JADON HIGGANBOTHAN - 6 yo (2010) - Durham NC / Colorado Springs CO

Teller County authorities are searching
for a woman who vanished after she was questioned about the whereabouts
of her 6-year-old son, who is missing from North Carolina.



Vania Rae Sisk, 25, failed to show up for a child-custody hearing
Thursday in Woodland Park, Teller County sheriff's Sgt. Nick Olmsted
said. She may also be using the name Vania Rae Higgenbotham.
Teller County and Colorado Springs police first had contact with Sisk
on Wednesday after learning that she had recently moved to Woodland Park.
Officers went to her home in the 200 block of East Ridge Drive looking
for her 6-year-old son, who is missing from Durham, N.C.
Officers didn't find the boy, but they did locate nine other children
at the home who were taken into protective custody by the Teller County
Department of Social Services.
Read more: Search is on for mom of missing boy - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17493351#ixzz1FApVC9YR

A Woodland Park home that has been vacant and for sale for months was
suddenly filled with people last week. Several families from North
Carolina had moved into the home, according to neighbors. By Sunday
night, the home was vacant again.

The Teller County Sheriff's
Office says Vania Sisk was one of the women who moved into that house on
Ridge Drive. Authorities questioned the 25-year-old last week about
her missing six-year-old son. The next day, she didn't show up for a
Department of Social Services appointment and hasn't been seen since.
The last anyone saw her was at the Walmart in Woodland Park.
Authorities searched the home. They didn't find the missing boy, but
they did take nine children into protective custody. Those children
are now in Durham, North Carolina.

The people moving out of the home would only say they were moving
out and on their way back to North Carolina for custody hearings.
The Teller County Sheriff's Office says Sisk could be using her maiden name of Higgenbotham.

Teller County investigators are concerned about the mother of a missing boy, who's gone missing herself.Vania
Sisk was last seen Thursday at Walmart in Woodland Park. According to
investigators, she recently moved to Colorado with a group of people
despite the disappearance of her 6-year-old son in October."A
little boy doesn't just go missing and people forget about it," said
Detective Sgt. Nicholas Olmsted, with the Teller County Sheriff's
Office.Olmsted said his office was asked assist on missing child
case out of North Carolina and talk with Sisk. She reportedly talked
with investigators on Wednesday then disappeared.Investigators
searched the home she was living in on Saturday for evidence of foul
play in Sisk's disappearance. No arrests were made and Olmsted said no
charges have been filed against Sisk's housemates. Nine children living
at the home were removed and sent to North Carolina for a child
protective services hearing early this week.Neighbors of the home
in the 200 block of Ridge Drive said the group of three men, five women
and several children moved in a week ago Sunday. This Sunday, they
moved out. A woman who wished to remain unidentified said the house was
always busy with lots of people coming and going from the home and
lights in the home tended to have a "strobe" effect, quickly coming on
and going off during the busy hours at night.Anyone with information about where Sisk is, call Teller County investigators at (719) 687-9652.

http://www.krdo.com/news/27019786/detail.html

This is the first I had read that the child went missing FIVE MONTHS AGO.
Who are the these "people" she moved there with?
8+ adults and 9 or 10 kids! How big was this place?
Could it be a cult?
Flash pictures might explain the "strobe" effect.
Kiddie Porn Ring?
Why move away from an area where your child went missing?
We are pretty thorough in our search talents and I can find no mention of this "missing" child at that time.

The house was empty and they moved in as squatters. It does sound like a cult. How odd that a woman would move out of town when her child was missing. Perhaps the cult has him with her permission.

Interesting that she disappeared on the eve of her appointment with Social Services.

I fear this isn't going to end well.

Durham, N.C. — Police have been searching a Durham home for evidence in the disappearance of a woman and her 6-year-old son.Durham
police declined to answer questions about the case on Monday, saying
only that they are working with Colorado authorities.An online
search links the home at 2109 Pear Tree Lane to Vania Rae Sisk, and a
neighbor said investigators have gone through the home for several days.Sisk,
25, recently moved from Durham to Colorado Springs, and investigators
in Colorado said they got a call from Durham police about a missing
6-year-old boy. A missing persons report hasn't been filed with Durham
police, so it's unclear who reported the boy missing.Authorities
went to a Colorado Springs home last Wednesday to ask Sisk about the
missing boy, but neither she nor her son was there. Colorado Springs
police said nine other children were taken from the home and placed in
the custody of the Teller County, Colo., Department of Social Services.The
other children are also believed to have connections to the Durham
area, authorities said, and they might be sent back to North Carolina.
It was unclear where the children were on Monday.The Department of Social Services in Durham declined to answer any questions about the case.Shiela Moses said told KKTV in Colorado Springs that she was in the house when investigators arrived."They came and took my kids that had nothing to do with this," Moses said.Others in the home said they met Sisk only recently and that, at some point, she left them a note."She
said that she has no will, that she was hurt. They took her two kids,
and she can't let them get her boy," Leonard Moses said, recounting the
contents of the note.Sisk's MySpace page doesn't show any recent
postings. It notes that she lives in Colorado Springs, is the mother of
two boys, Jaydon and PeShawn, and makes reference to some tough days.Colorado investigators said Sisk missed a child custody hearing with DSS last week.http://www.wral.com/news/story/9189779/

A woman at the center of a two-state mystery was located in Colorado
Monday evening, authorities said, but it was unclear if her missing son
was also found.Vania Rae Sisk, 25, recently moved from Durham to
Colorado Springs, and investigators in Colorado said they got a call
from Durham police about a missing 6-year-old boy. A missing persons
report hasn't been filed with Durham police, so it's unclear who
reported the boy missing.Durham police declined to answer
questions about the case on Monday, saying only that they are working
with Colorado authorities.An online search links the home at 2109
Pear Tree Lane in Durham to Sisk, and a neighbor said investigators
have gone through the home for several days.Authorities went to a
Colorado Springs home last Wednesday to ask Sisk about the missing boy,
but neither she nor her son was there. Colorado Springs police said
nine other children were taken from the home and placed in the custody
of the Teller County, Colo., Department of Social Services.The
other children are also believed to have connections to the Durham area,
authorities said, and they might be sent back to North Carolina. It was
unclear where the children were on Monday.The Department of Social Services in Durham declined to answer any questions about the case.
Shiela Moses told KKTV in Colorado Springs that she was in the house when investigators arrived."They came and took my kids that had nothing to do with this," Moses said.Others in the home said they met Sisk only recently and that, at some point, she left them a note."She
said that she has no will, that she was hurt. They took her two kids,
and she can't let them get her boy," Leonard Moses said, recounting the
contents of the note.Sisk's MySpace page doesn't show any recent
postings. It notes that she lives in Colorado Springs, is the mother of
two boys, Jadon and PeShawn, and makes reference to some tough days.Colorado investigators said Sisk missed a child custody hearing with DSS last week.
http://www.wral.com/news/story/9189779/

Authorities in Colorado say they have found a 25-year-old Durham woman whose son was reported missing in North Carolina.
They say Vania Rae Sisk disappeared last week after police contacted
her in Teller County to question her about her 6-year-old son. Sisk recently moved to Woodland Park, Colorado from Durham. However when the police went to Sick's home in search of her, they
found nine children ranging in age from infants to 8-years-old.
The children were placed in protective custody with the Teller County
Department of Social Services. It is unclear whether those children are
enroute to North Carolina. Teller County officials say Sisk was supposed to attend a child custody hearing last Thursday, but did not show up. Authorities later caught up with Sisk on Monday while she was bonding a
friend out of the Teller County jail. They say someone recognized her
and turned her in to authorities. Sisk isn't facing any charges nor is she being held for questioning. The Teller County Sheriff's Office in Colorado -- which was contacted
by the Durham Police Department last week to assist in the search effort
-- says it's completed its part of the investigation of Sisk and her
missing son.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7987544

Father anxious to learn if missing Durham boy is alive


Vania Rae Sisk with Jadon Higganbothan

• Durham woman accounted for, son still missing
  
• Missing Durham woman found in Colorado
  
• Durham woman, son missing in Colorado
  

Jadon Higganbothan

Durham, N.C. — The father of a missing 5-year-old boy said Tuesday that he desperately wants to know whether his son is alive and where he is.Authorities in Durham and in Colorado have been searching for Jadon Higganbothan for at least a week.

The boy's mother, Vania Rae Sisk, met with El Paso County, Colo., deputies Monday evening after learning that authorities had been searching for her and her son. Lt. Lari Sevene of the sheriff's office said Tuesday that she had no information on the whereabouts of the boy.

Jamiel Higganbothan, who divorced Sisk several years ago and now lives in Georgia, said Tuesday that he was stunned to hear from Durham police last week that his son was missing.

"All you want to know is, is your child alive," Higganbothan said.

He said he last spoke with Jadon about 18 months ago, when the boy was visiting relatives in Colorado Springs, where Higganbothan and Sisk used to live. He said it has been hard to keep up with Sisk and Jadon since the divorce, and he said he was surprised to learn that they had recently left Durham to return to Colorado.

Higganbothan said Jadon was last seen in October, although he didn't specify who saw him at that time. A missing persons report hasn't been filed with Durham police, and it's unclear who reported the boy missing.Durham police have declined to answer questions about the case, saying only that they are working with Colorado authorities.

"It makes me wonder why (Sisk) hasn’t told authorities where he is," Higganbothan said. "So many scary thoughts are going through my mind, you know, because it shouldn’t take this long for you to just open up your mouth and give the information that’s needed."
Authorities went to a Colorado Springs home last Wednesday to ask Sisk about the missing boy, but neither she nor her son was there.

Colorado Springs police said nine other children were taken from the home and placed in the custody of the Teller County, Colo., Department of Social Services.Higganbothan said Sisk was living with friends of relatives of her boyfriend. Many of the same people had been living in Durham previously, he said.Durham police have searched a home at 2109 Pear Tree Lane for several days for evidence in the case.

Technicians removed a box and a bag of items from the house Tuesday.

Sisk hasn't been charged with any crime.

"You never could even imagine somebody causing any kind of harm to Jadon because, when you look in his face, he always just seemed like he was a happy baby," Higganbothan said.

”I just want to know, is my child alive?" he said. "No matter what mistakes you made – what you did with Jadon, you know, or if you left him somewhere – it’s OK because I can get my child from wherever he is. But I can’t get him if he’s dead.”

Warrants: Missing boy shot
Updated at 06:22 PM today


DURHAM, NC (WTVD) --
Search warrants from Colorado show Durham detectives suspect a missing
6-year-old boy was shot by a reputed polygamist and the child's body
stuffed in a suitcase.
Click here to read the search warrants The
warrants state an informant told investigators that an adult woman was
also murdered at a home on Pear Tree Lane in Durham last month. Related Photos

Missing 6-year-old boyView all 6 photos
ABC11
first reported the story as a missing person case earlier this week.
Police were searching for 25-year-old Vania Rae Sisk and her 6-year-old
son Jadon Higganbothan. Sisk was part of a home-based church group known as the Black Hebrews living at the house on Pear Tree Lane in Durham. According to a report in the Colorado Springs Gazette, Sisk's relative say the leader of the group is 27-year-old Peter Lucas Moses Jr. - who they describe as a polygamist. In
an interview with ABC11 earlier this week, Jadon's father, Jamiel
Higganbothan, said son and ex-wife had unusual living arrangements. "It was a lot people staying in the house," he said. "It was her, it was the kids, it was his sister, her kids." The
warrants obtained by ABC11 say that Durham detectives contacted
Colorado authorities in February after the church group - along with
Sisk and three of her four children - moved there. Durham authorities
wanted to know Sisk's whereabouts and wanted to establish the wellbeing
of Jadon. Authorities in Colorado found the adults along
with nine children ranging in age from infants to 8-year-olds in the
Cripple Creek, Colorado area. The children were placed in protective
custody with the Teller County Department of Social Services. A judge
then placed the juveniles in the custody of Durham Social Services. The
warrants also outline why Durham detectives suspect something happened
to Jadon. They state that investigators got information from a
confidential informant who is a former member of the group "who got
away." The informant told them Moses got extremely angry with the
6-year-old in October 2010. "Peter Moses had grabbed a gun
and began pacing angrily around the house. The informant heard Peter
Moses call for the 6-year-old boy … to the basement and then heard loud
music and the sound of a gunshot," says one warrant. The informant later saw the boy's body wrapped in plastic, stuffed in a suitcase, and placed in the attic of the home. "The
informant told investigators that several days later the body began to
stink and Peter Moses was asked to remove the body, which he did," says
the warrants. Related Content

Story: Durham woman found, son still missing
The
warrants go on to state that in February, another member of the Black
Hebrews got into an argument with Moses over car keys that could not be
found. The woman - Antoinetta McKoy - was beaten unconscious by two
female members of the group. The warrants say Moses gave the women a gun and later told one of them - Jadon's mother Vania Sisk - to shoot McKoy. "Which Vania Sisk did," says the warrants. Moses then helped the women remove McKoy's body from the home and bury it. The search warrants say Colorado authorities were looking for a 9mm handgun. ABC11 contacted Durham police Thursday. A spokesman would not confirm the case is a death investigation. In
a news release, the spokesperson said investigators went to the house
on Pear Tree Lane several times in February to inquire about Antoinetta
McKoy. On February 18, investigators found Moses hiding in a cabinet and
arrested him on old warrants charging him with carrying a concealed
weapon, discharging a firearm within the city limits, and writing a
worthless check. He was released from Durham County Jail after posting a $1,500 bond. Anyone
with information on McKoy or Higganbothan is asked to call Durham
Investigator Robinson at (919) 560-4440, ext. 29335 or CrimeStoppers at
(919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading
to arrest in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7992871

A 5-year-old boy whose mother belonged to a polygamist sect that
relocated briefly to Teller County was killed by the mother’s boyfriend
last year in Durham, N.C., an informant told Durham police.
The informant also told Durham police that the boy’s mother, former
Colorado Springs resident Vania Sisk, 25, shot and killed another member
of the sect during an attempted escape a few weeks ago, according to a
Teller County Sheriff’s Office search warrant issued Feb. 25.
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office was asked by North Carolina
authorities to help find Sisk and her son, Jadon Higganbothan. Sheriff’s
deputies visited a rented home at 205 E. Ridge Drive near Woodland Park
several times last week.
On Feb. 23, Teller County social services took 10 children living in
the home into protective custody at the request of North Carolina
authorities. Nine adults also were living in the home, but Sisk and her
son were not at the home when deputies visited.
Deputies found Sisk that day at the Woodland Park Wal-Mart, where she had used a debit card.
Her son, however, apparently never made the trip to Colorado when the
sect fled North Carolina after police began investigating “suspicious
activity” in mid-February at the crowded Durham home shared by members
of a church known as Black Hebrews, the Raleigh (N.C.) News &
Observer reported.
Sisk had lived in the house for the past 2-1/2 years with her
polygamist boyfriend Pete Moses and multiple other women and children,
Sisk’s aunt told the News & Observer.
Sisk told Durham police that she left Jadon, who was born in Colorado
Springs in 2006, with an acquaintance in North Carolina on Feb. 20 and
has not seen him since, the newspaper reported.
The Teller County search warrant described Jadon’s chilling death at Moses’ hands:
The informant told Durham police that an “extremely angry” Moses took
the young boy downstairs while holding a gun. The informant said she
heard loud music, then a gunshot.
Moses then wrapped the boy’s body in a plastic bag, packed him in a
suitcase and stored him in the attic. Moses removed the body from the
house when it began to smell.
Peter Lucas Moses Jr., 27, is free on $1,500 bond after being
arrested Feb. 18 on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, firing a
gun within city limits and penning a fraudulent check, the News &
Observer reported.
It was not immediately known if a warrant has been issued for his arrest in connection with Jadon’s death.
The informant also told Durham police that a woman, Antoinetta McKoy,
was shot by Sisk about two weeks ago, according to the search warrant.
McKoy got into an argument with Moses over lost car keys and ran from
the sect’s house, the search warrant states. She attempted to flag down
a vehicle to get away, but was forced back into the house by two female
member of the group, who beat her unconscious, according to the
warrant.
Sisk killed McKoy with a 9 mm handgun after being ordered to shoot her by Moses, the informant told Durham police.
Teller County sheriff’s deputies learned of the informant’s
statements on Feb. 25 — two days after they spoke to Sisk at the
Wal-Mart.
When detectives met Sisk, she said that her three children were at
the house near Woodland Park. When detectives visited the house,
however, they did not find Jadon, the warrant said.
The group, including Sisk and Moses, reportedly left the area Sunday
after renting a U-Haul trailer in Colorado Springs, Teller County
investigators said.
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/update-113898-county-jakob.html#ixzz1Fb9SCERm

Police records and Durham neighbors shed some light on the continuing investigation into a missing 6-year-old boy.
Police call records show, since October authorities responded 13 times to 2109 Pear Tree Lane in Durham, the residence where Jadon Higganbothan, 6, lived.
Nearby residents say they called police on many occasions after
hearing loud noises, including yelling and screaming at 2 and 3 in the
morning. In October, neighbors say they heard Jadon’s mother, Vania Rae Sisk, screaming at Peter Moses. Moses is believed to be part of a religious cult called the “Black Hebrews.”
Up until Thursday afternoon, Durham authorities had provided no information, only to say they were working with Colorado authorities on the case.
Thursday, authorities said the search began on Feb. 23 when Colorado authorities were asked to locate a group that recently located to Woodland Park. Sisk and her son, Jadon,
were believed to be a part of that group. The group was found and nine
children among that group were taken into protective custody. However, Jadon was not found.
A day later Sisk was reported missing after she failed to appear for a custody hearing on Feb. 24 in Teller County in Colorado. She was located on Feb. 28 in Colorado Springs and was brought back to Durham. Sisk arrived in North Carolina on March 2 and was questioned by authorities on her child's disappearance.
Durham investigators say the last confirmed sighting of Higganbothan occurred in October, although the mother said she left her son with an acquaintance in Durham on Feb. 20.
"Sisk told investigators on one occasion that child was with a woman named Charlene Keith on Danube Lane and on another occasion told investigators she left the child with a woman named Alicia Sanders or Sanderson who lives at an unknown location on North Roxboro Road," stated a press release from the Durham PD.
On Wednesday night, Sisk
told investigators that she left her son with Sanders/Sanderson on Feb.
20 and has been unable to reach or locate her son since then. Sisk said Higganbothan was wearing a yellow t-shirt, a blue coat and blue jeans, and was in a burgundy Pontiac Grand Am.
Jadon Higganbothan previously resided at 2109 Pear Tree Lane in Durham, the same address listed for another missing person.
Relatives of 28-year-old Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy reported her missing on Feb. 1 to Washington, D.C., Police.
McKoy
is described as a black female, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing
approximately 160 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black hat, black
coat, blue jeans and black shoes.
Durham Police say they made several visits to the home on Pear Tree Lane in Feb. to inquire about Antoinetta McKoy. On Feb. 18, investigators found 27-year-old Peter Lucas Moses, Jr., hiding in a cabinet. He was arrested on old warrants charging him
with carrying a concealed weapon, discharging a firearm within city
limits, and writing worthless checks. He was released after posting a $1,500 bond.
Police say Moses is not the father of Jadon Higganbothan and did not say if both missing person cases are related.
Search warrants obtained from the Teller County Sheriff's Office by NBC-17, state a confidential informant told Durham Police Investigators that the boy and Antoinetta McKoy were killed.
The informant said on October 2010, Peter Moses became angry at the boy, grabbed a gun and "began pacing angrily around the house." According to the warrants, Moses called Jadon to the basement and then "heard loud music and the sound of a gunshot." The informant went on to say that they saw Moses
wrap Jadon's body in plastic and placed into a suitcase in the attic of
the home on Pear Tree Lane. The informant said the boy's body was then
removed after it began to emit odor.
According to the 30-page document, the same informant then said in early February Antoinetta McKoy got into an argument with Peter Moses over missing keys. McKoy attempted to leave the home but was stopped by two other women living in that home. The informant told investigators Peter Moses gave Vania Sisk and another woman a .22 caliber gun and a 9mm handgun, respectively, and told the women to make sure McKoy stayed in place. The informant said Moses returned later and told Sisk to shoot McKoy
with the 9mm handgun, which according to the informant, she did. The
warrants say McKoy's body was then removed from the home and buried.
Durham Police say they are not releasing further information outside of the press release they sent out Thursday.
Neighbors say in late February several cars, including a U Haul
arrived at the Pear Tree Lane home and a group of people were seen
packing up the house.
Anyone with information on McKoy or Higganbothan is asked to call Investigator Robinson at 560-4440, ext. 29335 or CrimeStoppers at 683-1200.
http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/mar/04/police-records-show-long-list-calls-home-missing-d-ar-835154/

DURHAM (WTVD) --
Several children who lived at a home in Durham are in social service
custody, and their futures are uncertain because of the murders an
informant claims happened at the home.
Some of those children were the focus of a custody hearing Monday. Related Photos

Missing 6-year-old boyView all 6 photos
There's
still no sign of 5-year-old Jadon Higganbothan or Antoinetta McKoy.
Both are said to have lived at a home on Pear Tree Lane with several
other women and children before the group described as a "black cult"
suddenly moved to Colorado. Colorado authorities placed ten children -- all fathered by Pete Moses -- into the custody of Durham Social Services. The
proceedings are confidential, but according to social services, in
general, children are removed from a home if they are in danger.
Physical and emotional abuse is considered danger. A local cult
member familiar with the people who lived in the Durham house told ABC11
the children may have endured abuse along with their mothers. "The men lead, the women are to work," the cult member said. An informant has told police that those extreme beliefs may have led to murder. Higganbothan's mother, Vania Sisk, has given authorities conflicting stories about her son's whereabouts. If there were crimes committed in the Durham home, so far, no one is facing criminal charges. Sisk is expected in court Tuesday on unrelated charges. Police
still maintain the case is a missing person's case, but the informant
says Higganbothan and McKoy were murdered in the home.http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7999808

Durham, N.C. — The mother of a missing Durham boy failed to appear in court Tuesday to face a drug charge.

Arrest warrants are usually issued for people who don't show up in court on criminal charges, but it was unclear Tuesday whether Vania Rae Sisk faces additional charges.

Sisk is the mother of Jadon Higganbothan, 5, who Durham police say hasn't been seen since October.

Durham police have searched the home at 2109 Pear Tree Lane several times in recent days for evidence in the disappearances of Jadon and Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, who investigators said lived with Sisk and her son.

During one search, investigators said, they found a man wanted on outstanding weapons charges hiding in a cabinet inside the home.

Search warrants from the Teller County Sheriff's Office in Colorado state that Sisk moved to the Colorado Springs area with members of the Black Hebrews, a religious sect that believes it descends directly from the ancient tribes of Israel.

Colorado authorities said they became involved in the case last month when Durham police called to ask them about the whereabouts of Jadon and Sisk.

Authorities went to a Woodland Park, Colo., home on Feb. 23 to ask Sisk about the missing boy, but neither she nor her son was there. Ten other children were taken from the home and placed in the custody of the Teller County, Colo., Department of Social Services.

Sisk has since spoken to authorities in Colorado and Durham police. She told local investigators that she had left Jadon with an acquaintance on Feb. 20, police said, but her statements were inconsistent.

According to the warrants, a confidential Durham police informant who is a former member of the Black Hebrews told investigators that Jadon was shot by a member of the group in October while they were still in North Carolina. The body was wrapped in plastic and stuffed into a suitcase, and the suitcase was disposed of a few days later, the warrants state.

The informant also told police that McKoy got into an argument with a member of the Black Hebrews in December, and she was beaten up and shot to death by members of the group. They later disposed of her body, the warrants state.

Anyone with information on Jadon's or McKoy's whereabouts is asked to call the Durham Police Department at 919-560-4440, extension 29335, or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9235135/