Bonnie Sweeten, Daughter Carjacked and Missing; Amber Alert Issued

According to WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, authorities are still searching for missing Bonnie Sweeten and her daughter, Julia Rakoczy, after what appears to be a carjacking and kidnapping in the middle of the afternoon.

Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Alert early Wednesday morning (May 27) for missing 8-year-old Julia Rakoczy after receiving several 911 calls from her mother, Bonnie Sweeten, who claimed to be calling from the trunk of a car. Sweeten said that she and her daughter had been forced into the trunk of vehicle after being rear-ended in a traffic accident.

The bizarre tale began when Bonnie Sweeten called the Philadelphia police around 2 p.m. Tuesday to report an accident. Her GMC Yukon Denali had been rear-ended by a black 1990's-style Cadillac. When police arrived on the scene, according to Blink On Crime, witnesses informed them that two black men had forced a woman into the trunk of the Cadillac. The little girl had been placed in the back of the Yukon.

But neither vehicle supposedly involved was to be found.

But Bonnie Sweeten continued to make 911 calls. In all, Sweeten made seven 911 calls, a couple for an extended length of time. One of her first calls revealed that she believed that the kidnappers had also taken her vehicle, which was consistent with what police found at the scene of the accident. Sweeten's vehicle was later found early Wednesday morning, a parking ticket on the windshield.

A black Cadillac with front end damage had also been discovered and towed in for further investigation Tuesday evening. It is unknown if it is the actual Cadillac that was involved in the traffic accident but silver paint in the damaged area is consistent with the color of Sweeten's SUV. The Amber Alert stated that authorities are still looking for a black Cadillac.

Authorities are unclear as to whether or not Bonnie Sweeten knew her abductors. FBI Special Agent J. J. Klaver told reporters, "Until we can locate them and interview them, we don't really know. Right now, we're treating this as an abduction based on the information provided in the 911 call."

That 911 call was traced to an area 20 miles from the initial crash scene, authorities say.

Tony Rakoczy, Sweeten's ex-husband and Julia's father, told the "Today Show" that his family had no money, so he did not understand why kidnappers would continue to hold them.

Although Bonnie Sweeten and Julia Rakoczy's case seems like a strange crime on the surface, like something out of an episode of "Law & Order," authorities are investigating on the side of caution. Far more bizarre crimes have been committed and for the strangest of reasons.

But it must be noted that all the news reports seem to be tempered with the idea that what was seen to happen and the 911 call may not actually have been what was truly occurring. Authorities and reporters have become a bit jaded and cynical and the mood of reports reflect a reluctance to fully believe that something as strange as a rear-ending carjacking kidnapping could actually happen just as Bonnie Sweeten had reported it via her 911 calls.

But something has happened. A woman and child are missing, an Amber Alert for the child issued. It is a matter that has to be investigated.

But somewhere in backs of everybody's minds lingers the misleading words of people like Casey Anthony and Susan Smith and Scott Peterson. People go to amazing lengths to cover their tracks and that cannot be lost on those involved in investigating this latest missing persons case.

But getting to the truth of the matter still requires that Bonnie Sweeten and Julia Rakoczy are found.

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Sources:

"Today Show," NBC Television

CBS3.com

6ABC.com

Blinkoncrime.com