Kidnap Suspect May Have Links to Las Vegas Girl
Aug. 16, 2000 -- Police in Vallejo, Calif., investigating the kidnapping of an 8-year-old girl who cunningly escaped her captor on Saturday said a number of other police departments believe the same suspect might be involved in the disappearance of other little girls as far away as Las Vegas.
“We’re really at the exploratory stages at this point,” said Lt. JoAnn West, of the Vallejo Police Department, which is handling the 8-year-old’s kidnapping case. “We haven’t made any link yet.”
Curtis Dean Anderson on Tuesday appeared in Solano County court handcuffed and was charged with 11 crimes, including kidnapping, molestation and forced oral copulation. He was originally scheduled for a Tuesday arraignment.
His court-appointed lawyer, Mark Roelke, persuaded the judge to delay Anderson’s formal arraignment until Friday so that he could review the case. Because of the multitude of charges and his lengthy criminal record, prosecutors say Anderson could face life in prison.
Amazing EscapeThe 8-year-old was abducted on Thursday as she walked home from school. She said she managed to escape when the suspect left her alone in his car for a few minutes with her leg shackled in the front seat. She found the key and managed to flag down a delivery truck driver. The driver, Carl Tofua, saw the suspect pursue the girl and then return to his car.
“She was kind of relieved that the guy drove away and she knew she was gonna be saved,” Tofua said.
While Vallejo police are trying to determine if Anderson might be responsible for the December disappearance of another Vallejo girl, Xiana Fairchild, 7, police in Las Vegas are taking yet another look at an October disappearance of another girl. All three girls are dark-skinned, about the same age, and all disappeared while walking to or from school alone.
Karla Rodriguez, 7, was last seen Oct. 20 at 8:30 a.m. as she left home to walk to school in Las Vegas. The missing persons report at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says the 50-pound girl was wearing a black jacket, red pants and a blue and white shirt when she disappeared.
The 8-year-old who escaped on Saturday told reporters she is in good condition and plans to return to school this week. Her name, which was originally reported after her courageous escape, is now being withheld by many news agencies since the charges against her suspected attacker include sex crimes.
FBI Coordinating Investigations
West said that the Vellejo and Las Vegas police are working with the FBI on possible links among the cases. “He lived in Las Vegas at one time and he went back and forth to Las Vegas but we haven’t been able to place him there at that time yet,” she said.
Vallejo police are also trying to trace Anderson’s whereabouts when Xiana disappeared in December. Reports say he worked at the same taxi company as the girl’s mother and quit that job at 3 a.m. on the day the 7-year-old disappeared.
“There’s a lot of backtracking to be done here,” West said.
Anderson’s criminal record includes multiple offenses against women and girls, but he was never registered as a sex offender, so police didn’t consider him in December in their intense search for Xiana.
Court records show Anderson, 39, has a record of arrests for drugs, vandalism, theft and threatening women that spans 21 years.
10 Bags of EvidencePolice searched the suspect’s home and recovered 10 bags of evidence. West said the bags will likely be analyzed by the FBI lab in Quantico, Va. She said she could not describe the contents of the bags, other than they contain “all of his personal belongs.”
The San Jose Mercury News reported that at least two other Northern California jurisdictions are looking for connections.
Hayward police are looking for clues in the abduction of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht, 9 while Fairfield police are checking for links to the December 1991 disappearance of Amanda ‘‘Nikki’’ Campbell, 4.
“We know he was not in prison, and we know (his) age fits with our suspect and the physical description fits the description of our suspect,’’ Hayward’s Lt. Rick Parker told the Mercury News. The Associated Press contributed to this report.