Jada Justice – Two-year old Jada Justice was last seen the evening of June 16, when her 18-year-old babysitter and cousin stopped at a Gary, Indiana, convenience store to buy milk and cigarettes.
Jada Justice was wearing an orange skirt and a white tank top with orange and green stripes when she disappeared from the car parked at the side of the store.
The baby sitter, identified as Engelica Castillo, told authorities that when she came out, Jada — who had been in the back seat of the car and in a car seat — was gone.
Asked why Castillo left Jada in the unlocked car — which was parked to the side of the gas station, not in front — Jada’s mother, Melissa Swiontek, said Tuesday, “I’ve asked her, and she just keeps telling me ‘I don’t know, I don’t know. I was just running in real quick.’ ”
Prosecutors met Monday with authorities to review the case, but are waiting to see how the case plays out before taking action, said Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor’s office.
“Nothing’s been rejected,” she said. “Nothing’s been filed.”
Swiontek told Grace she had spoken with the attendant at the gas station, who confirmed Castillo was there, and said her demeanor was normal until she left and then returned “hysterical.”
Authorities have received more than 100 tips, and leads are being followed, Wendy Osborn, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Indianapolis, Indiana, office, said on Wednesday.
Swiontek said Tuesday she and Jada’s father had taken polygraph tests in the case. The two get along well, she said, and Jada’s father has regular visitation with her.
Castillo had not taken a polygraph test as of Tuesday, Swiontek said. Asked whether authorities had requested that Castillo take a polygraph, Swiontek said, “They couldn’t tell me for sure they asked, but I’m assuming if they asked me and him, they asked her.”
Swiontek said Jada had never opened a car door and Swiontek said she didn’t believe Jada could have opened the door of Castillo’s car, which is a 1991 Cadillac.
Jada is described as an African-American child about 2 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 35 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a light brown complexion.
And that’s the latest news on the disappearance of two-year old Jada Justice.
Tags: child abduction, jada justice, kidnapping, missing girl
June 26th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Hey, have you seen this news article?
I was wondering if you were going to blog about this…
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:58 am
nobody cares when a black child goes missing…
July 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Two charged in toddler’s death
Cops say two-year-old Jada Justice was beaten, burned, buried in concrete and tossed in a creek.