Law Enforcement
Pace Of Missing Kid Case In High Gear
July 31, 2009 
As of 3:30pm Friday the pace of the police investigation into the case of missing 8- year-old Robert Manwill has hit high gear with the mother’s apartment and now the county landfill declared crime scenes.
The Daily Paper is doing a great job covering the story and offers up a TIMELINE of events.
At the Oak Park Apartment complex near Cherry Lane and Shoshone, a U-Haul van is backed up to the apartment…officers will not say if it has been rented by police, but it appears it has. Last night coppers searched the apartment and also towed away the family vehicle.
Meanwhile, a portion of the landfill has been cordoned off by the Ada County Sheriff’s Department. For the first time, coppers are saying the boy probably met with injuries or worse–leading to speculation they found blood somewhere.
The GUARDIAN is getting both “warm fuzzy” reports of the community coming together to search for the boy and complaints of intrusive police questioning and repeated searches of private property. Citizens tell us they are afraid to refuse a search for fear of becoming a suspect.
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Comments & Discussion
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Aug 1, 2009, 7:14 am
Take my civil liberties.. I am not using them anyway.
Aug 1, 2009, 1:39 pm
Sounds like an episode of “Law and Order”, what with the cops and prosecutors searching everything and interrogating everyone in a mad frenzy to pin the crime on someone, anyone, without regard to the Bill of Rights or the Constitution, or the guilt or innocence of the people involved.
I’m not a lawyer, but I’ll bet that pretty much any lawyer will advise you not to answer any questions without legal representation, and don’t let them search without a warrant.
Aug 1, 2009, 1:41 pm
And on another aspect of this case:
Some people just should not ever be allowed to have children.
Aug 1, 2009, 4:52 pm
I do feel on this one that if you have nothing to hide, you will let them look all they want. Please, let’s find Robert and give that poor, poor dad some closure.
Aug 1, 2009, 8:53 pm
I would gladly give up all of my rights to find a little boy!! Even if I was falsely accused but it led to finding him, I would make that sacrifice…is dying for your country any different?
EDITOR NOTE: The Patton quote along the lines of, “let the other sonavabitch die for your country,” comes to mind.
Aug 2, 2009, 7:25 pm
Thing that’s had me wondering all along: Why the huge response?
I mean, it’s great that the cops and hundreds of volunteers are trying to find this kid, but every year several kids disappear. Usually, the family searches the immediate area first, then calls the cops. A few cops search the area and question people who might have seen the kids. Then a few more friends and neighbors join in. After a few days, the cops kind of ease off, leaving just a few (sometimes only one or two) to continue looking for clues, and the friends and neighbors ease back, leaving only the family still trying.
I’ve never see a case with so many cops and so many other people all hunting for one kid. Just what is it about this case that sparked such a huge response (even before some suspicious info came out)?
Aug 2, 2009, 10:38 pm
Gordon – so far “the huge response” is going to be good PR for the coppers should they not be able to solve this case. They won’t feel alone in their frustration.
I do feel terrible for the family and the child. There is nothing good about this – other than the community showing active concern rather than just sitting by and complaining that the cops should do something. Isn’t this what we would all want if one of our kids went missing? He has become our kid in a way….
Aug 3, 2009, 3:03 am
It just seems to me that peoples view of their civil liberties being violated are blown way out of proportion.
If a cop asks you a question, that is not a violation. If a cop stops you at an intersection to pass out a flyer for a missing kid, THAT is not a violation.
People are sooo selfish these days. Everything is all about them. No sense of civic duty, no sense of helping your neighbors (except for the 100s who helped search…hats off to them) no sense of the urgency of the search, because it interfered with them going out for coffee.
Its cops doing their job. Isnt that what you want. If my kid went missing, its what I want. Get over it.
Aug 3, 2009, 8:05 am
Nemo,
LOGIC dictates that if something is urgent, you do it IMMEDIATELY. Tuesay a week ago coppers called off the search for Wednesday. Then on Wednesday they decided that a FRIDAY search was in order. Also, no one is opposed to finding Robert, we just want to preserve those rights all the soldiers are dying for in Iraq and Afghanistan. Asking folks to check their property is one thing. Tromping in back yards can be threatening.