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Topic: Florida Amber Alert (Read 221 times)

Rhune
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Florida Amber Alert
« on: Jan 19^th, 2005, 10:50am »

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What the %$#%$#! was this father thinking?

DUNNELLON, FL (AP) -- An Amber Alert was issued Wednesday for an 11-year-old boy who was likely abducted in Marion County and may be in danger, authorities said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and sheriff's deputies searched Wednesday for Adam Kirkirt, who was last seen Tuesday afternoon in Dunnellon, about 75 miles northwest of Orlando.

Adam may be with a man identified as Frederick Fretz, 42, and they may be traveling in a white four-door Chevy Lumina, Marion County's sheriff's office said. Fretz had picked up Adam at Dunnellon Elementary School on Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.

Fretz, a known sex offender in Arizona and Pennsylvania, has been roommates with Adam's father, Ivert Kirkirt, who met Fretz in jail in September or October, the sheriff's office said. Fretz would often take the boy to and from school, officials said.

The missing boy, who moved into his father's Ocala apartment in December, is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 100 pounds. He was last seen wearing black pants, a white T-shirt and a black sweat shirt with a Spider-Man symbol.

No further information was made available Wednesday. Amber Alerts rapidly notify the public and other law enforcement agencies of a missing child who may be in danger.

If you have any information about this or any other crime, call our partner, First Coast Crime Stoppers, at 1-866-845-TIPS. You will remain anonymous and could be eligible for a $1,000 reward.

Created: 1/19/2005 5:38:41 AM
Updated: 1/19/2005 9:12:21 AM
Š 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Insane 4 Survivor
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #1 on: Jan 19^th, 2005, 11:23am »

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I can't believe any parent would be that stupid!!!!

This makes me so angry, endangering a child like that!

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luci
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #2 on: Jan 19^th, 2005, 1:37pm »

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The Dad met the man in jail, both are "probably" deviates!
Very sad for the boy Cry

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can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

Rhune
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #3 on: Jan 19^th, 2005, 2:51pm »

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Where exactly is the mother and how did this guy get custody in the first place?

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Jenna
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #4 on: Jan 19^th, 2005, 3:59pm »

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Thats horrible Cry

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Rhune
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #5 on: Jan 20^th, 2005, 6:43pm »

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Fears For Missing Boy's Safety Grow
Police Ready To Search Ocala National Forest

POSTED: 6:13 am EST January 20, 2005
UPDATED: 8:49 am EST January 20, 2005

OCALA, Fla. -- It's been more than a day since Adam Kirkirt was last seen, and with every passing hour, fears for his safety grow.

Adam was picked up at his school in Marion County Tuesday by Frederick Fretz, a sex offender who police said failed to register in our state. Both were last seen in Fretz's white Chevrolet Lumina, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

Close to 90 tips have come in to police, but all have resulted in dead ends so far. Police believe Fretz has an extensive criminal history and served five years in prison for sexually battering an 11-year-old boy.

Ivert Kirkirt waits helplessly as police search his home looking for even the smallest clue -- anything that might lead to his missing 11-year-old son. Adam was last seen Tuesday afternoon, when Fretz picked him up from Dunnellon Elementary School, as he often did, but this time instead of returning to their mobile home in Ocala, Fretz left a phone message.

"We're broke down, don't know where, don't want to spend the night in the frickin' car," the phone message said.

By Wednesday morning, the search was on. Officers went door to door and calls poured into the command center at the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Highway signs also displayed the Amber Alert message.

The reason for the urgency is Fretz's criminal history. In 1989, he was convicted of sexual battery. His victim was an 11-year-old boy, whose family Fretz had befriended. Kirkirt said he had no idea.

"He even went to my church. My pastor knew him. Nobody knew," Kirkirt said.

Kirkirt and Fretz both served time together in the Marion County Jail last year. Then they became roommates, and Adam moved in in December. Sources said Fretz would sometimes take Adam camping.

Besides searching the home, authorities have been looking through campsites, while Kirkirt worries about the cold night and much worse.

"I just pray to God he's fine [and] that Fretz [is] being OK with him, you know," Kirkirt said.

Sheriff's deputies will begin searching the Ocala National Forest first thing Thursday morning. There's also a warrant out for Fretz's arrest for not registering as a sex offender here in Florida.

Authorities also have a message for Fretz. They want him to take Adam to a public location and leave him there, so he can call for help.

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Rhune
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #6 on: Jan 20^th, 2005, 6:44pm »

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Accused Kidnapper Lied About Criminal Record
Deputies Interview Campers At Rainbow Gathering In Ocala National Forest

POSTED: 5:37 pm EST January 20, 2005
UPDATED: 6:46 pm EST January 20, 2005

OCALA, Fla. -- As investigators continue to search for a missing Marion County boy, disturbing details are emerging about the man believed to have kidnapped the boy.

About 30 Marion County sheriff's deputies combed the woods and fields of the Ocala National Forest Thursday, searching for Adam Kirkirt, an 11-year-old Marion County boy who has been missing for two days.

With few clues on which to go on, investigators focused on one of the passions of Frederick Fretz, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

Fretz likes to camp, and his tent and sleeping bags -- along with he and the boy -- are missing.

Deputies went campsite to campsite Thursday at the annual Rainbow Gathering at Ocala National Forest.

"His background shows that he's a woodsman. He likes being in the woods. He loves to camp," said Maj. Chris Blair of the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Before Fretz disappeared with Kirkirt, he told the boy's father that he might like to go to the Rainbow Gathering this year. It's an informal gathering of people who call themselves hippies from the 1960s and 1970s.

"I think he's here, but I think he's hiding out," one camper told police.

Kirkirt was last seen on Tuesday, leaving Dunnellon Elementary School with Fretz in a white Chevrolet Lumina. Fretz, a convicted sex offender, was living with Kirkirt and his father.

NewsChannel 2 has learned that Fretz never filed as a registered sex offender in Florida and he also apparently lied to a state court about his past.

According to court records, Fretz pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2004, in Marion County to misdemeanor charges of domestic violence battery and possession of fewer than 20 grams of marijuana. On the guilty plea form, Fretz swore to the court that he did not have a criminal record.

Though he answered "no," Fretz had in fact been convicted on two felonies and one misdemeanor for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in Shamokin, Penn., in 1991.

No one -- not the sheriff's office, not the state attorney's office, not his own attorney and not the state probation and parole office -- checked. Had they checked, they would have discovered that Fretz served five years in prison after being found guilty.

According to several court officials who did not want to be named, the reasons they didn't check are simple: a huge court backlog of cases, inexperienced attorneys and the fact that his charges in Florida were so minor that when no active warrants came up, few people bothered to check further.

Even if the judge in the case or the attorneys had flagged his prior conviction, it's likely Fretz would not have had to serve any addition jail or prison time, according to officials.

The Rev. Karl Wiggins has been Fretz's minister at Kendrick United Methodist Church since last August. He said Fretz has been a faithful church attendee and has turned away from the errors of his past.

"I would like to think that this is all just a misunderstanding. I'd like to hope that Fred comes back and Adam comes back as well," Wiggins said.

Fretz and Kirkirt were last seen in 1993 Chevy Lumina with temporary Florida tags. The tag, number K930950, is taped in the rear window. Kirkirt has a mole on his left cheek.

If you've seen them or the car, call 911 immediately.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Tallahassee, it's unusual for an Amber Alert to go on longer than 48 hours.

Since 2000, there have been 80 Amber Alerts issued in Florida and 18 children have been recovered.

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Rhune
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #7 on: Jan 21^st, 2005, 8:18pm »

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Missing Florida Boy Found Safe In Georgia
Man Believed To Have Been With Boy Still Missing

POSTED: 7:51 pm EST January 21, 2005
UPDATED: 8:14 pm EST January 21, 2005

EMERSON, Ga. -- A Florida boy missing since Tuesday has been found safe in northwest Georgia.

The FBI said Adam Kirkirt was found unharmed in a wooded area about 40 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Kirkirt's disappearance sparked a three-state manhunt because he was believed to be with a friend of his father's who was also a convicted child molester. Frederick Fretz, 42, was convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in Pennsylvania in 1991.

Fretz is a longtime friend of Kirkirt's father, and often drove the boy to and from school. The father said Fretz never told him he was a sex offender.

An FBI spokesman said Fretz has not been located. His car was found early Friday abandoned on an interstate northwest of Atlanta.

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Rhune
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Re: Florida Amber Alert
« Reply #8 on: Jan 22^nd, 2005, 1:01pm »

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Abducted Florida boy found safe
Police search for convicted sex offender
Saturday, January 22, 2005 Posted: 1334 GMT (2134 HKT)

(CNN) -- An 11-year-old boy who authorities say was abducted from his Florida school by a family friend was found late Friday walking up a highway ramp in northern Georgia, authorities said.

A massive manhunt continued for Frederick Fretz, 42, a convicted sex offender suspected by police of kidnapping the boy after picking him up from elementary school Tuesday in Dunnellon, Florida, about 400 miles from where he was found.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said the boy was trying to flag down a car when a Bartow County sheriff's deputy spotted him on an Interstate 75 ramp near Cartersville, Georgia.

"The boy is safe and appears to be unharmed," Bankhead said.

Dozens of police and investigators have surrounded a nearby wooded area, with a helicopter occasionally patrolling overhead. Dogs were also being brought in to assist with the search.

"The suspect is believed to be on foot in a wooded area in Bartow County," Bankhead said.

He said authorities earlier Friday found the vehicle in which the two had last been seen abandoned in Bartow County.

Authorities then received several tips from people who said they saw the man and child, Bankhead said.

Bankhead said a convenience store clerk said he saw Fretz alone near the store.

The spokesman said it was not clear how the boy and Fretz separated.

Authorities said Fretz was convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy in 1991, but was not registered as a sex offender in Florida, where he had been living with the boy and his father.

Authorities said the father was under house arrest and could go only to work and church.

Fretz typically drove him to and from work, and took the son back and forth to school.

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