YASHANEE LAFACE VAUGHN -14 yo- Portland OR

Family and friends of missing 14-year-old Yashawnee Laface Vaughn are desperately working to raise awareness of the girl’s case, holding a 2 p.m. rally today at NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Killingsworth Streets, and waging a Facebook campaign to bring her home.

She is 5'2’, African American and weighs about 115lbs. Her hair is usually shoulder length and she has a “bold bright smile,” her family says.

She was last seen Saturday, March 19, getting onto a TriMet bus headed for Vancouver to visit a relative, wearing yellow sweats, navy blue converse, and a black leather jacket.

Yashawnee spoke on a cellphone with her mother between 5 and 7 p.m. last Saturday evening from a Taco Bell restaurant in the 82nd Avenue MAX train area.

Family members say her last call was at 7:56 p.m. Saturday night according to a call log. If you have seen her or have any information, the family asks you to call 503 774-5212.

http://www.theskanner.com/article/2011/03/24/Rally-Today-at-2-pm-for-Missing-NE-Portland-Girl-Yashawnee-Laface-Vaughn

Ten days after she was last spotted, the disappearance of 14-year-old
Yashawnee Vaughn of Southeast Portland is heating up the Web today.

The Oregonian's Michael Russell reports on the Portland Police Bureau's decision to declare Vaughn as a missing person.

The Skanner first reported
on Yashawnee "Shawnee" Vaughn last week. Vaughn, a student at
Helensview School in Northeast Portland, was last seen at around 7 p.m.
on Saturday, March 19, after eating dinner with a friend at an 82nd
Avenue Taco Bell as she waited on the number 72 TriMet bus at Thompson
Street near Madison High School.

KGW has also picked up on the story and filed a report Monday night.

Members of WebSleuths, an online volunteer sleuthing website, put together a map of the girl's known movements:


View Yashawnee Vaughn ~ 3/19/2011 in a larger map

And relatives have set up a "Yashawnee Vaughn Please come home safely" Facebook page for the girl, who also goes by the name Yashanee.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/03/yashawnee_vaughn_missing_portl.html

PORTLAND, Ore. – Two different accounts of how a Portland teenager’s
disappearance is being handled have emerged. Her family says Portland
police dropped the ball on the case while police say they are doing
everything they can to find her.

It’s been 10 days since 14-year-old Yashanee Vaughn was last seen at the
Portland bus stop on 82nd Avenue on the overpass over Interstate 84.
She had left the Taco Bell on Northeast 82nd and Thompson Street in
Portland on Saturday, March 19. Her cousin, from Vancouver, said they
were going to meet up by bus but Yashanee never showed up.

Yashanee’s mother, Shaquita Louis, said until now police have been
treating her daughter as a runaway, because she had taken off briefly
before, and because of her past trouble with the law.

“I didn’t file it as a runaway,” Louis said. “I filed it as she was
missing, and I gave the description of what she had on, and next thing
you know, I’m calling him and he’s like, ‘Well, there’s nothing I can
do, she’ll be back. She just ran away. … I can’t do anything because of
her rap sheet.’”

Louis says she does not believe her daughter ran away and is distraught and angry with police.

“Especially when you don’t get no help, and they’re looking at you like,
‘Oh, your daughter’s just a runaway.’ That hurts because they’re
supposed to be here to protect and serve us, and they’re not doing that.
… I’m just so angry with police. I’m so frustrated. How could you wait
10 days later? If it was your child, would you do that?”

Sgt. Pete Simpson, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau said in a
written statement, “It’s been an ongoing investigation from the minute
she filed the report. We are doing everything we can to try to help the
family and to find Yashanee.”

Louis said she believes someone has kidnapped her daughter. Yashanee
hasn’t used her cell phone or her Facebook page since she disappeared.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/118882724.html

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The St. Helens chapter of Guardians of the Children is joining the mission to find a missing Portland teenager.Police say 14-year-old Yashanee Vaughn disappeared more than a week ago.Guardians
of the Children is a motorcycle group that works to help abused
children and find ones that are missing, like Yashanee.Yashanee's mother says she is afraid someone kidnapped her.Detectives first believed that Yashanee was a runaway but now consider this a missing person case.Guardians of the Children plans to hand out fliers and search for the teen Saturday.They are also working on setting up a vigil for Saturday evening.
http://www.kptv.com/news/27377323/detail.html

Police are taking a closer look for a 14-year-old Portland girl after
speaking with her family Monday, one week after she was reported
missing.



Yashawnee "Shawnee" Vaughn, a student at Helensview
School in Northeast Portland, was last seen waiting for a No. 72 bus on
Northeast 82nd Avenue about 7 p.m. March 19. According to Vaughn's
mother, Shaquita Louis, Vaughn was headed to meet a friend.

Vaughn hasn't updated her Facebook status or used her cell phone since then.

"At
this point we just don't want to think anything bad," said Reynelda
Hayes, Vaughn's grandmother. "She used her phone on a constant, and it's
still dead,
and that's totally unlike her."

After learning later that
weekend that Vaughn had never connected with her friend, Louis called
Portland police to report Vaughn missing. But the officer who took down
the missing person report classified her as a runaway, instead of as
missing.

The family thinks police made that decision because
Louis reported Vaughn as a runaway the year before. In that instance,
Vaughn climbed out a window and ran to her father's house after an
argument with her mother.

The family said the decision also might
have been influenced by Vaughn's juvenile record. Officers recently
searched for her, unsuccessfully, in connection with a February assault
in the Lloyd Center.

Hayes said no matter what the history,
Vaughn would not just vanish. "Even if there was a warrant, she wasn't
going to run from that," Hayes said. Vaughn's record consisted of theft
and fighting counts -- "It wasn't like she murdered anyone or anything
like that," Hayes said.

The family contends that police wasted valuable time when her granddaughter first went missing.

A
Police Bureau spokeswoman, Lt. Kelli Sheffer, said detectives were
searching for Vaughn all along. But they have redoubled their efforts
since new but undescribed evidence came to light, she said.

"Our
missing persons detectives look at questions like: Did this person
leave of their own free will? Can they care for themselves? How old are
they and what's their mental capacity?" Sheffer said.

"The
evidence that was presented to us was that she truly was a runaway,
although I think the investigation is changing, and now we're concerned
with her welfare."

Hayes said police came out to speak with the
family in person for the first time Monday, days after they began
calling city leaders and recruiting friends to paper fliers across
Northeast and North Portland, in Vancouver and as far north as Seattle.

"I
don't think they found any new evidence," Hayes said. "I think they
came out and talked to us, and figured out what they were thinking
happened was totally wrong."

After calls from The Oregonian
Monday evening, Sheffer issued a news release saying Vaughn had been
reclassified as a missing person and asking anyone with information to
call Detective Arjay Dran at 503-823-1081.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/03/portland_police_take_closer_lo.html

This is a cautionary tale for all caregivers, guardians and parents.
Even if your child was a previous runaway it may not be in your best interest to mention that, especially if there were some unusual things left behind (makeup, cellphone, bracelets, rings etc.).
In this case, there was a prior encounter with LE, and if that were the case, you should be very specific about what was left behind and insist that there are no indicators that a "leave of absence" was about to occur.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A missing Portland teen is dead and another teen is charged with her murder.
Yashanee Vaughn, 14, was reported missing by her mother Shaquita
Louis on March 21. Police arrested 16-year-old Parrish Bennett Thursday
afternoon on one count of murder in the case. Family described Parrish
as Vaughn's boyfriend.
Detectives said Yashanee's body had not yet been found and help from the public was still needed.
There could also be more arrests to come, investigators said.
"This is a terrible tragedy and I wish our officers and detectives
had more time to interdict this terrible incident, but that wasn’t the
case," Chief Michael Reese said.
Vaughn was last seen waiting for a bus near a Taco Bell on NE 82nd
Avenue on March 18. Detectives believes Vaugn was killed the next day.
http://www.kgw.com/home/14-year-old-119025529.html

What a tragedy

Portland police say they’ve arrested a 16-year-old boy in the death of a girl who had been missing for nearly two weeks.Officers say preliminary evidence suggests Yashanee Vaughn, 14, was killed March 19, two days before she was reporting missing.Her body has not been found.Parrish
Bennette was arrested Thursday at about 1 p.m. and is in the Multnomah
County Juvenile Detention Center on a charge of murder. Police call him
an associate of Vaughn's.
PDF: Police Release Time Line
Police say the girl’s mother, Shaquita Louis, reported her
daughter missing at 10:17 p.m. March 21. Louis said she hadn’t heard
from Vaughn since March 18, but told FOX 12 her daughter left a friend
at a Taco Bell restaurant on Northeast 82nd Avenue on March 19 and then
had walked toward the MAX station on Halsey Street.Police say
they took the report and sent alerts to all working officers about
Vaughn. The teen was initially classified as a runaway, a decision
police say Vaughn's family disagreed with.On March 23, Louis reported her daughter was still missing, and two detectives began working the case.The
following day, dozens of people protested outside the northeast police
precinct, demanding officers do more to find the teen.Detectives
say they had no reason to believe Vaughn had been abducted or foul play
was involved until Sunday evening, when they received a tip that led
them to two possible crime scenes.Officers won't say what information led them to arrest Bennette nor how Vaughn was killed.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call
Detective Mark Slater at 503-823-9319 or Detective Erik Kammerer at
503-823-0762.Portland Mayor Sam Adams issued a statement today
about the killing, saying "My thoughts and prayers are with Yashanee
Vaughn's family -- especially her mother, Shaquita Louis. No mother
should lose her child to violence."Adams also says Police Chief Mike Reese kept him up-to-date as the investigation unfolded.Vaughn's family has set up an account at US Bank in her name. Anyone wishing to donate can do so at any US Bank branch.There
will also be a candlelight vigil Saturday at Powell City Park in
southeast Portland. If her body hasn't been found by them, family
members say they plan to start searching for her on their own.

http://www.kptv.com/news/27391114/detail.html

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A missing Portland teen is dead and her boyfriend has been charged with her murder.
Yashanee Vaughn, 14, was reported missing by her mother Shaquita Louis on March 21.
Police arrested 16-year-old Parrish Bennett (pictured) Thursday afternoon on one count of murder in the case. Family described Parrish as Vaughn's boyfriend.

Law enforcement sources told KGW that Vaughn was killed in Bennett's bed.
Two search warrants were served Monday at Bennett's home. Blood found
in the home matched the DNA of Vaughn, law enforcement sources said. He
was on juvenile probation at the time of the murder.
Detectives said Yashanee's body had not yet been found and help from the public was still needed.There could also be more arrests to come.
http://www.nwcn.com/news/119066969.html

So, here's a pic of a 16 year old- 5 years younger than the state legal age holding up a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila. Well, there's a nice Facebook pic for the future employer. Of course he probably won't have to worry about finding a job anymore. Where he's going they have all kinds of jobs...hopefully he'll be breakin' rocks in the hot sun. Wait, I just thought of something... he could legally be drinking in OR --- read this:

RE: Legal drinking age in OR
21 years old, to consume and purchase alcohol. However, a parent or
legal guardian may provide alcohol to their minor children if in a
private residence, not necessarily but not excluding their own
residence.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_legal_drinking_age_in_Oregon#ixzz1IKW4mC00

While police continued their search of Rocky Butte on Saturday for the
remains of Yashawnee Vaughn, the girl’s family and friends took to
streets, parks and woods in their own search.
Supporters of the
14-year-old girl, who police say was killed the day she disappeared on
March 19 but whose remains have not been found, gathered at Powell Park
in Southeast Portland.
As the sun went down about 100 held a
candlelight vigil. They closed tightly around Vaughn’s mother, Shaquita
Louis, clutching candles, photos of Vaughn and red and white balloons.
"If
we don’t find her, I hope you all keep looking for her,” Louis said.
She thanked the people for coming. “I didn’t know she was loved by this
many people.”
Vaughn would have loved the outpouring of
support because she loved attention, her mother said. In talking about
police efforts in the case, Louis said, “they’re going to keep pushing
as long as we keep pushing.”
The balloons had messages
written on them such as “Love you, baby girl.” When Louis stopped
talking the crowd released the balloons into the sky.
Supporters had started the day by coming to the park bearing flats of
bottled water and packaged snacks, and some wore shirts depicting the
14-year-old girl’s smiling face and the word “RIP.”
Under
the direction of Guardians of the Children, a volunteer organization
that assists missing and abused children, dozens of Vaughn’s friends,
family and supporters searched throughout the metro area for her remains
or other evidence.
Jennifer Mau, vice president of the Mt.
St. Helens chapter of Guardians of the Children, said the group asked
Harry Oakes, of Washington-based International Search and Rescue
Services, to assist in the search. Oakes devoted three search and rescue
dogs to the effort.
Oakes wasn’t specific about where the
group would search, but he said the effort would extend to out along the
Willamette River. “We’re looking at areas where someone might dump a
body,” he said.
Although Guardians of the Children
volunteers are not search-and-rescue certified, Mau said the grassroots
search parties they organize are effective. The organization has found
14 missing children in the past year, she said, and left only two cases
unresolved. Her claim could not be immediately verified.
She
attributed the group’s success in part to the emotional investment that
friends and family have in finding their missing loved one.
Keith
Shepherd, a friend of Vaughn’s mother, said the mystery surrounding the
girl’s disappearance called for answers and action.
“The what-ifs, this ain’t the time for that,” he said. “I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know what the finality is.”
Mau spoke to the searchers in small groups and gave instructions.
You’re going to look thoroughly, she said. Walk 5 feet, scanning your surroundings. Then back up and scan those 5 feet again.
You’re looking for clothing, she told them: yellow sweatpants, a white V-neck tank top, blue shoes.
If you find any undergarments, she said, call and describe them to us.
Some
supporters, including those younger than 18 who were not permitted to
search, passed out fliers on MAX lines and buses and up and down 82nd
Avenue in Northeast Portland, not far from where police say Vaughn was
killed.
Shalonda Nelson and her daughters, 13-year-old Girly and 12-year-old Bella, helped pass out fliers.
“The sad part is every time I saw her,” Girly said of Vaughn, “she was always smiling, enthusiastic.”
“It’s messed up,” Bella said. “She wasn’t here for a long time.”
Mau
said the organization had contacted police about its search, but she
couldn’t comment on whether police had guided the search efforts.
Multnomah
County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Diana Olson said authorities had not
coordinated with the independent search effort or given them any
direction. “None whatsoever,” she said. “Our preference is that they
just be normal citizens.”
Investigations benefit from
trained searchers, she said, who know how to cover terrain
strategically. “We don’t use non-certified searchers,” she said.
The
official search included roughly 75 certified search-and-rescue
volunteers from seven different organizations, including police
agencies, Olson said. They focused on Rocky Butte because it is near the
home of the suspect’s father. Parrish Bennette, 16, is being held on a
charge of first-degree manslaughter.
Police declined to comment on whether the search had turned up any evidence.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/04/family_and_friends_conduct_the.html

The father of teen manslaughter suspect Parrish Bennette is being evicted from his Northeast Portland home.A
notice of termination of tenancy without clause was posted on the front
door the duplex on NE Russell and NE 82nd Avenue, where the 16-year-old
lived with his father, Parrish Bennette Sr., before his arrest earlier
this week.Bennette is a suspect in the death of 14-year-old
Yashanee Vaughn, who disappeared two weeks ago. He pleaded not guilty
to manslaughter charges.Investigators say Vaughn was killed March 19. Her body has not been found.“The lease is up and it’s time for people to move on,” said Steve McInnis, the owner of the duplex.Property
manager Wendy Rau said they made the decision to terminate the lease
was not based on Bennette’s arrest, instead because of money Bennette’s
father owed.Neighbors told Fox 12 they have not seen Bennette Sr. at the house for the past week.No one answered the door on Saturday afternoon.Members
of the Vaughn family and friends were in the Bennette’s neighborhood
Saturday, passing out red ribbons and fliers with the girl’s picture.A search is under way at Rocky Butte Park for Vaughn.

http://www.kptv.com/news/27411432/detail.html

Family, friends and professional searchers spent another day Sunday
looking for any clues into the death of 14-year-old Portland girl
Yashanee Vaughn. There has been no sign of Yashanee since March 19. Police have said she was killed, but they have not found her body. Jennifer
Mau is one of the many volunteers who have chipped in to help find any
clues about where her body is. She is with the group Guardians of Hope
and has been leading the volunteer search. During the past year she’s
become quite skilled at finding and bringing home victims of violence. “We’ve worked 16 cases and we’ve brought 14 home,” she said. Many of the volunteers said they came out because they have kids of their own. “I have two children of my own,” Mau said. “If either of them went missing I would want everyone in the world looking for them.” For search volunteer Odessa Minor, losing a family member is something she knows all too much about. Minor’s 17-year-old nephew Austin King was murdered last summer in Morton, Wash. “We
were searching for my nephew for 30 days when we brought him home,” she
said. His body was recovered with the help of local authorities and
Guardians of Hope. “I got the text message from Jen. I felt compelled to
bring this child home to her family, too.” Volunteers said they found some kind of evidence Sunday, but they didn’t say what it was. They did tell police. As
volunteers continued their efforts, official search and rescue teams
were back on Rocky Butte for the third day. Organizers said they are
about 75 percent done with their search efforts there. They have not
said what they found. Police are also not saying why they were drawn to Rocky Butte. The steep cliffs and difficult terrain has taken a toll on searchers. “Today
we haven’t had any injuries, but we did have a couple fall yesterday
because with the ivy and the overgrowth you can step into holes real
easy, so it’s not an easy search area,” said Sgt. Diana Olsen with the
Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said. Portland Police homicide
detectives are trying to lure anyone with information about the case
with a cash reward. Crime Stoppers will pay $1,000 for information that
leads to an arrest. Tipsters can remain anonymous. You can call Crime
Stoppers at 503-823-4357. Yashanee disappeared on March 19 and
was reported missing two days later. The girl was first listed as a
runaway but police later changed her status to missing. On Thursday,
police announced the teenager had been killed and they arrested
16-year-old Parrish Bennette in connection with the murder.

Her body has not yet been found. Bennette was in court on Friday and was formally charged with manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty.
http://northeastportland.katu.com/news/community-spirit/search-continues-sunday-portland-girl/439560

Parrish Bennette, 16, was originally arrested on a murder charge last
week in connection with the disappearance of Yashanee Vaughn, but a
juvenile court judge reduced that charge to manslaughter. That’s a key clue about what evidence police have.

Former Multnomah County Sheriff’s captain and current lawyer, Bruce
McCain, said the judge’s choice to reduce the charge against Bennette,
after reading the preliminary evidence in the probable cause affidavit,
means there are indications Bennette didn’t intend to kill Yashanee but
some sort of reckless or negligent behavior led to her death.

“First-degree manslaughter means the authorities are not convinced that
the defendant at this point intentionally killed this girl but did cause
her death through his own reckless conduct,” McCain said, who is not
involved in this case. “Firearms, for example. Shooting a gun around a
neighborhood is criminally negligent behavior. If one of those bullets
strikes and kills somebody, they can be charged with manslaughter. They
didn’t intend to shoot that victim, but (it’s) their own reckless
behavior.”

It is unknown what police allege the reckless conduct is because the probable cause affidavit is sealed.

“They obviously have something else based upon a search warrant served
at his house,” McCain said. “There’s something, either a statement or
some other forensic evidence, an admission – not a taped confession –
perhaps something in a diary, something that he may have left behind – a
note,” McCain said.

He said proving manslaughter or murder without a body is more difficult
in a case involving juveniles, because it’s harder to prove they didn’t
just run away. With adults who want a new life, they usually leave
behind an electronic trail of bank and credit card records.

Yashanee was last seen
March 19 at the bus stop on 82nd Avenue on the overpass over Interstate
84. Her mother, Shaquita Louis, reported her missing on Monday, March
21. Police now believe Yashanee had been killed before then.

Monday morning a Portland police officer let a woman in and out of the
house where Bennette lived with his father; though, the officer said the
house is now vacant.

The house is just down the street from Rocky Butte where searchers combed for evidence
last Friday and through the weekend. Searchers were not out there
Monday. Police said they are continuing to follow leads and will
continue their search at a later date.

The family of Yashanee was at the Multnomah County Courthouse Monday to
get the latest on the investigation from the district attorney.

Last week Louis said Bennette was her daughter’s boyfriend. But Monday a
family spokeswoman said it’s been a couple years since the two dated
and the two were just friends when Yashanee disappeared.

A grand jury is expected to convene this week in the case and could come
to a different conclusion than the judge and increase the charge back
to murder. Bennette is set to be back in juvenile court on Friday and
the district attorney still has to decide whether to try him in adult
court.

Meanwhile, the city flag at Portland City Hall flew at half-staff Monday
in honor of Yashanee. The city also lowered Portland flags at the World
Trade Center, The Portland Building, Pioneer Courthouse Square and the
Convention Center.

Yashanee’s mother and her grandmother, Reynelda Hayes, released the following statement Monday: “Any
family searching for a missing loved one, let alone a child, of course
would be discouraged when a visible search effort ends as we saw today
by Multnomah County Search & Rescue, however we understand that
despite not seeing the search continuing in Rocky Butte this doesn’t
indicate that searchers have given up on Yashanee. Are we upset, yes,
but we know that investigators and the District Attorney are in fact
still conducting an active search and although not in Rocky Butte, they
are still working diligently to bring our Yashanee home to her family
and friends. We have faith that justice will prevail on those that may
have done harm to Yashanee and we will be united soon with our baby.”

http://www.katu.com/news/local/119223659.html