Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
India

NY sheriff: Couple charged with kidnapping 2 Amish sisters may have planned other abductions

The Associated Press Darpan, 16 Aug, 2014 12:21 PM
    CANTON, N.Y. - A couple accused of kidnapping two young Amish sisters were prowling for easy targets and may have also planned to abduct other children, a sheriff said Saturday.
     
    Stephen Howells Jr. and Nicole Vaisey, both of Hermon, were arrested Friday on charges they snatched the 7-year-old and 12-year-old girls from a roadside farm stand in front of their home near the Canadian border.
     
    St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin Wells said at a news conference Saturday that investigators are looking into whether the pair had plotted or carried out other abductions.
     
    "We felt that there was the definite potential that there was going to be other victims," Wells said.
     
    The sisters were abducted Wednesday from their family's farm stand in Oswegatchie and were set free by their captors Thursday.
     
    Howells and Vaisey were arraigned late Friday on charges of first-degree kidnapping with the intent to physically harm or sexually abuse the victims.
     
    The sheriff said Howells, 39, and Vaisey, 25, "were targeting opportunities" and did not necessarily grab the girls because they were Amish.
     
    "There was a lot of thought process that went into this," Wells said. "They were looking for opportunities to victimize."
     
    The suspects are being held without bail and have a preliminary court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
     
    Bradford Riendeau, a lawyer for Vaisey, said, "We're going to be reviewing the available evidence." He expects to speak with her in jail later Saturday, he said.
     
    There was no answer Saturday at the offices of the St. Lawrence County Conflict Defender's Office, which is representing Howells.
     
    Wells said the girls were able to provide details to investigators about their time in captivity.
     
    The Associated Press generally does not identify people who may be victims of sexual abuse.
     
    The kidnappings Wednesday touched off a massive search in the family's remote farming community.
     
    The girls turned up safe about 24 hours later at the door of a house 15 miles from where they were taken.
     
    Searchers had scoured the farming community of about 4,000 people, a hunt hampered by a lack of photos of the girls for authorities to circulate.
     
    The Amish typically avoid modern technology, and the family had to work with an artist who spoke their language, a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch, to produce a sketch of the older girl.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    SC denies petition seeking details of Netaji's disappearance

    SC denies petition seeking details of Netaji's disappearance
    The Supreme Court Tuesday declined to hold an immediate hearing on a petition seeking directions to the government to furnish details on the mysterious disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

    SC denies petition seeking details of Netaji's disappearance

    Ban TV soaps, says BSP lawmaker

    Ban TV soaps, says BSP lawmaker
    BSP parliamentarian Satish Chandra Mishra Tuesday urged the government to take steps to ban daily TV soaps, saying they depict women in poor light.

    Ban TV soaps, says BSP lawmaker

    Maharashtra woman hurls slipper at Ajit Pawar, misses

    Maharashtra woman hurls slipper at Ajit Pawar, misses
    A woman hurled a slipper at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Chamorshi village of the state Tuesday, but missed, the politician's aide said.

    Maharashtra woman hurls slipper at Ajit Pawar, misses

    Bill to amend Juvenile Justice Act introduced in LS

    Bill to amend Juvenile Justice Act introduced in LS
    The government Tuesday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the Juvenile Justice Act to treat 16-18-year-olds as adults when involved in heinous crimes.

    Bill to amend Juvenile Justice Act introduced in LS

    Sonia attacks government over communal violence, centre denies charges

    Sonia attacks government over communal violence, centre denies charges
    Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi government, saying the communal violence in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were "created deliberately to divide our society". The government rubbished the charges, and called them "baseless".

    Sonia attacks government over communal violence, centre denies charges

    Modi attacks Pakistan, says it's waging proxy war

    Modi attacks Pakistan, says it's waging proxy war
    In his first attack on Islamabad after taking office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday accused Pakistan of waging a proxy war against India, saying this had killed more soldiers than the numbers killed in all wars since 1947.

    Modi attacks Pakistan, says it's waging proxy war