Lisa Lavoie, 24 & male student, 15, 2-14-09 Wilbraham, MA [FOUND SAFE]

[annalyzer]

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18778451/detail.html

Boy, 15, Female Teacher Reported Missing

Pair Could Be Headed To Canada Or Mexico, Officials Say

POSTED: 4:51 pm EST February 23, 2009
UPDATED: 5:10 pm EST February 23, 2009

BOSTON -- Federal and local law enforcement officials are trying to find a missing teacher and a 15-year-old male student, Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said Monday.

Lisa Lavoie, 24, of Wilbraham, is a teacher at the Maurice A. Donahue Elementary School in Holyoke, Sullivan said.

Sullivan said investigators are following up on several leads, including information that the pair may be headed to either Canada or Mexico.

Last week, the eighth-grade boy's parents asked the school about the teacher's interest in their son and the nature of their relationship, the Springfield Republican reported.

School administrators said Lavoie and the teen were still in the area as of Feb. 14, the paper reported. The boy's parents filed a missing persons report on Feb. 16, the mayor said.

[annalyzer]

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_02_23_Holyoke_teacher_and_teen_student_missin g/srvc=home&position=recent

Holyoke teacher and teen student missing

By Associated Press
Monday, February 23, 2009 - Updated 1m ago

HOLYOKE — Investigators are trying to locate a 22-year-old teacher in Massachusetts who is suspected of running off with a 15-year-old male student.

Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan says the boy’s mother contacted the Maurice Donahue Elementary School on Feb. 13, saying she was concerned about the relationship the teenager had with Lisa Lavoie.

Authorities were unable to question the first-year teacher because she had left for the day as the school went on a one-week break.

Sullivan says the boy’s parents reported him missing on Feb. 16. He says subsequent efforts to contact Lavoie, whom he described as the person of interest, have been unsuccessful.

The mayor says authorities do not believe the boy is in any imminent physical danger. FBI and Customs and Border Protection agents are also investigating.

[Roamer]

Another teacher/student relationship.

[annalyzer]

http://wbztv.com/local/student.teacher.missing.2.942132.html

Feb 23, 2009 5:57 pm US/Eastern

Teacher May Have Run Off With 15-Year-Old Boy

HOLYOKE (WBZ) ― Police are looking for a Holyoke elementary school teacher who may have run off with a 15-year-old student.

The student's parents contacted school officials at Maurice Donahue Elementary on February 13 to say they were suspicious that Lisa Lavoie, 24, of Wilbraham, was having a relationship with their son.

When school officials and police went to question Lavoie, she was already gone.

Three days later, the student's parents filed a missing persons report with Holyoke police. A few days later, Lavoie's family filed a missing persons report as well. "At this time, there is no empirical evidence that suggests they are together," said Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan. "There is suspicion that they may be, but certainly no evidence which says they are together."

Sullivan said the FBI has gotten involved in the investigation because the pair is believed to have crossed state lines.

Lavoie is a first year student at Maurice Donahue Elementary.

[Faith]

This is awful.

[Faith]

1 hour 10 min 37 sec ago
Search underway for missing teacher and student

(Kristen Caira, NECN: Ludlow, Mass.) - The search continues tonight for a 22-year-old Massachusetts teacher, suspected of running off with a 15-year-old student. Lisa Lavoie is a first year teacher at Maurice Donahue Elementary School in Holyoke.

Police say the parents of the teen alerted school officials after becoming concerned over the pairs relationship.

The parents of the teacher live in Ludlow. A Ludlow police officer confirms the parents of Lavoie filed a missing persons report on February 21. The parents of the missing male teen reported him missing on February 16 in Holyoke.

Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan says it is plausible that the two are together, but says there is no imperical evidence that they in fact are together. Sullivan also says the boy's mother contacted the school on February 13, saying she was concerned about the relationship between her son and the 22-year-old teacher.

Lisa Lavoie is a first year teacher. Besides local police, FBI, customs agents and Border Patrol agents are also taking a very close look at the case.

Video at link

http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/02/23/Search-underway-for-missing/1235442488.html

[annalyzer]

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/40196412.html

Holyoke Teacher May Have Run Off With 15 Year Old Boy


By Matthew Campbell
Story Published: Feb 23, 2009 at 10:37 PM EST

Police are looking for a Holyoke elementary school teacher who may have run off with a 15-year-old student.

"Shocked" is the only word describing parents as they learn one of their kids teachers may have run off romantically with a child.

Young teacher, 24 year old Lisa Lavoie, and her even younger student, a 15 year old boy, are both missing from the classroom at Maurice Donahue K-8 Elementary School Monday morning.

Police believe the teacher and pupil may have been gone for weeks.

Here's the time-line: On February 13, the last day before winter break, the student's parents sound the alarm. A teacher may be involved with their son.

Later that day, when police went to confront Lavoie, she was gone, off on winter break.

Three days later, the student's parents, filed a missing persons report with Holyoke Police.

Days later, Lavoie's family filed the same report about their daughter to Ludlow cops.

"At this time there is no imperial evidence that suggests they are together, there is suspicion that they may be but certainly there is no evidence which says they are together," says Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan.

But the investigation reveals otherwise. The FBI is involved because they believe the alleged couple may have crossed state lines.

"If this is what some people suspect it is it would be unfortunate. A first year teacher being involved in something like this will be difficult," Sullivan says.

It's been several days and parents want to know why pictures of the teen or the teacher have not been released.

In Westfield, last week, teen Devon Sanchez went missing. Police put her picture on the news, and was found in a day.

In this case, the community has been kept in the dark.

"Well they are going to be concerned about it, about the other children that are here, they are not going to be trusting young teachers I guess," says one Maurice Donahue parent.

At this hour, Holyoke police and the FBI are investigating. They believe the two may be in Canada or Mexico.

[TigressPen]

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/



Missing Teacher, Student Found Safe In W. Va.
Teen Was 8th Grader At School


POSTED: 6:45 am EST February 24, 2009
UPDATED: 7:00 am EST February 24, 2009

BOSTON -- A missing Holyoke, Mass., teacher and her student were found safe early Tuesday in West Virginia after the pair disappeared last week.

State police in West Virginia said they arrested Lisa Lavoie, 24, of Wilbraham, Mass., about 6 a.m. after she was located allegedly drunk at a medical facility and was taken into custody.

The 15-year-old male student was with her and was expected to be returned to his family sometime Tuesday


Federal and local law enforcement officials launched a search for the 24-year-old teacher from the Maurice A. Donahue Elementary School on Monday after they received several leads that she had left the area with the 8th-grade student, Holyoke Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said.

Last week, the boy's parents asked the school about the teacher's interest in their son and the nature of their relationship, Sullivan said.

"We are quite concerned. It is something that goes without saying that we won't tolerate. We don't think there is any school district that would tolerate this type of behavior," Sullivan said.

Lavoie was reported missing to Ludlow police by her parents on Sunday, according to Ludlow police.

"We want the process to unfold, make sure we give the people the benefit of the doubt to tell their story," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said this is Lavoie's first teaching job.

[Roamer]

And, I hope, her last.

[annalyzer]

from above link, "Sullivan said this is Lavoie's first teaching job."

And hopefully her last. :serious:

[Roamer]

GMTA, Anna.

[Faith]

Massachusetts Teacher Arrested with Young Boy at Morgantown Hotel

Updated Tuesday, February 24, 2009 ; 10:06 AM

http://www.statejournal.com/images/022409100613_022409091838_LisaLavoie3.jpg

Lisa LaVoie is in the North Central Regional Jail.

MORGANTOWN -- The state police in Morgantown have arrested a Massachusetts teacher accused of running off with a 15-year-old student.

Lisa LaVoie, 24, was arraigned by video conferencing from the North Central Regional Jail, Tuesday morning.

Troopers say they caught LaVoie and the boy at the Super 8 Motel at the Glenmark Center.

Authorities had been searching for LaVoie and the teen since February 16.

She was a teacher at Maurice Donahue Elementary School in Holyoke, Mass.

The boy's parents called police.

LaVoie now faces a charge of kidnapping.

She is being held without bond in the North Central Regional Jail.

A preliminary hearing is set for March 4 in Monongalia County Magistrate Court.

http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=52931

[TigressPen]

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18782028/detail.html?treets=bos&tml=bos_break&ts=T&tmi=bos_break_1_06020102242009


Teacher Facing Child Enticement Charges After Arrest
Teen Was 8th-Grader At School

POSTED: 6:45 am EST February 24, 2009
UPDATED: 12:42 pm EST February 24, 2009


BOSTON -- A missing Holyoke, Mass., teacher and her student were found safe early Tuesday in West Virginia after the pair disappeared last week. The teacher has been placed under arrest.

State police in West Virginia said they arrested Lisa Lavoie, 24, of Ludlow, Mass., shortly before midnight in Morgantown, W.Va., after she was located at a Super 8 motel where she was allegedly found intoxicated. She was transferred to a medical facility and placed under arrest, police said.

Authorities tracked Lavoie using financial records, Holyoke Police Chief Anthony Scott said, first to Vermont and then to West Virginia.

"The incident has come to a conclusion without any harm to the child," Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan said. "This is really a very unfortunate incident and we're thankful it didn't end in tragedy."

Lavoie is being held on child enticement charges, Scott said, which may include statutory rape. She is expected to be in court later Tuesday for a hearing to determine whether she can be brought back to Massachusetts for arraignment in Holyoke District Court.

The 15-year-old male student was with her and was expected to be returned to his family as soon as possible. Sullivan described him as a "good kid," and a well-liked athlete who did not have any problems at home.

Federal and local law enforcement officials launched a search for the 24-year-old teacher from the Maurice A. Donahue Elementary School on Monday after they received several leads that she had left the area with the eighth-grade student, Sullivan said.

On Feb. 13, the boy's parents asked the school about the teacher's interest in their son and the nature of their relationship, Sullivan said. The boy was reported missing Feb. 16.

"The teacher was spending an inordinate amount of time with their student," Sullivan said.

Lavoie was reported missing to Ludlow police by her parents on Sunday, according to Ludlow police.

"We want the process to unfold, make sure we give the people the benefit of the doubt to tell their story," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said this was Lavoie's first teaching job. He said she had only been with the district for about five months and will now be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the case.

"This is a violation of trust on the behalf of this particular teacher that is not something we should take lightly," Sullivan said. "It does beg the question of what strategies we can use to make it safer for students."

He said it will be important for the district to learn from the incident.

"It's not something we condone, it's something we abhor, but it's a reality and we have to deal with it," Sullivan said. "We have to be more diligent in making sure young teachers are given more guidance."

Lavoie could lose her teaching license in Massachusetts if convicted of any crime.

[annalyzer]

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/40253357.html

Holyoke Teacher Behind Bars

Story Published: Feb 24, 2009 at 7:09 PM EST

The Holyoke teacher accused of running off with a 15 year old student is behind bars. Police tracked teacher through credit card transactions to a town in West Virginia.

24 year old school teacher Lisa LaVoie is now behind bars. She's being held on kidnapping charges after police found her at a Super 8 Motel in West Virginia with her 15 year old student.

Cpl. T.W. Goodnight said, "We responded to the motel, found her vehicle there, confirmed with the desk clerk that they were in fact there and went to the room and took her into custody."

The 15 year old attends Maurice Donahue Elementary School. His parents filed a missing persons report February 16th. Police say the boy's parents knew about the romantic relationship between their son and LaVoie. Her parents has also filed a missing persons report.

Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan says the boy being transported back to Massachusetts.

Sullivan said, "He will be interviewed by the Holyoke police department and the Department of Social Services which is standard protocol, it's the standard thing to do with runaways that are brought back, they are interviewed by DSS and then he will be reunited with his parents."

Sullivan says LaVoie had only been with the school for 5 months and her relationship with the 15 year old grew out of an after school program.

LaVoie was a first year teacher and graduated from Minnechaug High School in Wilbraham in 2003.

Her yearbook contains a message from her parents encouraging her to live life with no regrets. But Tuesday night LaVoie may probably regret her trip to West Virginia. Police are charging her with enticing a child under 16 and statutory rape. LaVoie has also been charged with kidnapping in West Virginia.

She has been placed on paid administrative leave. If found guilty, LaVoie will have her teaching license revoked in the state of Massachusetts.

[Amusedtdth]

Was it worth careear suicide???

[annalyzer]

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/_holyoke_teacher_lisa_lavoie.html?category=Crime%2 2

Holyoke teacher Lisa Lavoie behind bars
on statutory rape, other charges

by The Republican Newsroom
Tuesday February 24, 2009, 6:09 PM

http://blog.masslive.com/breakingnews/2009/02/large_LisaLavoie.jpg
Holyoke teacher Lisa Lavoie while being processed by West Virginia State Police.

HOLYOKE - A Holyoke school teacher and her 15-year-old male student, reported missing on Feb. 16, were tracked down in West Virginia last night, and the teacher was behind bars today facing statutory rape and other charges.

The two were found last night in a Morgantown, W. Va., motel.

"We have her in custody. We have the student in a safe situation," Holyoke Mayor Michael J. Sullivan said this morning, adding that the student was not physically harmed.

Police Chief Anthony R. Scott said the teacher, Lisa M. Lavoie, of Ludlow, is being held on a charge of enticement. The police chief said a component of that charge is statutory rape.

"Based on statements we have heard we believe there is statutory rape involved," Scott said.

Lavoie appeared before a Monongalia County magistrate on a kidnapping charge by videoconference from the North Central Regional Jail near Greenwood, according to the Dominion Post newspaper in Morgantown. She was ordered held without bond because kidnapping in West Virginia carries a possible life sentence, according to state police Cpl. T.W. Goodnight. The jail lists Lavoie's age as 24.

Authorities in West Virginia plan to charge her as fugitive from justice, Goodnight said.

No charges have been filed against the 15-year-old, Sullivan said.

Lavoie works at the Maurice A. Donahue Elementary School, and the student, whose name was not released because of his age, is an eighth-grade student there.

Lisa Lavoie at North Central Regional Jail in Greenwood, W.V.Outside the Donohue school on Tuesday after school let out, many parents expressed shock and outrage over Lavoie's disappearance with the student.

"It's crazy," said Carolyn T. Izquierdo, saying her seventh-grade daughter "is absolutely shocked." Izquierdo added that her daughter told her she saw Lavoie "a couple of times ... flirting with the students."

Students were informed Tuesday in school about Lavoie's arrest, according to Desiree Vireo, 12, a seventh-grade student at the school. "I thought the teacher was nice," Desiree said.

But Desiree's mother, Daisy, said the incident has changed her entire opinion about the school. "My three daughters went to Donahue," she said. "It used to be a lovely school - until yesterday."

Parent Laureen H. Taillerfer was also outraged. "It's pretty shocking," said Taillerfer, who was at the school to pick up her son, who's in kindergarten. The mother added, "I do believe you're innocent until proven guilty."

Sullivan said there is some indication to the teacher and student had some kind of personal relationship for some time but the extent of that relationship is not yet known.

Lavoie has been a teacher for only five months, Sullivan said.

The boy's parents filed a missing persons report with Holyoke police on Feb. 16, according the mayor.

Lavoie was reported missing to Ludlow police by her parents on Sunday.

"Then it became an issue of waiting for the court system, ... " Sullivan said.

Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett obtained the warrant about 9 last night based on information gathered in Holyoke about the boy and teacher and the nature of their relationship, Sullivan said.

The boy's parents first raised concerns about an improper relationship between their son and the teacher on Feb. 13, Sullivan said.

Investigators used financial information to track the pair to Vermont and then to Morgantown last night where they were discovered in a motel room, Scott said.

West Virginia State Police arrested Lavoie at the Super 8 Motel on Venture Drive in Morgantown. A rendition hearing was slated for Tuesday afternoon, according to Scott. The chief said he did not know when either Lavoie or the boy would return to the area.

"We don't know if she is going to fight rendition," Scott said, adding that her family has already hired a lawyer.

Sullivan said arrangements are being made to return the boy to Holyoke where he, as law requires, will be turned over to the state Department of Children and Families which will investigate.

Scott said his department sought the help of federal investigators, in part to tap their expertise in finding missing people.

Scott said he did not know if federal charges will be sought against Lavoie.

The mayor described the incident as a "violation of trust" on the part of the teacher.

"This is not something we take lightly," Sullivan said.

The Holyoke school system needs to learn from the incident and proceed carefully before acting on any potential steps to prevent such a thing from happening again, Sullivan said.

"We have to learn from this, we can't go in a panic mode and put all kinds of barriers and obstacles in the way of teachers," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said the incident, however, will likely impact how Holyoke teachers, especially younger teachers, relate to their students.

"One young teacher told me yesterday he can no longer make any comments about sports or Valentine's Day or anything of that nature," Sullivan said Tuesday.

Sullivan said Lavoie will be immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of her case.

"If convicted of any criminal charges she loses her licensure in the state of Massachusetts," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said here is no indication the boy was troubled in any way, adding that he is a good athlete and well-liked at the school.

Lavoie, a graduate of Minnechaug Regional High School, majored in elementary education at Elms College where she was on the dean's list.

The Maurice A. Donahue Elementary School is a K-8 school located on Whiting Farms Road.

Morgantown, W.V., is roughly 530 miles from Holyoke, or about nine hours by car.

The city, located in Monongalia County, is on the Western Pennsylvania border and roughly 70 miles south of Pittsburgh.

According to West Virginia law, as with Massachusetts, anyone under age 16 is considered incapable of consenting to sexual relations.

[AmyE]

Teacher Accused of Sex with Student Released on Bail

The Holyoke teacher accused of having sex with a 15 year old student was released on 25,000 dollars bail. Lisa Lavoie faced a Massachusetts judge for the first time Friday, after she was found in a West Virginia motel with the student. Prosecutors say the trip shows she is a flight risk, but the judge disagreed.

"She was asking the 15 year old to seek his birth certificate so that they could leave the country," says Assistant District Attorney James Goodhines.

A trip out of the country is where prosecutors say Lisa Lavoie and her 15 year old student were headed before police caught them at a West Virginia motel. Lavoie was flown back to Holyoke Thursday. Friday she hung her head as the Assistant District Attorney described a statement made by her alleged victim.

"The statement includes references to intercourse with the defendant both at her apartment and in her motor vehicle," says Goodhines.

Prosecutors say the student's parents found out about the relationship and contacted Holyoke police, that's when Lavoie made the decision to leave town.

"She had concerns that she was discovered and that there was a relationship," says Goodhines. "Panic certainly being a part of it, but that's why we're concerned if she's going to return to court."

Her lawyer agrees panic played a part, but says crossing the border was never her plan. In fact, he doesn't believe she had a plan at all.

"Some people panic and flee and wander around aimlessly, and I think that's exactly what happened here," says Defense Attorney David Hoose.

Lavoie's lawyer says she was emotionally unstable and drinking heavily when she made the decision to leave the state, and says now that she's back she is prepared to face the charges in front of her.

"This is a young woman who does not have a malicious bone in her body," says Hoose. "She was under some pretty serious emotional distress, and the allegations into what she did have to be viewed in that context."

The list of charges she faces will get longer. Prosecutors say she will be charged with several counts of statutory rape.

As conditions of release Lavoie is under house arrest with a GPS monitor. She is also required to stay away from the alleged victim and Holyoke schools.



http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/40869787.html