Elizabeth Olten -- Found Deceased 10/23/09 -- Alyssa Bustamante Sentenced To Life With The Possibility Of Parole

Search under way for 9-year-old mid-Missouri girl


An undated photo provided by the Cole County Sheriff's Department shows Elizabeth Olten, who went missing Wednesday evening near her home on Route D near St. Martins, just west of Jefferson City.


ST. MARTINS, Mo. | Dozen of people were searching a rural, wooded area in central Missouri today for a 9-year-old girl who did not return home a night earlier after visiting a friend.

Cole County Sheriff Greg White said Elizabeth Olten left the friend’s house about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday and was supposed to walk a quarter mile to her home in St. Martins, just west of Jefferson City. She was reported missing around 7 p.m.

Elizabeth was listed as an “endangered missing person” and the FBI had joined the case, White said. The sheriff said it did not appear that the girl had run away from home, but no Amber Alert had been issued because there was no evidence of an abduction or foul play.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported that Elizabeth’s family members said she is afraid of the woods and the dark, so she wouldn’t normally be out at night.

Elizabeth, who has long brown hair and brown eyes, is about 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 102 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pink scarf, sweater and T-shirt with butterflies, blue jeans and white shoes.

The search focused on a section of woods several hundred yards in diameter, which police had narrowed by triangulating the girl’s cell phone location, White said. But the battery had died by this morning. An uneven terrain, high brush and soaking weather hampered the search effort.

“If you go to Iowa and look at a flat piece of farmland that’s 140 acres, you go, well it’s not that big.’ You translate that to Missouri and you use the same thing, you walk a long time to cover that same amount of land,” White said. “It’s muddy out there now. It’s difficult terrain, it’s difficult weather.”

On Wednesday night, the Missouri State Highway Patrol searched for Elizabeth using a helicopter with a thermal imaging radar. But White said fall foliage hindered that effort.

When the full search of about 60 people resumed this morning, a team with dogs used by the Department of Corrections joined officials from nearby fire departments and numerous state and local police agencies.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MO_MISSING_GIRL_MO_MOOL-?SITE=MOSTP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Search under way for 9-year-old mid-Missouri girl

Onna Adrian, whose daughter-in-law is Elizabeth's older sister, said Elizabeth generally walked home from the friend's house through neighbors' yards rather than along the two-lane county highway that runs past their houses.

Adrian said Elizabeth did not normally hide out and, if confronted, would have screamed and tried to run away.

"She is very shy," Adrian said. "She's not the type to get in a vehicle with anybody."

Elizabeth, who has long brown hair and brown eyes, is about 5-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs 102 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pink scarf, sweater and T-shirt with butterflies, blue jeans and white shoes.

Adrian said the girl's mother did not want to talk to a reporter Thursday. Elizabeth's father, Dale Olten Sr., has been in a Missouri prison since April serving a four-year sentence for drug possession.

What is interesting is the father was a suspect in the disappearance of Jasmine Haslag, missing June 18th 2007.

Another horrible ending. HLN is reporting that she has been found dead. What is this world coming to? I just don't get it.

Body of Missing Missouri Girl, 9, Found in Woods

The body of a 9-year-old Missouri girl who vanished walking home from a friend's house was found in a heavily wooded area Friday.

An "older juvenile" suspect led authorities to Elizabeth Olten's body, deep in the woods near where an exhaustive search for the child was under way for much of the day.

Elizabeth disappeared just after she started walking home from a friend's house Wednesday night.

"There's been no contact with her since then," Cole County Sheriff Greg White told Fox News earlier Friday, before Elizabeth was found dead.

White said Elizabeth spoke with her parents on the phone before she left her friend's house.

"Her parents said she should leave and get home," he told Fox.

About 70 investigators worked on leads Friday and another 70 people spent the day scouring woody, uneven terrain west of Jefferson City, Mo.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569338,00.html

What the hell is wrong with people? I hope the "older juvenile" is charged as an adult and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I don't know what this world is coming to. My nine-year-old daughter wonders why I won't let her walk down the street and around the corner to her grandma's house, but I just don't trust letting her out of my sight when she is outside.

I feel the same way J4A. My grand daughter wants to walk to school with her friends. There is no way in hell I will allow that to happen. Not even one time. That's all it take. People are crazy. There hasn't been an age released (or any further information) about who this "older juvenile" is, but I feel just like you do. They should be tried as an adult if they take a life. PERIOD. It just breaks my heart to keep hearing these stories, day in & day out. What is it that goes through these peoples heads? What makes someone want to kill?

I was also reading a story today, about a father who stabbed his own baby, numerous times. The baby is in critical condition. He also, stabbed himself & the police had to tear gas the house & get him out. He too, has life threatening stab wounds (self inflicted). They took him to the hospital. Now, maybe it's just me, but why not let the sick bastard just bleed to death? Seriously? Someone please give me one good reason why they risked their own lives for this sick bastard??? And what a HUGE WASTE of taxpayer money to not only treat him at the hospital, but if he makes it, taxpayers will foot the bill for feeding & housing him as well! All I can think of is WTH??

Video:

http://www.fox2now.com/ktvi-elizabeth-olten-missing-dead-102309,0,5282062.story

 

I wish that more parents would realize the importance of ALWAYS watching their children. No phone call, TV show or other activity is more important than the life of their child! This means that parents have to take the time, and make the time to be with their children whenever they are outside playing. This also means that they have to take them to school, and bring them home. Predators are always looking for just the right moment, "that window of opportunity" when a child is unsupervised by an adult. No nap can possibly be more important than making sure that one's child is safe. Children are totally defenseless against an adult. That's why it's imperative that an adult is ALWAYS with children when they are playing.

Oh, no. My heart is broken. These children have no impulse control, no sense of right and wrong. What have we done?

Unbelievable. You know, we are hearing this stories of kids being taken, missing and murdered at an alarming rate. I am no longer even wondering if this is happening more or if we are just hearing about it more because of 24 hour news. I am convinced this IS happening more! Period.
And I agree with ALL of you. I have a 13 year old daughter and 15 year old son. They are at the age now where they are wanting more freedoms and privacy. I say TOO BAD! They can get glad in the same pants they get mad at me in. Because I am not allowing them to walk alone. I have always driven them and picked them up from friends houses and will continue to do so.
However, I have been talking to my daughter about these cases a little more (probably even than I should) because it's all I've had on my mind lately. And even she has said, it makes me not want to run. She does competitive cheer leading and is just starting to like to run for exercise. Well, that is now an activity she can share with me or not do it. There is NO more ANYTHING my kids will be doing outside alone.
My decision is not a popular one. Hail, even Eric (my bf) and I used to argue about this because he would let his 15 year old son walk everywhere alone and AFTER dark. Now, that he is living with his mom, I am even more sure than ever, he is allowed to do this all the time. Some people just refuse to "GET IT". So sad!

Tracey, nobody can blame you for being protective of your kids. It is not safe for them to walk the streets by themselves. This case proves that it's not even safe to let a children walk a quarter of a mile home from a friend's house by themselves.

There are plenty of examples of why you need to be overprotective. Nevaeh Buchanan and Sandra Cantu were both playing outside unsupervised when they were kidnapped and murdered. Victoria Stafford and Somer Thompson were both walking home from school when they were kidnapped and murdered. Lindsey Baum was walking home from a friend's house when she disappeared, and Elizabeth Olten was walking home from a friend's house when she was grabbed and murdered.

Murder charge sought against teen suspect in Elizabeth Olten's death

Cole County Juvenile authorities have asked the Cole County Juvenile Court to charge a 15 year old with first degree murder for this week's death of Elizabeth Olten, whose body was found Friday.

Sheriff Greg White and Juvenile Authority Director Michael Couty declined to say whether the suspect is a boy or girl.

The authorities have asked for a certification hearing to determine if the 15 year old can be tried as an adult or juvenile.

If courts determine in a closed hearing that the child should be tried as an adult, more details will be made available to the public.

Read more: http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2009/10/24/news_local/068local02olten09.txt

I have no problem with a 15 year old being charged as an adult. He is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.

Heartwrenching news.....again. I do believe it is happening more at an alarming rate. And the suspect is 15!
Being overprotective is the only way to be. All of these cases show you how quickly children are snatched and murdered

I apologize for assuming the 15-year-old was a he. There is a strong rumor going around that it was a 15-year-old girl who lived in the house that Elizabeth was visiting.

Warrant served on slain Mo. 9-year-old's neighbor

10/27/2009

By CHRIS BLANK / Associated Press

Police served a warrant at a neighbor's house hours after finding the body of a missing 9-year-old girl in a heavily wooded area of central Missouri.

Records reviewed Monday show the Cole County Sheriff's Department served the warrant late Friday night just several homes south of where Elizabeth Olten lived in St. Martins. Police records do not indicate the type of warrant, and the department declined to elaborate Monday.

Authorities are seeking a first-degree murder charge against a 15-year-old who is in custody of the juvenile justice system, but police have not released the teen's name or gender and have provided few other details about the suspect.

A phone number registered to the house where the warrant was served was disconnected, and there was no answer at the door Monday.

Cole County Sheriff Greg White previously has said that the suspect lived in the same area as Elizabeth, which is just west of Jefferson City, and was acquainted with Elizabeth but not a relative.

Police say Elizabeth on Wednesday was to walk home from a friend's house that was about a quarter-mile away. After she was reported missing, several hundred people searched through soaking rain in a heavily wooded area near her home.

White said the 15-year-old on Friday led police to Elizabeth's body, which he said had been in the primary search area but was "very well concealed."

Police focused the search on a tract of woods after they were able to trace the general location of Elizabeth's cell phone. The phone's battery had died by Thursday morning. White said police found the phone near Elizabeth's body.

Cole County Juvenile Court Administrator Michael Couty said Monday that a hearing to determine whether the teen should be treated as an adult or juvenile is likely to occur within 30 days. Couty said that the suspect would undergo a background and psychological check.

Under Missouri law, children as young as 12 can be charged as adults with first-degree murder. But the case must start in the juvenile court system while a hearing is held on whether to transfer it to an adult court. Juvenile court records generally are closed under Missouri law unless a judge grants an exception.

http://www.kmov.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D9BJ3N380.html

This story really saddens me. I know this person is a juvenile, but, he or she should be punished as an adult. This person made the decision to take this little girl's life. Since it's highly unlikely that they'll receive the Death Penalty, they deserve to be locked up for the rest of their life. Why should they be allowed their freedom when a child is dead, because of their deliberate actions? That's certainly not justice. I have no sympathy for child killers.

The most she would get would be life without parole because Missouri law does not allow anyone younger than 16 years old to receive the death penalty.

http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=367984

A neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity said a 15-year-old girl lives at the house where Elizabeth was last seen.

http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=367986

This girl must have some serious mental problems. In any case, she needs to be locked up for the rest of her life.

If it is the girl that is "rumored" to have done this, I have seen her myspace & twitter pages. Seems that she is an addict" of some sort, and yes, she also seems to have her "demons". Though it does sicken me that this girl (rumored) is the one who took little Elizabeth's life, it is also very disturbing to know that a child took the life of another child. Every day, it seems to get worse & worse. Not that it's any better for a sex offender to do something like this, but at least it's more comprehensible. If that makes any sense. But for a 15 yr old child to take the life of another child, it's almost beyond being.....?? I can't even think of the correct words to describe it. BOTH families must be in turmoil. BOTH families must be grieving their children, etc. What is this world coming to?

Hearings set for Mo. teen accused of killing girl

A 15-year-old accused of killing 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten is to appear in a Missouri court Wednesday.

Cole County Juvenile Court Administrator Michael Couty (koo-TEE') said Tuesday the hearing is to determine whether the teen should continue to be detained. Couty says the 15-year-old would appear by videoconference, and a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18 to determine whether the teen should be tried as an adult.

Read more: http://www.kmov.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D9BJHR701.html

Do they really need a hearing to determine whether she should be detained? Am I missing something? As for the second hearing, I think she should be tried as an adult.