Thread: Police: Cole's grandfather "person of interest"

Police: Cole's grandfather "person of interest"

Updated: Oct 17, 2008 03:27 PM PDT

The search for Cole Puffinburger has gone nationwide and now possibly international. News 3's Dan Ball reports that police say Mexican drug dealers are responsible for the six-year-old's kidnapping.

Detectives are now looking for Clemens Fred Tinnemeyer as a person of interest in the disappearance of six-year-old Cole Puffinburger. Cole was kidnapped at gunpoint during a home invasion early Wednesday morning.

Tinnemeyer is Cole's grandfather and police are now confirming they believe it was his involvement in drug trafficking and stolen drug money that led to Cole's abduction.

"Tinnemeyer has stolen a large sum of money, all proceeds from illegal drug activity," says Metro Capt. Vincent Cannito. "They wanted to send a very clear message. They got the attention of an entire nation."

Tinnemeyer, who goes by "Clem," hasn't been seen or heard from since May. His family reported him missing on September 11. Tinnemeyer is 5'10" tall, weighs approximately 210 to 250 pounds, and has hazel eyes and brown hair.

Police have released photos of the vehicle they believe he may be driving. It's a white Dodge, four-door pick-up truck with the Mississippi license plate number KA6251.

At a press conference Friday, detectives said they believe the suspects are from Mexico and have ties to some sort of organized drug operation.

"We believe that they are Mexican nationals," says Capt. Cannito. "We have reason to believe that the network we are dealing with is very aware of the situation."

The search for Cole has now reached an international level, with media outlets plastering his picture on national news outlets and online web sites such as Missing Kids, MySpace, and Amber Alert.

These sites are constantly updating the latest details on the search.

Authorities have hundreds of detectives and officers working every lead that they receive with the hope that one will lead them to Cole.

"We will not stop looking for this child," assures Capt. Cannito. "This agency has gone on a 24-hour watch."

Six-year-old Cole Puffinberger is 3'11" tall, weighs 48 pounds, and has blonde hair and blue eyes. He also has distinctly stained front teeth, an overbite, and wears silver wire-rimmed prescription glasses.

Cole was last seen wearing a black John Cena wrestling shirt, dark jeans, black Vans shoes, and a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt with black, blue, and white stars.

Metro mentioned that Mexican drug dealers are responsible for Cole's kidnapping. While police haven't said if it is one individual or an entire organization, they do know that Mexican drug cartels have caused a surge in violence and kidnappings in the United States.

Drug trafficking has claimed 3,800 lives this year alone. In June, President Bush approved a bill to set aside $400 million to aid Mexico in this drug battle.

News 3's Katherine Whaley reports that Tinnemeyer, Cole's grandfather and a person of interest in his kidnapping, is also a convicted criminal.

The 51-year-old also owns a home here in Las Vegas. It's only a block away from Cole's elementary school.

People who live nearby say they often saw Cole at the Tinnemeyer's house. One neighbor says Cole even lived there for a time.

Neighbors who knew Tinnemeyer are feeling very uneasy. Even though Cole and his family were targeted, they are warning their children to watch out for people they don't know.

Clemens Tinnemeyer seems to have simply vanished. In the missing persons report filed by his family, his wife Diane, believed to be a janitor at Cole's elementary school, says Tinnemeyer is an RV driver who would leave home for weeks at a time.

She claims she hasn't seen him since May of this year.

For police, finding out what happened to Tinnemeyer could provide some vital information in the desperate search for six-year-old Cole.

If you have seen either Tinnemeyer or Cole, please call the Metro Police Department or you can leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 385-5555. No lead is too small.

www.kvbc.com

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-3645--0-0.html

Las Vegas is a sanctuary city, our own sheriff says his officer won't enforce any immigration laws, only the incarcerated will be screened and this was done because our jails are full of illegals.
Why do you think this town was a target for ACORN, I'd bet my life we will have alot of illegal alien show up to vote, I can show anyone apartments with illegal alien that have Obams stickers on there doors.
We have had kids decapitated by illegal alien, people killed by a bomb planted by an illegal and yet no one seems to care, why? Finally a tragedy makes national news, we need your help!

This just breaks my heart beyond all belief....my God, that poor, poor little boy

Remember to pray for his safe return.

If they are in Mexico, they should be easier to find. Mexican police don't concern themselves with political correctness. A small blond, blue-eyed boy traveling with mexican men would stand out like a sore thumb. Unfortunately, that's not the case in the US. Seems its more important to spare someone's feelings than it is to save a child!

I pray he is found safe and sound and these men spend the rest of their lives locked up or worse.

Cops Abruptly Call Off Alert on Missing Boy
Authorities to Hold News Conference on Fate of Boy Whose Grandfather Has Been Tied to Mexican Drug Ring
By KAREN MOONEY
Oct. 18, 2008

Nevada officials have deactivated an Amber Alert for kidnapped 6-year-old Cole Puffinburger. They gave no reason for the cancellation. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced a news conference to be held at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

Puffinburger was kidnapped Wednesday morning from his Las Vegas home.

His grandfather, Clemens Tinnemeyer, 51, was arrested by the FBI on Friday as a "person of interest" in the case. He was taken into custody in Riverside, Calif., and is being held at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's facility in San Bernardino.

Police believe Tinnemeyer was involved in drug dealing with Mexican nationals.

Wednesday morning, three armed men, who may have posed as police officers, invaded the home where Puffinburger lived with his mother and her boyfriend. The intruders ransacked the home, then left with the boy.

A nationwide Amber Alert was activated Wednesday afternoon.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6063142&page=1

Authorities continue hunt for Nevada boy
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Authorities Saturday continued to hunt for a 6-year-old Las Vegas boy snatched from his home in a suspected drug-related kidnapping, while his grandfather remained jailed as a "person of interest" in Southern California.

FBI spokesman Joseph Dickey said the search for Cole Puffinburger was "not called off," though an Amber Alert for the child was deactivated Saturday.

Las Vegas police planned an afternoon news conference on the case.

Cole's grandfather, Clemons Tinnemeyer, was arrested late Friday in Southern California on a federal material witness warrant. He was being held in San Bernardino and authorities are hoping his arrest will help lead them to the kidnappers.

Police said they believed the kidnapping was an attempt by Mexican drug dealers to send a "message" to Tinnemeyer.

Puffinburger was abducted from his Las Vegas home Wednesday morning by two men posing as police officers. They entered and tied up the boy's mother and her boyfriend, and the home was ransacked and the boy abducted.

Las Vegas police Capt. Vincent Cannito said that a third man was believed to be involved and that police had several other persons of interest but no suspects in the abduction.

Tinnemeyer, 51, may have stolen millions of dollars from drug dealers, said Officer Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas police spokesman. Johnson declined to say what role Tinnemeyer might have played in the drug operation or whether the kidnappers were seeking a ransom.

Police believe methamphetamine was involved, Johnson said.

Authorities had issued an Amber Alert that triggered a public search for the boy and flashed his photograph on billboards and highway signs throughout Nevada and California. The case has received widespread national attention.

Authorities also were investigating whether other family members had ties to the drug operation, Johnson said. The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration are also investigating.

"Money is a huge factor, obviously. Drugs are a huge factor," Johnson said. "The only innocent person involved in this entire operation is the boy."

Court records show Tinnemeyer and his wife filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2001, claiming $226,500 in assets and $329,000 in liabilities. The couple listed more than $15,000 in credit card debt.

Published: Saturday, October 18, 2008 13:40 PDT

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