Children's Safety Zone
Mikelle Biggs Story Index
Contact The Mesa Police Department immediately with any new information!
Mesa Police, Criminal Investigations 480-644-4078, Sgt. Steven Stahl, steven_stahl@mesa.ci.mesa.az.us
Gone from El Moro Avenue is the laughter of children playing, the rumble of skateboards, the clatter of little feet running during a game of tag.
Gone like Mikelle Biggs. And replaced by silence and fear, both of which now reign on El Moro and nearby Mesa streets.
Parents and children alike seem to have lost their innocence in the wake of 11-year-old Mikelle's disappearance. They gain instead a sense of uneasiness and vigilance as the missing-person case stretches into a 10th day today without a sighting, without so much a solid clue.
One child had already disappeared, and many parents weren't taking any more chances.
"My kids, they used to play in my front yard," said Ginger Urzua, a mother of three small children. "Now, I'm kind of scared to let them out. They don't play outside at all."
Urzua once kept her blinds shut, not wanting to involve herself in someone else's problems. Now, she keeps them wide open and looks out for strange cars and people.
"Even shopping in the store, I don't let my children go further than my reach," she said.
Mikelle's disappearance has changed the neighborhood's rhythms, with pangs of fear and sadness erasing memories of carefree abandon, said Nancy Johnston, who is organizing a Block Watch.
Johnston is expecting a good turnout for tonight's meeting but regrets that a tragedy provided the motivation.
Children "aren't safe out there anymore," she said. "My son's 8. He always rides his bike to his friend's house down the street. We take him now."
The neighborhood's anxiety was also evident at nearby Lindbergh Elementary School, where many parents were dropping off their children or picking them up from school.
"I love riding my bicycle. It's a brand-new bike, I got it for my birthday in October," said Paul Aguero, 10. "I can't ride it now because this person kidnapped Mikelle."
Mikelle disappeared the evening of Jan. 2 as she waited for an ice-cream vendor. Her toppled bicycle, and two quarters her mother had given her, were found on the sidewalk, some four houses from her home.
Sgt. Earle Lloyd, a Mesa police spokesman, said detectives are working under the theory that Mikelle was abducted but still have no evidence to prove their suspicions.
Paul and Bret Blodgett, 9, used to ride their bicycles together to Lindbergh. Now, one of their parents drives them to school.
Cynthia Walker was walking her 6-year-old daughter down Lazona Avenue on Monday morning when she paused to describe how life in nearby neighborhoods has changed.
"Now, somebody has to be outside with them (children) all the time," with parents taking shifts supervising the playtime of children.
"It's really stressing out the kids," added Walker, a security guard. "They're more hyper in school because they don't have that outlet."
The fear fills the adults, who pass on a distilled version to their kids.
Little Paul, the avid bicyclist, now prefers to walk with an adult.
"It makes me feel better," Paul said. "I feel more safe. I don't want to be taken away from my parents, because I love them."
Nestor Rodriguez, 12, initially was filled with bravado but he, too, admitted his fears.
"It's scary getting to school, because you don't know who might be waiting," he said.
As neighbors faced the new reality that their children aren't safe, police sifted through nearly 3,000 clues and FBI profilers worked to develop a suspect profile.
Police also released a new composite drawing of a man wanted for an attempted sexual molestation at an apartment complex in the 600 block of South Stapley Drive on Christmas Day.
But Lloyd stressed police have not established a link between the two crimes, which occurred a mile apart. "We get lots of crimes like this," he said. "The only reason this sticks in our minds is the proximity."
Lloyd was pleased to hear about the neighborhood's diligence, but he questioned whether the heightened safety awareness will last.
"Unfortunately, as this case fades, so will the vigilance."
Darien Biggs, Mikelle's father, said seeing the composite drawing was a relief after so little progress.
"That made me feel a lot better, that the police are looking for a particular face," he said. "I've been feeling that (anger) toward a faceless person. Now I have a face."
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Reproduced with permission from: The Arizona Republic Written by: By Jim Walsh ©Copyright 1999 Arizona Republic |
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