding her face to the ground.

Police saw a large bump on the girl's forehead, and say she told them her mother had yanked a curling iron from her hands, struck her with it and repeatedly punched her in the head.

The girl told police that Tanner then threatened to get a rope and "tie her up and lock her in the back bedroom," but Felt told her not to do that. When the girl tried to dial 911, Tanner ripped the phone from the wall, police say.

Deputies arrested Tanner and while they were escorting her outside, police say she told them that her daughter had thrown a glass dish at her. At one point, Tanner shoved a deputy and reached for some of the broken glass on the ground, police said. Another deputy used a Taser to subdue Tanner, and she complied with authorities afterward.

The Division of Family Services was contacted about the incident, police say, but the status of the girl and her 15-year-old sister is unknown. Tanner could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 09/13/05
by Kelly



Mother of missing girl clings to fading hope

09/12/2005
By Susan Weich
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

FOLEY -- Six months after 13-year-old Bianca Piper disappeared without a trace near her home in Lincoln County, her mother knows hope is fading that Bianca will be found alive.

"I'm torn between wanting and not wanting to know," said her mother, Shannon Tanner. "I'd almost rather think she's out there somewhere and not know where she's at than know something terrible has happened."

Bianca has been missing since Tanner dropped the girl off about a mile from their home in Foley on a cold night in March. Tanner thought that walking back to their residence would give Bianca a chance to calm down after an argument.

The girl suffers from bipolar and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and uses several medications to help control her mood swings and aggressive tendencies. Tanner said that a mental health therapist had recommended the walks but that Tanner had used the idea only once before - the night before Bianca disappeared.

Tanner said that on the first night, Bianca had met her with a packed bag when her mother got home from work and said she wanted to go to the hospital because she could feel herself losing control. Bianca had been hospitalized previously when doctors needed to adjust her medication, Tanner said.

She encouraged Bianca to try taking a walk instead.

"She came back, was happy, felt better and did her chores," Tanner said. "We had a great evening together, and she didn't mention going to the hospital anymore."

So when Tanner got home the night of March 10 and Bianca did not want to wash dishes, Tanner drove the girl down their gravel road and dropped her off with a flashlight just past a bridge that spans a creek.

247 exhausted leads

Bianca never returned, and police have exhausted 247 leads trying to find her. Authorities have not been able to confirm even one legitimate sighting of Bianca. The lack of evidence points to foul play, police say.

Tanner has been criticized for leaving her daughter to walk home alone, and some postings on Internet message boards have even speculated that she was involved in her daughter's disappearance. Police have questioned Tanner as well as her live-in boyfriend, Jim Felt, and consider neither of them suspects.

Tanner said that had not stopped the suspicions or cruel comments. Recently, a new co-worker who did not know who she was, but learned where she lived, asked how close her home was to where Bianca went missing. When she told him she lived right there, he said he thought Bianca's mother had killed her.

"I said, 'Really? What makes you say that?'" Tanner said. "And he said, 'Because she didn't cry enough in the first few days of the interviews.' I told him that I was Bianca's mother and that I did not hurt my daughter."

In the ensuing months, Tanner has used whatever means she had available to her to cope with her daughter's disappearance.

Initially, she had the support of legions of volunteers and emergency personnel who searched more than 270 square miles - nearly half of Lincoln County - for Bianca.

The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation lent a hand as did Rachelfind and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which offered a consultant to aid the team of Lincoln County sheriff's detectives investigating the case.

National exposure

The TV shows "America's Most Wanted" and "Without A Trace" featured Bianca's case, and her image was sent out on thousands of postcards and fliers that reached as far as Maryland.

Tanner gave the search a personal touch when she strung a set of lights designed by Bianca's idol, Hilary Duff, in the front room window to guide Bianca home.

Tanner's mother, Carol Young, blanketed homeless shelters with e-mails about Bianca.

The women sought the counsel of psychics, who in one case told Tanner that Bianca had been picked up in a van by a sex offender and in another told Young that Bianca was not alive.

But six months later, the only new lead is an unidentified corpse found recently on Kaskaskia Island in Illinois. A forensics expert will compare Bianca's dental records with the remains, those of a female between the ages of 13 and 20, police said.

Undaunted, Tanner recently worked with police to make an updated flier about Bianca and used money raised mostly from family members to post a $10,000 reward. The money is in addition to a $5,000 reward offered by a private foundation.

Tanner also has planned a vigil from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday near their home on McIntosh Hill Road where Bianca was last seen. Tanner has had special T-shirts made up with Bianca's image. She spearheaded an effort to start a Web site, www.findbianca.org where people can post leads about Bianca.

Tanner says that Bianca is always on her mind.

"Some days, I cry all the way to work," she said. "And there have been a couple of days where I haven't even been able to work."

She worries that some personal difficulties she has had since Bianca disappeared might stop people from caring about her daughter.

In May, Tanner filed for a restraining order against Felt but dropped it after the two reconciled.

Two months later, Tanner was charged with assaulting her 18-year-old daughter, who also suffers from a bipolar disorder in addition to schizophrenia.

Her daughter had stopped taking her medication, and Tanner said that when police arrived, she was trying to keep the girl from hurting herself. The Division of Family Services removed Tanner's third daughter, 15, from their home afterward, and she is living with Young now.

Police say they believe the incidents are unrelated to Bianca's disappearance, but Tanner is concerned about what others might think.

"I don't want people to stop caring because they think the family is messed up or that I might have something to do with it," she said. "There's a little girl missing, and we need to find her."

http://www.stltoday.com/

[Dan]

Originally posted on 09/13/05
by Kelly



Six Months Later, Hope Fading In Search For Bianca Piper
created: 9/13/2005 9:55:01 AM
updated: 9/13/2005 10:06:00 AM

FOLEY, Mo. (AP) -- Shannon Tanner is torn between wanting to know, and not wanting to know, whether her daughter is still alive.

It has been six months since Bianca Piper, 13, disappeared in March after Tanner dropped the girl off about a mile from their Lincoln County home, thinking the walk would give Bianca time to calm down after an argument.

Bianca suffers from bipolar and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and uses several medications to help control her mood swings and aggressive tendencies. A mental health therapist had recommended the walks.

In the half-year since Bianca's disappearance, police have exhausted 247 leads. Authorities have not confirmed even one legitimate sighting, and say the lack of evidence points to foul play.


http://www.ksdk.com

[Dan]

Originally posted on 10/07/05
by Kelly



http://www.belleville.com

Posted on Fri, Oct. 07, 2005

Mother of missing girl pleads guilty to striking another daughter

Associated Press


TROY, Mo. - The mother of an eastern Missouri teenager missing since March has been placed on probation for two years for assaulting another daughter.

Shannon Tanner, 38, of Foley, was also ordered to avoid contact with the victim for the duration of her probation. Tanner pleaded guilty to domestic assault and was sentenced Thursday in Lincoln County.

Tanner's daughter, Bianca Piper, 14, has been missing since March 10. In that case, Tanner told authorities she dropped the girl about a mile from their home with instructions to walk home, hoping to give her a chance to calm down after a dispute over doing dinner dishes.

Tanner said it was a practice counselors had advised.

Deputies were called to Tanner's home in June. They said they found her on top of her 17-year-old daughter, holding her face to the ground.

Police said Tanner yanked a curling iron from her hands, struck her with it and punched her in the head.

The girl told police that Tanner then threatened to get a rope and "tie her up and lock her in the back bedroom." When the girl tried to dial 911, Tanner ripped the phone from the wall, police said.

Police said they did not view the domestic incidents as related to Bianca's disappearance.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 12/27/05
by w84mee



December 26th, 2005

Today is Bianca's 14th birthday. We here at Project Jason have her and her family in our thoughts on this difficult day.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/10/06
by Denise



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...5?OpenDocument

One year later, family still hopes to find Bianca Piper

By Susan Weich
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/09/2006

Thousands of fliers, 338 exhausted leads, but zero sightings: The numbers in the case of a teenage girl who seemingly vanished into thin air a year ago leave little hope.

Bianca Noel Piper was 13 when her mother, Shannon Tanner, drove her to a bridge on McIntosh Hill Road the evening of March 10 and let her out of the car. Tanner thought walking the mile back to their residence would give Bianca a chance to calm down after a quarrel.

The girl suffers from bipolar and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, and the walks were recommended by a mental health therapist, Tanner said.

Bianca never returned.

Talking about her daughter's disappearance is difficult, Tanner said this week.

"Emotionally, I don't think I'm in a place where I can do any interviews right now," she said. "I'm having a real hard time even thinking about the day."

She said she wanted to get Bianca's picture out again so that people are reminded that she is still missing but said she needed to take care of herself, too.

"I don't really know what else I would say anyway," she said. "Nothing has changed; there's nothing new. And that's what so depressing about it."

To mark the anniversary of her disappearance, Bianca's family is planning a candlelight vigil at 6 tonight on the bridge where she was last seen. Anyone who wishes to attend is welcome.

Lincoln County sheriff's detectives say that while they don't work daily on the case because of the lack of new information, they are taking a fresh look at the evidence, hoping to find a lead.

Initially, legions of volunteers and emergency personnel searched more than 270 square miles - nearly half of Lincoln County - for Bianca.

The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation lent a hand as did Rachelfind and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The TV shows "America's Most Wanted" and "Without A Trace" featured Bianca's case, and thousands of postcards and fliers carried her image.

Because of the national media coverage, detectives have had potential sightings as far away as Portland, Ore., but when witnesses are interviewed, their descriptions don't match Bianca's.

"The message is getting out across the country that we're missing a girl in Foley, Mo.," Detective Chris Bartlett said. "We're just coming up short every time."

Bartlett and Detective Lt. Michael Lang say they aren't ruling out any theories yet for fear that they may end up missing something.

But they do believe that if someone took Bianca, he or she probably was a local resident.

"I think that's more likely than somebody traveling through the area by chance on a small county road," Bartlett said. "As far as saying there's foul play, I would suspect it absolutely because there's no other reasonable explanation."

Bianca's father, David Piper, who is divorced from Tanner, says he's been calling police at least twice a week to check on any leads and still hands out fliers regularly at businesses near his Pevely home.

"Bianca, I love her to death," he said. "I got her picture right here. It makes me want to just bust out crying."

Piper said that every day has been hard for him but especially the Christmas holidays because Bianca's birthday is Dec. 26. He says he copes by talking about developments in the case with his friends, but what he really wants is closure.

"It's ruining everybody's life not being able to see her anymore or know what happened to her or know if she's been tortured or what," he said.

The last time the two talked was the night she disappeared. He said they ended the conversation with "I love you."

"I sure would like to have my little girl back," he said.

Anyone with information about Bianca's disappearance is asked to call the sheriff's department at 636-528-8546.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 03/12/06
by Kelly



http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=93541

Missing Foley, Missouri Teen Remembered On Anniversary Of Her Disappearance

created: 3/10/2006 10:40:32 PM
updated: 3/10/2006 10:45:02 PM

One year ago, then thirteen-year-old Bianca Piper disappeared after her mother said she dropped her off on a bridge near her home in Lincoln County, Missouri.

Friday night, more than a dozen people gathered for a prayer service on the remote McIntosh Road bridge, near Foley. Quoting from scripture, Pastor Jim Blue, of Sunrise United Methodist Church, had words of encouragement for Bianca's loved ones. "Later in that same chapter, Chapter 8, Paul says, 'If God is for us, who can be against us... Does it mean He no longer loves us, if we have trouble, or calamity?'"

Despite continuing their investigation, Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies have no new leads. Bianca's family says they believe someone knows what happened to her, and they are hoping the one-year anniversary of her disappearance prompts someone to come forward.

Bianca's grandfather, Guy Young, said, "That's all I can hope for right now. Somebody knows something. And I'm just hoping they'll open their heart enough to let out a little information."

One of Bianca's grandmothers, Carol Young, lead those in attendance in the Lord's Prayer. "Give us this day, our daily bread..." Later, overwhelmed with grief, Young was comforted by friends.

There is a ten-thousand dollar reward for information about what happened to Bianca Piper.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 0822/06
by Dan


Bianca Piper will be featured on the television program "Missing".

http://www.usamissing.com

The show will air the week of August 21, 2006, and in most areas, is shown on the following weekend.

Please check out which station airs the program in your area by visiting the following link.

http://www.usamissing.com/findus.htm

Then check out the station's site (provided in the above link) for the exact day and time the show airs.

All the following adults and children will be featured on this episode.

Patricia Freeman-Wright, Monica Carrasco, Cassandra Sanchez, Rosa Sanchez, Yesenia Sanchez, Irwin Stewart, Stella Moss, Christina Battin, Garrett Bardsley, Bonnie Cale, Samantha Burns, Justin Harris, Tracy Byrd, Trevor Angell, Fred Wright, Sarah Avon, Lakeisha Archie, Kurtis Patterson, Georgina DeJesus, Rene Romero, Muhammed Saad Siddiqui, Anna-Marie Erts, Craig Frear, Bianca Piper, Rachel White, Christopher Gulbraa, Michael Gulbraa.


http://www.usamissing.com/index_files/Page733.htm

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/13/07
by Kelly




http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_articl...storyid=110829

Families Of Other Missing Children Celebrate, Raise Hopes

Last updated: 1/13/2007 12:59:05 AM

KSDK - As the Hornbeck and Ownby families celebrate, three different families say it's bittersweet. All have their own children who are still missing.

13-year old Bianca Piper disappeared near her home in Foley, Missouri in March of 2005.

Bianca's mother says she dropped the girl off about a mile from home, to let her calm down after an emotional discussion. Authorities have been combing through hundreds of leads.

Bianca's mother says she's hopeful Bianca's still alive. "Shawn's been missing for 4 years. I didn't think we'd ever see him come back home. Bianca's been missing for 2. And it gives me hope she's still alive out there somewhere too," she says.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for Bianca's safe return

Please continue to read at the link provided.

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/14/07
by Denise



STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County

Other missing child cases in recent years

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/12/2007

UPDATE: at 5 p.m.

Other prominent missing child cases in the St. Louis Metro Area in recent years include:

Bianca Noel Piper, disappeared March 10, 2006. Bianca, 13, was let out of the car to walk about a mile to her home in Lincoln County near Foley — something a mental health professional had suggested and her mother had done before to let her calm down after a quarrel. She has not been seen since. Call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office, 636-528-8546, with information.

Cermen Lamount Toney Jr., disappeared Nov. 6, 2005. Cermen, 4, and his baby-sitter, 19-year-old Anquiaette M. Parker, who was eight months pregnant, were last seen in the State Park Place area near Collinsville. Call Illinois State Police, 618-346-3700, with information.

Christian Ferguson, disappeared June 11, 2003. Christian, 9, was last seen in an SUV with his father, Dawan Ferguson. The father called 911 and told police that the SUV was stolen when he stopped to make a phone call at Skinker & Page. The vehicle was found two hours later, but Christian wasn’t inside. Call North Patrol detectives, 314-444-0072, with information.

Shawn Hornbeck, disappeared October 6, 2002. Police announced that he was found on Jan. 12. Shawn was 11 at the time he disappeared. He had been last seen riding his bicycle about half a mile from his home in Richwoods, Mo., in Washington County. Call the Washington County Sheriff’s office, 573-438-5478, with information.

Heather Kullorn, disappeared July 15, 1999. Heather, 12, was baby-sitting the infant daughter of family friends in Richmond Heights. The baby’s father said he came home to find the infant alone and Heather gone. Call Richmond Heights police, 314-645-3000, with information.

Donna Jean Mezo, disappeared February 18, 1992. Donna, 16, was last seen near a fast-food restaurant in Belleville. Her boyfriend was questioned by police and took a lie-detector test, but was himself found dead a few months later. A suicide note was found with the body, but the gun he’d been shot with was in a nearby lake. Call 618-234-1212 with information.

Arlin Henderson, disappeared July 25, 1991. Arlin, 11, went to ride his bicycle near his house in Lincoln County, near Ethlyn, Mo. He has not been seen since. In 2001, Joshua Spangler confessed to killing Arlin at the behest of two other men, pleaded guilty to murder and testified against them. He later recanted, admitted he made up the story and pleaded guilty to perjury. Call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, 636-528-8546, with information.

Gina Dawn Brooks, disappeared August 5, 1989. Gina, 13, was abducted by two men in a station wagon as she rode her bike near her home in Fredericktown, Mo. A murder charge was filed against Nathan D. "Danny" Williams, a convicted child rapist, in 2003, but it was dropped for lack of evidence. Call Fredericktown police, 573-783-3660, with information.

Scott Allen Kleeschulte, disappeared June 8, 1988. Scott, 9, was last seen playing in the neighborhood near his home in St. Charles shortly before a thunderstorm. Call St. Charles police, 636-949-3300, with information.

For more information, and photos of what these children may look like now, visit the website of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, at National Center for Missing & Exploited Children .

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/15/07
by Denise



These parents know the pain of kids still missing

By Jessica Bock and Tim O'Neil
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/15/2007

They saw the parents in anguish and know the pain. And they lived it with them, because their own pain never stops.

They are the parents of the St. Louis area's small but heart-rending list of missing children, a list reduced by two through Friday's electrifying news. The parents who wait are glad for the families of William "Ben" Ownby Jr., 13, and Shawn Hornbeck, 15, but they cannot help but think of their own children, whose faces are still on "missing" posters. Their pain continues.

Here are three of their stories.

'I keep hoping'

Life is all about "befores" for Debra Henderson-Griffith.

Before her husband, Arthur, died of emphysema. Before her daughter was killed. And before her son, Arlin, went for a bike ride on July 25, 1991, near Moscow Mills in Lincoln County and never came home.

Thoughts of her missing child always fill her mind, but have more so this past week as another family was living their own nightmare — a nightmare that ended the way Henderson-Griffith has been praying hers will.

"I'm happy, but I wish it was Arlin. But I wonder why they can't find my son," said Henderson-Griffith as she sobbed during a phone interview from her Moscow Mills home after news of the rescue broke Friday.

Henderson-Griffith cried for the boys and their families. She cried for her son. And she couldn't help but wonder if the case would somehow lead to answers in his disappearance.

Arlin's uncle, Jim McWilliams, said he called the FBI immediately upon hearing the news. McWilliams said Arlin's disappearance may be linked to Michael J. Devlin, the suspect in the Ownby-Hornbeck cases. Like Shawn, Arlin was riding his bike near his rural home. And both boys were 11.

"I said, 'I'm not even going to ask, I'm going to insist that Arlin's name be brought up in this investigation,'" McWilliams said. "It's a good possibility. I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on this. Our hearts go out to these families. I'm glad for some good news for the return of both of these boys, and I'm trying to hold out hope for my family. We're not going to give up hope. We cannot."

Arlin would be 26 now.

His case has been tumultuous for his family. In 2001, Joshua Spangler confessed to killing Arlin at the behest of two other men. He pleaded guilty to murder and testified against them. Then he recanted and admitted he made up the story.

That was just after Arlin's sister, Joy Leonard, was killed in 2000 by her estranged husband, Robert Leonard, who also took his own life. She was 29.

"I haven't given up on Arlin yet. I'll never give up, but it gets harder and harder," Henderson-Griffith said. "You don't know what to do anymore. You don't know who to ask anymore."

"Why did this happen?"

LaToya Coleman, an assistant manager at an Aldi supermarket in St. Louis, was working when she overheard two customers happily discuss an astonishing news flash.

"The ladies were saying, 'Did you hear they just found that little boy? No, they found two. Isn't that a miracle?'" Coleman said. "'That's wonderful,' I said. 'I'm happy for their families.'"

"Then I had to go into the office and cry," she said Sunday. "What about C.J.? Why can't they find C.J.?"

C.J. is Cermen Toney Jr., her younger son, who was 4 years old when he disappeared on Nov. 6, 2005. C.J. and Anquiaetta M. Parker, 19, his cousin and baby sitter, were last seen in the State Park Place area near Collinsville. Parker's car was found at a VFW hall parking lot in State Park Place.

Parker, who was pregnant, had been watching C.J. at Coleman's mother's apartment in East St. Louis.

Illinois State Police say they have been collecting evidence and consider one man a suspect but have been unable to seek charges.

Coleman, 26, lived in Centreville at the time but moved with her older son, Travis, 9, to live with a sister in St. Louis. Coleman couldn't bear staying in the apartment they shared with C.J.

"There's never a day when I don't think about C.J. all the time. It's a nightmare you don't wake out of," said Coleman. "I ask myself, 'How did I get here? Why did this happen?' So many times, I don't want to go on anymore. But I have two kids. I have to be there for them. I have to wait."

On Saturday, she watched some of the news reports showing the relieved, joyous families of Ben and Shawn but had to leave the room after a short time. "I am happy for them. I really am," Coleman said of the families. "It shows you can't give up hope."

Coleman spoke through tears during a brief interview at work Sunday but insisted that the interview continue. She wanted the newspaper to tell her story again, to run C.J.'s picture again.

"Somebody out there knows something. Maybe this will be the time they speak," she said. "I just want to know that C.J.'s safe, that he's alive.

"Hope is what I hang on to."

'It gives me hope'

Antacid. A binder to organize information. Lots of Kleenex.

Shannon Tanner needed these items in the first week of the search for her 13-year-old daughter, Bianca Piper, who disappeared in March 2005 near Foley in Lincoln County. And Tanner included them in a care package she delivered Wednesday night to Ben's family while he was still missing.

Tanner reached out to the Ownby family to help just as Shawn's parents had reached out to her when Bianca vanished. The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation hosts the website, findbianca.org.

"They've been so helpful and so involved," said Tanner. She remembers that when she first met Pam and Craig Akers, Shawn's parents, their son had been missing for more than two years.

"It was hard for me to swallow the fact that it could be two years, that Bianca could be missing that long, too. Now, I'm at that same point," Tanner said.

Bianca was 13 when Tanner let her out of her car about a mile from their home on McIntosh Hill Road the evening of March 10. A mental health professional had suggested trying the tactic to give Bianca a chance to calm down after a quarrel. The girl suffers from bipolar and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.
STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/17/07
by Denise



Did Michael Devlin Join The Search For Bianca Piper?

Created: 1/17/2007 8:26:03 AM
Last updated: 1/17/2007 9:13:23 AM

By Randy Jackson

KSDK - Lincoln County investigators believe kidnapping suspect Michael J. Devlin used child abduction cases in their county as a manual for crime.

Detectives say there are startling similarities between the Hornbeck and Ownby abductions, and a 16-year-old case that's still unsolved.

Tuesday, Lincoln County Sheriff's Detectives poured over volumes of case files and evidence bags from two unsolved missing children's cases.

13 year-old Bianca Noel Piper disappeared in March of 2005 while walking on a rural Foley Road, and 11-year-old Arlin Henderson vanished in July of 1991 in rural Moscow Mills.

The recent rescues of 15 year-old Shawn Hornbeck after 4 and a half years of captivity and 13 year-old Ben Ownby who was abducted and held for four days, has given new hope to other family's living in anguish.


"Hey anything is possible so we're hoping and praying because that was a miracle, not just for one but they found two," says Jim McWilliams, Arlin Henderson's uncle.

The arrest of kidnapping suspect 41 year old Michael J. Devlin is breathing new life into the Henderson and Piper cases.

"We're starting to recieve new tips that may be critical to either of our investigations," says Detective Chris Bartlett of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department.

Detective Bartlet says they are probing two chilling leads.

Did Devlin participate in volunteer search's for Bianca Piper to learn investigative techniques he would use later to elude authorities?

"Whether he was a part of it, in it, or in the middle , or just watching from a far, he absolutley knew what was going on," says Detective Bartlet. "I certainly believe Michael Devlin was monitoring our search and the disappearance of Bianca Piper."

And he says, there is a startling physical similarity between Arlin Henderson and Ben Ownby

"If you put each of the missing photographs up, they're both almost scary to look at, each of them, and the comparison between the two," says the detective.

Detectives also say both Arlin Henderson and Shawn Hornbeck were on their bikes when they vanished.

Lincoln County investigators say if you have information that could help solve the Bianca Piper or Arlin Henderson case, you should call them right away.

No matter how small a tip, it could be the one they need.

The number is 636-528-8546.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_articl...storyid=110991

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/17/07
by Denise



Pizza manager's links to 1991 abduction investigated

UNION, Missouri (CNN) -- Authorities are examining similarities between the disappearances of Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby and the disappearance in 1991 of 11-year-old Arlin Henderson.

Meanwhile, Missouri authorities said they are looking into the possibility that Michael Devlin, 41, may have also monitored -- or even participated in -- a 2005 search for another missing child in order to learn police investigative techniques in such situations.

Lincoln County detective Chris Bartlett said Devlin was, at the very least, aware of the search for Bianca Noel Piper, 13, who disappeared in March 2005.

"Whether he was a part of it, in it, or in the middle, or just watching from afar, he absolutely knew what was going on," Bartlett said. "I certainly believe Michael Devlin was monitoring our search and the disappearance of Bianca Piper."

Police are examining similarities between Shawn, 15, who was found in Devlin's suburban St. Louis, Missouri, apartment Friday, and the 1991 disappearance of Henderson, then 11, from rural Moscow Mills.

Both Shawn and Henderson were last seen riding bicycles.

Henderson had a crew cut and was wearing a camouflage shirt and pants.

Henderson bore a physical resemblance to Ben, a 13-year-old who was allegedly kidnapped January 8 as he got off the school bus near his home in Union, Missouri.

Ben was found with Shawn in Devlin's apartment.

Ben had been missing for four days; Shawn for more than four years.
Pizza manager's links to 1991 abduction investigated - CNN.com

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/19/07
by Denise



Boys' recovery sparks new leads in the Bianca Piper case

By Susan Weich
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/17/2007

LINCOLN COUNTY — Last week's rescue of William "Ben" Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck has led to several new leads in a missing-child case in Lincoln County, Sheriff Dan Torres said Tuesday.

Bianca Piper was 13 when she disappeared from a gravel road near her home in Foley on March 10, 2005. Since then, detectives have checked hundreds of leads. And now, after widespread media coverage of the return of Ben and Shawn to their families, four people called the Sheriff's Department to report potential sightings of Bianca, Torres said.

"I think what really sparked a lot of interest was that the Hornbeck boy could be seen by people on a daily basis, but nobody put two and two together," Torres said. "People are looking harder now, and they're thinking anything is possible."

Torres said detectives were following up on the new leads.

They also are talking to investigators in Washington County about any link between Michael J. Devlin, who is charged with Ben's kidnapping, and another Lincoln County missing child: Arlin Henderson, who was 11 when he disappeared while riding his bicycle on a rural road on July 25, 1991.

Torres said the similarities between that case and Shawn's were striking. He said Shawn's recovery four years after he disappeared has given a lot of people, including police detectives, hope for a resolution in these types of cases.
STLtoday - News - St. Charles

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/20/07
by Denise



Posted on Sat, Jan. 20, 2007

Hopes for missing daughter's return put on hold
Look-alike spotted at O'Fallon mall -- but it wasn't her

BY BETH HUNDSDORFER
News-Democrat

Bianca Piper's family hoped for another miracle.

One week after finding missing teens Sean Hornbeck and Ben Ownby, police tracked down a lead that someone spotted Bianca, a Foley, Mo., 15-year-old missing since March 2005, at an O'Fallon strip shopping mall.

Bianca's return wasn't meant to be -- at least not right now.

O'Fallon Police Chief John Betton confirmed Friday that detectives traced the tip to a 22-year-old woman who confirmed she was near the apartments near Southfield Shopping Center at Lincoln Street and East Highway 50 on Jan. 5, just as the tipster said.

"Her description matched the missing girl," Betton said. "It wasn't Bianca Piper."

Bianca's possible sighting in O'Fallon came from a tipster who called the television show "America's Most Wanted," which profiled Bianca's disappearance.

Shannon Tanner, Bianca's mother, peppered O'Fallon with fliers about her daughter's disappearance, handing them out to pedestrians and taping them up at gas stations earlier Friday.

Michael Devlin, the suspect in Hornbeck and Ownby's abductions, may have some connection to Bianca's disappearance, she said.

"A detective told me there's some information that he participated in the search for Bianca or had been following the case," Tanner said. "I just hope these people move in the same circles and there's someone who has some clue about where she is."

Tanner's family has raised $10,000 for a reward for information about Bianca's disappearance.
Belleville News-Democrat | 01/20/2007 | Hopes for missing daughter's return put on hold

[Dan]

Originally posted on 01/31/07
by Kelly


Bianca has a new age progression.



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