Woman vanishes and so does a page from her calendar

(CNN) – She was a nightclub dancer, a mother, an aspiring writer.

And torn from the calendar where she kept her daily schedule was the month she disappeared: July 1996.

Susan Walsh, who was 36 at the time, was last seen around noon on July 16, 1996. She told her estranged husband that she was headed to a pay phone a half-block from her apartment in Nutley, New Jersey.

Susan Walsh

Walsh and her husband, Mark, had been home in their connecting apartments with their 11-year-old son, who was asleep, said Detective Lt. Steven Rogers of the Nutley Police Department.

"No one actually saw her leave the house," said Rogers, who became involved in the case in 2003 when he was assigned to command the department's detective bureau. "No one saw her on the phone."

Walsh had just written a story about immigrant strippers allegedly controlled and exploited by the Russian mob.

"This opened up a threat to her," said her father, Floyd Merchant. She believed two contracts had been issued for her murder after the story appeared in The Village Voice, said Merchant. She feared for her life, he said, and had begun drinking again after 11 years of sobriety.

Now, 13 years later, the idea that the publication of Walsh's story led to her disappearance remains just a theory.

"I don't believe at this point there's any connection," Rogers said.

Despite her passion as an aspiring journalist, Walsh struggled to escape the lure of easy money she earned working as a nightclub dancer in the New York City metro area, her father said. She had been working in clubs for four years, in part, Merchant said, to support her son. Her dancing experience gave her access to the clubs, where she collected information for her story.

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Too little, Too late: A mistake that caused a little girl her life

Chicago Police are promising a thorough review to determine why the department did not alert the news media about a missing girl who turned up murdered two weeks later. They are deciding whether it was a computer glitch or human error that cause the lack of media coverage….and mishandling that resulted in death for 12 year old Jahmeshia Connor. No matter what the answer is, it will not bring this child back to her family.

Jahmeshia Conner

Jahmeshia was last seen getting on a bus on the south side Englewood neighborhood in Chicago. Her mother reported her missing the next day when she did not return home from school. The reason for the delay is that she thought her daughter was staying her Aunt that evening. But that was clearly not the case.

A flier was drawn up and allegedly sent through all the proper channels, but somehow it never reached the media….not until it was too late. Jahmeshia’s body was found two weeks later in an alley, one block from her mother’s home. She was strangled to death. Cops reportedly say she was probably dead less than two days before discovered by a passer-by.

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She was a nightclub dancer, a mother, an aspiring writer. And torn from the calendar where she kept her daily schedule was the month she disappeared: July 1996. Susan Walsh, who was 36 at the time, was last seen around noon on July 16, 1996. She told her estranged husband that she was headed to a pay phone a half-block from her apartment in Nutley, New Jersey. Walsh and her husband, Mark, had been home in their connecting apartments with their 11-year-old son, who was asleep, said Detective Lt. Steven Rogers of the Nutley Police Department. "No one actually saw her leave the house," said Rogers, who became involved in the case in 2003 when he was assigned to command the department's detective bureau. "No one saw her on the phone."

The squeaky clean image that Tiger Woods has managed to maintain throughout his 13 year professional golf career came to a screeching halt in the early morning hours after Thanksgiving. At 2:25am Woods left his home in his Cadillac SUV. He didn’t make it very far before he hit a fire hydrant and tree outside his neighbor’s home. The impact of the crash was not enough for the airbags to deploy but Woods’ wife of 6 years broke two windows in the back of the vehicle with a golf club in order to get her husband out. He was unconscious for 6 minutes while blood ran from his mouth.

Tiger Woods

As to where Woods was going or WHY he was going somewhere at that hour is unclear, but rumors have been flying.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Woods and his wife had a heated argument over an alleged affair between Woods and another woman. That woman has denied the affair, but several other alleged affairs have been uncovered along with steamy text messages and voice mails to allegedly cover his tracks. Woods has not admitted to any of the affairs but did release a statement through his website apologizing for “transgressions” and asked the public for privacy.

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Cold case: Toddlers vanish from park

(CNN) – When Rosa Glover brought her 19-month-old son to a New York City playground in 1989, she had no idea tragedy was about to strike a second time in the same place.

Shane Walker

In May 1989, 2-year-old Christopher Dansby disappeared from his grandmother's sight on that playground.

Not quite three months later, on a hot August day, Glover's son, Shane Walker, vanished.

As an intense search for both children generated media and public interest across the city, the New York Police Department pointed out other eerie similarities in the cases:

The boys were playing in the same area of the park when they disappeared - Walker at 5 p.m. on a Thursday, Dansby at 7 p.m. on a Thursday.

Moments before they went missing, the boys were playing with the same children - a 10-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother, according to news reports.

In addition, Walker and Dansby lived in the same apartment building in a nearby housing project in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood.

"That's a hell of a coincidence," says Ron Jones, a senior case manager with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nationwide clearinghouse and advocacy group.

Jones, assigned to the Walker and Dansby cases from the start, says leads still come into his office fairly often and he relays them to the New York City police.

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Shaniya Davis

Task Force to Review Child Services Involvement in Shaniya Davis Case

The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force say they plan to review any involvement child services had with Shaniya’s mother Antoinette Davis, and her children. According to family members of Davis, the Cumberland County Department of Social Services previously looked at Davis with regard to her 7 year old son. That investigation did not result in any action against Davis. DSS has refused to discuss details of their involvement with Shaniya’s mother, citing privacy laws as well as the ongoing investigation into Shaniya’s murder. The task force is charged with investigating every child death in the state, but will not be looking into the Davis case until all criminal actions have been resolved or until a year after Shaniya’s death, whichever comes later. The task force will look into when DSS workers first contacted the family, the status of the case, and whether proper procedures were followed.

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In an instant, two toddler boys vanish from the same park just months apart. Were they victims of a kidnapping ring or are these unrelated crimes with shocking similarities? Twenty years later the mysteries remain unsolved but police are looking for new leads and they need your help. Check out the newest Cold Case tomorrow in its entirety only at: cnn.com/nancygrace.

November 6, 11:44am, the lives of 6 people in a downtown Orlando high-rise changed in an instant. What should have been a routine work day at Reynolds, Smith & Hills ends in gunfire and one person losing his life. According to police, a gunman entered the Gateway Center building, walked into the eighth-floor reception area, pulled out a handgun hidden under his shirt and opened fire. The reception area and the entire office riddled with bullets as the assailant shoots his way through the office. But to some employees, as they ducked for cover to save their lives, there was something familiar about the gunman.

Turns out, according to an affidavit, the shooter was a former co-worker, 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez. After allegedly gunning down an employee near the receptionist’s desk, shooting him twice, Rodriguez made his way to a common work area pumping shots into several other employees. Later, Rodriguez allegedly fled the scene in a four-door silver sedan. Emergency crews scrambled to the bloody crime scene as news of the shooting spree unfolded on live TV, this just one day after Americans gasped in horror at a massacre at the US’s largest army post, Ft. Hood, Texas.

Workers who survived the harrowing Orlando shooting were able to identify Rodriguez to police, who rushed to his home where they find his 2001 four-door silver Hyundai. And fortunately, there would not be another shoot-out. While investigators carefully combed over every square inch of Rodriguez’ car, the alleged shooter came to the window, raised his hands and surrendered. While cops dragged Rodriguez off to jail, ER doctors worked tirelessly to save the shooting victims.

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The father of Misty Croslin is next in the line to be questioned in the disappearance of little Haleigh Cummings. Croslin was arrested for charges unrelated to Haleigh’s case; but, like the other two Croslins arrested over the past couple of months, he will still be asked what he knows about that night. During the investigation into Haleigh's disappearance, law enforcement received information alleging he was fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs.

Courtesy: Teresa Neves

Putnam authorities said the investigation revealed that Hank Croslin Sr. obtained approximately 300 Oxycodone and Hydrocodone pills from three different physicians between April and May 2009.None of the prescribing doctors was aware that the others had prescribed the controlled substances, authorities said. This practice is known as doctor shopping, a third-degree felony.

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An amber alert has been issued statewide in South Carolina for a 1-month-old baby boy who police believe was taken from inside his mother’s car, with his mother just steps away! Police say little Angel Miguel Perez was taken some time between 4:30 and 4:42pm from inside his mother’s car, while mom was inside a North Charleston post office buying stamps.

Angel Miguel Perez

Cops say the mother, 26 year old Lidia Juarez, told them she arrived at the post office just before 5pm, parked near the door, and left the car running with the baby inside the car, strapped inside his child safety seat. Mom told investigators all the doors were locked…except the drivers side front door. Authorities believe the mother was inside the store for 5 minutes or less, but when she came out, her baby was gone.

The Suspect
Cops immediately began investigating the incident as a kidnapping after a witness told them they saw a black female walking across the parking lot with an infant in her arms. The witness described the suspect as being in her mid 20s, medium complexion, 5-foot-1, 175 pounds, and shoulder length hair. The suspect was reportedly wearing a blue and white striped shirt and boots. Investigators believe the suspect drove away in a gray 4-door compact with a rear spoiler…possibly a Honda Accord. Law enforcement officials say because all the traffic leaving the post office first travels east, the suspect’s direction of travel was not clear.

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