Case of missing Milwaukee boys doesn't fit theories
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE - The case of two boys who vanished together during the daytime more than two weeks ago defies stereotypical kidnappings and other crimes against children, missing persons experts and police say.
The boys, Purvis Virginia Parker, 11, and Quadrevion Henning, 12, were last seen the afternoon of March 19 when they asked Henning's grandfather if they could play basketball at a nearby park.
Hundreds of people have called a tip line to offer possible leads into their disappearance. Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne Schwartz said the case remains a mystery.
"We have a number of scenarios, and no one scenario is more credible than another," she said.
Police and family members say Henning and Parker don't have the characteristics of typical runaways, including no histories of runaway attempts. Both have good school attendance records, and they left their homes March 19 with no money, extra clothes or other items.
"These are good kids," said Susan WhiteHorse, manager of the Wisconsin Missing Persons Clearinghouse division of the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Parker and Henning also don't share the typical characteristics of victims of the rare stranger abduction.
"The motive is usually sexual assault," said sociologist David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. "It's usually a lone abductor who wants to have a sexual slave. Managing two boys of that age would be very, very difficult."
Family abductions are far more common, but Parker and Henning again don't fit the stereotypes. They are from separate families, and family abductions usually involve children younger than 6.
Investigators, meanwhile, are considering new ways to solicit information in the case. They plan to post the boys' photos and information hot line number on the scoreboards at upcoming Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Admirals games.
"We're looking at every opportunity where there are going to be lots of people," Schwartz said. "We're doing everything we can."
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