Mysterious Report of Abandoned Children Leads to Weekend Long Search

By Staff
On Friday at approximately 8:16pm, patrol officers with the WSPD were dispatched to an Unknown Trouble call at the intersection of the Eastbound 40 exit ramp and East Clemmonsville Road.

When they arrived on scene, officers were told by a female witness that a white male in his 30s with longer hair and a “scraggly” beard wearing a tattered jacket, tattered jeans and a ball cap, operating a white, four door, late 90s model Nissan with visible rust and gold molding stopped on the off-ramp of Eastbound 40 at Clemmonsville Road. According to the witness this suspect put two young children out of his car and then left the area.

The children were described as being an 11-12 year old white male wearing a black jacket and blue jeans with a “shaggy bowl haircut” and a 4-5 year old white female wearing a pink sweatshirt and jeans with “platinum blond” hair.

Officers circulated the area on Friday. They conducted a thorough canvass and attempted a K-9 track with negative results. Citizens in the immediate area were informed of this incident as well as the description of the involved parties through the use of Reverse 911.

On Saturday Officers conducted a day light canvas of the area of Thomasville Road west to Clemmonsville Road to include both entrance and exit ramps to and from I40. A day light canvas was also conducted in the Easton Housing Community. At this point in the investigation, there were no new leads or additional information.

On Sunday the mystery continues and the WSPD seems to be taking this very seriously. According to authorities, Officers with are continuing their efforts to locate and identify the children associated with this incident in order to ensure their safety. Additional investigative measures have been employed, but all have proven unsuccessful thus far:

The Department of Transportation (DOT) was contacted in an attempt to determine if the highways, specifically Eastbound 40, are equipped with video surveillance cameras. DOT confirmed that there are cameras present on the highways; however, they are not designed to record.

The reporting party was re-interviewed in an effort to determine if she had recalled any additional details about the incident; however, her version of the event remained consistent with the information she provided to police last night.

A message was sent to law enforcement agencies statewide and within a 100 mile radius to determine if they have had a report of missing persons or any other police related investigations that involved children that matched the description provided by the reporting party. As of the time of this writing, no law enforcement agencies have acknowledged they have had such reports.

Officers responded to one nearby business that was closed last night but was along the same route taken by the white Nissan after the children had been reportedly left on the corner. Officers asked personnel whether the business had exterior surveillance cameras that may have captured the white Nissan; however, the business is not equipped with exterior surveillance cameras.

All area hospitals have been contacted, and no one matching the description of the children has appeared for treatment.
Despite using various social mediums to broadcast the incident as well as the description of the children, the police department has yet to receive any phone calls with relevant information of any kind.

The Winston-Salem Police Department requests anyone with information regarding this incident to contact CrimeStoppers at 336/727-2800.