Thread: FL: Wells says boy was kidnapped for ransom

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16782403.htm

Posted on Sun, Feb. 25, 2007



Wells says boy was kidnapped for ransom

REBECCA BLUE and MAURA POSSLEY
Herald Staff Writers

SAMOSET - Camouflaged sheriff's office SWAT Team members swarmed the home of the alleged kidnapper of 13-year-old Clay Moore just before daybreak this morning.

The suspect, however, was still on the loose.

Manatee County Sheriff's Office investigators did find a truck they believe was used during the boy's abduction Friday.

After dozens of interviews with East Manatee farmworkers and other witnesses, detectives Saturday afternoon began a more than 12-hour stakeout outside the home of 22-year-old Vincente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno.

"This man abducted Clay Moore, we are sure of it," said Sheriff Charlie Wells.

Wells said investigators found a ransom note.

"This was an absolute kidnapping for ransom," Wells said. "This person wanted money in exchange for Clay Moore."

Beltran-Moreno lives with his girlfriend at the house, which is in the 3700 block of 17th Street Court East. Neither was spotted during the stakeout, officials said.

The couple was not home when authorities - armed with an arrest warrant for Beltran-Moreno and a search warrant for the truck, located in the house's attached garage - arrived at 5:15 a.m. in a caravan of vehicles while the neighborhood slept.

In the house's garage, officers found a late model, red extended cab pick-up truck - which matches the description of the vehicle used by the kidnapper.

Authorities pulled the truck from the home shortly before 8 a.m., seeking to match evidence described by the victim.

Meanwhile, detectives were working to secure a search warrant for the rest of the one-story stucco house, located on a corner lot in the Hill Park subdivision across the street from the Bealls distribution center.

Wells said obtaining the warrants took longer than expected due to the suspected kidnapper's multiple aliases. Beltran-Moreno is an undocumented immigrant who at one time was deported from the United States.

Clay was abducted Friday just before 9 a.m. while he waiting for his school bus with 15 other students. The Manatee School of the Arts student was forced at gunpoint into the truck from the stop at the Kingsfield Lakes subdivision in Parrish.

Clay was waiting with about 15 other students when a man pointed a gun and forced him into an older model red pick-up truck.

The abductor drove Clay for about 20 miles to Faulkner Farms off of State Road 64 in Myakka City. He led the boy into a heavily wooded area, where he bound the boy to trees using duct tape and gagged him with one of his own socks.

The man told Clay he would return, before driving from the ranch.

Clay sat for about two hours before using a safety pin to free himself. He stumbled through the rural area until coming upon a farmworker on a tractor, who spoke little English but had a cell phone.

Clay dialed his mother at 1:30 p.m. and told her he was safe.

Deputies traced the boy's call and found him, ending the nightmarish 4½-hour ordeal.

In Beltran-Moreno's relatively empty home early Sunday was a tan couch, older model television set and vacuum cleaner. The bathroom's shower was missing a curtain but still had toiletries.

White and red sheets hung from the windows, serving as blinds.

Written on a white mailbox at the edge of the home's driveway was "Fam. Beltran."

Detectives believe Beltran-Moreno on Friday drove straight to the house, parking the truck in the garage, after abandoning Clay.

Authorities canvassed the perimeter of the house, searching through a full, tipped-over garbage can. Yellow crime scene tape was wrapped around palm trees surrounding the home.

______________________

Beltran-Moreno is an undocumented immigrant who at one time was deported from the United States.

More PC vomit. He is a criminal illegal alien kidnapper you wussy journalist. -- Jaded

In some countries to the south of us, kidnapping for ransom is normal, even for middle class families. If you sell property, win the lottery, get a good job, inherit something, be sure not to mention it to anyone.

Beltran-Moreno is an undocumented immigrant who at one time was deported from the United States.

No. Beltran-Moreno is a serial criminal alien.

Geez, what's wrong with you people? <insert sarcasm here>

He isn't a criminal. He is a poor migrant that has come here only to better his life! He would have worked in the fields but with all of the raids latley he was afraid to. So he was forced by a hateful American government to find other means of sending money back to his home land. Perhaps if one of you selfish Americans had just given him your job, he wouldn't have had to steal that little boy. So you see...it is all YOUR fault...NOW...don't all you greedy Americans just feel ashamed?

ProudAmericanFamily.......sounds about right.

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/app ... 1/70226011

Published - February, 26, 2007

Kidnap victim was 'courageous'
Adrian Sainz
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI (AP) � Clay Moore was left by a kidnapper in the woods, tied to a tree and gagged with his own sock to silence his screams, but the 13-year-old knew he wasn�t helpless. He had his strength, and he had a safety pin.

Using the pin to cut through the tape, authorities say he was gradually able to wriggle free and dislodge the sock from his mouth. Then, he began wandering through the woods in hopes of finding someone to help him.

He was 20 miles away from where a dozen children watched Friday as he was forced into a red pickup truck at his bus stop. The walk took hours. He found a farmer late in the day who lent him a cell phone and called his mother � and foiled his captor�s kidnapping-for-ransom plan.

�This man kidnapped the wrong kid,� Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells said. �This is an observant kid. He�s courageous.�

Investigators searched a Bradenton house early Sunday, and issued an arrest warrant for Vicente Ignacio Beltran Moreno, 22, but authorities believe he has fled the state.

Beltran, a native of Mexico, had worked three years ago at a farm near where the teen was tied up, but later became a laborer for an aluminum contractor, said sheriff�s spokesman Dave Bristow.

Investigators believe the kidnapper planned to leave the boy tied up in the woods until a ransom was paid, Wells said. Authorities were trying to determine whether there were other suspects involved.

On Saturday, investigators and the boy returned to the farm where he fled a day earlier. A sketch of the suspect was shown to workers who identified Beltran, Bristow said.

The truck suspected of being used in the kidnapping was found outside the home believed to be Beltran�s, detectives said. They also found a ransom note with threats, though they would not say where it was found or what it demanded.
Beltran could not be reached for comment, and did not have a published telephone listing in Manatee County.

It appeared the boy was chosen randomly from the group of children in Parrish, a town about 30 miles southeast of St. Petersburg that has seen explosive growth but still has many rural areas, authorities said.

�Clay was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,� Wells said.

Originally Posted by ProudAmericanFamily

Geez, what's wrong with you people? <insert sarcasm here>

He isn't a criminal. He is a poor migrant that has come here only to better his life! He would have worked in the fields but with all of the raids latley he was afraid to. So he was forced by a hateful American government to find other means of sending money back to his home land. Perhaps if one of you selfish Americans had just given him your job, he wouldn't have had to steal that little boy. So you see...it is all YOUR fault...NOW...don't all you greedy Americans just feel ashamed?

I have one dicrepancy with your senario ProudAmerican, I don't believe any of our jobs would have made him happy, Its our bank accounts he wants. Lazy scum bag!!

San Diego coverage of this story, complete with no mention he is an illegal alien, previously deported:

Man Sought in Foiled Florida Kidnapping
http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.81855.html

MIAMI -- A 13-year-old boy bound to a tree in the woods foiled a kidnapping-for-ransom plan by using a safety pin, his teeth and his hands to escape, police said Sunday.

Investigators searched a Bradenton house early Sunday and issued an arrest warrant for Vicente Ignacio Beltran Moreno, 22, but authorities think he fled the state.

The truck suspected in the kidnapping was found outside Moreno's home, where detectives said they also found a ransom note. Police would not release what the note demanded.

Friday morning, about a dozen children at a school bus stop in Parrish watched as Clay Moore was forced at gunpoint into a red pickup truck, police said. The kidnapper sped away from the entrance of the subdivision and down a rural road.

Clay was then bound and left alone in the dense woods about 20 miles away. For several hours, he worked to untie himself and then walked until he found a farm worker with a cell phone, police said.

"This man kidnapped the wrong kid," Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells said. "This is an observant kid. He's courageous."

It appeared the boy was chosen randomly, said authorities who were trying to determine whether there were other suspects involved.

"Clay was just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Wells said.

Investigators had interviewed several witnesses Saturday at an area farm where Moreno was believed to have worked and then staked out his home, about 12 miles southeast of Parrish, Wells said.

Parrish, about 30 miles southeast of St. Petersburg, has seen explosive growth in recent years but still has many rural areas.
__________________________________________________ __

Typical of San Diego news, they will never mention when an illegal alien, a Mexican, a Latino or Hispanic has committed a crime. Of course, when a white person commits a crime, they give their name, picture, home address and complete life history.

reptile said:

Typical of San Diego news, they will never mention when an illegal alien, a Mexican, a Latino or Hispanic has committed a crime. Of course, when a white person commits a crime, they give their name, picture, home address and complete life history.

I can vouch for that. Guess it goes along with being a sanctuary city. However I first heard he was an illegal from Rick Robert's radio station this morning. Thank goodness for talk radio.

Beltran, a native of Mexico, had worked three years ago at a farm near where the teen was tied up, but later became a laborer for an aluminum contractor, said sheriff�s spokesman Dave Bristow.

Both this farmer and aluminum contractor should be charged with aiding and abetting an illegal alien. This boy could have been murdered.

Beltran could not be reached for comment.

Wonder why?