Thread: Jordan Detains Michigan Girl

Jordan Detains Michigan Girl En Route to Israel to Meet Man From MySpace.com

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198848,00.html

SAGINAW, Mich. — Jordanian authorities have detained a 16-year-old Michigan girl who told her parents she was going to Canada but then got on a plane to the Middle East to see a West Bank man she met on the popular Web site MySpace.com.

Katherine Lester left Monday — apparently to visit a man whose MySpace account says he is a 25-year-old from Jericho, Tuscola County Undersheriff James Jashinske said Friday. On Thursday night, her family received word from U.S. officials that she had been stopped as she arrived in Amman, Jordan, en route to Tel Aviv, Israel, said her mother, Shawn Lester.

"A woman from the U.S. government called and said they had detained her in Amman," she told The Saginaw News. "I asked if she was all right, but all the woman knew was that she was detained."

Shawn Lester, 41, said her daughter, a National Honor Society student at Akron-Fairgrove High School, persuaded her in April to help her get her a passport so she could go on a two-week vacation to Canada with a friend's family.

Shawn Lester said she drove her daughter on Sunday to a Bay City bus station, where the friend's family was to meet them. When the family didn't show, Shawn Lester called them and learned there was no trip. She brought her daughter home and was baffled.

The next day, Shawn Lester left her daughter asleep at their home in Gilford, just east of Saginaw. When she returned, Katherine Lester was gone.

She called three times since leaving home, her mother said, but no one suspected the teen was leaving the country until Wednesday, when Katherine Lester's stepmother looked at the teen's MySpace account and learned of the older man.

The sheriff's department contacted the FBI, which was able to trace the teen to a flight from New York's Kennedy International Airport to Amman, Jashinske told The Associated Press from his office in Caro.

"The FBI did a heck of a job for us," the undersheriff said.

Jashinske said deputies confiscated the family's home computer and were going to take it to the FBI's Bay City office Friday for analysis. He said it remained unclear whether the law had been violated.

"I'll be honest with you, we don't know if a crime's been committed," he said. "She had a meeting online with the gentleman" from Jericho. An online conversation with a 16-year-old is not illegal under Michigan law, but solicitation for sex would be, Jashinske said.

"We can be in love," he said. "Talk about some other things and you can be in trouble."

FBI spokesman Brian Endrizal declined to provide any details and would not comment on the man's identity or background.

"We are doing everything in our power to bring her home safe and sound," Endrizal said. "This is an ongoing investigation, and the FBI is following all of the appropriate leads."

Hmmm.....

persuaded her in April to help her get her a passport so she could go on a two-week vacation to Canada with a friend's family

Sure, kids ask for passports every day. No worry there....

Shawn Lester said she drove her daughter on Sunday to a Bay City bus station, where the friend's family was to meet them. When the family didn't show, Shawn Lester called them and learned there was no trip. She brought her daughter home and was baffled.

Baffled? My kid wouldn't have seen daylight until I found out what was going on.

Lastly, where does a 16 year old get enough money to fly half way around the world?

Shawn Lester said she drove her daughter on Sunday to a Bay City bus station, where the friend's family was to meet them. When the family didn't show, Shawn Lester called them and learned there was no trip. She brought her daughter home and was baffled.

The next day, Shawn Lester left her daughter asleep at their home in Gilford, just east of Saginaw. When she returned, Katherine Lester was gone.

She called three times since leaving home, her mother said, but no one suspected the teen was leaving the country until Wednesday, when Katherine Lester's stepmother looked at the teen's MySpace account and learned of the older man

This is clearly another parent who isn't spending any time with their kids and isn't paying attention. First of all why would you allow your child to go on any trip with another family, without speaking to the other parents before making plans. Then the kid disappears and the mother doesn't search for her immediately?

This is just like the spoiled rich Arab kid last year. These are rich kids with to much access to money and the world. On the news they quote the parents as saying "Once she gets home all computers are banned from the house". Who bought the plane tickets? !!!! These parents need to spend a while in jail.