Is Missing Baby Gabriel Johnson Under 50 Feet of Landfill Trash?

San Antonio authorities have begun the task of sifting through tons of garbage in a local landfill in search for missing baby Gabriel Johnson, the 8-month-old that went missing in San Antonio after his mother, Elizabeth Johnson, attempted to keep him away from his father in December. Johnson fled from Tempe, Arizona, arriving in San Antonio, where she stayed until December 27, when she boarded a bus to Florida. But by the time she bought the bus ticket she was alone.

Photos recovered from a camera when Johnson was arrested are time-stamped, indicating that Baby Gabriel was still alive and with his mother on December 26. But that is where the trail ends.

The San Antonio Police have waited for weeks for the bad weather to break in order to begin their search. Because of hazards caused by toxic runoff, searching can only be done on clear weather days. But the investigators, aided by more than 20 people that are being trained specifically for the task of looking for the missing child, will have to remove some 50 feet of trash before they get to the general area of deposited trash from the date and area where Elizabeth Johnson's hotel trash might be located.

San Antonio Police Chief William McMannus explained, "Once we've removed debris and searched our target area, we will begin the arduous task of sifting through layers."

It might take a week to get to said target area.

And there exists the possibility that Baby Gabriel Johnson is still alive. Authorities are conducting a missing person investigation at the same time they pursue a homicide investigation on the off chance that Elizabeth Johnson was telling the truth when she told Florida authorities after her arrest on Dec. 29 that she gave the child away to complete strangers in a park in San Antonio.

The landfill search is part of the homicide investigation, a response to Elizabeth Johnson's text message to Logan McQueary, Baby Gabriel's father, that she had killed the child and placed him in the trash. McQueary received the text message the day Johnson left for Florida from a Tornado bus station. Johnson would recant her text message in Florida, telling authorities there that she had only told McQueary the child was dead for revenge because he had ruined her life.

McQueary himself is in San Antonio, having followed the GPS coordinates of Elizabeth Johnson's vehicle, retracing her path to the Texas city, hoping to find some clue as to what she might have done with his 8-month-old son.

Elizabeth Johnson currently sits in Estrella Jail in Phoenix, charged with kidnapping and custodial interference. She has refused to talk with authorities since being extradited from Miami.

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Source:

"Landfill Search For Baby Gabriel Johnson Begins," KPHO.com