Girl missing for 10 years
found safe in Donalds

Story recently was televised on ‘America’s Most Wanted’

June 15, 2006

From staff reports


DONALDS — A girl who has been missing for most of her young life is safe now. Her father is in custody, and the girl was found at a home on Setters Lane in this northern Abbeville County town.
Rebecca Ann Braun, 12, was featured on a recent broadcast of “America’s Most Wanted” (AMW), a TV show that assists law enforcement in catching fugitives and finding missing children. Reports said her father, 57-year-old Danny Arthur Moran, took Rebecca Ann in 1996. The kidnapping was at the girl’s home in Tempe, Ariz., reports said.
She has been living in Donalds for three years, according to reports, and now is in protective custody. Lillian Jean Pitts, the woman who owns the Setters Lane home, was arrested, reports said. Abbeville County deputies found the girl Tuesday night.
Attempts to reach Abbeville Sheriff Charles Goodwin were unsuccessful. The county detention center would not release Pitts’ photograph without Goodwin’s approval.
Abbeville County School District Superintendent Ivan Randolph said the girl did not attend Cherokee Trail Elementary. Local residents said she was being “illegally homeschooled.”
The AMW Web site listing, updated Wednesday, said Moran is the 895th fugitive captured with AMW’s assistance. The listing says that on Sunday, a woman in Roanoke, Va., logged onto the Web site to say that a man she met through a friend was Danny Moran.
Then, on Monday, he was taken into custody, without resistance, but he would not cooperate when asked about his daughter. The AMW Web site listing says FBI agents tracked Moran’s cell phone and were able to locate the girl at a mobile home in Donalds.
“She was found safe,” the listing says.
An FBI press release, issued by the Phoenix division, said Rebecca Ann was taken Feb. 24, 1996, from the Tempe home where she lived with her mother, Helen.
On July 17, 1997, a multi-agency fugitive task force joined Tempe police in searching for the girl, who was 2 when she was abducted.
FBI agents arrested Moran on Monday in Roanoke, Va., where he had been living for about six months under an assumed identity. But Rebecca was not with him, the FBI statement said. Agents in Roanoke determined that Rebecca possibly was in or near Greenville. Agents from the Columbia FBI office, and Abbeville County and Greenville County sheriff’s deputies, found the girl in Donalds, the FBI statement said.
“The success of this investigation can be attributed to the joint efforts of local and federal law enforcement and efforts of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” the FBI statement said.
A statement from the Tempe police said the girl’s abduction happened about 6:20 a.m. Feb. 24, 1996, and officers responded to a missing child call from the mother. She said she and her daughter were standing at the car when she heard the phone ring. She said when she answered the phone, no one was on the other end.
The mother then went into the parking lot, found that Rebecca was missing and called the police. Officers went door to door and through the neighborhood, and the mother got a phone call from Moran, who said he had taken Rebecca, reports said.
“That was the last day Helen ever saw her daughter,” the Tempe police statement said.
Moran is Rebecca’s biological father, the mother said, but he and Helen were never legally married. Sgt. Dan Masters, of the Tempe Police Department, said they had a “marriage contract” when they lived together in Mesa, Ariz., before Braun moved to Tempe. Masters said Moran told officials he had hired a private detective to find Braun, and would not let them talk to the girl to know she was all right or even alive.
“He was very methodical,” Masters said. “This is not something he did on a whim. He had a plan and was successful.”
Moran told officials even if he were arrested, no one would see Rebecca because he had made arrangements for her to be raised in an underground network he had established for her until she was 21 years old, Masters said.
“An arrest warrant was issued for Moran on custodial interference charges, and that was when the FBI was called in,” AMW’s Web site says.
The Tempe police said “efforts to reunite her with her daughter are being handled by the FBI.”
“Danny Moran will eventually be brought back to Arizona to face charges stemming from this incident,” the Tempe police statement said. “That date has yet to be determined.”
Masters said he anticipates his return within the next two weeks.
The AMW Web site said in a posting before Rebecca was found that “The FBI is concerned about Rebecca because of what seems to be a pattern for Moran to kidnap his children following a failed relationship. They wonder if Moran is doing this out of revenge or is it to fulfill some psychotic need. That’s why the FBI is alarmed there have been no sightings of either father or daughter.”
Under a heading “A Pattern of Strange Behavior,” the AMW Web site says: “The FBI says Moran went to great lengths to find Rebecca.
“Moran and Helen had their share of problems. Tempe police said when Moran got angry at Helen, he took Rebecca and went off for a few days.
“Helen grew concerned for Rebecca’s welfare and moved into a new apartment.
“The FBI says Moran hired a private investigator to locate Helen, then stalked her and Rebecca, until he found his opportunity to strike.
“In 1986, the FBI says Moran was arrested for kidnapping his sons from a previous marriage. He was convicted and served two years in an Arizona State Prison.
“Police say the afternoon Moran snatched Rebecca, he had bragged to Helen Braun, ‘I’m smarter now and you’re never going to catch me.’”
“‘The smartest thing Moran could do right now,’ says an agent, ‘is let his daughter have a normal life. Rebecca probably has no idea she has a biological mother who’s been tormented from this loss all these years.’”
The girl was born Sept. 14, 1993, in Mesa, Ariz., according to the FBI.
The North American Missing Persons Network classified Rebecca’s case as a “family abduction.” A listing for her on the network’s Web site said, “Rebecca’s vision is impaired. Her eyes move back and forth slightly.” That listing uses the girl’s name as “Rebecca Ann Braun,” with an AKA (also known as) of “Rebekah Davina Moran.”
The network’s Web site listings says that on March 21, 1996, the Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz., issued a state warrant for Danny Moran and charged him with custodial interference. A federal arrest warrant was issued subsequently by the United States District Court, District of Arizona, and charged Moran with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The listing says that Danny Moran was a computer programmer, and his AKA listings are: “John Paul Sherman,” “Rich Young” and “Jonathan D. Richardson.”
The listing says Moran “served two years in (the) Arizona Prison system for kidnapping his two male children from a prior marriage. He is anti-government, refuses to pay his taxes and associates with anti-government groups that file lawsuits against the government. He is probably home-schooling Rebecca.”

Index-Journal regional editor Vic MacDonald and staff writer Joanie Baker contributed to this story. Some information for this article came from Tempe police reports and the “America’s Most Wanted” Web site.

Girl’s mother tells The Index-Journal
she’s grateful prayers were answered

June 15, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

She was folding warm linens, fresh from the dryer, on the large quilted bed when 2-year-old Rebecca Ann Braun started playing peek-a-boo with a big smile.
“Her smile just lit up everything,” Rebecca’s mother, Helen Braun, said during a phone interview with The Index-Journal Wednesday night.
Braun clings to this memory as her favorite because, for the past 10 years, it has been the closest she has come to seeing her daughter.
Not long after the game of peek-a-boo, Rebecca was taken by father Danny Arthur Moran, authorities say.
Ten years later, after tracing calls made from Moran’s phone, officials say they were able to locate Rebecca at Lillian Jean Pitts’ home in Donalds.
Braun said the closing of the 10-year void sent her into shock, as it also lends closure to the memories that have stirred inside of her for nearly a decade.
The mother said the last time she saw her baby, the two were outside by the car when she heard the phone ring. Without taking her eyes off Rebecca, Braun said she answered the phone to find no one on the other end. Standing in the doorway, she quickly turned around to see Rebecca had disappeared.
“No one was on the line. As soon as I turned around, I knew,” said Braun, who Tempe (Ariz.) police officials say had reported Moran for attempted kidnapping in the past. “I went out, and she was gone. I screamed her name a couple of times. I ran to the car. I knew she was gone. The police tried to reassure me, tell me maybe she just wandered off, but I said, “no.” I just knew.”
On Monday night, Braun, who now lives in Philadelphia, Pa., received a call from an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who has been working on the case for the past 10 years. The agent told her that Moran had been arrested in Roanoke, Va. But it was the late Tuesday night call that sent Braun into “complete shock.”
“Late Tuesday they called and said they did find Rebecca and she was OK,” Braun said. “I always knew I’d see her again. I just didn’t expect it. I was just in shock — complete shock. I’m still in shock.”
Tempe Police Sgt. Dan Masters said the detective in Tempe who started on the case at the beginning was elated as well.
“It’s one of those things that makes you feel good about your job,” Masters said. “To get that call, it was one of those calls you wait your whole career for, and, in this case, the news came Monday night.”
Braun said officials have told her that the baby she remembers as being bright and “potty-trained in less than two weeks” is now a 12-year-old girl who looks very much like the computer-generated age-progression photo on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Web site. Officials told Braun that Rebecca is “emotionally shaken” right now.
“She knew she had another mother, but they told her some nasty things about me,” Braun said with a shaky voice. “It’s going to be a rough trip for both of us.”
Masters said that when they received blocked calls from Moran, he told them that no one would ever see Rebecca again because he would keep her moving in an underground network of homes until she was 21 years old. Masters said Moran told officials Braun was an unfit mother because she smoked in front of the child.
Officials told Braun that Rebecca has been moved around a lot, but she is unsure how long she has been living in Abbeville County.
“I most look forward to just getting her back and trying to work with her and give her some sense of stability,” Braun said. “From what I understand, she’s been moved around and around.”
Braun said she realizes it will be hard on both of them, but she is grateful that her prayers of reuniting with her “little angel, a real sweetie-pie” have finally been answered.
“Right now I’m trying to be guarded and keep a lid on my emotions and hoping for the best,” she said. “... I know it’s not going to be easy. I mean, her whole world has just been blown away.”
Rebecca was “high energy,” and was always very bright with a large vocabulary for her age, the mother said.
Braun, who has neither seen nor spoken to Rebecca, said she “can hardly wait to go get her in the next couple of days,” and hopes her daughter still has her sense of wonderment and “that smile.”
The mother said she never gave up hope that she would have more than just baby pictures and peek-a-boo memories of her daughter.
“I may not have thought about her every minute of every day, but she was always in the back of my mind, and I prayed.” Braun said. “... If you’re ever caught in this situation, hope for the best. Never give up hope.”

Two arrested in connection with robberies

June 15, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

Greenwood authorities arrested and charged two men in connection with an armed robbery that occurred Tuesday night at a Greenwood convenience store and an attempted robbery of another store occurring just minutes later.
The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office arrested Frederick Davis, 25, of 601 Dandy Drive, Bradley, and Dexter Simpkins, 24, of 43 Springs Road, Charleston, early Wednesday morning and charged the men with armed robbery.
The Greenwood Police Department requested assistance from the sheriff’s office dog tracking team after the Lil’ Cricket convenience store on Bypass 72 NE was robbed just before midnight by a man wearing a mask and carrying a handgun, according to a sheriff’s office press release.
Police department reports said the store clerk told police she was sitting behind the counter doing paperwork when she saw a man come into the store wearing a tan-colored mask. The clerk told police the man motioned with the gun for her to go toward the cash register, where she said she took out an “undetermined amount of money,” put it into a paper bag and gave it to the man. The man then put the money into his pants pocket and left the store without ever saying anything to the clerk, the report said.
Police secured the scene with crime tape while tracking dogs arrived with sheriff’s office deputies. As the dogs were preparing to work the scene, deputies received a call that a man matching the description of the person involved in the first robbery had just entered another Lil’ Cricket convenience store on North Emerald Road, the sheriff’s office release said. The clerk at that store recognized the man and he fled the store, firing at least one shot in the air as he ran.
Sheriff’s office investigators responded to the scene and identified Davis as the man who entered the store, the release said, and determined that he was likely hiding at a residence in Ninety Six. Deputies and a police detective working the first robbery located Davis and Simpkins at Simpkins’ girlfriend’s residence in Ninety Six, where they recovered the clothing and mask thought to have been used during the robberies.
Deputies also recovered a .32 caliber revolver that had been fired three times, the release said.
Using footprint analysis and soil evidence found at the North Emerald Road crime scene and in a vehicle at the Ninety Six residence, investigators were able to arrest Simpkins in connection with the crimes.
Along with armed robbery, the Greenwood Police Department charged Davis and Simpkins with possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, the police department said. Chief Deputy Mike Frederick, with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, said Simpkins was the driver of the vehicle used in the robberies.
“It’s not that unusual for criminal teams like these guys to attempt multiple robberies in one night,” Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman said in the release. “I’m just glad our investigators were able to put it together and arrest them within hours, before someone got hurt.”
Wideman added that cooperation between police and sheriff’s deputies aided in tying the two robberies together quickly.

Walhalla defeats Post 20

June 15, 2006

By DAVID HAYS
Special to The Index-Journal

In a battle of unbeatens, Greenwood American Legion Post 20 had everything going its way with a 5-0 lead going into the sixth inning and ace pitcher Brandon Miller on the mound But it all came unraveled in that sixth inning when Walhalla scored nine unearned runs, eight after two outs, and beat Greenwood 9-5 Wednesday night at Legion Field.
Post 20’s infield betrayed Miller with four errors in that nightmarish sixth frame.
“We had routine plays with a chance to get out of the inning. And then with two outs, they got some hits,” Greenwood coach Billy Dean Minor said.
“They scored all their runs in one inning. Miller pitched well. He should have been out of that inning. But we had opportunities later in the game with runners on base. A hit here and a hit there would have gotten us back in it.”
Miller escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth. But Greenwood’s defense collapsed in the sixth as Walhalla stormed back with nine unearned runs, including eight after two were out.
Three of the errors came with two outs, each resulting in a run just as it appeared Miller would work out of the jam. Miller left with the bases loaded and two out, having thrown more than 40 pitches in the inning.
Justin Collier relieved with the score 5-all and allowed Travis Cox’s two-run double and Tony Young’s two-run single, giving the visitors a 9-5 lead. Walhalla scored nine runs on just five hits, four of which were singles.
“We are just going to have to come back out Friday night at Greenville and Saturday night at Easley and find out what we are made out of,” Minor said. “We are going to be without two good ball players (North-South All-Stars Kyle Behrendt and Cruse Tollison). I feel like we will come out and play well. The kids are disappointed. We are still a young ball club.
It’s going to be interesting to see how we react Friday night.”
Greenwood (4-1) was off and running in the bottom of the third with three runs on two hits, three walks and five stolen bases. Brent Wham hit a leadoff double down the right field line, stole third and scored on Trey Wimmer’s sacrifice fly.
Tollison’s single scored Behrendt, who had walked.
Tollison stole third and scored when catcher Chad Guinn’s throw sailed into left field.
Tollison stole two bases in the inning while Wham, Behrendt and John Wilson each swiped one.
The stolen base was the weapon of choice again in the fourth when Post 20 padded its lead to 5-0. Nick Milford drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third, and scored on Behrendt’s sacrifice fly.
Wimmer hit a two-out single, stole second, and scored on Tollison’s single. By that point, Greenwood had eight stolen bases and had a seemingly commanding lead with Miller striking out four and allowing just two hits through four innings.
But the nightmarish sixth forced Post 20 to come from behind, and Walhalla reliever Ben Sheriff shut the door. Greenwood’s best chance came in the eighth when Wham singled, Wimmer doubled, and Collier walked to load the bases. But Sheriff struck out cleanup hitter Keith Hill to end the threat.

Opinion

When similar percentages send different ‘messages’

June 15, 2006

In some circles in South Carolina today, the reporting of the major media is, well, suspect. Considering how some of the writers report on politics, especially the primaries this week, that ought to be understandable for a lot of voters.
Take reports from Columbia on the wins in the gubernatorial primaries by incumbent Republican Gov. Mark Sanford and Democratic challenger, Sen. Tommy Moore. When viewed side by side, you have to wonder.
For example, it was written that Moore “handily defeated Florence Mayor Frank Willis .....”

ON THE OTHER HAND, IT was written that Sanford “ ..... easily won his party’s nomination Tuesday, while a little-known and poorly funded challenger was able to grab enough of the vote to send a message to the incumbent ..... “
Here’s where it gets a little questionable. Moore got 64 percent of the Democratic vote and Sanford got 65 percent of the Republican vote.
The obvious question is why 65 percent sends a message and 64 percent does not.
Is there any wonder that voters these days have a tendency to show their cynicism ..... and the major media seem to go out of their way to undermine their own credibility?

Obituaries

Millie Hagood

GREENWOOD — Mildred Stevens Hagood, 67, of 412 Jennings Ave, wife of William Andrew (Bill) Hagood, died Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at home.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late Carroll H and Lucile Wren Stevens. Survivors include her husband of the home; one daughter, Kimberly H Biggs and husband Fletcher of Hartsville, SC, two sons James Stevens (Steve) Hanke and his children Steve & Lyndsey; Robert Kyle Hanke and wife Nancy and their children Lacey Gunter & Robert James (RJ) Hanke; one sister, Ruth Stevens Breazeale of Greenwood.
Four step-children; Lisa Hagood Hawthorne and husband James of Greenwood; Emma Jo Hagood Davis and husband Art of Simpsonville, SC; Leslie Ann Hagood Campbell and husband David of Laurens; Andy Hagood and wife Lora Ann of Green-wood; eight step-grandchildren.
Predeceased by brother James H Stevens. Member of Immanuel Lutheran Church.
A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, June 18 at 4:00 pm at Immanuel Lutheran Church, the family will received friends in the fellowship hall of the church immediately following the service. The family is at their respective homes.
Memorials may be made to Hospice House, HospiceCare of Piedmont, 408 W Alexander Ave, Greenwood, SC 29646 or Immanuel Lutheran Church, 501 E Creswell Ave, Greenwood, SC 29646.
The Uniform Anatomical Gift Program, The Medical Univer-sity of South Carolina.
PAID OBITUARY

Bessie Mae Johnson

Bessie Mae Johnson, of Wesley Commons, died Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood County, she was a daughter of the late Albert Hurley and Willie Mae Foster. She was a former member of Ebenezer AME Church.
Survivors include a brother, Edward Foster Jr. of Greenwood; two half brothers, John Hurley and Tommy Hurley of Greenwood; three sisters, Marion Tolbert and Lola Settles of Greenwood and Alberta Hurley of Alexandria, Va.; five half sisters, Essie Mae Tolbert, Pauline Hurley, Nina Mae Watts and Rhunette Terry of Greenwood and Lillie Harrison of Ninety Six.
Services will be announced by Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home.

Arby B. Lagroon Sr.

Services for Arby B. Lagroon Sr. are 1 p.m. Friday at Beulah Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Warren J. Gist. Presiding is the Rev. Clyde D. Cannon and assisting are the Revs. Joseph Caldwell, Michael Butler, Elder Oscar Klugh and Dr. Willie S. Harrison. The body will be placed in the church at 12. Burial is in Old Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery, Epworth.
Pallbearers are trustees of Beulah and Old Mount Zion Baptist churches and nephews.
Flowerbearers are nieces.
Honorary escorts are American Legion Post 224 Auxiliary and Legionnaires.
The family is at the home, 110 N. Bethune St.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Mable Robertson Martin

PLUM BRANCH — Mable Robertson Martin, 99, widow of Pressley Martin, died Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in North Augusta, she was a daughter of the late Carolina Robertson. She was a member of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and the mother of the church. A homemaker, she was also a member of Mount Lebanon and Cedar Spring Burial Aide societies.
Survivors include four daughters, Wynonia Young of Baltimore, Edith Isaac of the home, Ethel M. Williams and Louise Morton, both of Plum Branch; four sons, Edward G. Martin of Maryland, Robert Lee Martin, Henry W. Martin and Dewey Martin, all of Plum Branch; three grandchildren reared in the home, Tatashia Chamberlain and Rufus Chamberlain of Plum Branch and Kelsey Barr of Greenwood; 57 other grandchildren; 126 great-grandchildren; 38 great-great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home of a daughter Louise Morton, 113 J.P. Martin Road.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick.