Jalick Rainwalker, 12 Missing 11/01/07 NY
Missing Boy's Mother Takes Polygraph Test Craig Smith East Greenwich November 12, 2007 - 2:28AM Although police have said 12-year-old Jalick Rainwalker - missing for ten days - has a history of being suicidal, his mother Jocelyn McDonald tells CBS 6 News she does not believe her son has killed himself. "I would think I would feel it in my heart or in my gut if he did," says McDonald. McDonald says police asked her to take a polygraph test, which she agreed to, but that her husband, Stephen Kerr decided against taking. McDonald says her husband was willing to take such a test but at the time investigators were about to administer it, he changed his mind because of a question on a form asking whether he was in good physical condition. According to McDonald, her husband told police he was not in good condition, having slept only seven hours during three days of looking all over for his son. "This whole thing has been one huge nightmare after another," says McDonald, who claims police harassed her husband after he decided againt taking the polygraph test. She says Child Protective Services has removed her other children from her home. They are staying with relatives. Rainwalker has been missing since November 1. His family says he likely ran away from home because he was no longer welcome in the small schoolhouse where he and several other students were home-schooled. His mother says he threatened to rape a 4-year-old child. According to Dennis Smith, McDonald's father, the 4-year-old was somehow related to one of the students. Smith's wife, Barbara Reeley, says the family is especially concerned because the temperature at night has been dropping, her grandson has no money that she knows of and no other friends or relatives in the area who might help him - and he's only twelve years old. Smith and Reeley describe Rainwalker as a "troubled kid" who has lived with seven foster families and has threatened to kill his parents and himself. http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/says_1252600___article.html/mcdonald_husband.html

Cambridge Police Search for Missing Boy CBS 6 News Washington County November 4, 2007 - 4:01PM Police in Washington County are searching for a young boy who has been missing since Thursday. Police say 12-year-old Jalick Rainwalker has a medical condition and may be in need of medical treatment. Rainwalker is said to be wearing black sneakers, blue jeans and a yellow fleece pullover. If you have any information call the Cambridge-Greenwich police at 518-692-9332. Tune into CBS 6 News at 11:00 for the latest. http://www.cbs6albany.com/onset?id=1252486&template=article.html

Endangered Missing JALICK RAINWALKER DOB: Aug 2, 1995 Missing: Nov 1, 2007 Height: 5'6" (168 cm) Eyes: Green Race: Biracial Age Now: 12 Sex: Male Weight: 105 lbs (48 kg) Hair: Brown Missing From: GREENWICH NY United States Jalick was last seen on November 1, 2007. He is Biracial. Jalick is Black and White. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and black tennis shoes. ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greenwich Village Police Department (New York) 1-518-692-9332 http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1083247&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

Searchers hope to bring in more dogs as missing boy case goes unsolved By DON LEHMAN dlehman@poststar.com Updated: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 4:51 PM EST Click here to view a poster provided by Rainwalker's family. GREENWICH — The search for clues in the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy turned to a swamp near Battenkill Country Club on Tuesday, but hours of combing through woods and brush near the golf course yielded no new clues, police said. State forest rangers working with trained volunteer searchers concentrated on a large tract of undeveloped land between the golf course and Windy Hill Road in the town of Easton. Search dogs working with the volunteer group Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue have repeatedly led their handlers back to the area on the golf course’s north end. Police and firefighters drained a small pond there Monday afternoon but found nothing that could be linked to Jaliek Rainwalker’s disappearance. Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell said he and forest ranger Lt. John Sloan were trying Tuesday afternoon to get an additional search dog or dogs to the site to see if they have the same reaction to the area that the LASAR dogs have had. "If they continue to indicate on this area, we’ll have to continue concentrating on it," Bell said. He said investigators continue to focus on leads as to potential sightings of the boy and other aspects of the case. "We’ll just keep pumping away on leads as they come in," Bell said. Rainwalker’s adopted mother, Jocelyn McDonald, said Tuesday that family and friends have been distributing fliers with Rainwalker’s picture on them as far away as New York City. "We just ask people to call police if they see Jaliek and pray for us," she said. Phone messages left for Rainwalker’s adopted father, Steve Kerr, on his cell phone voice mail have not been returned in recent days. Rainwalker was last seen at a home on Hill Street in Greenwich owned by his paternal grandfather, where Kerr told police he stayed with the boy the night of Nov. 1. Kerr reported him missing the next morning and turned over a note that police believe Rainwalker wrote, in which he said "goodbye." Rainwalker had been in trouble in the preceding days for threatening a younger child. Police said he had a history of suicidal behavior as well. Bell said last week he feared Rainwalker was dead as the search goes into a third week. But whether he walked away from the home on his own, committed suicide or was the victim of homicide has been a matter of much debate among investigators working on the case, he said. State Police and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office continue to work with Cambridge-Greenwich Police on the investigation. Police have said McDonald took a lie detector test last week, but they will not say whether Kerr took one or what the results of McDonald’s test were. Anyone with information in the case was asked to call police at 692-9332. http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/11/13/news/latest/doc473a1c94f2891860101652.txt

Missing Boy's Father: My Son Is Alive Greenwich November 16, 2007 - 11:37PM More than one hundred people filled the Episcopalian Church in Greenwich Friday night for a vigil for 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker, the East Greenwich boy who has been missing since November 1. The boy's father, Stephen Kerr, told those gathered about his son's difficult life and his ability to withstand tough times. "I believe deep in my soul that my son Jaliek is alive and safe somewhere," Kerr said. "He is a survivor." Rainwalker - his grandmother, Barbara Reeley, says the name came to her daughter, Jocelyn McDonald, one day as she walked in the rain - was born to a woman who drank alcohol and used cocaine while pregnant. His father says the boy lived with seven foster families in seven years, three of which agreed to adopt him but backed out. Relatives say he has threatened the family and once threatened to rape a 4-year old child at the small homeschool he attended. Some family members say Rainwalker was no longer welcome at the school after that last threat and that may have prompted him to run away. Rainwalker's 14-year-old brother told CBS 6 Jaliek had threatened his family and began to throw tantrums about three months after he was adopted three years ago. Police say Jaliek Rainwalker was last seen at his grandfather's house in Greenwich, where he was with his father. His family says the boy's adoption status was going to change because as his mother told CBS 6, he needed more care than the family could provide. Graham Kerr, Rainwalker's paternal grandfather described it as an interruption of the adoption. "They were planning to put him in long-term respite care where he could get 24/7 professional care," says Kerr. http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/rainwalker_1252670___article.html/boy_family.html

Volunteer team offers important aid in search for missing child By DON LEHMAN dlehman@poststar.com Updated: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:36 PM EST GREENWICH — Before early November, Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell had never heard of Team Adam. Nearly two weeks after the volunteer group arrived in Greenwich to assist local police in their investigation of the disappearance of 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker, Bell is a big fan of the volunteer group. "They’ve been a lot of help to us," Bell said Tuesday, as the search for Rainwalker entered its 26th day. "They’ve had a wealth of information for us." Team Adam is a group of retired police officers that works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The team is named for Adam Walsh, the murdered son of NCMEC founder John Walsh, host of the television show America’s Most Wanted. There are about 50 members of the team, and they travel around the country to places where police are investigating suspicious cases of missing children, providing advice, assistance and technological resources to aid in the cases, drawing on their years of experience specializing in such mysteries. Team members have provided help in more than 300 cases in 43 states since January 2003, according to the NCMEC’s Web site. Bell said the NCMEC offered Team Adam’s assistance when police had Rainwalker’s information posted on the center’s Web site. Bell said two members of Team Adam, retired New York state Trooper Jim Ayling and retired Massachusetts state trooper Lee Manning, have helped police in the search for Rainwalker for about 10 days. They’ve been working with Rainwalker’s family to generate leads as to where the boy could have gone and also have offered suggestions to police. On Tuesday, they spent part of the day meeting with Rainwalker’s adopted mother, Jocelyn McDonald, Bell said. Manning, who has been with Team Adam for about three years, was the Massachusetts State Police’s search and rescue coordinator during his law enforcement career, and he praised the efforts of state forest rangers in coordinating and undertaking the ground search. He was integrally involved in the search for Molly Bish, a Massachusetts lifeguard whose 2000 disappearance led to a massive manhunt for her killer. Manning said he has been involved in dozens of searches over the years, and that experience can help local police as they handle missing children cases. "Every one of these scenes that you deploy to, you pick up something," Manning said. Team members are volunteers, though their expenses are paid by the NCMEC, which is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. He said he and Ayling would probably remain involved in the Rainwalker search for at least another few days and would provide assistance as requested afterward. Meanwhile, Bell said there was nothing new found during searches on Tuesday, which included portions of the Hudson River. State forest rangers used air boats to check the Hudson, while search dogs also returned to a swampy area next to Battenkill Country Club because search dogs keep showing signs that the area interests them. Bell said police were working to bring in additional dogs from outside the region to see if they "alert" there as well. "The whole golf course area is continuing to bother us, so we’re going to look at it again," Bell said. Rainwalker has been missing since Nov. 2. He was last seen at a Hill Street, Greenwich home that is owned by his adoptive father’s family, and he reportedly left a note saying "goodbye." He had been in trouble for threatening a younger child in preceding days. Police do not know, though, whether he ran away, committed suicide or was the victim of foul play. http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/11/27/news/latest/doc474c7fb3def5d382693235.txt

Drained Dam Searched for Signs of Missing Boy Last Update: 5:41 pm Greenwich police have scaled back their search for 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker, but they are still looking. Rainwalker has been missing since November 1st. Thursday police scoured part of a hydroelectrical dam on the Batten Kill in Middle Falls that was being drained as part of maintenance in hopes of finding any clues. And now police will look at cell phone records of Rainwalker's adoptive father Stephen Kerr from the days surrounding the boys disappearance. Meanwhile, Kerr says he believes his son is still alive. Chief George Bell of the Cambridge-Greenwich Police says, "We're here to find Jaliek, I haven't ruled out foul play, runaway child, I haven't ruled out suicide and I need to know every avenue has to be investigated." Stephen Kerr, Jaliek's adoptive father says, "He's a survivor, I mean he survived so much in his life this is just one more situation that he'll survive from." A 25-thousand dollar reward is being offered for any information leading to Jaliek's whereabouts. http://www.fox23news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0f1a0f91-283e-4aaa-a6a5-8a1df6057425&rss=39

Community holds out hope Updated: 12/24/2007 2:05 PM By: Curtis Schick GREENWICH, NY -- "It's critical, absolutely critical," said Elaine Person, Jaliek Rainwalker's former foster mom. Critical that people do not forget Jaliek Rainwalker. The 12-year-old disappeared from a Greenwich home nearly two months ago. A vigil in the village drew dozens of concerned community members. All hold out hope Rainwalker will come home. "We love him and we miss him," said Person. "We need to find him. I know we'll find him but I don't know when," said Jaliek's maternal grandmother, Barbara Reeley. His former foster parents, Tom and Elaine Person, put the night together. The ceremony included the lighting of 12 search lights. Rainwalker was 12 when his disappeared. The last person who saw him was his adoptive father, Stephen Kerr. Many were shocked earlier in the week when Greenwich-Cambridge Police said Kerr tore down posters promoting the event. Both Person and Reeley said they don't understand Kerr's behavior. "This event is not about him. It is not about his lack of cooperation. It's about Jaliek. It's about a group of people and community who have come to love and care about this child," said Person. "I didn't understand it. But, we just kept putting them back up and it solidified the community even more," said Reeley. Reeley said she called Stephen about the posters and he hung up on her. She said she hopes her son-in-law is more forthcoming with what he knows about the case. Kerr declined to comment on Friday, but has said he believes Jaliek is living with a black family in the Troy or Albany area. http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=227952

Vigil held for missing New York youngster ANDY McKEEVER, Staff Writer Article Launched: 12/26/2007 07:42:56 AM EST Wednesday, December 26 GREENWICH, N.Y. — Police have scaled back the search for 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker, but Elaine Person, who spent the six days with him before he disappeared, did not want to let the case become a cold one. On Sunday, Person held a vigil at the VFW post on Abeel Avenue to keep Rainwalker from being forgotten and announced that a book will be written about the missing boy. "This is not a candlelight vigil. We are using spot lights, and we have 12 of them, one for each year of Jaliek's life, to light up the sky and search," said Person. "The purpose is to keep awareness of his disappearance in the public eye." Person took care of Rainwalker multiple times including the six days prior to his disappearance at her Altamont respite home. She recently said that a goodbye note written by Rainwalker was a homework assignment given to him by his adoptive father, Stephen Kerr of Greenwich, but refused to comment about that during the vigil. "In those six days, we came to love that child," said Person. All who attended the vigil were given a Christmas ornament with Rainwalker's picture on it. The ornaments, made by Mary Jane Protus of Greenwich and are magnetic, so they can be used after the holiday on refrigerators, said Person. The case will be in the public eye as TV news cameras, photographers and reporters surrounded the spotlights and a large Christmas card, made for Jaliek by Jackie Killeen of Nassau and signed by over 50 people who attended the event. It was announced that a book titled, "An Inconvenient Child," is planned about Rainwalker's life. The book will be written by Alex S. DeFazio and Stephen Gnojewski from New Jersey. The book was described as "a tale of a beautiful, intelligent and loving child born to a drug-addicted mother on the flood of his grandmother's kitchen; shuttled through a series of seven foster and adoptive homes only to disappear at the young age of 12 in a mysterious case fraught with strange and inexplicable clues." A Web site for the book is expected to be operational after Jan. 1, and a meet the author night is to be scheduled in the upcoming weeks. All proceeds will be used to provide post-adoptive services for the Capital Region, according to a release from Person. The vigil began with a prayer by the Rev. Peggy Were at 6:45 p.m., the time Kerr picked up Rainwalker from Person's home. Were said that Rainwalker was a child who could light up a room and is worth remembering and looking for. The crowd then moved outside, where friends and families, some of which had taken care of Rainwalker, lit up the spotlights. "He was a sweet kid," said Colleen Mahar of Schodack, who worked in a haunted house that Rainwalker often visited, after lighting the seventh spotlight. "He said if he were old enough, he'd want to work there." Rainwalker has been missing since Nov. 1. Police have investigated more than 200 leads, used infra-red cameras to search in the Hudson River, scoured the Greenwich area, areas near the Batten Kill Country Club in Greenwich, where two sets of police dogs showed interest in a pond near the 5th hole, and searched within a five-mile radius of Kerr's home on Hill Road. Divers searched Carter's Pond in Cossayuna and in the Batten Kill River. Cambridge/Greenwich Police Chief George Bell has said that he doubts that Rainwalker has gotten far. A $25,000 reward, offered by Rainwalker's adoptive mother Joselyn McDonald, and a short piece on the show "America's Most Wanted," turned up no evidence of his whereabouts, said Bell. There are six investigators, from the FBI, New York State Police and the Cambridge/Greenwich Police, working on the case, according to Bell, but there are no active searches. "Jaliek is still an active investigation," said Bell. Last week, the FBI followed the path Kerr took when bringing Rainwalker back to Greenwich after his stay with Person but did not find any clues. http://www.benningtonbanner.com/headlines/ci_7810612

Stephen Kerr named 'person of interest' Last updated: 4:58 p.m., Monday, January 14, 2008 GREENWICH -- Police looking for 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker said a video surveillance camera the night Rainwalker disappeared captured the image of a van similar to the one Rainwalker's adoptive father was using that night. Police said the several seconds of video tape is a clue that potentially punches a hole in the story told by Rainwalker's adoptive father, Stephen Kerr. At the time the van was seen, Kerr had claimed to be asleep in his father's home with Rainwalker. In a news conference in Greenwich today, police went on to assail Kerr for not cooperating with authorities and declared him a "person of interest" in the investigation. Greenwich Police Chief George Bell and state police Lt. Scott Coburn addressed the media during the conference. Kerr has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. He believes Rainwalker ran away from home. http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=655107&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=1/14/2008

Posted at: 02/03/2008 08:44:19 AM By: Subrina Dhammi Private investigator volunteers to help find Jaliek Rainwalker “A lot of people are thinking, having different thoughts about what's going on in the case and we just want to be able to look into every single avenue,” said Jamie Richardson, a private investigator who can't show his face on camera. “It's easier for us to gather information if we can anonymously be in the community,” added Richardson. His organization called 'Mission Possible Investigation' is taking on Jaliek's case. They've set up a tip hot line, 708-1219. The investigative firm has existed in the capital region for 10 years. Richardson says they specialize in missing person and child abuse cases. “I've worked with other investigative firms as well as state local law enforcement,” said Richardson. He and his partner are volunteering their time to help find Jaliek. “Generally we do charge for the services that we provide, but I think in this case it's a little bit different; there's a little bit more feeling on this case than some of the others,” added Richardson. “The Investigative Organization also set up an email address if you know anything send an email to find Jaliek at yahoo.com. The most recent addition to the bizarre case is the unsigned letter sent to NewsChannel13 on Thursday. Its post marked in Westchester New York. The letter says Jaliek is still alive. Police label Stephen Kerr who is the boy’s adoptive father is a person of interest in the disappearance. Richardson says he hopes another set of experienced eyes and ears will help the police http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s334809.shtml?cat=10114

Posted at: 01/31/2008 01:29:30 PM Updated at: 02/01/2008 07:57:24 AM By: Chris Rooney Letter claims Jaliek is alive ALBANY - The FBI is investigating a letter sent to Capital Region media outlets claiming missing 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker is alive and well. NewsChannel 13 and The Post-Star received copies of the anonymous letter Thursday morning. It was postmarked in Westchester County and had no return address. It was typed on a background image that resembled crumpled paper. The letter reads as follows: Jaliek still alive Needed a foot soldier for this war on drugs Picked him up Rt 40 Post 30 He's ok No fake He says ask his Mama and Papa Who are the macaronni (sic) family? My cat name diamond? Why does Franti yell fire? Don't try to look we are not there It's unclear what the statements mean. The third question posed could be a reference to the song "Yell Fire!" by the group Michael Franti and Spearhead. Jaliek disappeared from Greenwich on Nov. 1. His adoptive father, Stephen Kerr, was the last one to see him. He has maintained his belief that Jaliek ran away from home. Kerr has not been cooperative with the investigation and police have named him as a person of interest in his son's disappearance. http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S331282.shtml?cat=10114

Posted at: 02/22/2008 11:12:13 PM Updated at: 02/23/2008 01:07:11 AM By: John Allen 2 events draw attention to case of missing boy GREENWICH - There were two events Friday night in Washington County to help solve the case of a missing boy. Both of these events gave people an opportunity to support Jaliek Rainwalker's extended family. Parts of that family have become increasingly divided on how best to learn what happened to the 12 year old who has been missing more than three and a half months. Barbara Reeley sits at the Washington Square Deli in Greenwich; just a few blocks away from where her adoptive grandson Jaliek Rainwalker was reported missing by her son-in-law, Jaliek's adoptive father Stephen Kerr. That was on November 2, 2007. Kerr has since been named a person of interest in the case. Since the boy's disappearance she has become increasingly estranged from her daughter Jocelyn and her son-in-law. Reeley says she will come to the deli every Friday afternoon and evening until there's a resolution to her grandson's disappearance. Friday, she says supporters came to take more posters of the boy. Share stories about Jaliek and if they think they have clues to his disappearance to anonymously leave them here. " I'll open them up and the ones that need to go to Chief Bell will go to Chief Bell and the ones that need to go perhaps on the website, stories about Jaliek that's where they'll go," she said. Joy Purdy was Jaliek's foster mom when the boy was 2 and 3 years old. She went to the second event to help find the missing boy. At the Methodist Church in Salem she says there was a small turnout and two people were noticeably absent. "We didn't stay long, but we wanted to be there for Jaliek. I was disappointed that Jocelyn and Stephen weren't there. That's you know.... I'm kind of confused about that," she said. Both women tell me they've learned that Joycelyn and Stephen are vacationing in South Carolina with their other children. Newschannel 13 also learned from Greenwich Police Chief George Bell that items taken from the home where Jaliek was reported missing, are still in the hands of State Police and the FBI. The chief says the outcome of tests on those items is expected in a little more than a week. http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S355469.shtml?cat=300

Dive teams search for Jaliek Rainwalker in river Comments 1 | Recommend 0 August 26, 2008 - 5:26PM CBS 6 News A New York State Police dive team were called to search a part of the Hudson River after Greenwich Police Chief George Bell said he received "pertinent information" regarding missing Greenwich boy Jaliek Rainwalker. He would not elaborate on that information. The divers arrived at the River near a bike path off Fourth St. in Watervliet, and spent a majority of the day searching the water, according to Chief Bell. Divers left the scene confident that Rainwalker was not in the water, Bell said. Chief Bell could not comment on reports that rifles were found in the water during the search; he did say the firearms were not related to the search for Rainwalker. The dive search has concluded. http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/search_1256875___article.html/rainwalker_bell.html

Dear Poster Partner: This poster is an update and replaces all previously released posters for this case. Endangered Missing JALIEK RAINWALKER DOB: Aug 2, 1995 Missing: Nov 1, 2007 Age Now: 13 Sex: Male Race: Biracial Hair: Brown Eyes: Green Height: 5'6" (168 cm) Weight: 105 lbs (48 kg) Missing From: GREENWICH NY United States Both photos shown are of Jaliek. He was last seen on November 1, 2007. Jaliek is Biracial. He is Black and White. Jaliek was last seen wearing blue jeans, a yellow fleece pull-over and black tennis shoes. He has a slight speech impediment. Jaliek pronounces the letter "r" like a "w." ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) Greenwich Village Police Department (New York) 1-518-692-9332 Poster Available at: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=1083247&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US