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| Crystal Everitt – CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
30-year-old Crystal Everitt, 8-year-old Journey Amanda Everitt, and 3-year-old Trust Worthy Everitt have been missing since approximately December 22, 2010, when Crystal Everitt abducted the children during divorce proceedings.
On October 29, 2011 the family was located at a homeless shelter in Vancouver, Washington, where they had been since June 2011.
An anonymous person at the shelter initially found Crystal Everitt’s story of domestic violence believable.
However, the person also found Crystal Everitt’s resistance to accepting services offered by the shelter (including medical care and food for the children) suspicious.
The person searched through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) web site and found Journey Everitt’s missing person flyer. Further Internet research of Journey Everitt’s name revealed the press releases and flyers for the Florida Institute of Technology’s association with the Fireball Run Rally (and Melbourne Chamber of Commerce), and an online news broadcast by Scott Davis of Crossville, Tennessee, called “The Missing” (http://www.themissing.tv/), which profiled the Everitt case. The person notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Vancouver Police Department, and the Melbourne Police Department about the status of the family. This led to Crystal Everitt’s arrest for outstanding warrants in Florida for interference with child custody and child neglect, by the Vancouver Washington Police Department and the recovery of Journey and Trust Everitt.
The children’s father, Jim Everitt, was reunited with the children on October 30, 2011, in Vancouver, after approximately one year of separation.
Jim Everitt and the children are visiting with family abroad before returning to Florida to resume their family life.
The credit for solving this case goes directly to the community.
The effort made by law enforcement, in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was bolstered by the press generated from the nationwide community response to finding the Everitt children.
The anonymous person who reported their suspicions about the Everitt family saved the children from living another day in anonymity.
If you suspect that a child has been abducted or is possibly reported missing, please visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website at www.missingkids.com, or call 1-800- THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678), or your local law enforcement agency, and report your suspicions.
The Melbourne Police Department is investigating this incident.
If you have any information please call Crime line: 1-800-423-TIPS (8477)
