ROBERT MANWILL - 8 yo (2009) - Boise ID

Police
continue to search for a missing eight-year-old Boise boy - and say
they have no good leads into his disappearance. Robert
Manwill was last seen by family Friday night. Over the weekend, the
search for the boy intensified, with hundreds of volunteers, police and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation joining forces in an effort to find
the child. Helicopters from the Idaho National Guard have
also joined in on the search, and are hovering over the area where he
went missing - near Vista Ave. and Cherry Lane in Boise. During a Monday morning news conference, police say they have received
a number of leads - but nothing concrete that tells them where the boy
may be. The child’s family thanked the community for the
response they’ve received, and for the large-scale search response. "It's tough. It really is tough, this is very difficult to go through
as a family," said Trish Burrill, who is Robert's aunt. Police say this is one of the most important cases they’ve covered in a
while – but despite the intense effort, they have so far come up empty.
Description
Robert Manwill
8-years-old
4' 2" tall
50 Lbs.
Last seen wearing jeans, black shoes, either a brown or blue shirt
Call 570-6457 with info

"At this point, we don't know where Robert is. We're trying to
determine what has happened, and we're pleading with the public for
their assistance in locating Robert Manwill," said Deputy Chief Jim
Kerns with the Boise Police Dept. Twenty FBI agents are in the area, and more may be called in. "We're leaving no stone unturned in that investigation,” Kerns said.
“We're looking at all of the potential leads. We're looking at all
possibilities in our attempt to find out what's happened to Robert.” Search crews have been looking in sheds, garages, abandoned cars,
homes, in bushes, behind fences and anywhere a small boy could hide. Officers and volunteers say they will not stop until he's found. “I don't recall a time where I've seen this much community support in
Boise come out for a search,” said Lt. Doug Shoenborn. “It's really
been nice to see a lot of support from the local community.”

The search for 8-year-old Robert Manwill continued Monday, on several fronts:— A National Guard helicopter covered as much ground as the boy could have wandered on his own.—
Officers, FBI agents and some 100 volunteers canvassed the area around
the Vista Boulevard neighborhood the boy disappeared from, including
the areas around the New York Canal and nearby railroad tracks.Police
will update the media and public at a 7 p.m. press conference Monday
night. Check back at IdahoStatesman.com for the latest information
after that.Earlier Monday, police issued a renewed call for the
public's help to find the boy, who disappeared Friday evening from an
apartment complex near the intersection of Vista Boulevard and Cherry
Lane in Boise.They want anyone who lives or works around that
area to look again in nooks and crannies and quiet spots — anywhere a
50-pound 8-year-old boy might be hiding. "We hope to convey a
message of hope... we have no reason to believe Robert is not safe,"
said Jim Kerns, deputy chief of operations for Boise police. Police
— with help from other local agencies and the FBI's Child Abduction
Response Team — were also expanding their search beyond the half-mile
around the apartment complex, which was combed over the weekend.
Officials are also re-interviewing family members and neighbors. Some
50 leads have come in, officials said, but none have panned out. The
boy was last seen on the complex's playground after 7 p.m. Friday night
and was gone by 9 p.m. Though some initial reports indicated the boy
had wanted to go to a birthday party, police said they had no evidence
of that."It's hard to speculate on his mental state," Kerns said.About
20 FBI agents and dozens of local residents were assisting in the
search over the weekend. Officials drained a pond near the apartment
complex and were finishing the search Monday.The police have set
up a special phone line and e-mail address to make it easy for anyone
who to contact them with information: (208) 570-6457 and
findrobert@cityofboise.org.Robert is described as 4-feet,
2-inches tall, about 50 pounds, and wearing blue jeans, black shoes,
and either a brown shirt with the words, "Andy don't need no Mic" or a
blue shirt with a superman symbol on the front.

Pam Yancey skipped her hair appointment Monday afternoon when a pair
of plainclothes FBI agents showed up at her Oak Park Village apartment
in Boise.Yancey answered questions, filled out a questionnaire
and let the men search her apartment and her car. It was the third time
since Friday that law enforcement officials had come knocking, and the
second time she let them search her apartment.She said she
didn't mind because scores of local and federal police officers and
hundreds of volunteers are conducting an unprecedented search for an
8-year-old boy who has been missing since Friday night."I just hope they find the kid," Yancey said.Boise
police say family and others last saw Robert Manwill on a playground at
the apartment complex where his mother lives. He went missing between 7
p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, according to Deputy Chief Jim Kerns. Police say
there is no evidence of foul play.The complex is about a
half-mile north of Interstate 84, just off of bustling Vista Avenue.
It's near the strip mall on Vista that has a liquor store and the
Willowcreek Grill, and has three entrances - on Cherry Lane, Targhee
Street and Shoshone Street. Cars were stopped on Vista Avenue
on Friday night so police could talk to motorists about whether they'd
seen the missing boy. Two motorists complained to the Boise Community
Ombudsman Pierce Murphy that the checkpoints were too intrusive. Byron Ryals was dismayed when the officer asked for his driver's license and called in his license plate."I've
never been through a checkpoint like this, where I was shaken down,"
said Ryals, 80, noting that the 40-minute wait meant his wife didn't
get her medication on time that night.The police department underscored the gravity of the situation Monday."This
is the most important investigation that we have had in a long time,"
Boise police Chief Michael Masterson said at a press conference Monday.
Kerns said he's been with the Boise Police Department for 27
years and doesn't remember another child going missing for this long.
The department took 154 missing-child reports last year and 86 through
June this year - and most are quickly resolved. The department said it
filed within a few hours of the report the paperwork for an Amber Alert
- a fast and wide-ranging notice designed to find abducted children -
but it didn't meet the necessary criteria, including a reasonable
belief that an abduction has occurred.Police are investigating about 75 tips received since Friday. An Oak Park pond was drained, but no evidence found.Initial
reports indicated that the boy may have gone to a birthday party, but
police have since said they found no evidence of a party.The
search area expanded Monday and police asked for public help in the
hopes that someone might find the boy in one of the many "nooks and
crannies" in or near his neighborhood. Police urged residents to look
for any place a boy might hide - under bushes, in cars or garages."The
family has said that he likes to sneak around and crawl in little
places. He's an inquisitive little kid," said police spokeswoman Lynn
Hightower.From an Idaho National Guard helicopter, police
scanned the New York Canal and nearby railroad tracks and pools. Police
interviewed sex offenders registered in the area.About 126
volunteers from the community teamed up with police officers for a
ground search of public areas starting about noon Monday. The search
teams were looking beyond the half-mile radius from the apartment where
the boy was staying with his mom to about 1 mile away, Boise police Lt.
Michael Majors said. A similar police-volunteer effort focused on the
inner circle Sunday.Robert lives with his father in New Plymouth, but was visiting his mother and her family Friday, police said.Another
ground search will be conducted Tuesday, Majors said. He praised Idaho
Mountain Search & Rescue Unit coordinating volunteers who showed up
to help.The search-and-rescue workers also responded to a police
request for search dogs Saturday and Monday. Spokesman Rick Thompson
said they were air-scent dogs; such dogs are good for finding missing
people in avalanche debris. A second request seeks tracking dogs, which
are trained to hone in on specific scents. Boise residents
Sherry Blanchard and Debbie Pew weren't part of the official search
Monday, but they were out in the Oak Park neighborhood with fliers in
hand to search for the boy. They looked under trees and bushes as they
walked near the Oak Park apartments."It's just heartbreaking," Blanchard said.The pair said they - along with a team of Boise police officers - had already looked in an abandoned house for the boy.

The search in Boise for a missing 8-year-old boy continues to expand. Robert Manwill lives with his father in New Plymouth most of the year
but is spending the summer with his mother in Boise. While we have seen Robert's mother and her boyfriend at many of the
news conferences, we know very little about them. Many of the adults in Robert's life have a criminal history. Police won't address the family's issues telling us they are focused on finding this missing child. But court records obtained by NewsChannel 7 say Robert's mother,
Melissa Scott Jenkins, was charged with felony injury to a child in
October 2008. She later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. The documents say Jenkins hit her 9-month-old son's head on a surface.



Robert Manwill

The infant suffered a fractured skull that caused not only physical pain, but mental suffering as well. The mother's boyfriend, Daniel Edward Ehrlick, is the father of the infant. Ehrlick has a criminal history including burglary and has served time in prison. According to sealed documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman, during a
visitation hearing for Jenkins' two-and-a-half-year-old daughter,
Jenkins stated she did not want her boyfriend, Ehrlick alone with her
daugther. The reason she said that was not stated. Robert's father, Charles Manwill, has had custody of Robert since January of 2008. According to the Statesman, a former wife served 10 years in prison for
the voluntary manslaughter of the couple's 4-year-old son, an incident
that happened 15 years ago while he was stationed on a military base in
Louisiana. The Statesman uncovered federal court
documents saying "upon sudden quarrel and in the heat of passion" Silke
Manwill stabbed the child in the chest. There is
discussion and debate on whether this information is relevant since
police have not charged anyone with a crime at this time. Family members have been attending daily news conferences assisting police in the search.

The Boise
Police Department is ready to mount a large-scale search for missing
Robert Manwill, and is asking for a big push of community volunteers
Friday. Three 3-hour shifts are being set up - and
officers are hoping 700 to 1,000 volunteers will turn out and help
scour an area on the Boise Bench near where Robert went missing. "The Boise Police Department is asking for volunteers to help us in a
one day push to find Robert," BPD Deputy Chief Jim Kerns said. "This
will allow the BPD to put in place a massive strucuture to handle the
volunteers." Kerns also says a better timeline is coming
together regaurding Manwill's whereabouts, after more than 5,000 man
hours and hundreds of volunteer hours. Manwill went
missing Friday, and was last seen near his Boise apartment complex in
the area of Targee and Vista Avenue in Boise. Since that time, crews
have scoured the area looking for the boy. He is 4-foot-2, weighs 50
pounds, and has short brown hair. If you would like to
volunteer, you are asked to show up at one of three locations - South
Junior High at 805 Shoshone, Garfield Elementary at Broadway and Boise
avenues or the Hillcrest Branch of the Boise Public Library at Overland
Road and Orchard Street. You must be 18 years or older
and have ID to prove it. Also, this is a search by foot, so they're
asking you wear sturdy shoes, bring water and sunscreen. Police ask
that you not bring bicycles, strollers or pets. The three
shifts will begin at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Volunteers may work more
than one shift if they choose. Those showing up are asked to be
prepared to walk, and should bring sunscreen and water. Dogs and small
children should be left at home. Businesses are being asked to
volunteer workers as well. Kerns says they are not sure
how far the search will stretch - that will be determined by the number
of volunteers that show up. "Our top priority is to find
Robert, even when other significant events are happening in our city,"
Kerns said. It takes a lot of logistical organization to
properly do a search like this, so police say Friday is the soonest
they can get their ducks in a row.

The National Guard is now involved in the search for 8-year-old Robert Manwill who has been missing for six days. And for the first time today Robert’s father speaks out publically about the search for his son. "My heart goes out to the community for all the help we have received
in the search for my lost son. I also want to thank the Boise Police
Department for their tireless effort, the FBI and my brothers in the
National Guard, they're family men, family women, they want to bring
this boy home, that all that matters to us at this point," said Charles
Manwill, Robert’s father. Manwill went missing Friday,
and was last seen near his Boise apartment complex in the area of
Targee and Vista Avenue in Boise. Since that time, crews have scoured
the area looking for the boy. He is 4-foot-2, weighs 50 pounds, and has
short brown hair. Anyone with information is urged to call the tip line at 570-6457.



Robert Manwill

Today is the first day since the search
began that citizens didn't go out and search, but that doesn't mean
people weren't out searching. Between last night and
today, 135 men and women from the Idaho National Guard and the Idaho
Bureau of Homeland Security searched for Robert. Lt. Col.
Tim Narsano with the Idaho National Guard says they add a skill set
that the general public doesn't necessarily have. We’re
also told that 75 police officers are going to be leading Friday's
massive search. That’s on top of the other officers and detectives
working behind the scenes. Here are the details of Friday's public search for Robert: - Three 3-hour shifts are being set up - and officers are hoping 700 to
1,000 volunteers will turn out and help scour an area on the Boise
Bench near where Robert went missing. - If you would like
to volunteer, you are asked to show up at one of three locations -
South Junior High at 805 Shoshone, Garfield Elementary at Broadway and
Boise avenues or the Hillcrest Branch of the Boise Public Library at
Overland Road and Orchard Street. - You must be 18 years
or older and have ID to prove it. Also, this is a search by foot, so
they're asking you wear sturdy shoes, bring water and sunscreen. Police
ask that you not bring bicycles, strollers or pets. - The
three shifts will begin at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Volunteers may work
more than one shift if they choose. Those showing up are asked to be
prepared to walk, and should bring sunscreen and water. Dogs and small
children should be left at home. Businesses are being asked to
volunteer workers as well. Police are not sure how far
the search will stretch - that will be determined by the number of
volunteers that show up.
Ribbons for Robert


An effort is underway to make green ribbons for all the people helping in the search for Robert Manwill.

Meanwhile, one Boise woman is taking on a large effort as well. A couple of days ago we talked to Devon Jacobson, who's been making
green ribbons to show support for Robert Manwill. Today, she's trying to make more ribbons for all the volunteers who will help look for the boy Friday. "My new goal is to have at least a thousand by tomorrow morning when
volunteers start to show up for this big, massive search. I mean if
somebody wants to come down here with me and sit on a blanket and tie
ribbons and put pins on that would be great as well," said Jacobson. Jacobson says she needs more supplies and more help. She plans on being at Targee and Vista Friday with all the ribbons made.

Police
investigators are currently searching the apartment of the mother of a
boy who went missing nearly a week ago. Officers began
searching the home of Robert's Manwill's mother - Melissa Scott Jenkins
- just after 8 p.m. Thursday night. Boise Police spokesperson Lynn Hightower was tight-lipped, and would
only say the search is "another step in the investigation." Police tape has been strung up around the area, and residents are being
told police may be in the area for some time. Reporter
Scott Evans says that cabinets and drawers were being taken from the
home, among other items. A woman with "crime lab" on her uniform was
seen removing boxes of items from the home while wearing gloves - and
loading the boxes into a van on scene. Canine dogs were also seen at the complex. A vehicle was also towed from the scene just after 12:30 a.m. Friday
morning. The car was removed in coordination with police and FBI
officials. A large-scale search is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Friday, and is will still go forward according to Hightower. Police say they hope these developments will not tamp down support for
the search, and they say the search is still an important part of
finding Manwill. Police have not identified anyone as a suspect in the case, nor have they given any indication of wrongdoing.

The mother of a Boise boy missing for
a week is on probation for fracturing the skull of the boy's infant
half brother, who was removed from her custody by the state.
Robert Manwill, 8, was last seen near the apartment of his mother, Melissa
Scott Jenkins, in Boise last Friday. Police detectives, FBI agents and
more than 100 volunteers have searched extensively, but haven't found
the boy.
Boise police have said there is
no evidence of foul play in the disappearance of Robert, and that the
family is cooperating fully.
The missing boy's father, Charles Manwill, has had custody of him since 2008.
Jenkins has visitation rights, and the boy was visiting her the night
he disappeared.
Court records show a history of family tragedies involving children.
Melissa Scott Jenkins pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of injury
to a child following an October 2008 incident that fractured her infant
son's skull, according to The Idaho Statesman.
Court records say Jenkins "did willfully inflict" the injury to her other son
"by striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the
child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She was sentenced to 29 days of work
release, fined $75.50 and put on probation for two years.
The child is the son of Jenkins' boyfriend, Daniel Edward Ehrlick, and was
in the care of the state Department of Health and Welfare through at
least February, according to court documents. The agency on Wednesday
would not release his whereabouts, citing policy.
Jenkins has a third child, a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, fathered by a third man,
who has custody of her. Jenkins has visitation rights. Ehrlick, who has
been convicted of burglary, battery and possession of drug
paraphernalia, is banned from being alone with the girl, but court
documents don't say why.
In another case, Charles Manwill's wife, Silke Fatma Manwill, stabbed their 4-year-old
son, Michael, in the chest in 1993, killing him. She was sentenced to
federal prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and was
released in 2002.
Meanwhile, Jenkins has declined to comment on her son Robert's disappearance.
"We are a joined family at this time in this crisis," said Trisha Burrill,
Robert Manwill's aunt. "We are acting as one, with one goal in mind. To
bring Robert back."

Boise police investigators say new evidence suggests that an
8-year-old boy who has been missing for a week may have been the victim
of a tragic event.Police and FBI detectives Friday coordinated a
massive search for Robert Manwill, who reportedly disappeared July 24
after leaving his mother's apartment on the southwest side of Idaho's
capitol city.Early in the week, investigators said they had no evidence suggesting foul play.But
Deputy Chief Jim Kerns changed course Friday, saying new evidence
recovered in a Thursday night search of the apartment of the boy's
mother, Melissa Scott Jenkins, has detectives tracking new leads."The
evidence we've uncovered shows that there are suspicious circumstances
surrounding Robert's disappearance," Kerns said during a press
conference. "Volunteers assisting in the search today are being given
the information by search team officers that Robert may indeed be
injured or the victim of a tragic event."So far, police say there are no arrests or suspects in the case.Jenkins has been at previous press conferences, but didn't attend Friday. Police wouldn't say where she was.The
boy was visiting her the night he disappeared. His father, Charles
Manwill, has had custody since 2008 and lives in New Plymouth, about 45
miles northwest of Boise.According to court records, Jenkins
pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child
following an October 2008 incident that fractured her infant son's
skull. Jenkins "did willfully inflict" the injury to her other son "by
striking the child's head on a surface, causing a fracture to the
child's skull," on Oct. 19, 2008. She was sentenced to 29 days of work
release, fined $75.50 and put on probation for two years, according to
court documents.That child is the son of Jenkins' boyfriend,
Daniel Edward Ehrlick. The boy was in the care of the state Department
of Health and Welfare through at least February, according to court
documents.Investigators were seen taking an SUV and other items during the search of Jenkins' apartment Thursday night.Boise
police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said more than 1,000 volunteers
showed up early Friday morning to help search, making it the biggest
missing-person search in the city's history.In the early days of
the search, police were aided by the help of hundreds of volunteers who
scanned neighborhoods surrounding the mother's apartment complex.

For the first time,
Boise Police admit missing 8-year-old boy Robert Manwill's
disappearance is suspicious. At a press conference this afternoon,
Deputy Chief Jim Kerns revealed police found evidence to indicate
Robert may be injured or the victim of a tragic event. Police would
not say what evidence they found.Also
today, a crime scene van was seen at the Ada County Landfill. A
portion of the landfill was marked off with crime scene tape. Boise
Police will not confirm or deny if the crime scene van is related to
the search for Robert Manwill.]Police
showed up at the apartment complex on the Boise bench where Robert
Manwill lives late last night and stayed until the early hours of this
morning.Police did tow away a car
belonging to the family and removed several bags of items from the
home. It's unclear exactly what was in the bags. Today's
developments did not stop the massive search for Robert Manwill.
Hundreds of people responded to the public call for volunteers to help
look for evidence.

* * * *

Authorities are currently at the Ada County landfill.

At this time, it's unclear whether this investigation is connected to the case of missing 8-year-old Robert Manwill.

A
reporter on scene says an area of the landfill has been cordoned off. A
deputy on scene says he was told by Boise Police to go to the landfill
and "sit on some trash."

When asked whether the landfill
investigation is connected to the missing boy, he said he couldn't
confirm and referred any questions to Boise Police.

Dave Neal,
director of the Ada County Solid Waste Management Department, says the
landfill was asked by authorities to leave a half-acre alone for
investigative purposes.

Neal also said Friday afternoon that no
new trash has been brought to the landfill since last Saturday, so
sifting through trash in that half-acre wouldn't be an issue.

Poster's Note: I found this "reverse timeline", a writer's notes, on the Idaho Statesman site. It indicates to me that late in the evening on Friday LE started concentrating their search in a backyard near Robert's Mother.
I will continue to look for updates...

8:44 p.m.Crime scene investigators have brought
buckets and shovels and set up a canopy with walls in the backyard of
the home at the 6600 block of Southdale Avenue. 6:38 p.m. More than 2,300 volunteers turned out to search today. "The
search was extremely helpful," Boise police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower
said. Specific areas of interest now have to be searched by trained
investigators."Developing leads" led police to the house on Southdale where investigators have converged Friday evening.