February 23, 2009


Girl's flight to Mexico causes months of work for Middletown police

By ESTEBAN PARRA
The News Journal

In mid-August, a call about a missing 16-year-old girl led Middletown police in several directions, including a search along the northern part of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.

They tracked a cell phone, making them think her remains might be found there. They also pursued tips that she had been seen in states ranging from Maryland to Texas.

The girl finally turned up the following month -- 2,700 miles away in Mexico City.

She called her parents in early September to say she had run there with her 23-year-old boyfriend -- a Mexican national who had been living illegally in the Middletown area.

"That's the first one I've had where they went international," said Thomas Finch, a Middletown detective who has been a police officer for 20 years.

Though the girl eventually returned home safely, her journey from here to Mexico and back involved months of complicated -- even international -- coordination.

After she called home, Finch and Middletown police worked with local and foreign authorities, including the FBI and Interpol. They also contacted the U.S. State Department, which handles more than 200,000 inquiries about citizens' whereabouts each year through its embassies and consulates.

In cases involving young children, it usually is a straightforward matter for the State Department to coordinate with foreign authorities and family in the United States to make sure they return safely.

It becomes more difficult when runaways are 16 or older and don't want to come home.

In those cases, the level of assistance from foreign authorities varies from country to country, depending on their laws regarding the age of consent.

Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, director of the family advocacy division at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said she does not know how many teens run away to other countries, adding that most generally stay near home.

"We really don't have many children that are going to be leaving the country and going to a foreign country unless they are involved with an individual that may be an adult," Gilmer-Tullis said. "It's not that common at all."

In the case of the Middletown girl, she called her parents to say she wanted to come home, making it easier for the U.S. Consulate in Mexico City to help bring her back.

Her former boyfriend -- Jorge I. Romero -- apparently wasn't as reconciled to her return and turned up "drunk and disorderly" in Middletown earlier this month, where he was charged with helping the teen run away.

Because he was not able to charge Romero with anything more serious than a misdemeanor, Finch said, he is asking federal authorities to deport him.

"Because if he comes back, then he is violating ... federal court orders," Finch said. "So if that would happen again, there would be stiffer penalties involved."

Middletown police also want Romero out of the country to keep the flight to Mexico from repeating itself.

Besides international coordination, their investigation that began on Aug. 23 and ended on Oct. 17 involved time and emotion.

"Mom thought she spent the night at her girlfriend's house," Finch said.

"The next day, still no word from her, so now mom's reporting her as missing."

Finch thought at first that "it was the typical missing child, runaway maybe."

Girl's friends questioned

Police started their search with the teen's friends, who told them she was seeing Romero.

Investigators also were told that Romero had possibly returned to Mexico.

Armed with Romero's cell phone number, police learned the phone had been used in New Castle County.

"It keeps coming up on the north side of the C&D Canal," Finch said. "We go up and start a terrain search on the north side of the C&D Canal hoping nothing bad has happened."

Officers, including the state police helicopter, searched the area for several days, but found nothing.

Investigators eventually learned Romero worked at a marina along the canal. They also confirmed he had left for Mexico.

"We enlisted the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children to help us and bring in their resources," Finch said, adding that he also contacted the FBI and U.S. Marshal's Office and State Department. "Once we knew she was in Mexico, it was more managing resources to get her back."

Throughout this time, Finch said, police got tips that the girl had been seen in Ocean City, Md., and Elkton, Md., and even at a Texas border town hospital. But none of the tips panned out, Finch said.

Eventually, she made her call home on Sept. 8.

"I called the law enforcement attache for the State Department at the consulate in Mexico City and reached out to them," Finch said. "They told us to get information to mom, back to her, that all she needs to do is get herself back to the consulate and they'll get her home."

It wasn't until Oct. 15 that the girl went to the consulate asking to return to Middletown.

The following day, the girl was placed on a Continental flight to Newark, N.J.

Police tried to talk to her Oct. 17, but the girl was "somewhat traumatized" and did not want to be interviewed, Finch said.

"She didn't report any other crimes to us that occurred in Middletown jurisdiction or anywhere else and refused to cooperate any further, so we closed out," Finch said.

Since returning, she seems to be adjusting to her old life.

"She's back in school," Finch said. "And as far as I know, life has returned to normal."

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