Posted at TB by John H

Mon, Nov. 25, 2002

SEARCH FOR ALICE DONOVAN

Family wants more in hunt

Police limit on participation criticized

By Kelly M. Burch The Sun News

Volunteers and family want more people looking for clues in the disappearance of an Horry County woman as the search for her enters its second week.

Stephanie Sullivan, who became involved with the search for Alice Donovan through the Internet, hopes more volunteers are allowed to participate in the ground search this week through Brunswick County, N.C., where Donovan was last seen.

"If we had been allowed earlier to have large groups of people to walk about 100 or 200 yards along the road, we could have helped law enforcement," said Sullivan, who lives in Wilmington, N.C.

The search for Donovan continued Sunday in the Hunter's Ridge area of Brunswick County and concluded for the day about 2:30 p.m. The effort could resume today, although the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office did not say where that might happen or how large it might be.

Brunswick County Sheriff Ronald Hewett could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Donovan, 44, was abducted Nov. 14 from Wal-Mart in Conway. Branden Basham, 21, and Chadrick Fulks, 25, are suspects in her kidnapping.

Ron Ezell, her brother-in-law, also would like an expanded search. More ground could be covered with more people, he said.

"I think that it's taken way too long," he said. "I think they should have put more people on it from the get-go."

Donovan's sister, Judy, has been in Myrtle Beach since Thursday, he said. She plans to stay until the case is solved.

"The main thing she is interested in is finding her sister," he said. "It's hard. She is like my own sister. I'm just kind of sitting and waiting for something to happen."

Meanwhile, a similar search continued Sunday in Wayne County, W.Va., for Samantha Burns, 19, a freshman at Marshall University. Burns was last seen Nov. 11 at a Huntington, W.Va., apartment complex, said Dale Mosley, a Huntington State Police dispatcher.

West Virginia police consider Basham and Fulks suspects in her disappearance.

Burns called her mother from an apartment complex about 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 to say she was coming home. She has not been seen since. Donovan called her family shortly after her abduction.

Both women's ATM cards were used after their kidnappings. Fulks and Basham were reportedly seen in Huntington before Burns' disappearance. Fulks has lived in Huntington and is from a nearby county.

Burns' family now has a Web site devoted to their daughter and have offered a $35,000 reward for information that could lead to her whereabouts. Sullivan didn't know whether a reward would be posted for information on Donovan.

Basham and Fulks have been charged with state and federal crimes in at least three states, including the abduction of a 42-year-old truck driver in Hanson, Ky., a day after their Nov. 4 jail break in Madisonville, Ky.

Basham remains in federal custody at Boyd County Detention Center in Catlettsburg, Ky.

Fulks is being held in a northern Indiana jail and is awaiting an identity hearing today in South Bend, Ind.

It is unclear whether Fulks and Basham will be brought to North Carolina to help police locate Donovan.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/ml...cal/4599447.htm

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002

Answers

Could you change the header slightly? I thought she had been found. Maybe: Update: Alice's Family Wants . . .

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002

Two posts from Parire Lady

I am just scaning some of the posts from page 15 (of 17 due to my configuration settings). I saw a question from Mrs. Peavy and wanted to answer it as best as I can.

Alice is woods savy. We grew up in the woods. Alice would know to listen for the highways and for traffic, and to head in that direction. She knows the lay of the land, the roads, and would know to head west, not east. If Alice didn't find her way out, it's beause she couldn't walk.

These guys were lazy and she had a low lying car, it couldn't go very far into the woods, or into soft spots. One of them also had a compulsive bathing disorder, he wouldn't want to get his feet wet or his clothes dirty suggesting that they didn't go very far from a road.

The biggest problem is not knowing which road. All we have are a few eye witness accounts, bank transactions, films and mathematics. There are gaps where there is no info.

At this time we are looking for a body now.

If I see any posts where I can comment, I'll be back with those comments in a new post.

PL

"The prospect of spending even more time in jail - he was indicted in August for promoting contraband - was weighing heavy on her son's mind, Kathy Basham said."

Apparently, it didn't weigh very heavily because he just added a whole buncha time to his sentance. I saw an article where she said he was rather a "mama's boy". Does that mean this kid was doing his mama's bidding in committing crimes? He has adhd she says. Without his meds he is like a 7 year old. Well, I know 7 year olds who have been taught right from wrong, and they would never do something like this. I also know adults who had adhd and THEY had a sense of right and wrong as well. Just because they had a short attention span doesn't mean they are stupid. Me thinkest the lady is trying to save HERSELF the grief. Guess it may be wise if I don't go there for the future, but I found myself totally sickened by the excuses this woman makes for a man who murders.

It's been a while since the 21 when some thought maybe the perps were talking...they weren't. They had the right to remain silent, and they had the right to an attorney. What talk may have occured proved fruitless.

Haven't finished reading..turns out the BIL was mistaken about tankgurl. It was someone else he met. The person he met was very nice. Sorry for that confusion. I did talk to Vipper about it later, I'm sure she shed some light on that later, I just haven't got to it yet in the posting. I am just jotting notes as I go.

About Samantha Burns, still no info about whether or not she is connected to this case. However, my heart goes out to her family just the same.

The chronology of events is still being discussed and pieced together. I don't have those details personally. To much for my mind to grasp at this point.

AngieM2, they used all sorts of equipment, some they wouldn't even discuss. It the technology existed, they used it.

deja, there is a LOT going on that is NOT being talked about in order to maintain the integrity of this case, to assure a firm and solid conviction when it goes to trial. If there is one thing I have learned from being face to face with the individual LEO'S involved in this case. NO stone is being unturned no matter how seemingly insignificant and rediculas sounding that clue may be. At least that is MY impression of it from being up front and personal with it.

I have asked police where the wva plate came from..so far, nobody here knows, or are unable to give that info. If the investigation is still continuing, and it IS, there is bound to be some stuff they MUST be quite about. I've seen that personally too, and understand the why of it, and have found myself beginning to do the same. It helps when comparing other info to see if the other info fits since you have details that aren't public.

Sarrah, EVERYTHING is being done to find Alice that can be done. Of that, I can assure you. It simply took a while to get t all off the ground, and NOBODY was happy about THAt at all. I can also assure you that most of the people involved in the whole case have a sincere and personal desire to do their uttmost. I swear, I KNOW that to be true first hand. Have no fear Sarrah, these guys will ultimately get theirs even if we have to wait till the next life, they WILL get theirs. On THIS side of the world...there are some very just and compassionate folks out there who would LOVE to enjoin the opportunity to sling even one good sized rock at these guys. Maybe there were human benefits to stoning the guilty?

Something else to consider, we deal with these issues on tb2k all the time and that is the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. It was my thought to have wiser men than I think of how to make lawyers personally, legally, accountalbe for telling a perp to shut up if that advice results in the death of the victim of the perp. In this particular case, it's a no brainer that they kiddnapped Alice...they got caught on film. There is no benefit to the perp to be had at this poing in advinsing them to remain silent. IN face it not only creates an injustice against alice, and could theoretically cause her death, but it adds a murder charge to the perps. A bad decision all the way around.

I can say sarrah that I would prefer to see laws change that allows for the guilty to suffer the exact same death, or close to it, as their victim. For example, if we finally learn that alice was tied up and dumped, allowed to die of thirst, cold, hunger, fire ants, other animals etc...the perps should be dropped off into the woods to die of the same thing. Left there till dead. Let the punishment fit the crime. You kill by shooting, you die by shooting. You kill by torture, you die by the torture you used against your victim. Unfortunately, some perps get to just have a shot, and go to sleep.

SqrlGrl, I am so sorry to hear of your son. How long ago was that? How did/do you deal with it? Yes, hospitals have been checked. This is a high profile case and if the cops don't think of it, or if we don't know if they thought of it, we call them and ask. If it hasn't been done, they do it if they can!

I have been asking about severance. He didn't have answers for me today. I will ask again. Been asking about Samantha too. At one point it was thought she had been found..she has not been found.

More than police, i take exception with some of the smaller local press. Like the ones who called us up today to tell us they heard on scanner that Alice had been found off a local highway..it was a total outright lie, it was cruel, rude, sneaky and we are totally pissed. The call came from the Sun news..the local paper. So much for trust and integrity....If i hear of any others i will list them too, publically.

Ol' Carrousel Gang said: Duct tape and rope is cheaper at Wal-Mart? Did they use stolen credit cards to save money for the'r victims ...yeah right

Interesting thought to ponder!! It's a keeper even...PLANNED murder...if and when the bodies are found, and if they are found to actually be duct taped. I will never look at duct tape the same again...a deadly weapon??? Requires registration to possess?? as deadly as any gun???

We are looking forward to our day in court.

I haven't made it thru all the posts, but i have to quit here. Nite all.

PL

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002

I got in and edited..

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002

Thanks, SAR. I had to go in and take out those dreadful headers appearing on every post (which don't appear if you use the Edit function rather than the Change Header function), so reworded our header to reflect the headers on the report.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002

Meemur, Judy feared that Alice was dead and expressed that fear to a number of people. She wondered if that was the reason the FBI wanted her to fly to S. Carolina, that they had the body in process of ID and didn't want to release the news until the family was together. However, nobody from the search scene ever said Alice's body had been found. The local news media are all over the place and would have noticed if a body had been recovered. In addition, all local news media have a number of contacts in the various law enforcement offices and would have been tipped off to ask the right questions. There are also people like me, who, for one reason or another, listen to scanners on a regular basis and would have heard the ME called to the scene. I think someone read too much between the lines, that's all.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002

Thanks, OG. I thought that might be one of the answers. I'm assuming that it it'll be all over the boards when either Alice or Samatha is found. Thanks also for editing the header.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2002