Chloe Leverette 9, and Gage Daniel, 7, missing, Bedford Co, TN

[Kip]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/stor...csp=34news

...Two children initially believed to have perished in a Tennessee farmhouse fire along with their step-grandparents are now considered missing and perhaps in danger, investigators said on Wednesday.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the remains of 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel were not found and the agency issued an endangered child alert for them on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators said neighbors last saw the children Sunday evening, hours before a fire destroyed the home in Bedford County about 40 miles southeast of Nashville....

...The State Fire Marshal's Office said in a statement that it has concluded "that there are no remains of the two children in the structure. The children's location at this time is unknown."

...The Bedford County sheriff said investigators did find the remains of 72-year-old Leon "Bubba" McClaran and his 70-year-old wife, Molli McClaran....

...Family members told The Associated Press that the McClarans were raising their step-grandchildren because they needed a home and described them as generous people who loved their family. Relatives of the McClarans said the girl also used the last name Pope....

So, where are the children? There's no mention in this story of the mother or father(s)/stepfathers (the children have different last names). I'm guessing the grandparents were murdered before someone set the house on fire.

[JsMom]

Holy Shit!! This is very close to home. Bedford county is 12 miles from my town. I heard about the fire yesterday. They pronounced everyone dead until I woke up to this article. I'm going to contact a friend (firefighter) from Bedford County to see what new info, if any, he can share.


I'm thinking the parents came, took the kids, and killed the grandparents. If not and it's some random nutfuck...This is too close for comfort.

[JsMom]

Local News is saying the mother has been interviewed and the children are not in her custody. :( It's not looking good.

[cannongal]

From ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tenn-...GQ5pK5tzRg

The fire was intense and quickly collapsed the walls of the Tennessee farmhouse. Firefighters spent several hours battling the flames at the house that sat far back from the road and not near a fire hydrant, but they were unable to save the elderly couple who lived there.

Now authorities are trying to piece together what may have happened to the couple's two step-grandchildren, who lived at the house but whose remains were not found in the rubble.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday issued an endangered child alert for the children, 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel.

TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said the agency issued the alert "under an abundance of caution."

"As time moves on, we don't want to miss our opportunity to locate them if they were not in the house," Helm said.

The two children were initially believed to have perished in the intense fire, which firefighters battled overnight Sunday and early Monday.

Investigators said neighbors last saw the children Sunday evening, hours before a fire destroyed the home in Bedford County, about 40 miles southeast of Nashville.

Helm said the district attorney asked the agency to investigate the fatal fire and the whereabouts of the children. She said there is no evidence yet that the children were not in the house, but investigators are speaking with family members, friends and people at the children's school

The State Fire Marshal's Office said in a statement that it has concluded "that there are no remains of the two children in the structure. The children's location at this time is unknown." Its investigators will determine a cause.

Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce said investigators did find the bodies of 72-year-old Leon "Bubba" McClaran and his 70-year-old wife, Molli McClaran. He said Monday that investigators had found three bodies, but now says one turned out to be that of a dog.

Forensic anthropologists and cadaver dogs searched through the rubble for the remaining bodies and the Tennessee Highway Patrol used a helicopter to search the surrounding area.

Even in an intense fire, some bones and teeth should remain, although finding them may be extremely difficult, said Dr. William Bass, who founded the Body Farm research center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where researchers study the decomposition of corpses in a variety of circumstances to aid scientific and criminal research.

"When you cremate a body in a crematorium, and it is cooling down, when you open the door, you can still identify the bones even if they are children," he said.

A child's skeleton contains many more bones than an adult skeleton, and bones and teeth shrink in size when exposed to fire, so the bones that the investigators are looking for could be only a couple of inches long, he said.

Family members told The Associated Press that the McClarans were raising their step-grandchildren because they needed a home and described them as generous people who loved their family. Relatives of the McClarans said the girl also used the last name Pope.

The state Department of Children's Services investigated the mother of the two children and Daniel's father between 2006 and 2010, said spokesman Brandon Gee. Gee would not release the names of the parents.

He would not say why the parents were investigated, but said the agency was sharing information with law-enforcement officers involved in their search. He confirmed that the McClarans had custody of the two children, but he said DCS has never taken custody of them nor placed them in a home.

[Kip]

...I'm thinking the parents came, took the kids, and killed the grandparents. If not and it's some random nutfuck...This is too close for comfort.

Could be a random person. Neighbors said they saw the children a couple of hours before the fire, so presumably the kids were outside playing. It's possible someone driving by saw them and came back for them later. Seems unlikely though as a random person wouldn't know who was inside the house, but these kinds of nuts aren't always rational.

It could also be a local who had been eyeing the kids.

I still haven't seen anything about the whereabouts or other info about the father(s).

I wonder if they'll be able to determine a cause of death for the grandparents.

[Kip]

Some info about the fathers in this story. Man, that house was demolished.

http://www.t-g.com/story/1898390.html

...The State Fire Marshal's Office said in a statement that it has concluded "that there are no remains of the two children in the structure. The children's location at this time is unknown."

...But spokeswoman Kristin Helm later clarified the TBI is taking the approach "to err on the side of caution" since no bodies have been found.

"Under an abundance of caution we decided to issue an endangered child alert for the two children if they are not in fact found in the fire," she said. "They feel like they don't have solid evidence right now to assume these children were in the fire. It's not to say that they weren't, they may have been and further investigation may find that they were.

"To err on the side of caution, as far as law enforcement is concerned, we feel like we can leave no stone unturned and follow every lead we can to ensure they're not somewhere else."

....Their mother, Cheryl Leverette, did not respond to a request for comment from the Times-Gazette. Chris Daniel is Gage's father and Chloie's father is deceased, Sheriff Randall Boyce said.

...Boyce said Wednesday afternoon he still believes the children were lost in the fire, suggesting the extremely high temperatures may have eliminated any traces of their bodies....

...The bodies of the McClarans, who were grandparents of the children, were taken to Nashville for autopsies, the TBI said.

...."We also found some teeth. The state fire marshal took them to a dentist to see if they're from a human."
...
"Since the debris was removed and rearranged we thought we'd bring in a crew that specialized in that," Thomas said.

Stewart County's crew was heavily involved in inspecting debris from the World Trade Center in New York following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"We wanted to make sure we covered everything thoroughly and make sure nothing was left behind," Thomas said. "We searched thoroughly Tuesday and feel like we got everything."...

[Jezreel]

I hope they find out what happened to these children soon, that fire must have been really intense to diminish almost all traces of those children if that is the case.

[Kip]

http://www.t-g.com/story/1898851.html

... Teeth mentioned earlier by Thomas as having been found in the debris and taken to a dentist for inspection did not belong to one of the children, Thomas said.

"They turned out to be some old dental work," the chief said.

The fire may have been fueled by gas tanks in the home, according to the fire chief.

"We found about 30 to 35 gas grill bottles in the basement," Thomas said. "From time to time they would explode when we were fighting the fire."

Blue flames, indicating the presence of gas, were occasionally visible Sunday night. ...

Wow, the propane tanks in the basement would explain why that fire burned so hot. I still haven't read anywhere what investigators think caused the fire in the first place.

It seems kind of odd to me that old dental work teeth would survive and the children's teeth wouldn't.

[cannongal]

It seems kind of odd to me that old dental work teeth would survive and the children's teeth wouldn't.

Yeah, ABC Quoted a Dr. who said 'Even in an intense fire, some bones and teeth should remain'. They found the step grandparents and old dental work, but know trace of the kids?

One of the news stories had a pic of them using cadaver dogs. I wonder if the dogs turned anything up....

[soothsayer]

Natural teeth can pop out like popcorn in a really hot fire. Maybe artificial teeth are more resilient?

[sharit]

Someone has to have those kids.

[Kip]

http://www.fireengineering.com/news/2012...ed-fa.html

...The State Fire Marshal's Office said in a statement that it has concluded "that there are no remains of the two children in the structure. The children's location at this time is unknown." Its investigators will determine a cause. Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce said investigators did find the bodies of 72-year-old Leon "Bubba" McClaran and his 70-year-old wife, Molli McClaran. He said Monday that investigators had found three bodies, but now says one turned out to be that of a dog.....

Even in an intense fire, some bones and teeth should remain, although finding them may be extremely difficult, said Dr. William Bass, who founded the Body Farm research facility...

"When you cremate a body in a crematorium, and it is cooling down, when you open the door, you can still identify the bones even if they are children," he said.

A child's skeleton contains many more bones than an adult skeleton, and bones and teeth shrink in size when exposed to fire, so the bones the investigators are looking for could be only a couple of inches long, he said....

[JsMom]

http://www.t-g.com/story/1902751.html



A Tyson Foods employee disappeared from the chicken processing plant's parking lot shortly before midnight Wednesday night, and Shelbyville police term it a "possible abduction."
Susita Darjee, 23, was last heard from while in the parking lot waiting for a friend to arrive.

"She notified her friend that someone was driving through the parking lot calling her name," a Shelbyville Police Department press release said.

Darjee was last seen at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and discovered missing at 11:52 p.m., police said.

She is described as 5 feet tall, with black hair and black eyes, weighing 125 pounds and last seen wearing "a long sleeve black sweater with pink stripes that run horizontal, and black spandex shorts with green/pink designs on the side," the press release said.

No description was given of any vehicle in which Darjee may have left.

Contact the Shelbyville Police Department, 684-5811, with information.

THIS IS THE 4^TH MISSING PERSON IN SHELBYVILLE THIS YEAR! Too close for comfort...:/

[Kip]

http://www.t-g.com/story/1902751.html

"She notified her friend that someone was driving through the parking lot calling her name," a Shelbyville Police Department press release said....

That's really odd. That sounds like something an ex-boyfriend/husband might do.

Susita, the two kids - who's the 4^th missing person?

[JsMom]

There was a teacher missing as well. Whom I don't believe they have ever found. I'll look for that article after work.

[Kip]

Oh, yeah, now I remember...Shelley Mook, ex-husband is POI.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/...g-teacher/

[JsMom]

Oh, yeah, now I remember...Shelley Mook, ex-husband is POI.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/...g-teacher/

Yep, That's it.

[sharit]

When someone is cremated there is ALWAYS bones left to grind up.

[Kip]

When someone is cremated there is ALWAYS bones left to grind up.

Teeth are harder to burn than bones, but even teeth can be totally destroyed if a fire burns hot enough and long enough:

http://www.hdot.org/en/learning/myth-fact/incinerate8

...The destruction of teeth by fire is a matter of professional interest to forensic dentists involved in the identification of bodies. A study conducted by German forensic dentists in 2001 found the following:

- After 30 minutes in fires with temperatures of 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius) the front teeth are totally destroyed. The molars (the grinding teeth in the back of the mouth) start to crack.
- At between 45 and 70 minutes in fires with temperatures between 1832 degrees Fahrenheit (1000 degrees Celsius) and 2012 degrees Fahrenheit (1100 degrees Celsius), all the teeth are totally carbonized. 3
- In a civilian crematorium furnace, a temperature between 1400 to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit (760 to 1150 degrees Celsius) is generated to ensure the disintegration of the remains. Even then teeth and some bones are still intact and are crushed in a machine.... 4

BUT, fire investigators have said that if the children were in the house, there should be bone fragments that were at least a couple of inches long. Also, the children and the grandparents could have been in different parts of the house, but still, it seems odd that the grandparents' bodies were found and identified almost immediately (as was a third body, originally thought to have been a child, but it turned out to be a dog), and yet there's not even a tooth left of one of the children.

[Kip]

It still seems odd to me that the remains of the grandparents were such that they could be visually identified and autopsies could be done - and there is not a single trace of either child.

http://www.t-g.com/story/1905083.html

Fire scene searches for children end
Thursday, October 18, 2012
By DAVID MELSON ~ [email protected]
After weeks of painstakingly searching through rubble by hand, investigators have ended -- for the time being, at least -- attempts to find bodies or clues to the disappearances of two children feared dead in a Sept. 23 Kingdom Road house fire.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) spent last week closely inspecting the pile of debris for any signs of Chloie Leverette, 9 and Gage Daniel, 7, leaving with only a few bones -- which may not be human -- to be tested, Sheriff Randall Boyce said earlier this week....

...Remains of Leon "Bubba" McClaran Sr., 72, and Mollie McClaran, 70, the grandparents with whom the children lived, were identified, although autopsy results have not yet been released, officials said.

Uncertainty

...Investigators and family members have sent mixed signals, with some stating they feel the children were not in the home while others think they died in the fire....