Badger Blogger

Coverage begins: April 14, 9:00 PM

McGovern Park was the focus for the search for the two boys, Quadrevion Henning and Purvis Parker, that went missing from just a few blocks from my house.

There are no answers as to the identity, but of course, when I heard the news, my thoughts went to the boys.

Easter Sunday will mark the one month anniversary of their disappearance.

Police Spokesperson Annie Schwartz is on her way to the park. Details to follow.

Latest report says that NO BODIES have been recovered

Henning family gathering at home, some just left heading in the direction of the park, but the family is not saying anything because they don’t know anything either.

Police to hold press conference in about 10 minutes. (9:30PM)

-Latest: No bodies found, but medical examiner has been called. Some family members are on scene.

Police Chief Hagerty says they have recovered one child’s body. The body looks to have been in the lagoon “quite some time”. An autopsy will be done ASAP.

Police, of course will not speculate on the identification. The M.E. will perform an autopsy in the morning and should be able to make an I.D. There will be another press conference on this at 8 AM.

-Further details: at 7:23 PM two people walking along the lagoon in McGovern Park seen a body floating in the water.

- Fox 6 is reporting that another source confirms that a second body has been recovered from the lagoon.

- This is going to be one hell of a night for a lot of people. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Henning and Parker families.

- Here is the paper’s preliminary coverage. They say that the news conference tomorrow morning will be at 11AM. (I thought I heard 8AM, but 11 sounds more realistic.)

- Chief Hegerty confirms that the bodies of both boys were fully clothed. She expects a positive identification around noon tomorrow.

4/15/2006

Families confirm that the bodies found last night are of their children. They were able to identify them through pictures. Police have not given official confirmation or any further details.

News choppers have been buzzing our neighborhood since about 7:50 this morning.

8:40 AM: An uncle of Quadrevion Henning, Dennis Frasier, is speaking with news crews now. He believes that the boys may have fallen through the thin layer of ice that was still on the lagoon a month ago. He confirms that they have made identification through photos.

The family says they are completely satisfied with the actions of the police.

Mr. Fraiser asks that the community stays together, there are other families that need our support. Well said Mr. Fraiser!

I hope that the news crews will now give the families the space they need to morn their loss.

-I am going to walk over to the park, just feels like the right thing to do…

- 9:35 - I am back from the park, since I needed to make a stop, I drove, the park is pretty much closed off by police, there were no other people, but I expect that later today this may change, I will walk back over there then.

I drove past the Henning home, lots of news crews and I believe I seen at least one Alderman there, I will not name him since I am not 100% sure it was him.

3:00 PM: Police have just officially confirmed that the bodies found in McGovern Park last night, was indeed Quadrevion Henning and Purvis Parker.

There is no evidence of injury, everything is consistent with drowning.

The Special Agent In Charge of the FBI was obviously very closely involved, he nearly broke down while discussing their part in the search.

Purvis Parker could not swim, it is theorized that he may have fallen in and his friend Quadrevion may have tried to go in after him. There was still ice on the edge of the lagoon when this happened, so that water was very cold and it wouldn’t take long for a child to succumb to the cold. I know the park well, there are some areas where the trails are right along the water and not real visible from the surrounding area. What a tragic accident.

I have been covering this story since the day they went missing. I have read everything and followed news coverage closely. This has been an emotional and exhausting 18 hours for me, I can’t imagine how it has been for the family and those closely involved. You can see from some of the reaction that people in the media and some police officials that have been close to the family and the investigation, that this has really been hard on them too. At least the families know what happened to their children, they are safe with God now. It will not be a happy Easter for them, but they can be at peace.

JS Online: DayWatch
Purvis Parker, the father of one of two Milwaukee boys who’ve been missing since March 19, was arrested by police early Friday morning on battery charges related to a dispute with a girlfriend. Parker was booked into jail about 5:30 a.m.

Police picked him up on a parole violation two days after the boys disappeared from their homes in the neighborhood of 53rd St. and Hampton Ave. He said he was questioned extensively about the boys’ disappearance. He was released from jail about a week later. Parker has several criminal convictions dating to 1995 and recently served 16 months in prison for selling marijuana and illegally possessing a firearm.

Police said Friday they continue to get and follow up on leads about the whereabouts of Purvis Virginia Parker, 11, and Quadrevion Henning, 12, but that they haven’t turned up any new evidence.

The mother of one of the missing Milwaukee boys, Quadrevion Henning, has given birth today. She was only 6 months pregnant, but doctors say that the baby has a good chance. The stress of the past three weeks has obviously taken it’s toll.

Thoughts and prayers to Quadrevion’s baby brother or sister.

Past coverage of the missing Milwaukee boys.

UPDATE

Welcome to TODAY’S TMJ4 - The NBC Affiliate in Milwaukee, WI
The mother of one of two Milwaukee boys, missing for three weeks, has given birth prematurely.

Chris Alemayehu, the mother of Quadrevion Henning, delivered a boy on Wednesday. The child weighed 3 lbs., 5 oz., and was three months early. Doctors say it was because of the stress Alemayehu is experiencing over her missing son. The child is on a breathing machine, but doctors say the prognosis is good.

Most businesses in my part of town have signs of the two missing Milwaukee boys, Quadrevion Henning and Purvis Parker, in their windows. It doesn’t matter what the business is, I have seen them in day cares, liquor stores, Walmart, the rectory of our church, even a fishing and bait shop. But there are some places, like a barber shop I noticed the other day, instead of showing support for these missing boys and their families, their front window is adorned with the picture on the right.

Alderman Michael McGee Jr’s. Stop Snitchin’ campaign is alive and well, sending to our young people the message of noncooperation with our police. This is still going on as Milwaukee searches for two of our missing children, and days after the burial of Raheim Patrick, who was brutally beaten to death outside of his school.

When will our, so called, community leaders step up and actually lead? We have another alderman, Ashanti Hamilton, that lied to try to turn the opinion of the work the police have done in searching for these boys, McGee with his so called Respect Kampaign (that’s not a typo) where he spreads his Stop Snitchin’ word. If these are the best leaders we have for our community, we need real help Milwaukee.

Wow, a very nice gesture, I hope it helps.

JS Online: DayWatch
A donor from Pennsylvania has pledged $30,000 to the reward fund for information that leads to the discovery of two Milwaukee boys who disappeared on March 19.

The contribution, from a donor who has asked to remain anonymous, boosts the total reward offerings to roughly $62,000.

“If that’s what somebody needs to provide the information, the money is there,” said Anne E. Schwartz, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee Police Department.

Alderman Ashanti Hamilton came out today and in front of one of the homes of the missing Milwaukee boys, claimed that police did not take the case serriously in the first 24 hours. Hamilton claims that he was with the family the first day and it was he that forced the police to set up a command post in the neighborhood. But the family totally refutes his claims. One family member confirmed that today was the first time Alderman Hamilton has been to see the families. The grandfather of one of the boys said that Alderman Hamilton must have forgotten that he hasn’t been there before. Police, he said showed up as soon as he called and have been there ever since. The families support the police and do not at all seem to be happy with Ashanti Hamilton and his political grandstanding. The family says that they never wanted this case to become a political event, but Ashanti Hamilton is trying to make it just that… Disgraceful!

Update: Video added
WTMJ News has the video of their coverage of this cheep stunt by Alderman Ashanti Hamilton

Keep checking back for further developments.

Police are checking a tip for the missing boys at Kletzsch Park.

Within the past few minutes a large group of Milwaukee police entered the park and they have restricted the air space over the park… This is unusual since police have been using news helicopters to help with the search.

Reports are police are at the home of one of the children’s grandfather. No word on why.

The Milwaukee Police Dive Team has been called to the site. The Milwaukee River runs along the east side of the park.

• Personal observation: About 8:40 a.m. this morning I was at a nursing home just off Green Bay and Bender Road. I could see that Glendale Police had one of the entrances to the park, I could see several squads. As I left the area, I noticed that the other entrances were also closed by police.
• I know this park, it is not far from my home and I have been in the area several times. The park runs from Bender Rd. to Green Tree Rd. and is bordered on the east by the Milwaukee River and Green Bay Ave. on the west. There is a fair sized wooded area, especially along the river, with park areas on the west side. There is a winding road running north and south, but it really is a fairly remote area.

Map of Kletzsch Park

Search Has Ended
The search of the park ended at about 3:30 this afternoon. Reports are there was nothing found.

Police say that the families were familiar with the park, so police decided to conduct a full search.

The way police closed the park, called the dive team and Milwaukee police searched a Glendale park and ordered the media helicopters to stay away, fueled the speculation that something major was happening. Police spokesperson seems to be criticizing the media coverage, but as a long time media person, Annie Schwartz should have known that the media would have jumped on it like they did. Seems to me that with a little more communication, things could have gone smoother.

So, as it stands, we are no closer to locating the boys. The search and prayers continue.

View the 3:00 press conference

New: Thiensville park searched
A new development, a park in Thiensville was also searched today.

Whoever knows what happened to the two missing boys and is not coming forward is horrible person. Do the right thing for the families of these children, they never hurt anyone. Telling the truth about a heinous, cruel crime is not Snitchin’.

Full coverage of Milwaukee’s Missing Boys

Also visit HenningParker.com, the website set up by the families and supporters.