Bryan Gomes

Bryan Gomes


Non-Family Abduction
BRYAN DOSSANTOS-GOMES



DOB: Nov 3, 2006
Missing: Dec 1, 2006
Age Now: 2
Sex: Male
Race: White/Hisp
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 2'0" (61 cm)
Weight: 12 lbs (5 kg)
Missing From:
FORT MYERS
FL
United States


COMPOSITE SKETCH



Abductor
DOB:
Sex: Female
Race: White/Hisp
Hair: Black
Eyes:
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown


Bryan was last seen in the area of Estero, Florida. He may be in the company of a heavy set White/Hispanic female, approximately 28-30 years old, long straight black hair, wearing blue jeans and a black blouse. They may be traveling in a two-door black Ford Explorer. The companion is armed and should be considered dangerous. CAUTION ADVISED.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fort Myers Police Department (Florida) 1-877-667-1296 Or Your Local FBI

Bryan Dossantos-Gomes 28 Days Old AMBER ALERT 12/1/06 FL




Mother to kidnapper: Bring back my baby


"I only have my baby, nothing else," Maria Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, 23, sobbed in Portuguese at Fort Myers police headquarters, a mother's tearful plea Saturday for the return of her month-old boy, Bryan Santos Gomes, abducted at knifepoint Friday.

"I have been waiting all night long but still my baby is not with me. I look out my windows hoping somebody will come back with my baby," she said, as the baby's father, Jurandir Gomes Costa, stood by her side.


For Dos Santos, the nightmare began Friday afternoon as she and a friend tried to help another woman who claimed she was lost and needed to get to the Pine Manor area of Fort Myers. They got in the woman's SUV and a short time later young Bryan was taken at knifepoint, and Dos Santos forced from the car in Estero, police said.

As a result, a team of 25 investigators are chasing leads trying to find her child, aware time is critical.

Originally published — 7:33 p.m., December 1, 2006
Updated — 1:17 a.m., December 2, 2006



Authorities continue to search for a 29-day-old baby after the infant was abducted with his mother in Fort Myers on Friday afternoon.

Fort Myers Police Chief Hilton Daniels said in a press conference at 10 p.m. Friday night that the child, Brayn Santos Gomes, was abducted with his mother, Maria Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, at knifepoint around 4:50 p.m. by a woman driving a black SUV.

The suspect is described as 28 to 30 years old with black straight hair partially in a bun, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, wearing a black T-shirt. The woman was described as light skinned and spoke Spanish to the victims, police said. She is driving a black SUV with older peeling window tint.

The suspect is believed to be heading to Miami or Tampa, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155.

"This child is in the company of a stranger," Hilton said as the press conference ended. "Any tip is going to be helpful at this time."

The mother and Brayn, as well as another woman and a baby, were approached by the woman in the SUV while walking on Cleveland Avenue/U.S. 41 near Linhart Avenue in Fort Myers. The suspect asked for directions to Pine Manor. The women agreed to show her where the neighborhood is and entered the car with their children.



The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating the abduction of a 29-day-old baby boy. The statewide Amber Alert system has been activated.
Police said that the women did not know the suspect.

"We have no idea why (they entered the car)," Daniels said.

The baby's father, Jurandir Gomez Costa, came to the police station. According to an Internet database, Gomez Costa lives at 5423 8th Ave, Fort Myers, which is in Pine Manor.

The women showed the suspect the neighborhood, and she drove the two mothers and children back toward where she picked them up. She then forced one mother and child out of the car, and drove off with Ramos Dos Santos and Brayn, who was born on Nov. 3.

Hilton confirmed that the suspect had a baby bag and car seat in the SUV, leading police to believe the abduction was planned.

"It appears to be at this time (premeditated)," Daniels said.


Fort Myers Police Chief Hilton Daniels describes the abduction of a 29-day-old baby which occurred along US 41 during a press conference at the downtown Fort Myers Police Station Friday in Fort Myers.

Neither of the mothers or the child that was released were harmed, Daniels said.

Nearly two hours later the suspect dropped Ramos Dos Santos off at the Villagio Apartments in Estero, said Lee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Larry King. An Amber Alert was released at 7:15 p.m.

Hilton said determining what happened to the women was difficult at first because one of the victims spoke Spanish and the mother whose son is still missing, spoke Portuguese.

The Fort Myers Police Department has teamed up with Cape Coral Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Collier County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to find the baby.

"Time is of the essence for sure," said FDLE spokesman Larry Long. "Time is very critical."

The last time an Amber Alert was released in Lee County was July 2005, he said.


http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/01/baby_missing_after_being_kidnapped_mother/

Father of kidnapped baby: "Mucho, Mucho triste."

Dialy News staff

Originally published — 12:47 p.m., December 2, 2006
Updated — 2:12 p.m., December 2, 2006

"Mucho, Mucho triste," said Jurandir Gomez Costa about his kidnapped 29-day-old baby boy. "Quiero mucho."

Translation: He's very, very sad and he loves his son very much.

Bryan Santos Gomes, his son, has been missing for nearly 22 hours now. Bryan was abducted along with his mother, Jurandir Gomez Costa, at knifepoint around 4:50 p.m. by a woman driving a black SUV. The mother, Maria Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, was later dropped off in Estero.

Police are still trying to draw a composite of the suspect while Gomez Costa's first and only son is still missing. The couple is from Brazil and have been in here for just over a year.

Gomez Costa sat on his front porch of his old but well-kept single-wide trailer at Tropical Trailer Park in Fort Myers on Saturday morning. He buried his face in hands trying to describe the details of the abduction.

Through a translator, Gomez Costa said the mother along with another mother and child were waiting for a bus when the kidnapper pulled up. The kidnapper got out of the car and tried to get her to help her find her mother's house, which she claimed was in the Pine Manor neighborhood. The suspect said she had been searching for eight hours. They refused at first and got on the bus. The suspect followed the bus until the victims got off the bus near Gomez Costa home at Linhart. Ave. The woman approached them again, crying and begging them to show them where her mother's house was.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials believe that the suspect used the victims cell phone to make a call. Detectives believe that she pretended to call her mother but it was actually a random call that ended up at a local business. FDLE is about to release an audio tape of the call to see if anyone recognizes the voice.

The suspect is described as 28 to 30 years old with black straight hair partially in a bun, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, wearing a black T-shirt. She was light skinned and spoke Spanish to the victims, police said. She is driving a black SUV with older peeling window tint.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155.

She may be headed to Tampa.

Gomez Costa, 26, said that when the suspect told his wife, 23, to not tell the cops that she was going to Tampa or she would could come back and kill her family.

Translation of voice mail

12/2/06

Message 1

They are taking....here...on the...I'm going to tell you. Its called Cleveland, Cleveland Avenue. (pause) Yes, But I don't think there are any other streets that are called that. So go to Pine Manor, You go in Pine Manor, 11th Street. Oh, ok, but how long will it be before you get here? Because I have to take the girls back. Ok...I'll call you back ok? Bye Bye, ok, bye bye

Message 2

(Unintelligible - possibly a name) Yes, I know where I am. Yes, Ok, bye bye.

UPDATE: 12:47

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has obtained an audio tape of the woman suspected of kidnapping a 29-day-old baby. Larry Long, the FDLE spokesman, said the tape will be released in hopes of finding of Brayn Santos Gomes.

Long said the tape came from an answering machine of a local business. He said the suspect may have used one of the victim's cell phone to make the call.

Long said the tape is hard to hear but law enforcement officials believe suspect was having a conversation with herself and was talking about the Pine Manor area of Fort Myers.

"We are hoping someone might recognize her voice and be able to give us a lead," Long said.

FDLE along with Fort Myers Police Department, Cape Coral Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are canvassing the neighborhood where Brayn and his mother Maria Fatima Ramos Dos Santos live and were abducted on Friday afternoon.

He said that a sketch artist has not been able to get a complete composite of the suspect.

She has been described as 28 to 30 years old with black straight hair partially in a bun, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, wearing a black T-shirt. She was light skinned and spoke Spanish to the victims, police said. She is driving a black SUV with older peeling window tint.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/02/search_continues_fdle_release_audio_baby_kidnap_su/?latest

Originally published — 8:51 p.m., December 2, 2006
Updated — 10:04 p.m., December 2, 2006

Maria Fatima Ramos Dos Santos’ eyes lit up for a moment as she saw a picture of her infant son flash across a television screen.

“My baby,” she said in Portuguese.

It had been more than a day since she last held her only child, one-month-old Bryan Dos Santos Gomes, who was kidnapped Friday afternoon in Fort Myers.

A woman driving a black SUV abducted Bryan and Ramos Dos Santos, 23, at knifepoint about 4:50 p.m. in Fort Myers. The woman in the SUV dropped the mother off in Estero and rode off with Bryan.

“I really need my baby back,” Ramos Dos Santos said through a translator Saturday night. “I’m really hurt.’’

If the woman can’t bring the baby back to her, she can drop him off at the nearest fire station, she said.

Authorities said Saturday they believe the woman who kidnapped Bryan was trying to replace a child of her own. The woman may have been pregnant and lost her baby or she may have had a young child that died recently, said Sgt. Mike Carr of the Fort Myers Police Department.

“It’s our belief that she was looking for a baby,” Carr said. “She was very cunning. She had a baby seat in her car, a diaper bag in her car. She was prepared to do this.”

Authorities are asking anyone who might know of someone who recently lost a baby to be on the lookout. Police are following several leads but haven’t made an arrest.

The suspect is described as 28 to 30 years old with black, straight hair partially in a bun, standing 5 feet 4 inches, and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt. She was light-skinned and spoke Spanish to the victims, police said, and she was asking for directions to Pine Manor, a neighborhood south of Fort Myers. She was driving a black SUV with peeling window tint.

About 25 officers from local, state and national agencies are working to find Bryan, including two agents from the FBI. Several Brazilian women in the community also have offered to travel to Miami and Tampa — possible destinations for the suspect — to hand out fliers, Carr said. There is also an Amber Alert out for Bryan.

“It is very rare for such a young baby to be kidnapped,” Carr said.

It’s maybe happened three or four times in his 28 years with the Fort Myers Police Department, he said. A similar case occurred six or eight months ago in Charlotte County.

Police confirmed that the suspect in that case is still in jail.

For the baby’s father, Jurandir Gomes Costa, who sat on the front porch of his old but well-kept single-wide trailer at Tropical Trailer Park in Fort Myers on Saturday afternoon, the only help he needs right now is in finding his son, he said.

He’s sad, loves his son and just wants to see him again.

Through a translator — Bryan’s parents are both from Brazil and speak Portuguese — Gomes Costa gave this account of what happened Friday afternoon, holding his face in his hands as he described the details:

The baby’s mother, Ramos Dos Santos, was waiting for a bus outside a hospital in Fort Myers with a friend and her child when a woman she had never seen before drove up, desperate for help and asking for directions in Spanish. The woman claimed she had been driving around the area for eight hours looking for her mother’s house.

Ramos Dos Santos and her friend went ahead and got on the bus, but the woman in the car followed the bus until Ramos Dos Santos and her friend arrived at the stop close by the trailer park off Linhart Avenue.

Investigators with the Fort Myers Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have obtained a voice recording of the suspect in yesterday's kidnapping. While driving to Pine Manor the suspect made a phone call to make the victims believe she was trying to find her mother. Detectives believe the suspect dialed a random number. However, she reached a local business and the call was recorded on voicemail. Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-334-4155.

At that point, the suspect came up to Ramos Dos Santos and her friend crying and again asking for assistance. The women got in her car.

“The two ladies tried to be nice,” said neighbor Richard Corra, who later helped Ramos Dos Santos explain her story to the police, because he speaks both English and Portuguese.

Determining what happened to the women and their children was difficult at first, authorities said, because one of the victims spoke Spanish and the mother whose son is still missing spoke Portuguese.

Eduardo De Macedo, a friend who works with Gomes Costa, said soon after the women got in the car the driver started asking for $500 and making threats. She told Ramos Dos Santos that if they were stopped by police, she had to claim they already knew each other. She also said not to tell police she was heading to Tampa, or she would come find Ramos Dos Santos and her family and harm them.

After the women showed the suspect the neighborhood, she drove the two mothers and children back toward where she picked them up. She then forced one mother and child out of the car, and drove off with Ramos Dos Santos and the infant, Bryan.

The suspect eventually forced Ramos Dos Santos out of the car as well, and left her alone near the Villagio housing development off Three Oaks Parkway in Estero. The suspect took off with the child, and told Ramos Dos Santos to wait 10 minutes before making a phone call.

At some point during the two hours Ramos Dos Santos was in the SUV, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials believe that the suspect used the victim’s cell phone to make a call. Detectives believe that she pretended to call her mother, but it was actually a random call that ended up at a local business.

The abducted infant, Bryan, is Ramos Dos Santos’ only child with her boyfriend of two years, Gomes Costa. The couple met in Brazil and they have been together since, though they are not married.

They came to the U.S. separately within the past two years. Gomes Costa is a flooring contractor and the baby’s mother, Ramos Dos Santos, hasn’t worked since her pregnancy.

For neighbors in the Fort Myers trailer park off Linhart Avenue, where the abducted baby spent the first days of his life, the thought that a kidnapping had happened to someone who lives close by was unsettling.

Residents said it is a close-knit community.

“In this trailer park everybody knows everybody,” resident Garland McBride said. “If someone strange comes in here, we know it.”

Saturday afternoon, he sat with neighbors around a picnic table in view of the trailer park’s community playground, with its green slide, tire swing and red see-saw. Many young families live in the trailer park, and strollers and toys dotted the yards in front of many of the homes.

Most weekends, on nice days, the playground would be crawling with children, but Saturday, the playground was empty and McBride’s neighbor Jimmy Hernandez was keeping a close eye on his year-old son, Vincent.

Police went door-to-door in the trailer park Friday night, he said, checking to make sure the children in each home truly belonged to the adults they were staying with.

Across the trailer park, David Estrada also was keeping a close eye on his 9-year-old daughter as she played in a yard.

“My sister said I have to be careful with my daughter,” said Estrada, who was visiting from West Palm Beach on Saturday. “That’s why I’m outside. I have to watch her.”

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/02/montholdbaby_abducted_still_missing/

Mother to kidnapper: Bring back my baby
Fort Myers police study phone tape

By JACOB OGLES
jogles@news-press.com
& ED JOHNSON
ejohnson@news-press.com
Originally posted on December 03, 2006


WHO TO CALL
Anyone with information about the abduction of month-old Bryan Santos Gomes is asked to call Fort Myers police at 344-4155.

"I only have my baby, nothing else," Maria Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, 23, sobbed in Portuguese at Fort Myers police headquarters, a mother's tearful plea Saturday for the return of her month-old boy, Bryan Santos Gomes, abducted at knifepoint Friday.

"I have been waiting all night long but still my baby is not with me. I look out my windows hoping somebody will come back with my baby," she said, as the baby's father, Jurandir Gomes Costa, stood by her side.


For Dos Santos, the nightmare began Friday afternoon as she and a friend tried to help another woman who claimed she was lost and needed to get to the Pine Manor area of Fort Myers. They got in the woman's SUV and a short time later young Bryan was taken at knifepoint, and Dos Santos forced from the car in Estero, police said.

As a result, a team of 25 investigators are chasing leads trying to find her child, aware time is critical.


Since the kidnapping they have taken these steps:

• Completed interviews of victims and witnesses.

• Canvassed both the abduction site and the neighborhood where the baby's family live.

• Completed a door-to-door check of family's neighborhood for the infant.

• Worked at refining a composite sketch of the kidnapper

• Obtained a tape recorded message believed to have the kidnapper's voice.

• Issued an Amber Alert and all points bulletin on the kidnapper.

• Appealed to the public for assistance.

• Begun to develop a profile of the suspect.

From an investigative standpoint time is important, said Larry Long, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"Time is always of the essence in abduction cases," he said.

In this case concern is more for the welfare of the baby, he said. A child this young is totally dependent on his caregiver, pediatricians said, needing frequent feedings and diaper changes.

Even as police try to prepare a sketch of the woman wanted in the kidnapping, they are getting a better feel for the suspect they are seeking.

"We're looking for someone who is very cunning," said Mike Carr, a sergeant with the Fort Myers Police Department. "She already had a baby seat, a diaper bag and no child. She was prepared to do this."

The suspect is described as a light-skinned woman, possibly Hispanic, between 28 and 30. She is about 5 feet, 4 inches tall with dark hair pulled back in a bun. She was last seen driving a late model SUV — possibly an Explorer or Blazer — with peeling window tint, police said.

Police had a computer generated composite of the suspect, but were not satisfied it was accurate, Carr said.

"We're trying to get a sketch prepared by a forensic artist," said.

That sketch will probably not be done before today, he said.

"Our number one goal is to get the baby back safely. Then to get the suspect," Carr said, flanked by representatives of the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

TEARFUL PLEA

Dos Santos, looking uncomfortable in the glare of television lights, continued a tearful plea to the kidnapper.

"Please return my baby," she said. "I suffer very much for my baby. It is getting dark again and my baby is still not here. Leave my baby with the firemen. Leave it at any firehouse."

Dos Santos described her terror when she first saw the knife in the kidnapper's car and realized what was happening.

"I thought when I saw the knife, this is a kidnapping. She is after my baby," she said.

Investigative supervisors from a specially trained Child Abduction Response Team continue to work at an off-site location, trying to put together what is known and farm out assignments to field investigators, authorities said.

Investigators are still trying to assess significance of the tape recording they believe holds the kidnapper's voice.

In an unusual turn of events, investigators were able to determine the kidnapper used the phone of one of the abducted women to make a telephone call. She pretended to call her mother, Carr said, but the call was actually made to an area business.

While the kidnapper pretended to have a conversation, an answering machine at the business recorded her voice.

Police did not release the name of the business and are still trying to determine if the number was a random dialing or a significant fact in the case, Carr said. The kidnapper called the number twice, but police cannot rule out the second call was through use of a redial button, he said.

Meanwhile, police are continuing to press canvasses in the Pine Minor neighborhood, where the kidnapper had originally asked to go, he said.

Carr said he does not believe there is any connection between the victimized women and the kidnapper.

One theory is the kidnapper could be a woman who was recently pregnant and may have lost her baby, police said.

"I think she was a victim of opportunity," Carr said of Dos Santos.

He said there was no indication either woman put up a fight with the abductor.

Speaking of the abducted child's mother, Carr said: "I think she was just scared to death."

Janice Duarte, 22, along with her 8-month-old, also had been abducted, but she managed to escape with her child.

She is helping by handing out Amber Alert fliers, she said.

She said she will now be less trusting of others.

"I will be very apprehensive," she said through an interpreter.

HELP FROM OTHERS

In addition to the task force investigators, police are also being aided by personnel from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and church groups, Carr said

"Two women, who speak Portuguese, are going to be distributing fliers in both Tampa and Miami through their church groups," Carr said. "This is the kind of help that can make a difference."

He expressed hope publicity might generate the call investigators need to put together the case.

"We believe we have someone who was looking for a young baby and found a young baby," he said. "We hope someone will call and say they know someone who suddenly has a new baby."

That scenario also bodes well for the safety of the child.

"In virtually all cases with very young babies the child is found alive and reunited with his parents," said Bryant Harper, founder of CodeAmber.org, a group helping Fort Myers police.

With a baby this young, the child also will need proper care, doctors said.

"With a (month-old) baby, (there) is very little they are capable of doing," said Dr. Yanet Rios, a pediatrician at the Pediatric Hospital of the Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. "In terms of milestones, they may be able to raise their head slightly, but they cannot recognize faces."

The infant also would require frequent feeding with either formula or breast milk and have a diaper change at least four to six times a day, she said.

In addition, infants have trouble controlling their body temperatures and risk dehydration if not properly cared for, Rios said. This baby would not have received his immunization shots, she said, and also would be prone to infection.

Although police were tight-lipped about the possible whereabouts of their suspect, Carr said Miami was mentioned as a destination because of the kidnapper's southbound direction of travel.

"It was speculation based on what we knew at the time," he said.

MORE DETAIL

The events preceding the kidnapping also were explained in greater detail.

Police now believe the women were targets of opportunity, spotted by a kidnapper prepared to abduct the first available baby, authorities said.

Through interviews investigators now surmise the victims first encountered their kidnapper as they waited for a bus and the kidnapper asked for directions. After getting directions, the kidnapper drove off and the women and their babies boarded a bus which dropped them at Cleveland and Linhart avenues, Carr said.

"At that point the same black SUV turned around and approached them again, asking for better directions," he said. "We believe they were offered money if they would get in the car and show her where Pine Manor was."

Carr said there had been a similar abduction in DeSoto County "about eight months ago," but that suspect was still in custody.

He said he can only remember three or four such cases in his 28 years with the Fort Myers Police Department.

— The News-Press staff writer Jamie Page contributed to this report.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/NEWS01/612030388

Police don't fear Baby Bryan is being harmed

By Brad Kane

Originally published — 5:20 p.m., December 3, 2006
Updated — 10:41 p.m., December 3, 2006

Law enforcement officials believe the woman who abducted Baby Bryan has no harmful intentions for the 1-month-old child but intends to raise it as if it were her own and not the Fort Myers woman's she took it at knifepoint from Friday afternoon.

The suspect is described as 28 to 30 years old with black, straight hair partially in a bun, standing 5 feet 4 inches, and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt. She was light-skinned and spoke Spanish to the victims, police said, and she was asking for directions to Pine Manor, a neighborhood south of Fort Myers. She was driving a black SUV with peeling window tint.

Police believe the suspect could have driven as far as Miami or Tampa.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155.

The child -- Bryan Dos Santos Gomes -- has black hair and weighed 12 pounds at the time of the abduction.

Fort Myers police chaplain Rev. Israel Suarez delivered a special message in English and Spanish for the Hispanic community to work together to bring Baby Bryan back to his mother and father, Maria De Fatima Ramos Dos Santos and Jurandir Gomes Costa.

"We want that baby to come back to his mother," Suarez said.

If anyone is uncomfortable calling the police, Suarez told anyone with information to call him with information 24 hours a day. His cell is 239-707-5520; office is 239-332-7575; home is 239-772-2523.

Dos Santos made her second plea in as many days for the safe return of Baby Bryan, who turned one month old today. She offered anything to the kidnapper for the chance to see the child again.

"Anything she wants, money or anything," Dos Santos said. "I'll find a way to get it."

Law enforcement officials were noticeably emotional during the press conference. FBI agent John Kuchta's hands and voice trembled as his made his appeal for Baby Bryan's return.

The suspect pulled a knife on Dos Santos and told her to get out of the car without the child, and she complied. Fort Myers Sgt. Mike Carr applauded her for not escalating the violence in the situation and possibly keeping her child from harm.

"The mother reacted the best way she felt she had to react," Carr said. "We are going to get her, her baby back."

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/03/4_pm_press_conference_search_baby_bryan/?latest

By Brad Kane

Monday, December 4, 2006

Image

The eyes, ears and emotions of residents of Lee County, Florida and the entire nation have been deputized by law enforcement officials in Fort Myers as the search for abducted Baby Bryan enters Day 4.

With little information to report Sunday, the family, the church, the city police department and the FBI pleaded for tips that could lead to the recovery of the 1-month-old taken at knifepoint Friday afternoon.

Any woman who is pregnant or has given birth in the past two months who has been approached by a stranger who seemed suspiciously interested in the infant is asked to call.

Anybody who knows or has seen a woman with a young baby but does not have specific knowledge of that woman giving birth is asked to call. The woman may have been pregnant, but if she mysteriously appeared with a baby over the weekend, she is under suspicion.

Anyone who saw anything unusual between 4 and 5 p.m. Friday in the Linhart area near U.S. 41 in Fort Myers is asked to call with any information, even though it may not seem to relate directly to the case.

Anyone who has seen a dark blue or black two-door Chevy Blazer or Ford Explorer with peeling window tint is asked to report its whereabouts.

Contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 338-2120 or call 911.

The suspect is a heavyset 28-30-year-old white/Hispanic woman with long-straight black hair seen on Friday wearing blue jeans and a black blouse. She is about 5 feet, 4 inches tall. Police may have a sketch available today.

The child — Bryan Dos Santos Gomes — is of Brazilian descent with black hair and weighs 12 pounds. He turned 1 month old Sunday.

Even though the suspect wielded a knife to get Baby Bryan away from his mother — Maria De Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, 23 — the police and FBI feel the child is not in any physical danger.

The kidnapper had a baby seat and a diaper bag in the back seat of her car when she took Bryan, Maria and another mother and child, leaving police to conclude the abduction was premeditated because the woman wanted a child.

She may have lost a baby recently.

"We don't fear for the baby," Fort Myers Sgt. Mike Carr said. "We are just asking for a safe return of the baby — Baby Bryan."

Even though the missing persons case is now more than 65 hours cold, the police and FBI said they were confident the situation would come to a happy resolution, although they admit time is of the essence.

"We are always racing against the clock, but we are going to remain confident," Carr said.

Police chaplain Rev. Israel Suarez, of United Nation Food Bank, in a message delivered in English and Spanish appealed specifically to the Hispanic community to help recover the child.

"Por favor, entreya a esa criatura lo mas pronto posible," Suarez wrote to the Daily News.

"We want to see that baby come back to the mother," he said. "Please bring that baby back — the family needs it."

Those uncomfortable calling the police can contact Suarez 24 hours a day at his office, (239) 772-2523, his home (239) 332-7575 or his cell (239) 707-5520.

Mother Maria and Baby Bryan were waiting at the bus stop in front of a Fort Myers hospital with another mother and baby when the suspect drove up and asked for directions to her mother's in the Pine Manor neighborhood.

Maria, Bryan and the other mother and child got on the bus, but the woman followed them, coaxing them in the car after they stepped off the bus near Linhart Avenue. The other mother and child were eventually let out.

The suspect drove Maria to the Villagio housing development off Three Oaks Parkway in Estero, threatened her with a knife to get out of the vehicle and drove off with Baby Bryan.

"The mother reacted the way she felt she had to react," said Carr, applauding Maria for not escalating the violence in the vehicle. "We are going to get her baby back."

The woman with Bryan has likely returned to some degree of home life, so police called on those close to her to come forward with information.

"They have to think, 'I love her, but I have to do the right thing here,' " Carr said.

Police, the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have issued two Amber Alerts — the second nationwide — in the search for Baby Bryan. They have received about 50 tips and have canvassed the Linhart and Pine Manor neighborhoods.

Officials would not speculate on whether the child was still in the Fort Myers neighborhood. The suspect talked about Tampa and the suspect's southerly driving to Estero brings Bonita Springs, Naples and Miami into question.

"The toughest case anyone will work is a child abduction," said FBI agent John Kuchta.

Since it formed in January 2005, Lee County's Child Abduction Response Team — a multi-agency task force — has worked five cases, all ending in the child being returned to the parents. The last one was July 2005 when a parent abducted an 8-day-old baby.

For the second time in as many days, the mother of the child, Maria, made a tearful plea for the safe return of her son. She was comforted by the baby's father — Jurandir Gomes Costa, 26 — as she spoke to the press Sunday.

"Return my son, I need him," Maria said via a Portugese translator. "He is the only thing I have. I don't have a father or a mother; I only have him."

Every time a car drives by her home, Maria hopes it is Baby Bryan coming home. When it is not him, she is overwhelmed by sadness.

"My baby is 30 days old today; please do not do any harm to him," Maria said. "Anything (the suspect) wants; money or anything; I'll find a way to come up with it."

Those uncomfortable calling the police can contact Suarez 24 hours a day at his office, (239) 772-2523, his home (239) 332-7575 or his cell (239) 707-5520.

Contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 338-2120 or call 911.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/04/nofficials_pleading_tips_about_missing_baby/?local_news

_________________

Community unites to find kidnapped baby

December 4, 2006

By Nick Spinetto

On Monday baby Bryan's parents reached out to the national media outlets appealing to the public, hoping anyone with information about his kidnapping will come forward.

In the meantime members of the Brazilian community have reaching out to the family, doing what they can to help bring Bryan home.

"We're working. We believe we're going to get this kid back," said Beateriz Santos, one of the many handing out fliers.

She and Janaina Machado don't know the Dos Santos family, but they're heartsick about 1 month old Bryan's kidnapping.

Now they're doing what's in their power to help find his kidnapper.

For the past 3 days, the two women have been handing out pictures of Bryan Santos Gomes and a copy of his amber alert to local businesses and people.

The women have made thousands of copies, even posting several on their car anticipating the kidnapping will stay on everyone's mind until Bryan's returned.

"This way no one will forget about this because after a few days, no one will talk about it anymore," said Janaina Machado.

In addition to handing out copies here, they've also been sending them to Tampa and Miami.

They say they'll continue to do until Bryan's back with his parents.

http://www.winktv.com/x25688.xml

Woman Who Abducted Baby May Be Armed


POSTED: December 4, 2006

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Local, state and federal authorities are sifting through more than 50 leads in their search for a 1-month-old baby Fort Myers police said was abducted at knifepoint Friday afternoon.

Police Chief Hilton Daniels said Bryan Dos Santos Gomes and his mother, Maria Dossantos, were kidnapped Friday by a woman driving a black SUV.

Dos Santos said she and her friend were waiting at a bus stop in Fort Myers when the woman asked them for directions. She said the kidnapper told them she needed to pick up her own baby.

"She said her own baby was a day old when someone took the baby from her," Dos Santos said.

Police said Dossantos got into the woman's car with her baby to give the woman directions.

According to authorities, Dossantos was released south of Fort Myers a short time later, but the abductor kept the baby.

Police describe the vehicle as a dark-colored, two-door Chevy Blazer or Ford Explorer with peeling window tint. Investigators said the abductor may be headed toward Miami.

An Amber Alert has been issued for the baby boy. Police said the abductor should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about the child is asked to call the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-338-2120 or 911.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/10461199/detail.html

Snatching of Fort Myers baby gets national attention


FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- A crime-fighting TV show has joined the search for a month-old baby boy who was taken from his mother at knifepoint last week.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesman says "America's Most Wanted" will air a segment Saturday if Bryan Dos Santos Gomes isn't found by then.

The boy's mother, Maria Ramos Dos Santos, told authorities that a woman who gave her a ride in an SUV threatened her with a knife before driving off with her son last Friday.

Police believe the kidnapper is a woman who wants a child of her own. Ramos Dos Santos told police the woman had a child's car seat and diaper bag in the SUV.

Police has set up roadblocks in the area to question motorists about what they might have seen around the time the child was taken.

http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI34269/

Police: No reason not to believe Baby Bryan's mother


By Tom Hanson

Originally published — 9:00 a.m., December 5, 2006
Updated — 9:06 a.m., December 5, 2006

The search for Baby Bryan has reached 87 hours.

Law enforcement officials intensified their search. They set up road blocks. They released a composite of the suspect.They desperately tried to find out why a woman, who is described to be in her late 20s, would snatch Maria de Fatima Ramos Dos Santos' one-month old infant.

Yet, some experts pointed fingers. Some even questioned the validity of the mother's story, which has reached a national audience. Several of the detectives working on the case have appeared on numerous high-profile talk shows.

Detective Jennifer LeDelfa, from the Fort Myers Police Department, appeared on Fox's prime-time news show "On the Record with Greta" starring Greta Van Susteren.

LeDelfa assured the host that mothers story about the abduction at knifepoint is real.

"There is no reason to believe that the mother isn't telling the truth," LeDelfa said.

The FMPD is getting plenty of face time. Sgt. Mike Carr appeared on CNN's "Nancy Grace" where the question also turned to: Do you think the mother is telling the truth?

"Will she take a polygraph?" Grace said to Carr.

"Excuse me?" said Carr, puzzled about the line of questioning.

Mike Brooks, a former Washington D.C. police officer, hinted that there are some holes in Ramos Dos Santos' story. Brooks questioned the fact the victims speak Portuguese and the suspect supposedly spoke Spanish.

"You know, yes, there's some things that sound like inconsistencies," Brooks said. "And one of the things is language. That was one of the things I brought up that I just thought was a little strange. I'm not saying that she is involved in it. There`s just some things that need -- some questions that need to be answered."

Ray Guidice, a defense attorney, said he would have both Ramos Dos Santos and Janice Duarte, the other woman who also agreed to get into the SUV, polygraphs.

"If this were all some type of set-up, why go through all that?" Grace said questioning Guidice's theory. "There's no reason."

"Nancy, it takes no time," Guidice responded. "It eliminates them, and you move onto the next stage of the investigation."

As the investigation continues FMPD Detective Matt Sellers appeared on Fox and Friends this morning. FBI agent John Kutchta also went on The Big Story with John Gibson on Monday

Shelly Flynn, the FMPD public information officer, said she has fielded calls from CNN, NBC, and ABC radio, Good Morning America and The Today Show. She also said the story is going international with Brazilian TV stations and newspapers, the couples' homeland requesting interviews.

Flynn said there are no press conferences planned at this time.

Check back at naplesnews.com and bonitanews.com for more on this story.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/05/police_no_reason_not_believe_baby_bryans_mother/?latest

Police: Leads in kidnapping case have doubled



By Daily News staff

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

After interviewing witnesses again Monday, distributing a sketch of the suspect and receiving numerous calls on a tip line, investigators still don't know where to find Bryan Dos Santos Gomes.

The baby has been missing since Friday, when a woman in dark SUV kidnapped him in Fort Myers. Authorities still believe the baby is safe and being cared for.

One thing investigators need right now is a better, more-detailed description of the car the suspect was driving, said Larry Long, a spokesman for the Fort Myers region of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, one of the agencies assisting in the investigation.

Today, investigators are reviewing the video surveillance tapes from a number of businesses along U.S. 41 between Fort Myers and Estero. Since the kidnapper drove that road, Long said, authorities hope some business may have caught an image of the SUV she was driving. With some luck, they may even find a license plate number, he said, but that's very difficult.

Investigators are also talking with people who may have witnessed the kidnapping, Long said. "We're getting some leads that are helpful. We'd like to get more," he said.

With the attention Friday's kidnapping has received, especially in the past day, the number of leads in the case has doubled, Fort Myers Police Department spokewoman Shelly Flynn said.

Whether anything will come of these leads remains to be seen, but authorities are busy investigating the tips they've received.

And with more community organizations getting involved in the search, it can only be a good thing, Flynn said. "We'll take all the help we can get," she said.

In addition to local groups, a national nonprofit based in California that assists in the search for missing children, BeyondMissing, will be paying to print flyers with information about Bryan, Long said.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/05/police_leads_kidnapping_case_have_doubled/?latest

Update AMBER ALERT

BRYAN DOSSANTOS-GOMES

Date Missing: 12/1/2006
Missing From: Fort Myers
County: LEE
Birth Date: 11/3/2006

Narrative: Bryan was last seen in the area of Estero, Florida. He may be in the company of a heavyset white/hispanic female, approximately 28-30 years old, long straight black hair, wearing blue jeans and a black blouse.

They may be traveling in a dark blue or black two door Blazer
or Explorer SUV with dark peeling window tint. The vehicle may contain a baby-seat.
]b]
The companion is armed and should be considered dangerous.[/b]

UPDATE: Companion composite and age, vehicle, and tip line toll free telephone number.

If you have any information concerning the
whereabouts of this child, please contact the Ft Myers Police Department at
1-877-667-1296 (Tip Line) or 911.

www.fdle.state.fl.us

Kidnapping strikes nerve with Brazilians as they join effort to retrieve toddler


By Elysa Batista (Contact)

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

With authorities depending on citizens for leads in the search for baby Bryan Dos Santos, members of Fort Myers’ Brazilian community have taken matters into their own hands.

Between fliers on cars, local businesses posting signs and old-fashioned word of mouth, the news of the newborn’s disappearance spread during the weekend and continued to be on everyone’s mind Tuesday.

“The word went out within an hour of him going missing,” said Eleni Sarris, 43, an eight-year Fort Myers resident, speaking in Spanish. “Everyone knows and is aware of the kidnapping.”

On Friday, a woman driving a black SUV abducted Bryan and his mother Maria de Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, 23, at knifepoint at about 4:50 p.m. in Fort Myers.

The suspect, described as in her late 20s with black, straight hair in a partial bun, was asking for directions in Spanish to Pine Manor — a neighborhood south of Fort Myers — when she picked up Bryan, Ramos Dos Santos and another woman with a child.

She forced the other mother and child out of the car, then drove off with Ramos Dos Santos and Bryan. The driver later dropped Ramos Dos Santos off in Estero and drove off with the baby.

By Monday, police had interviewed at least 50 drivers at a roadblock on Linhart Avenue and had made contact with at least one eyewitness, who thought he saw the suspect’s SUV. In addition, law enforcement officials released a composite of the suspect.

But while local, state and national authorities are working to find Bryan, all the information pertaining to his disappearance and the newborn’s picture have been posted on the front doors of several Brazilian shops and handed out on fliers through the Fort Myers area.

“What we’re trying to do is talk with everyone,” said Sarris, who added that her church also had gotten involved. “We’re all hoping that the police can do something for this lady.”

The sentiment was shared by Supermercado Mundo Brasileño’s owner Keyla Sousa.

“On Sunday we gave out more than 105 pamphlets,” said Sousa, adding that the victimized family frequented the store at 3319 Cleveland Ave.

Sousa described the family as coming from humble beginnings in Brazil and being trusting folk who never would have expected anyone to do this to them.

She pleaded to the kidnapper to return Bryan.

“Just leave him in a safe place,” Sousa said.

Although community members remain hopeful for Bryan’s safe return, the disappearance also has brought a new kind of fear to the community.

For expectant mothers Jucimeire Luna, 33, and Aline Cortes, 30, who were shopping at the Brazilian Meat Market, at 3777 Fowler St., on Tuesday afternoon, the kidnapping hit too close to home.

“Everyone is shocked. How could somebody do this?” said the eight-months-pregnant Luna, in Portuguese. “It makes you scared.”

Cortes, also eight months pregnant, also spoke in Portuguese and put it this way: “Everyone is horrified. But we pray that the police will find him.”

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/06/kidnapping_strikes_nerve_brazilians_they_join_effo/?local_news

Woman matching Baby Bryan's abductor spotted


Wednesday, December 6, 2006

A woman matching the description of Baby Bryan's kidnapper was spotted driving a green Mazda near Coastland Center Mall in Naples around noon today, according to a police scanner report.

A civilian called and said a woman matched the description on the Amber Alert and the caller was following the car near the intersection of Golden Gate Parkway and Goodlette-Frank Road, according to the report over the police scanner.

A Naples police spokesman said that his department received the call and then passed it on to the Collier County Sheriff's Office. A spokesman for the Sheriff's Office said there was a call that a car matched the description of the suspect's SUV near 9th Ave in Naples but that case had been cleared.

Baby Bryan was abducted with his mother in Fort Myers last Friday by a woman driving an SUV. His mother was later released in Estero.

The suspect is described as 28 to 30 years old with black straight hair partially in a bun, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, wearing a black T-shirt. The woman was described as light skinned and spoke Spanish to the victims, police said. She is driving a black SUV with older peeling window tint.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/06/report_woman_matching_baby_bryans_abductor_spotted/?latest

Fort Myers police intensify search for baby


By Melissa Cassutt, Julio Ochoa

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Fort Myers police, relying heavily on the public to help them find an abducted baby, stepped up their efforts to get the word out Monday. Law enforcement officers set up two roadblocks during the afternoon and later released a sketch of the woman who abducted the infant from Fort Myers on Friday.

At the end of the day, Bryan Dos Santos Gomes, a 1-month-old boy who was taken from his mother at knifepoint, was still missing, but police might have gained some ground in the search.

Officers interviewed at least 50 drivers at a road block on Linhart Avenue between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Police said they made contact with at least one eyewitness, who thought he saw the suspect's SUV, but details were sketchy because the driver only caught a brief glimpse as he passed by.

The Fort Myers Police Department tried to set up the roadblock around the same time the suspect was in the area Friday, said Sgt. Mike Carr.

Bryan's mother, Maria De Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, got into the suspect's SUV with her son and another mother and her baby on Linhart Avenue.

After helping the woman find an address, they returned to Linhart Avenue, where the second mother and her baby got out of the car. The kidnapper then pulled a knife and drove Dos Santos and Bryan to Estero, where she forced the mother out of the car and drove off.

Officers also set up a roadblock on Three Oaks Parkway between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Monday, about the same time and location police believe the abductor dropped off Bryan's mother and made off with the baby.

"Hopefully, we're making contact with some habitual traffic that comes through here every day," Carr said. "We want to jog their memory."

Officers will conduct the same road blocks on Friday in hopes of contacting the same drivers who used the road one week earlier when Bryan was abducted.

They asked all drivers a series of questions about what they saw Friday. Police also asked if drivers who lived in the area knew any women who couldn't have a baby or lost a baby or talked about wanting a baby.

Authorities believe the child's abductor was longing for a child of her own.

The case is attracting national attention. The TV show, "America's Most Wanted," started filming a segment "The Search for Baby Bryan" on Monday, said Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesman Larry Long.

Crews for the show arrived in Fort Myers around noon to film the show, which is expected to air on Saturday if the baby is still missing.

More than 73 hours after the abduction, Fort Myers police released a sketch of the suspect, described as a 28- to 30-year-old Hispanic/white woman with dark hair.

Fort Myers Police Chief Hilton Daniels originally said a sketch of the suspect likely would be ready Friday night. But forensic artists said sometimes victims need time to clear their minds before they are able to give a clear picture of the suspect.

Also Monday, law enforcement officers alerted Brazilian restaurants in Fort Myers to be on the lookout for Bryan.

Deborah Lousa, owner of the Amazon Grill on Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers, said police just warned her of a tip received earlier that the child might be left at a Brazilian restaurant.

"This feels like it's not true," Lousa said. But, she continued, "Now I have to be alert."

Local clergy members met Monday night to plan a candlelight prayer vigil for Bryan.

The 9 p.m. meeting was another effort aimed at reaching out to the community in hopes of getting a lead to Bryan's whereabouts.

"This is a very emotional situation and all we can do is get the information out there," said the Rev. Israel Suarez of United Nation Food Bank.

Between 15 and 20 local clergy were expected to attend the vigil, Suarez said.

Possible sites for a vigil later this week include Centennial Park in Fort Myers.

Staff Writer Brad Kane contributed to this report.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/05/baby_bryan_still_missing_search_continues/?local_news

_________________

There’s no reason to doubt the kidnapping of Baby Bryan is real


By Tom Hanson

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

John Kuchta’s long fingers trembled as he tried to grip the lectern. The big, bad FBI man’s voice cracked as he pleaded for someone to come forward about missing Baby Bryan.

Maria de Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, Bryan’s mother, then stepped up to speak. Braced by the baby’s father, she caused every eye in the lobby of the Fort Myers Police Department to water.

Sgt. Mike Carr with the Fort Myers Police Department stood in the background shaking his head.

Yes, the story of a woman snatching Baby Bryan at knifepoint sounds unbelievable.

I shook my head back at Carr. I held back tears listening to her words. I couldn’t imagine being in so much pain.

“Please return my child. Don’t do any harm to him,” Ramos Dos Santos wailed in Portuguese. “Return my son. I need him. He’s the only thing I have. I don’t have a father or a mother. I just have him. There’s nothing worse than that in life. There’s too much suffering.”

Yet, as law enforcement officials intensified their search, some experts pointed fingers. Some even questioned the validity of the mother’s story, which has reached a national audience. Several of the detectives working on the case have appeared on numerous high-profile talk shows.

Detective Jennifer LeDelfa, from the Fort Myers Police Department, appeared on Fox’s prime-time news show “On the Record with Greta” starring Greta Van Susteren.

LeDelfa assured the host that the mother’s story is real.

“There is no reason to believe that the mother isn’t telling the truth,” LeDelfa said.

The Police Department is getting plenty of face time. Carr appeared on CNN’s “Nancy Grace” where the question also turned to: Do you think the mother is telling the truth?

“Will she take a polygraph?” Grace said to Carr.

“Excuse me?” said Carr, puzzled about the line of questioning.

Mike Brooks, a former Washington, D.C., police officer, hinted that there are some holes in Ramos Dos Santos’ story. Brooks questioned the fact the victims speak Portuguese and the suspect supposedly spoke Spanish.

“You know, yes, there’s some things that sound like inconsistencies,” Brooks said. “And one of the things is language. That was one of the things I brought up that I just thought was a little strange. I’m not saying that she is involved in it. There’s just some things that need — some questions that need to be answered.”

Ray Guidice, a defense attorney, said he would have both Ramos Dos Santos and Janice Duarte, the other woman who also agreed to get into the SUV, take polygraphs.

“If this were all some type of set-up, why go through all that?” Grace said questioning Guidice’s theory. “There’s no reason.”

“Nancy, it takes no time,” Guidice responded. “It eliminates them, and you move onto the next stage of the investigation.”

But a polygraph isn’t needed. All anyone had to do was see Kuchta’s trembling. All anyone had to do was see Carr’s watery eyes. All anyone had to do was hear the desperation in Dos Ramos Santos’ voice to know the real story.

- - -

E-mail Tom Hanson at tahnson@bonitanews.com

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/06/tom_hanson_theres_no_reason_doubt_kidnapping_baby_/?latest

Hispanic media playing crucial role in search for abducted baby By Elysa Batista


NaplesNews.com - Naples Daily News - Naples, Florida
Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006 | Updated at 3:30 a.m.



Thursday, December 7, 2006

The desperate search for baby Bryan Dos Santos has captured headlines both nationally and internationally.

But it has been Southwest Florida’s growing Hispanic media presence that has been playing a key role in getting members from the area’s Spanish and Portuguese communities to call in leads for the 1-month-old baby’s whereabouts.

“We knew that it was key, that the Hispanic community needed to know what was going on and that we needed their help,” Fort Myers police spokeswoman Maureen Buice said.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, a woman driving a black SUV abducted Bryan and his mother, Maria de Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, 23, at knifepoint in Fort Myers. The suspect, described as in her late 20s with black, straight hair in a partial bun, was asking for directions in Spanish to Pine Manor — a neighborhood south of Fort Myers — when she picked up Bryan, Ramos Dos Santos and another woman Janice Duarte, 22, and her child.

The driver forced Duarte and Duarte’s child out of the car, then drove off with Ramos Dos Santos and Bryan. She later dropped Ramos Dos Santos off in Estero and drove off with the baby.

As of Wednesday, Baby Bryan still was missing.

Getting the message out — in spite of having no actual weekend news show — didn’t stop Univision and Telefutura from improvising 30-second spots during their commercial breaks over the weekend to do an Amber Alert announcement concerning the kidnapping.


Univision reporter Jackie Figueroa said the station put together the spots after law enforcement asked the station for help in reaching out to the Hispanic community.

One major message authorities wanted people to know was that if they called in a tip, their immigration status wouldn’t be asked.

“They wanted to use our cameras to let people know that their legal satus would not matter,” Figueroa said. “They just want to know if the community has any information. We’re trying to do as much as we can.”

News of the case also was on the Brazilian media’s radar almost as soon as it happened.

“We don’t have a crew in Fort Myers so we’re covering it from New York,” said Daniel Wiedemann, the chief of production for Globo International’s New York news bureau.

Rede Globo, or Globe Network, is Brazil’s biggest television network and the No. 1 producer and provider of Portuguese-language television programming in the world.

Its international branch operates satellite channels in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Africa and Australia.

Wiedemann said that since the story broke the agency has continually updated its Web site and done frequent reports on the kidnapping on its newscasts.

Those updates included one earlier this week, when police interviewed at least 50 drivers at a roadblock on Linhart Avenue and had made contact with one eyewitness, who thought he saw the suspect’s SUV.

Globo International also did a report when law enforcement officials released a composite of the suspect, Wiedemann said.

The multi-language media blitz has been working, Buice said.

“It’s definitely helped,” she said. “We’ve gotten lots of tips from the community.”

The tips have given investigators a better account of what happened Friday, said Larry Long, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, one of the agencies assisting in the search for Bryan.

“We’ve been able to gather more details,” he said. But even with all the possible leads, authorities have learned “nothing major” during the past few days.

A review of a surveillance tapes from businesses along U.S. 41 between the kidnapping site and Estero, for instance, did not provide any new information.

“We saw of a lot of dark SUVs,” Long said, when what they really need is the license plate number. While some people have called police to say they have spotted the car, those tips haven’t panned out, Long said.

That’s to be expected, he said, noting: “There are going to be some tips that are not going to be fruitful. And that’s OK.”

For those with information about the kidnapping, the toll-free tip line for the case is (877) 667-1296.

- - -

Staff writer Elizabeth Wright contributed to this story.




http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/07/hispanic_media_playing_crucial_role_search_abducte/

Baby Bryan task force works through night


Originally posted on December 06, 2006

A police task force worked through the night, sifting leads and answering calls from people who believe they might have seen the woman police say kidnapped month-old Bryan Dos Santos Gomes.

A composite sketch of the woman was prepared by a Tampa police artist and released to the public on Monday.

As the investigation into the kidnapping of enters its sixth day the grinding routine of investigative work has become the order of the day.

Fort Myers police sergeant Mike Carr said teams of investigators are heading out on a fresh set of leads that have been developed since information gathering roadblocks were set up Monday afternoon.

Those roadblocks are expected to be repeated Friday afternoon near the 3:30 time frame of the kidnapping, police said.

The determination to find the baby boy has not wavered. "We're in this until we get this baby back," said John Kuchta, the lead FBI agent on the case.

Meanwhile, area churches are finalizing their plans for a prayer service and door-to-door hunt for the baby, said the Rev. Israel Suarez of All Nations Food bank and a police chaplain.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061206/NEWS0110/61206025/1075

_________________

Mother travels to Tampa to plea for kidnapped baby's return


By Melissa Cassutt

Thursday, December 7, 2006

Rev. Israel Suarez, executive director of the Nations Associations Charities, traveled to a press conference at the R.L. Timberlake Junior Federal Building in Tampa this afternoon, pleading for anyone with information about the whereabouts of 1-month-old Baby Bryan to come forward.

Suarez said the more coverage of the missing baby, the more likely useful tips will emerge and he'll be travelling to any city that police suspect the abductor might have taken the child. Tampa, Miami and Orlando have all been discussed as possible destinations of the baby, according to Suarez and detectives.

Suarez is also leading a prayer rally at 10 a.m. Friday at the Old Lee County Courthouse, 2120 Main St. in Fort Myers.

"We need to advertise this," Suarez said. "I've got a feeling that we're going to get a phone call."

Tomorrow's rally, which will last about a half an hour, will be filled with prayer and pleas for more information that can aid detectives, Suarez said.

"We need that baby and we need the community to participate," Suarez said. "There's a lot of migrants and they don't make phone calls because they are illegal...we just need the people to help us."

The rally will be held in English, Spanish and Portuguese, he said.

Bryan Dos Santos Gomes was abducted last Friday with his mother by a woman described as 28 to 30-years-old with black straight hair partially in a bun. She is 5’4” and was wearing a black T-shirt at the time of the abduction.

Bryan's mother, Maria de Fatima Ramos Dos Santos, was released Friday afternoon, but police continue to search for Baby Bryan.

Anyone with information on Baby Bryan is asked to contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155 or to call 911 or a toll-free number, 1-877-667-1296, set up specifically for this case. Those uncomfortable calling the police can contact Rev. Israel Suarez, executive director of the Nations Associations Charities, at his office (239) 332-7575 or his cell (239) 707-5520. Suarez said he is available 24 hours a day.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/07/reverend_travels_tampa_plea_kidnapped_babys_return/?latest

"Most Wanted" would rather not air Baby Bryan segment


By Tom Hanson (Contact)

Thursday, December 7, 2006

John Turchin hopes that his work in Southwest Florida is never seen. He hopes the segment of the TV show “America’s Most Wanted,” scheduled for Saturday at 9 p.m. on Fox Channel 4, doesn’t air.

Like the rest of us, Turchin hopes the case of the missing 1-month-old Baby Bryan will be solved by then.

“Hopefully, Bryan is found and reunited with Marie (his mother),” said Turchin, who has worked as a correspondent for “America’s Most Wanted” for the past 10 years. “And the police had done some good work. We can pack up our bags and call it a day. And everyone has smiles on their faces.”

With show host John Walsh out of the country, Turchin got the call to help catch the bad guy or in this case the bad girl. Turchin, 44, and a film crew didn’t waste anytime. They arrived in Fort Myers on Monday.

“America’s Most Wanted” was created after Walsh’s son, Adam, was tragically abducted and killed 25 years ago. The show works in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which opened a branch in Naples nearly three years ago.

It’s no surprise the show is featuring Baby Bryan.

“Anytime that there is a child missing, especially taken from somebody, which at this point is what police believe, we are going to jump on it - no matter what,” Turchin said. “As far as we are concerned, this woman had her child snatched right out of her hands at knifepoint. We can’t turn our heads. We have to do something.”

With “America’s Most Wanted” reaching millions every Saturday night on Fox TV, Turchin and his crew were given special access to detectives. They were privy to investigators’ notes. They interviewed, Maria de Fatima Dos Santos, with the help of a translator.

“There is nothing at this point that makes me believe that they are lying,” Turchin said. “At this point, there is nobody that doubts her story. We can all think about it and we can all pull out our theories. She sounded very sincere and very emotional.”

Turchin said both he and investigators think that the answer to this kidnapping lies in the Latin community of Fort Myers.

“Someone here saw something or knows something, but probably is in fear of being in the country illegally, so they are in fear of calling the police,” Turchin said. “As far as I’m concerned, they can call us anonymously. That shouldn’t stop anyone from calling.”

During the two days that Turchin spent in Fort Myers, he had privilege to several tips. He said the report of a woman calling a local Brazilian restaurant earlier this week claiming she was going to return the baby had validity. He said every tip has to be taken seriously. And that’s what Matt Sellers, the lead detective, has done, Turchin said.

“I have rarely seen a group of police officers from so many different departments work so closely together and move so quickly,” Turchin said. “Every time there is a lead everyone is moving as if they are a well oiled machine.”

Nearly a week has passed since Baby Bryan was kidnapped. Turchin remains hopefully. Maybe one of the 10 million viewers will hold the clue that will bring the infant home.

“My feeling and my hope is that we are going to find Bryan somehow, Turchin said. “We have to have hope or we wouldn’t be doing this.”

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/07/most_wanted_would_rather_not_air_baby_bryan_segmen/?latest

$11,000 reward being offered in missing Baby Bryan case


Daily News staff

Originally published — 9:03 a.m., December 8, 2006
Updated — 12:12 p.m., December 8, 2006

Today at 10:00 in front of the old Lee County courthouse, Reverend Israel Suarez will offer a $11,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of Baby Bryan. The Fort Myers Police Department posted $5,000 and The Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation posted $5,000.

Another $1,000 has been added to the reward.

Police are searching for a woman described as 28 to 30 years old with straight black hair partially in a bun. She is 5 feet, 4 inches, and was wearing a black T-shirt at the time of the abduction. Anyone with information on Baby Bryan or the suspect is asked to contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155, or to call 911 or a toll-free number, 1-877-667-1296, set up specifically for this case. Those uncomfortable calling the police can contact the Rev. Israel Suarez, executive director of the Nations Associations Charities, at his office (239) 332-7575 or his cell (239) 707-5520. Suarez said he is available 24 hours a day.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/08/10000_reward_being_offered_info_baby_bryab/?latest

FBI: kidnapped baby could be in Bay area

Thursday, December 7, 2006 6:13

The baby has been missing since Friday.

The FBI believes a baby boy kidnapped at knife point may be in the Tampa Bay area.

The baby's mother, Maria Fatima Ramos dos Santos, said the woman tricked her into getting into an SUV in Fort Myers on Friday, saying she needed directions.

The woman then forced her out of the SUV at knife point and took off with the 1-month old baby.

The alleged kidnapper is a white, heavy set female with long black hair, 28 to 30 years old and 5 fee, 4 inches tall.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2006/12/7/205078.html?title=FBI:+kidnapped+baby+could+be+in+Bay+area

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Reward for missing Baby Bryan increases to $21,000


Friday, Dec. 8, 2006


Daily News staff

Originally published — 9:03 a.m., December 8, 2006
Updated — 6:20 p.m., December 8, 2006


Reward money has poured into the Fort Myers Police Department today, an incentive that detectives hope will ferret out the whereabouts of abducted 1-month-old Baby Bryan, who has been missing for a week.

Police announced this morning that $10,000 in reward money, half from the Fort Myers Police Department and half from the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation, was available to anyone who could provide information that leads to the safe return of the child. Another $1,000 was added to the pot before a this morning's vigil from a private donor. This afternoon police announced another $5,000 contributed from the FBI and $5,000 from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The total reward money offered is $21,000.

Paul Lodato, the general manager for Christian television station WRXY, lead a prayer at the vigil and plead for the abductor to come forward.

"We're asking that you would do an act of mankind," Lodato said. "Please do the right thing. We don't condone your action, but we love you as a person."

Anyone with information is asked to the call the toll free tip line at 1-877-667-1296.

Police are searching for a woman described as 28 to 30 years old with straight black hair partially in a bun. She is 5 feet, 4 inches, and was wearing a black T-shirt at the time of the abduction. Anyone with information on Baby Bryan or the suspect is asked to contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155, or to call 911 or a toll-free number, 1-877-667-1296, set up specifically for this case. Those uncomfortable calling the police can contact the Rev. Israel Suarez, executive director of the Nations Associations Charities, at his office (239) 332-7575 or his cell (239) 707-5520. Suarez said he is available 24 hours a day.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/dec/08/10000_reward_being_offered_info_baby_bryab/?latest