As the search for Donoho School senior Ben Stanford entered its second week, there was little new information available, but the search continues to grow.Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens confirmed Monday the FBI has joined in the hunt for Stanford, 17, of Lincoln, who was last seen in Anniston the morning of Nov. 5. Giddens’ office, the Lincoln Police Department, the Talladega County Sheriff’s Department, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, and state and local officials in Carroll County, Ga., are also involved in the investigation.
Stanford was last seen at about 7:45 p.m. in Anniston Nov. 5. He had spent the night with a friend the night before, Giddens said.
When he was last seen, he was apparently heading for school in a silver 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. He was wearing a white Polo cap, rust colored Carhartt jeans, a purple shirt and a long-sleeved gray fleece, according to a flyer being widely circulated.
Stanford is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds. He has green eyes and short, brown hair.
Stanford’s credit card was used to buy gas at a Texaco Station in Lincoln, which is west of Anniston, at about 9 a.m. Nov. 5. Giddens said the video surveillance tape, which was in black and white, showed a Grand Cherokee matching the description of Stanford’s vehicle, but the driver was never visible. The tape has been sent to the state forensics lab in Montgomery for enhancement.
The Jeep was recovered near the Villa Rica, Ga., exit of I-20 by Georgia State Troopers at about 2 p.m. Nov. 5. The keys were not in the vehicle, the doors were unlocked and the passenger side door was open.
While there were no obvious indications of foul play in the vehicle, it was still being examined for forensic evidence Friday. The state labs were closed Monday for the observance of Veterans Day.
The state Department of Public Safety issued a Missing Child Alert Wednesday, and ERA King Real Estate, where Stanford’s mother, Lynne, works, has posted a $20,000 reward for information leading to his safe return.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has posted information on Stanford, listing him as an “Endangered Runaway.” A spokeswoman for the center could not comment on this specific designation other than to say that all information posted comes either from law enforcement or the guardian of the missing child.
Giddens said he did not know what the criteria for listing someone as a runaway was, but said that information did not come from his office.
Although to date there is no evidence that a crime has been committed, Giddens said his office got involved in the search early on because of the forensic computer labs recently established through the state District Attorneys Association.
“We’re willing to help anybody that asks us,” he said. “We have the technology to do things like track cell phone transmissions and credit card purchases that some law enforcement agencies normally would not have access to,” he said.
Stanford has not shown any financial activity since the morning of Nov. 4, however.
Giddens declined to comment on whether or not Stanford’s home had been searched. “We have a lot of different people running different aspects of the search,” he said. “I couldn’t comment on some of those specifics. But we are still getting calls every day, and we’re continuing to look into all of them. We’re still doing everything we can.”
In addition to the various public agencies involved, some private groups are also joining in the search.
Equisearch of Dickinson, Texas, will be searching the area around the Villa Rica exit on foot, horseback and four-wheelers today starting about 8:30 a.m. Volunteers 18 years and older with a valid identification are being sought for the search.
According to administrative assistant Cheryl Lawless, Equisearch is a non-profit search and rescue organization established in 2001 by Tim Miller. Miller’s daughter was murdered in 1984, but it was 17 months before her body was recovered, Lawless said.
The organization was most recently involved in the search of Stacy Peterson in Illinois, Lawless said. Although that search was not ultimately successful, Lawless said the organization does have a strong track record, including more than 300 missing persons returned home safely and 73 bodies recovered.
“We never approach the family, we wait to be contacted by them or by law enforcement,” Lawless said. In this case, Stanford’s mother was the one making the call, she added.
Parties wishing to assist in the search should meet at the McDonald’s on exit 23 of I-20 near Villa Rica.
“We’re here to help families get closure,” Lawless said. “That’s important.”
Locally, Sharon Smith of Big Wade’s Bail Bonds has posted Stanford’s picture on her Myspace page, and is encouraging other Myspace users to substitute Stanford’s picture for their own on their individual pages.
The search has also garnered national news coverage on Fox News, and in various newspapers all over the country. Stanford’s classmates at Donoho held a special prayer assembly for him last week, and a day of public prayer was held in Sylacauga Sunday.
Digital billboards bearing Stanford’s likeness have been reported in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, and countless billboards in the Talladega area encourage passersby to pray for his safe return.
Anyone with information on Ben Stanford’s whereabouts should contact the ABI at 1-800-843-5678 or call the Lincoln Police Department at 205-763-7777.
