Amber Alert aims to save

July 30, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

There are certain notifications that immediately cause people to snap to attention.
A tornado warning is one, with television and radio warnings leading people to seek shelter and call friends and loved ones and make sure they are safe. Also, more and more people are keeping an eye on the color-coded levels that indicate the chances of a terrorist attack.
Few warnings today, however, snag the public’s attention — at least on a regional level — as resolutely as an Amber Alert.
Amber Alerts are notifications issued by law enforcement to alert the public that children under the age of 17 have been abducted. The alerts are distributed to television stations, radio stations, newspapers, Internet sites, and more and more, e-mail addresses and digital traffic condition signs on interstate highways.
The system began 10 years ago, when 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, of Dallas, was abducted, raped and murdered. Shortly after her death, residents of Hagerman’s community learned that authorities in Dallas had information that might have helped lead to Hagerman’s recovery not long after she had been taken. But those authorities had no way to disseminate the information.
A system was put into place in Texas in which information about an abducted child was distributed — by radio only, at that point — to radio stations throughout the state.
The system has grown over the last decade, with all 50 states now having Amber Alert plans in place. More than 330 children nationwide have been recovered safely using Amber Alerts.
The system was front and center in the Lakelands last week. The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office issued an Amber Alert July 23 after 1-year-old Aiden Duarte —along with his 20-year-old mother, Beatriz Duarte — was reported as being abducted from the Kmart plaza by Duarte’s estranged boyfriend, Oscar Valencia Mendosa.
News of the alleged abduction spread quickly, with notifications splashed across regional television broadcasts and descriptions of the Duarte’s and Mendosa fired off to newspapers and other media outlets.
“We had people all over the country looking for those three,” said Chief Deputy Mike Frederick. “Philadelphia, Arizona and all across the Southeast. Officers kicked a door open in Oklahoma looking. There were, literally, hundreds of cops working this one.”
The abduction report, however, turned out to be a hoax. Following a 24-hour search, GCSO rescinded the Amber Alert. Investigators learned Beatriz Duarte had voluntarily gone with Mendosa and the trio were found in Kingston, Tenn.
Frederick said it wasn’t a fruitless investigation, as it was important to make sure the infant had not been forcibly taken and was safe. However, he said it is important to be careful when issuing Amber Alerts
“It is a major decision, issuing an Amber Alert,” Frederick said. “You have to consider all the facts in the case. You don’t want to cheapen the value of the alert.”
Frederick urged residents to remain confident in the validity of Amber Alerts, especially with the lives of children potentially on the line.
“I know a false report would lead some to question the system,” Frederick said. “But you can’t toss the whole thing out just because of a situation like this. This investigation still had value, with investigators and deputies working around the clock to bring closure to it and determine the child was safe.”
Frederick said it ultimately becomes a judgment call on the part of law enforcement in terms of when and when not to issue an Amber Alert.
“Part of it is the science and research of the information you have about the case,” he said.
“But the other side of it is instinct of an officer that may have 20 or 25 years of service on hundreds of cases. That’s the way it is sometimes when you are trying to protect lives.
“But we do want to keep the overwhelmingly large majority of Amber Alerts to cases involving legitimate danger.”

Unsolved cases puzzle McCormick police

July 30, 2007

By LARRY SINGER
Index-Journal staff writer

McCORMICK — On the desk of McCormick Police Chief L.R. Martin are two manila folders containing unsolved cases that continue to puzzle the chief and his staff.
One of the folders contains the details of what Chief Martin said was McCormick’s only bank robbery, but second case — the one that the chief said he will never forget — concerns the bizarre death and hidden identity of a man who’s real name remains a mystery to this day.

The man who never was

When the call came into to the McCormick Police Department on the morning of Jan. 27, 1991, Martin was a patrolman who was the first person answering a call to investigate a broken window in a trailer.
“The initial complaint was that there might have been a burglary,” Martin said.
When he arrived, Martin discovered a strong winter wind had blown a metal rocking chair against the glass with enough force to shatter it.
Because the door to the trailer was locked, Martin crawled through the open window and went inside.
“The moment I got inside I smelled this horrible odor, but had no idea what it was,” Martin said. “No one had seen anyone around the trailer for a couple of years, so I continued to investigate, thinking there had been a robbery because it was an abandoned trailer.” As Martin walked toward the back of the single-wide trailer, he saw what looked to be a rag lying on the floor near the bathroom door.
Moving toward the material, Martin’s foot inadvertently came in contact with what later proved to be a human leg in a severe state of decomposition.
“When my foot hit his, it broke open and I saw all these little insects coming out, and the odor increased 100 percent,” Martin said
Going back to his patrol car for a flashlight, Martin re-entered the trailer and identified the rotting material around the rag as a human body.
“I just said to myself, oh my God, this is a human being,” Martin said. “It looked like brown mummified brown leather, where all the fluids had been flushed from the body and only the dry skin attached to the bone remained.
“Because it was in a confined area, the skin had not rotted that much, but the rest of the body had deteriorated a great deal.”
After the county coroner removed the remains with a shovel and utility records indicated the man had probably been dead for about two years, the investigation into what had happened in the trailer began to take a series of strange turns and twists.
“When we called in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, we did not know if there had been foul play or the man had died of natural causes,” Martin said. “About a week later, we were informed the man had died of a massive heart attack.”
But the mysterious part of the case, and what has still not been determined, is the real identity of the man Martin found in that trailer.
“We found his wallet, bank book, driver’s license and his Social Security card,” Martin said. “While trying to see if he had any living relatives, we discovered he had a large amount of money in two banks. But when we checked his Social Security card, they told us the number on the card wasn’t a valid Social Security number.”
Adding to the mystery, a passport belonging to the dead man indicated he had been to several foreign countries, and an extensive search for clues to Rice’s true identity led Martin to one government agency that refused to comment.
“After tracing the passport, talking to various government officials, and using what fingerprints we could get from the individual, everything pointed us to the Central Intelligence Agency, but they wouldn’t tell us anything,” Martin said. “Because we have no proof, we’re not even sure that Walter Rice is his real name.
“He paid for everything, including his utilities, in cash. He had no charge cards. He left no paper trail. We found a birth certificate that said he was born in Abbeville on July 6, 1920, but Abbeville had no record of him being born there. To this day, although our department, SLED and the FBI have tried, we have yet to locate any of this man’s relatives, and no one has come forward to claim any of the money he had in the bank.”
Eventually, Martin said, the details of the case were broadcast nationwide on the television show, “Unsolved Mysteries,” but no one who saw the show came forward to reveal the identity of Walter Rice.

The polite robber

The second case that continues to baffle Martin concerns a Dec. 7, 2006 bank robbery. Martin said a young black man entered Regions Bank at 407 E. Gold St. with a firearm, and Martin said, politely robbed the bank of about $3,000.
“He never used a threatening word,” Martin said. “He only approached one cashier and that cashier gave him the money.”
When Martin checked the security cameras, he discovered the entire robbery lasted about two minutes, and the three frames containing images of the suspect did not capture his face. “He had on a jacket with a hood,” Martin said. “When he saw the manager of the bank, the robber knew he wasn’t a cashier and told him to get on the floor.”
Even with the help of tracking dogs, the state troopers, the FBI and Department of Natural Resources, the robber managed to exit the bank and make a clean getaway.
What is particularly irksome to Martin is that, according to the bank teller, the robber was carrying a mobile police scanner and knew the exact location of Martin and the other members of his police force.
“We were escorting a funeral on the other side of town, about two miles away,” Martin said. “The very moment we arrived at the church, we got the call about the robbery.”

Unsolved cases puzzle McCormick police

July 30, 2007

By LARRY SINGER
Index-Journal staff writer

McCORMICK — On the desk of McCormick Police Chief L.R. Martin are two manila folders containing unsolved cases that continue to puzzle the chief and his staff.
One of the folders contains the details of what Chief Martin said was McCormick’s only bank robbery, but second case — the one that the chief said he will never forget — concerns the bizarre death and hidden identity of a man who’s real name remains a mystery to this day.

The man who never was

When the call came into to the McCormick Police Department on the morning of Jan. 27, 1991, Martin was a patrolman who was the first person answering a call to investigate a broken window in a trailer.
“The initial complaint was that there might have been a burglary,” Martin said.
When he arrived, Martin discovered a strong winter wind had blown a metal rocking chair against the glass with enough force to shatter it.
Because the door to the trailer was locked, Martin crawled through the open window and went inside.
“The moment I got inside I smelled this horrible odor, but had no idea what it was,” Martin said. “No one had seen anyone around the trailer for a couple of years, so I continued to investigate, thinking there had been a robbery because it was an abandoned trailer.” As Martin walked toward the back of the single-wide trailer, he saw what looked to be a rag lying on the floor near the bathroom door.
Moving toward the material, Martin’s foot inadvertently came in contact with what later proved to be a human leg in a severe state of decomposition.
“When my foot hit his, it broke open and I saw all these little insects coming out, and the odor increased 100 percent,” Martin said
Going back to his patrol car for a flashlight, Martin re-entered the trailer and identified the rotting material around the rag as a human body.
“I just said to myself, oh my God, this is a human being,” Martin said. “It looked like brown mummified brown leather, where all the fluids had been flushed from the body and only the dry skin attached to the bone remained.
“Because it was in a confined area, the skin had not rotted that much, but the rest of the body had deteriorated a great deal.”
After the county coroner removed the remains with a shovel and utility records indicated the man had probably been dead for about two years, the investigation into what had happened in the trailer began to take a series of strange turns and twists.
“When we called in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, we did not know if there had been foul play or the man had died of natural causes,” Martin said. “About a week later, we were informed the man had died of a massive heart attack.”
But the mysterious part of the case, and what has still not been determined, is the real identity of the man Martin found in that trailer.
“We found his wallet, bank book, driver’s license and his Social Security card,” Martin said. “While trying to see if he had any living relatives, we discovered he had a large amount of money in two banks. But when we checked his Social Security card, they told us the number on the card wasn’t a valid Social Security number.”
Adding to the mystery, a passport belonging to the dead man indicated he had been to several foreign countries, and an extensive search for clues to Rice’s true identity led Martin to one government agency that refused to comment.
“After tracing the passport, talking to various government officials, and using what fingerprints we could get from the individual, everything pointed us to the Central Intelligence Agency, but they wouldn’t tell us anything,” Martin said. “Because we have no proof, we’re not even sure that Walter Rice is his real name.
“He paid for everything, including his utilities, in cash. He had no charge cards. He left no paper trail. We found a birth certificate that said he was born in Abbeville on July 6, 1920, but Abbeville had no record of him being born there. To this day, although our department, SLED and the FBI have tried, we have yet to locate any of this man’s relatives, and no one has come forward to claim any of the money he had in the bank.”
Eventually, Martin said, the details of the case were broadcast nationwide on the television show, “Unsolved Mysteries,” but no one who saw the show came forward to reveal the identity of Walter Rice.

The polite robber

The second case that continues to baffle Martin concerns a Dec. 7, 2006 bank robbery. Martin said a young black man entered Regions Bank at 407 E. Gold St. with a firearm, and Martin said, politely robbed the bank of about $3,000.
“He never used a threatening word,” Martin said. “He only approached one cashier and that cashier gave him the money.”
When Martin checked the security cameras, he discovered the entire robbery lasted about two minutes, and the three frames containing images of the suspect did not capture his face. “He had on a jacket with a hood,” Martin said. “When he saw the manager of the bank, the robber knew he wasn’t a cashier and told him to get on the floor.”
Even with the help of tracking dogs, the state troopers, the FBI and Department of Natural Resources, the robber managed to exit the bank and make a clean getaway.
What is particularly irksome to Martin is that, according to the bank teller, the robber was carrying a mobile police scanner and knew the exact location of Martin and the other members of his police force.
“We were escorting a funeral on the other side of town, about two miles away,” Martin said. “The very moment we arrived at the church, we got the call about the robbery.”

Witt ready to lead at Brewer

July 30, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Gerald Witt already had his heart set on home.
The Greenwood native had taught outside the area for many years — including a distinguished stint as principal at Irmo High School — and after retiring, he and wife Vinetta (also an educator and a Greenwood native) talked about perhaps this being the time to make the move.
“We made the decision as a family,” Witt said. “We had been talking about it for several years, so we started inquiring about opportunities. We wanted to get back. Coming home was something we wanted to do.”
Though Witt anticipated the possible homecoming, he had no idea just how much of a homecoming his eventual return would actually turn out to be.
“I had interviewed with Greenwood High School (for a position as assistant principal) and (former Brewer Middle principal Anthony) Holland made the decision to go to Carolina (High),” Witt said. “I had a conversation with Dr. Johnson about the possibility of being the interim principal at Brewer and became very excited about that potential opportunity.”
Johnson offered Witt the interim position and he gladly accepted.
Witt has a history at Brewer — as a former student. Now he’s come full circle as the school’s top administrator.
“One, my first secondary experience was at Brewer when it was still a high school, and two, I have the opportunity to work with young people in a beautiful facility,” Witt said. “I understand very clearly the history of the school and community, and this is just a blessing from the Lord to be back there as principal, even on an interim basis. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”
District 50 administration is happy to have Witt on board.
Randy Vaughn, assistant superintendent for human resources, said Witt’s experience and leadership qualities will be most welcome at Brewer.
“He’s one of the most recognized and accomplished principals our state has seen,” he said. “He’s known for his innovative leadership. He knows our community and understands well the challenges our students face.”
Witt is looking forward to meeting his staff and formulating goals.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk with the staff there, but I know they have a great staff at Brewer and there are things we will strive to do,” he said. “We will be committed to doing what’s best for children.
“We’re going to do everything we possibly can for every child to be successful. We’ll be parents, students and teachers all working for one cause. We’ve got to continue to push children to be leaders, and to be strong academically.”

AHS grad working for school

July 30, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

ABBEVILLE – Dorinda Bell is just over the hill from home again.
It took 20 years for her to get there, but she’s back and happy.
“I always knew that I would come back to live here one day,” Bell said Friday. “I always told everyone that I would retire in Abbeville one day.”
And while she’s far from retirement, she just didn’t know the homecoming would happen this soon. Bell left Abbeville after high school graduation in the 1980s for college at Winthrop. Her degree led her into the business world, where she excelled.
But her soul remained unsatisfied.
Something was missing.
She found it in the most unlikely of places – a classroom.
“I sort of fell into the educational track,” she said. “I found out that I loved every second of it. I just knew that was my calling. Nothing made me feel like I did the first time I walked into a classroom as the teacher.
“We have fun. Learning is supposed to be fun.”
Bell — who will be the new assistant principal at AHS — also looks forward to experiencing the seasons all over again. Winters in Fort Lauderdale tend to be a bit on the balmy side.
“I can’t wait to have a winter and a spring again,” she said. “We don’t have seasons in Florida. It’s laying out weather all year long. That will be nice.”
And her parents have rolled out the red carpet for their daughter’s return.
“They’ve killed the fatted calf,” Bell joked. “I have an older brother and sister, and I was the closest at 12 hours away. Home is just over the hill again.”
Bell’s parents are not the only people glad to have Bell in town.
“We’re tickled to death to have her back from Florida,” principal Steve Glenn said. “She brings a lot of experience, and we’re looking for a great year. She’ll be an asset.”
As a teacher, her classrooms were known for their unbridled creativity.
One time, she recalls the kid who went above and beyond the classroom call of duty.
“The assignment was for the students to create their own kind of keyboard,” Bell said. “I told them as long as it would fit through the door that I would take it. This one student brought in this six-and-a-half-foot-tall keyboard man called Autotronics. It took his mom, dad and granddad to bring that thing in.
“I was blown away. I’ll never forget it.”
The student’s mother wanted to know what Bell had done to her son.
He’d never been excited about school in the past. But that was before Ms. Bell’s class.
“God has really been good,” she said.
Abbeville High freshmen will return for registration Aug. 7.
Tenth-, 11th- and 12th-grade students will receive their schedules through the mail.
Students who have not received their schedules by Aug. 14 should contact the school.
Abbeville High will be adding a new class and reviving another in a new chorus class and the teacher cadet program. The cadet program is back after a one-year hiatus “We’re very, very excited to now have chorus,” Glenn said. “We have so many talented students here. Chorus stopped in the eighth grade, so now they can continue.”
Dick Williams will instruct the teacher cadet class. Band director Byron Hilley will teach chorus.

Lancaster bounces Post 20 from postseason

Greenwood Legion team manages just six hits in season-ending loss on the road

July 30, 2007

From staff reports


LANCASTER — Greenwood Post 20 was eliminated from the American Legion baseball playoffs on Sunday evening, falling to Lancaster 8-1 in the second of two play-in games.
Post 20, which lost a best-of-five series 3-1 last week to Richland, stayed alive by virtue of Rock Hill’s success.
Rock Hill, which serves as the host site for the eight-team state tournament starting this week, received an automatic bid into the tournament, but also won its first two series, earning the right to advance.
With Rock Hill’s victory, Greenwood, Spartanburg and Lancaster, all losers in their second-round series, were vying for one vacant spot.
Greenwood won the first play-in game over Spartanburg 12-5 Saturday night at Legion Field, but Post 20 was unable to secure a second win Sunday.
USC signee Brandon Miller pitched five innings and gave up seven runs to take the loss for Post 20. Matt Titus pitched the final three innings.
Mack Hite and Christian Powell led Post 20’s offense with two hits. Hite scored a run. Josh Lovvorn and Brad Dorn also had one hit apiece.
Lovvorn had the team’s lone RBI.

Obituaries

Richard H. Burnette, Jr.

EASTOVER — Funeral services for Richard H. Burnette, Jr., 72, of Eastover, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Greenlawn Funeral Home Chapel with graveside services to be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Greenwood Memorial Gardens in Greenwood, SC. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until the hour of the service on Tuesday at the funeral home.
Mr. Burnette passed away on Saturday, July 28, 2007. He was born in Tarboro, NC to the late Richard H. Burnette, Sr. and Marian Brown Burnette. He retired as an Industrial Mechanic from S.C. Electric and Gas, Wateree Station in Eastover, SC.
Survivors are his loving wife, Shirley S. Paul; his son, Jason Burnette; his daughter, Lynn Martin; stepchildren, Michelle P. VanLue and Johnny Paul, Jr.; 8 grandchildren; and his brothers, Jimmy and Donnie Burnette.
Mr. Burnette was predeceased by his first wife and the mother of his children, Margaret Rhodes Burnette; a daughter, Nancy Lee Burnette; a son, Ray Burnette; and a brother, Raymond (Corky) Burnette.
Announcement provided courtesy of Greenlawn Funeral Home of Columbia, SC.

Margaret H. Glenn

ABBEVILLE — Margaret Hanvey Glenn, 85, resident of Carlisle Nursing Center in Due West, SC, formerly of 305 Millwood Rd., Abbeville, SC, widow of James “Jimmy” Oscar Glenn, died Saturday, July 28, 2007 at Carlisle Nursing Center.
Born in Anderson, SC ,she was a daughter of the late Claude Benjamin and Nancy Hardin Hanvey.
Margaret was a devoted homemaker and a member of Abbeville Presbyterian Church. She enjoyed playing bridge and conversing and sharing stories with her many friends, but the true love of Margaret’s life was her family, her children and grandchildren whom she loved dearly and supported. She will be missed by her family and all her many friends.
Survivors are one son, Lawrence “Peedee” Glenn and his wife Wanda of Scottsdale, Arizona; one daughter, Jimmie Baker and her husband Robert of Columbia, SC; two granddaughters, Elizabeth Baker Boles and Miriam Baker Stricklin; and four great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be conducted Monday, July 30, 2007 at 11 a.m. in Long Cane Cemetery with Dr. Robert Todd officiating.
The body is at Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home. The family will receive friends after services at Abbeville Presbyterian Church social hall.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Dr., Greenwood, SC 29646 or to Due West Retirement Center, 18 Frank Pressley Dr., Due West, SC 29639.
Online condolences may be made to the Glenn family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com. The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, is in Charge of arrangements.

William T. Griffin

FOUNTAIN HILL, PA — William T. “Bill” Griffin, 86, husband of Mary Waelchli Griffin died Saturday, July 14, 2007.
Born in Abbeville, S.C., he was a graduate of Ninety Six High School and Cohen’s Electrical College in Chicago. A Master Electrician, after retirement he received a BA in Education and taught for a number of years.
Surviving in addition to his wife are a daughter, two sons, and two sisters, Louise G. Barefoot of Dunn, N.C. and Betty G. Dellinger of Greenwood.
He was preceded in death by brothers Hubert D. Griffin and Frank Griffin.
Funeral services were conducted in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania.
Announcement provided courtesy of Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Frank Sibert

McCORMICK — Frank Sibert, age 62, died at Self Regional Medical Center July 26, 2007. He was a son of the late Robert Lee and Essie Belle Talbert Sibert, Sr. He was a member of Bethany Baptist Church in McCormick and was a retired employee of Greenwood Mills, Durst Plant.
Survivors are two sisters, Louise (Albert) Talbert of Edgefield, S.C. and Minerva Martin of Charlotte, N.C.; and five brothers, Robert Sibert, Jr, Ben Otis Sibert, James Sibert and Lawrence Sibert all of McCormick, and Ernest Sibert of Gainesville, Fla.
Memorial services will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Bethany Baptist Church with the pastor, Rev. R.J. Haskell and the Rev. R.C. Holloway officiating.
The family is at the home, 507 Talbert Street in McCormick.
Walker Funeral Home of McCormick is in charge.

Opinion

Dog fighting cases could offer something positive

July 30, 2007

The dog fighting charges against Michael Vick get more attention because he is a high profile professional quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons football team. That’s enough, but there’s more.
Even though Vick issued a plea of not guilty at a court hearing, the mere fact that he is an athletic celebrity makes the charges against him more newsworthy. After all, there are sure to be a lot of youngsters who are influenced by Vick’s status. Guilty or not, it creates disillusionment for some of those youngsters ..... either that or it encourages young fans to emulate their athletic “hero,” their “role model.”
Dog fighting is a cruel activity that is called “entertainment” or “sport” by those who are involved in it, whether as participants or onlookers.

IT IS NEITHER. IT IS A VICIOUS pastime in which dogs are trained to fight to kill each other. Or, the dogs may be killed by promoters because they are not good at killing opponents or are injured so badly during fights they have to be put down.
There is another negative factor, too. Underpinning the whole practice is big-time gambling, with a lot of money changing hands.
Dog fighting is not unheard of in South Carolina. There have been recent arrests and convictions. One of the latest was just this Thursday when Attorney General Henry McMaster announced that a Walterboro man was convicted and sentenced to prison on dog fighting charges.
He also was convicted or arranging for dogs to attack pigs in a similar fashion.

THE MAN WAS SENTENCED to five years, suspended to three years, to be followed by three years probation on each of several counts against him. He also was fined $5,000 on each count.
Maybe that kind of sentence is not harsh enough to discourage people from putting on dog fights. It is, however, a notice that such brutal activity won’t go unpunished, and that, at the least, should send a strong message.
Maybe some good can come from the Vick and South Carolina cases. Maybe the public attention they generate will lead to stronger preventative measures all over and teach that cruelty is unacceptable, whether it involves animals or people.
The State Legislature passed laws to provide tougher penalties. Under the seemingly growing circumstances of animal abuse, it might not be a bad idea to make the laws even tougher.