Nevaeh Amyah Buchanan

[Bailey]

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

They lit candles and held signs next to the bench built in the five-year-old's honor.

Last night friends and family marked six months since five-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan disappeared from her apartment complex in Monroe. A dozen family members and friends gathered at the playground outside Riverside School in Monroe where Nevaeh was a student. They lit candles and held signs next to the bench built in the five-year-old's honor. Family members worry not only about the investigation, but that people in the community are forgetting about their little girl.

On May 24th Nevaeh Buchanan disappeared from the Charlotte Arms Apartment Complex in Monroe. Eleven days later, fishermen found her body on the banks of the River Raisin encased in cement. Autopsy results indicate she may have been buried alive.

A few persons of interest were named in the case but still no one has been charged with little Nevaeh's kidnapping or murder. The Monroe County Sheriff's Department continues to follow up on leads. Anyone with information about Nevaeh is encouraged to call them at 734-243-7070.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?se...cal&id=7137930

[Bailey]

Article published January 03, 2010

By MARK REITER

BLADE STAFF WRITER

MONROE - Memories of Nevaeh Buchanan weigh heavily in the heart and mind of the slain girl's grandmother.

Sherry Buchanan said she hurts every day, but the holidays are among the hardest. She also is dreading Feb. 3, when her granddaughter would have turned 6 years old.


Sherry Buchanan, left, with Nevaeh’s mom, Jennifer Buchanan, says she hurts every day without her granddaughter.
( THE BLADE )

"I think about Nevaeh constantly. I just wish that she was here now," she said just days before Christmas. "I raised her from the first day she was born. I did everything with her."


Relatives have photos of Nevaeh Buchanan, but what they want are answers to how the 5-year-old vanished and who killed her.
( THE BLADE )

Mrs. Buchanan recalled the morning after unwrapping gifts two years ago when Nevaeh crawled into her lap and hugged her tightly.

"She told me, 'Grandma, I love you,'•" Mrs. Buchanan said.

It was just more than seven months ago that Nevaeh went missing from the parking lot of Charlotte Arms Apartments, where she lived with her grandmother and her mother, Jennifer Buchanan.

Nevaeh, who was last seen riding a scooter in the complex on May 24, was found 10 days later in a shallow grave, encased in concrete, along the banks of the River Raisin.

The killing of Nevaeh was the area's most high-profile crime in 2009.

Authorities said they cannot recall a more sensational or heinous slaying in the history of Monroe County or Monroe, a city settled by French-Canadians in the late 1700s before Michigan became a state.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office has released no new details since the autopsy showed the little girl was smothered and may have been buried alive.

To date, no witnesses have come forward, and the case remains unsolved.

Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said a special task force of local, state, and federal law enforcement continues to investigate and the crime remains a high priority.

"Investigators are still pursuing leads and following up on additional information received. The investigation is far from having reached a dead end," he said in a written statement.

The case sparked enormous interest, dominated headlines in newspapers and on the Internet, and gained nationwide media exposure before two fishermen found her body in the shallow grave along the riverbank in Raisinville Township.

Jennifer Buchanan, and Nevaeh's father, Shane Hinojosa of West Toledo, appeared on CNN's Nancy Grace and other national TV programs.

"The Nevaeh Buchanan case has received far more national media coverage than any other homicide investigation in Monroe County's history," Sheriff Crutchfield said.

The tragedy has been followed with community projects designed to keep the victim's memory alive.

There have been candlelight vigils, spaghetti dinners, raffles, and other fund-raisers. Risa Thompson, a distant cousin of Nevaeh's, orchestrated the placement of a memorial park bench at a local elementary school and began a scholarship fund for needy preschoolers in Monroe.

The Westland, Mich., resident organized a Christmas party for needy children and their families, including many from Charlotte Arms Apartments. More than 150 children received toys, gloves, hats, and socks, and were treated to a Christmas dinner in Westland.

Ms. Thompson said she wants to keep Nevaeh's name alive in the community and keep the case in the public eye.

"I just want to make memories in her name and make her name stand out in a better light. I am trying to get justice served. She deserves it," she said.

Since Nevaeh's disappearance, the sheriff's office has fielded more than 13,000 tips, mostly from a phone line set up for the investigation.

Sheriff Crutchfield said investigators worked three-quarters of the tips into leads that were either cleared as unfounded or produced information that was helpful in the case.

"The tips have slowed down, which is normal. The task force is receiving tips weekly and the case is being worked on every day," he said.

Shortly after Nevaeh went missing, investigators focused on a pair of convicted sex offenders who were acquaintances of the mother, Jennifer Buchanan.

Investigators labeled George Kennedy and Roy Smith as "persons of interest" in the case. The men were never charged. They were sent back to prison to finish their original sentences after they were found guilty of violating parole by having contact with Nevaeh's family.

The investigation also has focused on the apartment complex where Nevaeh spent the last months of her short life.

Detectives assigned to the case last month distributed questions to residents, asking for written answers. The questions ask about their activities and whereabouts on the day Nevaeh went missing and whether they were the person responsible for the crime.

Diane Edwards said she and her family complied with the requests even though she had doubts about the questionnaire's usefulness.

"If we didn't fill it out, it would seem like we might have something to do with it," she said.

Sherry Buchanan said she prays each day for her granddaughter. She said she asks God to give Nevaeh this message: "Grandma loves you, baby, and don't ever think that I don't."

In her prayers, she also asks God that someone will come forward to admit to killing her granddaughter, providing answers to questions that will help bring her closure.

"I want to ask him, 'Why Nevaeh? Why did you pick her?'•" she said.

Lowell Kirk, a former Monroe resident who lives in Tennessee, was fishing with his stepson when they stumbled across Nevaeh's decaying, entombed body.

The men, who never had fished before at the spot on the river along Dixon Road near Ida-Maybee Road, spotted a block of poured concrete and noticed a bad smell.

The stepson, Guy Bickley of Frenchtown Township, chipped away a piece of the concrete, revealing what appeared to be human skin.

Mr. Kirk had made a surprise trip to Michigan to visit relatives, arriving at his stepson's home the day the girl went missing.

"The Lord sent me up there to find that little girl. I really believe that," he said. "I was on a mission from God. That's what it was."

A retired autoworker, Mr. Kirk said he often thinks about that day.

"Sometimes, I wake up, and she will come to my mind. I will never forget it," he said. "I got grandkids that age. I can't imagine that happening to them."

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll...NEWS16/1030302

[Bailey]

The search for Nevaeh Buchanan
Updated at 06:20 PM today


Almost a year and 13,000 tips later, no killer has been charged with the child's death

It's the most high-profile murder case in our area in years. Nevaeh Buchanan, 5, was taken from her home and buried alive. It happened last summer, but to this day, the crime remains unsolved.

Her name was Nevaeh-- heaven spelled backward-- and on her tombstone, she's called "Monroe's Little Angel."

Diana Lawson is Nevaeh's great-aunt. She still lives in the Charlotte Arms apartment building, across the hall from where Nevaeh was last seen. That was May 24 of last year.

How Nevaeh disappeared is unclear. After a massive 10-day search, two fishermen uncovered her body. It was encased in cement along a bank of the River Raisin, near the town of Maybee.

A large, wooden cross now stands along the riverbank, marking the site where investigators recovered Nevaeh's body. It's here you'll also find signs offering a $20,000 reward to whomever can help solve this mystery.

Two weeks ago would have marked Nevaeh's sixth birthday. A small crowd gathered to remember the girl, including Nevaeh's mother, Jennifer Buchanan. Jennifer did not speak to the media.

She and Nevaeh's grandmother, who was the girl's legal guardian, have since moved out of Charlotte Arms.

Meantime, Nevaeh's aunt says she still contacts investigators, asking for updates.

We were all set to talk with a sergeant about the investigation and where it stands, when the sheriff of Monroe County pulled the plug. At this point, we are told there will be no on-camera interviews about the Nevaeh Buchanan case.

We do know the two men originally considered "persons of interest" are still in prison. George Kennedy and Roy Smith never faced new charges.

The convicted sex offenders were both found guilty of violating parole by contacting Nevaeh's family. They're currently finishing out their original sentences.

As for Nevaeh's great-aunt, she wonders how much detectives know and how much she doesn't. "They're not talking much about anything. I don't know if they've got anything, any clues."

That leaves her, and many others, to question: what led up to the killing of Monroe's little angel? Who took the young life of Nevaeh Buchanan? And perhaps the most nagging question of all -- Why?

The sheriff's office has fielded 13,000 tips. The lead detective continues to investigate every day. If you have any information, give them a call at 734-240-7550

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?se...cal&id=7278752