Dean Marie Pyle Peters & Cold Cases: Donel Jacoby Minor Missing 28 Years

ON December 20, 1984, Deanna L. Trammel had an unidentified white male posing as a photographer arrived at her apartment in Inglewood, California. In the prevoius days, Deanna had him take pictures of her 2 month-old son Donel, and he was now back saying he had the proofs for her in his black briefcase. Deanna let him inside the apartment, and Donel was asleep at the time. The unidentified white male asked for a glass of water, and Deanna left the room to go get him one. When she came back, the unknown caucasion male had left, and he had taken her 2 month-old son, Donel, with him. No ransom note or clues were left behind, and neither were seen ever again.

Donel's date of birth was Octobe 8, 1984 and at the time he went missing, he was 1'8"-2'0" in length, and 10 pounds in weight, but these stats would have changed in months, as infants grow very fast. He is an African American male, with brown hair and brown eyes. When he vanished, he was wearing light blue pajamas with a Care Bears cartoon character printed on the front.

This is the sketch of the man who abducted Donel Minor. This is how he looked in 1984, and he is thought to have not been an actual professional photographer, but posing as one as a ploy to abduct Donel.

Donel Minor's abductor was a caucasian male that was 6'0" tall with brown hair and a mustache. He had a very thin build and was wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt, with a drak tie and dark colored trousers. Being it was close to Christmas time, many holiday sales portrait places in 1984 had sent sales people to go door to door, offering to do holiday portraits. However, none of these actual sales people were found to be linked to Donel's abdcution.

Donel's abduction is very chilling, and I have not been able to find any additional news article sources with an update of the case. I wonder if this man had used an alias or what photography business he had claimed to work for. Perhaps he never specifically targeted Donel through stalking him or following him, perhaps he knew holiday portraits were in season since it was close to Christmas, and he posed as one himself going door to door within the apartment complex, until he found Donel, which met his standards. Being that he had previously photographed Donel, I can understand why the mother let him back in her apartment, but I do wonder what more information was found out about him. They had to have some sort of conversation while he was taking photographs of Donel previously.
I do think that this was for the black adoption market. This man may have even took the photographs just to develop the images, and show them to a potential family who wanted a child so he could complete his transaction. The way this was carried out makes me think taking kids or infants to be put up for an illegal adoption was his job. He knew how to approach it, how to sell his persona, and how to gain the parent's trust. I am surprised there was not more abductions like this in California, however, predators like this do not stay in one area. It would make more sense for them to move around. Donel's mother was given a polygraph test and passed it. This is considered a non-family abduction.

An age progression of Donel Minor to 19 years old.

I did some research on the issue of Black Market Adoption, and it is a disturbing thing. Due to laws passed in 1995, it does not happen as much now as it did in the 80s-60s. These abductions took place many times after the mother would give birth-even in hospitals. Sometimes, the mothers are told their babies died during delivery or were stillborn. This way, the mother would not look for her child. (Of course now, this is rare to happen in hospitals, as security measures are much more prominent now then they were back then.) Also, the younger the baby, the better in this viscous market. These stolen babies would then be sold in an illegal adoption transaction for large amounts of money. This market is composed of stolen babies that are sold to families both in the United States, and to other countries as well. Even private doctors were in on this scandal, some delivering the baby, then sending it away with it's new adoptive family without the mother ever knowing her child was really missing. Records were easily falsified, and sometimes the official birth certificate would list the adoptive parents right away instead of the baby's real mother or father.
Often, no paper trails were ever left, and as you will see in the additional cases posted below, they are planned carefully to every detail. I think there is actually way more infants missing due to the black market than what I have found listed because they were never reported missing, and the kids probably do not even know they were adopted. The only way these kids would ever be found is if they were looking for their family, and if there family is still looking for them. Single mothers or mothers present without the father of their child were more often targeted than mothers with a man or present with a man.
Although some kids may have went to loving homes, some kids may have had to deal with sexual, mental or physical abuse. Being this is an illegal transaction, no background checks would be made to make sure these kids would go to a good home like legal adoptions. In a black market adoption ANYONE can adopt a child, and that is what makes it so terrifying, along with the heart break the family goes through.

Although we may never know the true number of children abducted from their family to be sold into an illegal adoption, I have found some other cases were it seems very likely the child was taken for this purpose. I would like my readers to read the synopsis of their stories, and read more in depth at the Charley Project links I will place below. All these kids deserve to be found:

David Blockett was abducted by a woman posing as a social worker when he was 2 weeks old in 1980. The other photo is an age progression of what he may look like now.

On December 11, 1980, 2 week-old David Blockett and his 2 year-old brother Frederick were taken under false pretenses from their home in Newport News, Virginia by a woman who posed as a social worker and called herself Marie Kelly. The woman told the boys' mother that the Department of Social Services was sponsoring a a fundraiser for the Riverside Regional Medical Center, and she convinced their mother it would be good for them to let her take the kids to the party. Later that day, Frederick was found wandering around by himself with his name and address on a piece of paper tucked into his coat pocket. Frederick is now all grown up, and says he remembers the woman abductor putting them in a car driven by a man, and dropping him off in Hampton, Virginia. Police believe the abductors found David's birth announcement in the newspaper, and that is how they knew his name and about him. His mother died very young at the age of 35. The investigation is still open, and I am positive he was taken for the black market adoption, otherwise they would have taken Frederick too.

This is a sketch of a woman posing as a social service worker who abducted David.

David has a mole on his right ear, and birthmarks under his left arm, back and buttocks. The woman abductor was African American, and was a heavier woman with a medium complexion. There was no social worker by the name Marie Kelly, and there was no fundraiser event that day.

Age progression of Marlene Santana.

On October 21, 1985, 3 day-old Marlene Santana was abducted at gun point from her mother's arms as they were leaving a hospital inNew York City, New York. The assailant was a woman who had previously been admiring Marlene at the nursery during visiting hours. The woman said she would kill the baby if her mother did not hand her over. When the three reached a deserted junk yard, the kidnapper escaped with Marlene in hand into a vehicle driven by an accomplice. Marlene's birthday is October 18, 1985, and she has never been found.

Marlene Santana abductor.

Marlene's abductor was a caucasian woman with some hispanic features. She looked to be 5'2" and about 130 pounds. In 1985, she looked to be 24-30 years old. She had dirty blond or bleached blond hair, and may have had a wig on. The car she escaped into was a 1976 Cherolet Malibu with red lettering on the door. Marlene also has a foot deformity called Metatarus, where her feet look C-shaped from the bottom.

Andre Bryant was abducted by two unknown women who killed his mother to take him.

Monique Rivera was at the park in Brooklyn, New York with her three boys, the youngest being one month-old AndreTerrence Bryant, when she encountered two African American women, who engaged her in a conversation, and convinced her to go shopping with them. They bought her some clothes, and dropped her off at her home. Monique told her boyfriend's sister, Patricia, that the women used fradulent credit cards, and wanted to take her shopping again the next day. The next day, March 29, 1989, Patricia baby-sat Monique's two older boys. She said the two women called her from a pay phone around the corner, and insisted she brought one month-old Andre with to go shopping again. On March 30, Monique's body was found near City Island Road in the Bronx, NY. She had been bashed on the head and strangled, and Andre was nowhere to be found. These women were never identified, but they may have sold Andre into an adoption ring. They are wanted for Rivera's murder, and seem to be no stranger to violence and crime.

Agre progression of what Andre may look like now.

The women were driving a 1988-89 burgundy Pontiac Grand AM Sports Edition with tinted windows and maybe a Maryland liscense plate. Both were 5'7" and about 130 pounds. In 1989, one looked to be 30 years old, and the other 22 years old with red hair. Andre's birthday was 02/17/1989.

Age progression of Christopher Dansby, abducted from a park in New York City, NY.

On May 18, 1989, 2 year old Christopher Dansby and his mother went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers playground together. His mother wanted to run to the store to get food, but did not have his stroller with. She decided to leave him in the care of his relatives who were also at the park. 30 minutes later she returned to find Christopher missing. The relatives said they last saw him playing with a red ball with some other kids. However, no one had brought a red ball to the park, and the park did not have one there. It was reported later that a witness saw Christopher walking down the street with an unknown African American male with braided hair.

Age progression of Shane Walker, abducted from a park in New York City, NY.

Christopher Dansby's case is thought to be connected to the disappearance of one year old Shane Walker. On August 10, 1989, Shane Walker went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers playground with his mother. Shane was playing with two kids, a ten year old girl and her five year old brother, while Shane's mother sat on the bench. A man struck up a conversation with Shane's mother, and she got distracted. When she looked again, all three kids were gone. Minutes later, the two kids reentered the park through a hole in the fence. Both the kids and the man were questioned by the police, and the kids said they had left Shane in the playground.

Coincidentally, both Shane and Christopher vanished from the same park on a Thursday night months apart. Both kids were African American and accompanied just by their mothers. Also, the little boy and girl Shane Walker was playing with was also playing with Christopher Dansby at the time he vanished. The boys are thought to possibly have been sold in a black market baby ring adoption circle.

Kamiyah Mobley was abducted several after her birth by a woman posing as a nurse.

On July 10, 1998, Shanara Mobley gave birth to a baby girl she named Kamiyah Mobley at the University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. An African American woman posing as a nurse to Kamiyah's mother and a relative to the medical staff told Shanara her daughter had a fever, and that she would be back with her in 20 minutes. The unidentified woman walked out of the hospital with Kamiyah, and both were never seen again. Kamiyah had Mongolian Spots and a umbilical hernia at birth. Her mother had sickle cell anemia and strep type B when she was pregnant with Kamiyah, so the child was in need of medical attention when she vanished.

This woman abducted Kamiyah who was just born in Jacksonville, Florida by posing as a nurse.

Her abductor was an African American woman who was 5'5" and about 150-160 pounds She looked to be 25-47 years old with black hair and brown eyes. She had knowledge of layout of the building and medical terms. She had reading glasses, a black mushroom style wig, teal medical pants and a scrub top with flowers on it. She also had medical gloves and a black, vinyl bag.

An age-progressed photograph of Kamiyah. She vanished from a swap meet in Arizona.

On May 6, 2001, three month-old Jacqueline Vasquez and her family went to a swap meet in Avondale, Arizona. Jacqueline was seen sitting in an infant carrier with a green and white cushion, while her mother and older sister were in the portable toilet. By the time they were done, Jacqueline had vanished.

Person of interest in the disappearance of Kamiyah Mobley.

Despite sealing off the swap meet, Jacqueline was not found. The infant, now a girl, had a heart-shaped birthmark on her upper right arm. Her birthday is January 14, 2001. A woman seen lingering by the portable toilets is a person of interest, and authorities are also looking for a full size red pick up truck seen around the sawp meet at the time the infdfant vanished (possibly a Ford model).

Bryan Dos Santos-Gomes was abducted by a woman in a black SUV asking for directions.

On December 1, 2006, 3 week-old Bryan Dos Santos-Gomes and his mother Maria Dos Santos, were waiting with family friend Janice Duarte at the bus stop in Fort Meyers, Florida when an unidentified woman drove up to the bus stop wasking for directions. She claimed she was driving around for 8 hours trying to find her mother's house. The trio ignored her, and got on the bus, but the woman followed the bus until they got off. Again, she asked for directions, and the trio got in her car to try to help her. Once in the car, the woman made threats and demanded money. She dropped the two women off in Estero, Florida, and drove away with Bryan, neither to be seen again.

This woman is the abductor of Bryan Dos Santos-Gomes, and to the left is the a SUV similar to the one she was driving when she abducted the infant.

The woman is described as Hispanic, being between 28-30 years old with a heavy build. She was about 5'4" tall with straight black hair, partially pinned up. She spoke Spanish, but spoke good English, and may be from South America or Mexico orignally. She wore blue jeans, a black top, and drove a black two door1998-2003 Ford Explorer SUV with older, peeling tint on the windows. There was a diaper bag and car seat in the car already, meaning this was most likely planned. After his abduction, another woman came forward and said she had been walking with her infant grandchild when she was approached by a woman in a black SUV asking for directions.

Raymond Green was abducted by a woman posing as "Lisa Morris" at 5 days old.

On November 6, 1978, 5 day-old Raymond Lamar Green was abducted from his mother's (Donna Green) apartment in Atlanta, Georgia. The woman who took him used the alias of Lisa Morris, and had met Donna at the Grady Memorial Hospital after his birth. She claimed she was visiting her sister there. She had a conversation with Donna, and asked her many questions about herself and Raymond. Days later, "Morris" showed up to Donna's apartment uninvited to see her and Raymond. Donna had left Morris and Raymond with Raymond's uncle to take a shower. When she walked out, Raymond's uncle said the unidentified woman had taken Raymond outside because he was crying. A neighbor said she saw "Morris" get into a brown vehicle with Raymond in hand.

Raymond Green abductor posing as "Lisa Morris".

Authorities confirmed there was no "Lisa Morris", and all the information she provided was false. The woman was described as 5'5"-5'6" tall with light skin, a small nose, full lips and dark eyes. She looked to be 23-24 years old and was wearing a short dark-colored leather coat. Raymond's mother continues to search for him to this day.

An age progressed photograph of what Donal Jacoby Minor would look like today.

All the children mentioned in these cases has someone looking for them. All police contact information is listed on their Charley Project case files below. If you are an adoptee and believe you may have been a victim of child abduction and the black market adoption, this is a link that has the name of black market adoption rings, as well as resources:

http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/black-market-adoption-search-sites-adoption-2.html

or register as a victim here:

http://gsadoptionregistry.com/blackmarketregistry.html

If you remember anything about the disappearance of Donel Jacoby Minor, please contact:

Inglewood Police Department

310-412-5210

Sources:

Donel Minor

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/minor_donel.html
Donel on NAMUS
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/6409
Raymond Green
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/green_raymond.html
Kamiyah Mobley
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mobley_kamiyah.html
Bryan Dos Santos-Gomes
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dossantos-gomes_bryan.html
Jacqueline Vasquez
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/vasquez_jacqueline.html

Shane Walker

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/walker_shane.html

Christipher Dansby