Claudia Vanessa Yat - Endangered Missing - California

[Please Help Missing Children]

Claudia Vanessa Yat
Endangered Missing

DOB: Oct 20, 1993
AGE: 16
SEX: Female
RACE: Hispanic
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Brown
HEIGHT: 5'0" (152 cm)
WEIGHT: 105 lbs (48 kg)

WEARING: Purple shirt, blue jeans, black sandals

MISSING SINCE: October 19, 2008
MISSING FROM: Los Angeles, California US

Claudia may be in the company 22 year old Antonio Santo Martinez.

SUSPECT:

Martinez

CONTACT:
Freddy Arroyo or Detective Maria Tomes, Robbery-Homicide Division
213-485-2511
or
toll-free at 877-529-3855
lapdonline.org - link for Anonymous Web Tips

[Please Help Missing Children]

Web link seen in missing teen case

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, October 28, 2008
By JESSICA LOGAN and ZEKE MINAYA
The Press-Enterprise

A family remained worried about a 15-year-old Temecula girl who police believe was kidnapped earlier this month in Los Angeles by a man she met on the Internet.

Claudia Yat was not the kind of girl to cause her mother heartache, said her half-sister Yohanna Quiroa, 21.

She had no boyfriends and rarely left their Temecula home other than to go to school, Quiroa said. Claudia often spent time on the Internet but Quiroa made it a point to keep track of the sites her younger sister visited. "I never noticed anything strange," she said.

The last time Quiroa saw her sister was in Los Angeles, she said. Claudia, her mother and Quiroa drove to an aunt's apartment in south LA to celebrate Claudia's 15th birthday.
The gathering began on Oct.18 but crossed into the early morning hours past midnight. Around 3:30 a.m., Quiroa said, Claudia's mother noticed she had not seen Claudia for some time. "Our mother is always looking after us," Quiroa said.
She checked the bathroom, then the rest of the apartment, Quiroa said. With a rising sense of dread, Quiroa and her mother took to the streets, first on foot, then in a car, to search for Claudia. They found nothing.

"My mother is really upset and worried. I'm really upset and worried. All we've heard about her is what they are saying in the news," Quiroa said.

Los Angeles police Detective Freddy Arroyo believes Claudia and a man she met over the Internet may be in a silver or gray 1998 to 2003 Kia car with "CAMBIO," the Spanish word for change or exchange, spelled in white paint on the back window.
Claudia had a profile on a social networking Web site, Arroyo said. "We know she visited some chat rooms."
Police believe the suspect may have taken Claudia to the San Jose area. "She didn't go to the party to meet with this person," Arroyo said. "She went there with family for the party ... If anything, the person may have met her down there."

Claudia was last seen wearing a purple shirt, blue jeans and black sandals. She is 5 feet tall, weighs 105 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair.

Anyone with information can call 213-485-2511 or after hours 877-529-3855. Report tips at www.lapdonline.org or text "CRIMES."

Experts say strangers rarely abduct children, but emphasize parents should arm themselves with information about the Internet and talk with their children about the risks.

USC sociology Professor Karen Sternheimer said unlike Claudia, most children who engage in risky behavior online are already rebellious.
"Someone who has been engaged in riskier behavior might need more monitoring than the honor student who seems to have a good head on her shoulders," Sternheimer said, author of "Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today's Youth."
She noted children are much more likely to be victimized by a family member, coach or neighbor than a stranger on the Internet.

Runaways Common
In 2007, 6,828 children were reported missing from Riverside County, according to state Department of Justice statistics. The majority, 6,680 ran away, 48 were abducted by a parent or family member and 3 were taken by strangers.

"Typically the biggest risks still come from people who kids know and trust and who their parents know and trust," Sternheimer said. "It's important to keep a reality check of what is likely and what is not likely."

Monique Nelson, the chief operating officer for the Santa Ana non-profit, Web Wise Kids, said problems are underreported because children fear their parents will cut their Internet access.

Nelson's nonprofit licenses games to schools that teach children about Internet risks including kidnapping. She won a $224,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to distribute these games in 200 Riverside and San Bernardino county schools starting in December.

She advises parents to monitor children, talk with them about the dangers of putting personal information online and said parents should tell their children to never meet an online stranger in person.

Reach Jessica Logan at 951-368-9466 or [e-mail].

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_missing29.4619c35.html

[Please Help Missing Children]

Police: Temecula girl, 15, agreed to go with man to Mexico
08:12 PM PST on Tuesday, November 11, 2008

By TAMMY J. McCOY
The Press-Enterprise

A missing Temecula girl voluntarily went to Mexico last month with a man she met on the Internet, according to Los Angeles police.

Detectives believe Claudia Yat, 15, is in Mexico with Antonio Santo Martinez, 22, according to a department news release.

Yat attended a family birthday party in Los Angeles on Oct. 18. She drove with her mother and sister to her aunt's apartment to celebrate her 15th birthday.

Her family discovered she was missing at 4 a.m. Oct. 19, according to the release.

Detectives have determined the teenager left Oct. 19 with Martinez, a resident of San Jose. On Oct. 23, they went to San Diego then took a Greyhound bus to Tijuana, Mexico, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The girl's family said Yat often spent time on the Internet but they tried to make a point to monitor the sites she visited. Los Angeles police detectives said Yat had a profile on a social networking Web site.

In 2007, 6,828 children were reported missing from Riverside County, according to state Department of Justice statistics. The majority, 6,680, ran away, 48 were abducted by a parent or family member and three were taken by strangers.


Martinez is a person of interest in the case, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Anyone with information can contact detectives Maria Tomes and Freddy Arroyo at 213-485-2511 or 951-712-6257. After-hours and weekend calls may be directed to the 24-hour toll free number, 1-877-529-3855.

Reach Tammy McCoy at 951-375-3729 or [e-mail]


http://www.pe.com/localnews/temecula/stories/PE_News_Local_S_steen12.3aa6b8c.html