Alissa Marie Turney 17, Msg 05/17/01, Phoenix AZ

[sarahhod]

Search warrants served in connection with cold case; explosives, weapons found


http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2008/12/11/20081211coldcasesearchwarrants121108-CR.html

Dec. 11, 2008 03:18 PM
12 News

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Phoenix police are investigating possible explosives at a house near 34th Street and Bell.

The warrants were being served in connection with a missing persons case that happened seven years ago. Alissa Marie Turney went missing on May 17 of 2001. Alissa was picked up early from school by her stepfather. Her stepfather reported that they went out to eat and then returned home. Alissa was left alone while her stepfather ran errands and then picked up another child. When the stepfather and daughter returned to the home around 5pm they found a note purportedly from Alissa stating she was going to California. Her cellular phone and house key were also left behind.

The case was considered a runaway juvenile case, but as the years passed, investigators began to question that theory.

In 2006 a man named Thomas Heimer came forward and confessed to a number of homicides throughout the country. He claimed Alissa Turney was one of his victims. Police found no evidence to support Heimer's story. He was not charged in the case.

In recent months, police have developed probable cause to serve search warrants at the house near 34th Street and Bell.

While serving the search warrants today, police may have found weapons and possible explosives at one of the residences.

[sarahhod]

Explosives, weapons found in house of missing teen

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/12/11/20081211abrk-searchwarrants1211.html

Dec. 11, 2008 09:20 PM
The Arizona Republic

A Phoenix man was arrested and more than 100 residents were evacuated Thursday after police found dozens of explosive devices and guns scattered throughout his home.

Police found what appeared to be at least 25 improvised explosive devices inside the man's house in the 17,200 block of North 34th Street. They arrested resident Michael Turney, 60, on suspicion of several weapons violations.

Police were originally searching the house for clues surrounding the 2001 disappearance of Turney's 17-year-old stepdaughter.

When police entered the home, they found several types of explosive devices. Some of the explosives were similar to pipe bombs, Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said.

Along with the explosives, police found loaded guns throughout the house.

"It looked like he was prepared for anything," Hill said.

The weapons stockpile appeared to be the largest police have seen in one place, Hill said. Police continued searching the house late Thursday night and said they may still find more weapons.

But Hill said neighborhood residents were not in immediate danger and were evacuated as a precaution. Those residents were allowed to return briefly to gather belongings but would not be allowed to sleep in their homes, police said. The police and fire departments were working to set up an overnight shelter for the evacuees.

Meanwhile, police will continue to investigate the disappearance of Turney's stepdaughter, Alissa Marie Turney.

Alissa disappeared May 17, 2001, the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School. Her stepfather had reportedly returned home from work and found a note from Alissa saying she was going to California. She hasn't been seen since, and police treated the investigation as a runaway juvenile case.

The case went cold until what appeared to be a major breakthrough in 2006. A Fort Lauderdale man told police he had murdered 20 people across the country, including Alissa. The man's confession, however, turned out to be false, and the investigation continued.

Police do suspect foul play led to Alissa's disappearance but said they have no suspects.

Anyone with information about the case should call the Family Investigations Bureau Missing Persons Unit at 602-261-8042 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

[sarahhod]

Phx PD: Explosives found in missing girl's stepdad's home

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/story/Phx-PD-Explosives-found-in-missing-girls-stepdads/at1AwZHG_kuns7W8v5F9VA.cspx

Reported by: Deborah Stocks
Email: dstocks@abc15.com
Reported by: Brent Roulier
Reported by: Angie Holdsworth
Last Update: 12/12 11:11 pm



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Phoenix police continue their investigation into the 2001 disappearance of a Phoenix teen

Investigators appear to be focusing on a home across the street from where the stepfather of a teen missing since 2001 lives. That was the home he rented at the time 17-year-old Alissa Turney disappeared.

Michael Turney appeared in court facing charges of misconduct involving weapons; he has not been charged in his step daughter's disappearance.

Police sent a cadaver dog into the home across the street where he used to live.

John Power currently rents that home. He says he is shocked and was told he could be out of his home until at least Monday.

"They've been all over the place," said Power. "I don't know what is going on there now beacuse I had just one shot to go in and get my stuff."

Air15 flew over the home Friday afternoon and investigators could be seen working in the backyard of the home with crime scene tape surrounding the front.

At Turney's current residence, across the street, police found silencers and dozens of pipe bombs, one of their largest weapons seizures, according to the Phoenix police department.

Officers arrested the stepfather of a young woman who's been missing since 2001 after police discovered weapons and explosives inside his home Thursday afternoon.

Police evacuated approximately 100 people from the neighborhood near 34th Street and Bell Road as a safety measure.

Police worked all night to safely remove the explosives from the suspect's home. Officers lifted the evacuation order around 1:00 a.m. Friday.

Court documents indicate that Turney had dozens of pipe bombs, the largest was two feet long and six inches around packed with roofing nails.

At the time of her disappearance it was reported that Alissa Turney may have run away. Police now believe she was murdered. No one has been arrested for that charge.

Neighbors say Michael Turney was an odd man who often expressed his anger about the government.

Judy Wacker remembers when Alissa disappeared. She said even recently Turney would talk about the girl and how he wanted to find out what happened to her.

"Even recently when he would talk about her he'd get a tear in his eye," said Wacker.

Michael Turney, 60, was taken into custody on weapons violation charges. Officers said they found weapons in every room of his house, including possibly 34 improvised explosive devices.

Police also searched a home across the street where Turney used to live. Officers have asked him for a writing sample because they believe he may be involved with the disappearance of his stepdaughter Alissa Marie Turney, who was last seen on May 17, 2001.

Her stepfather told police he had picked up the teen and left her at home while he ran errands and picked up another child.

When they returned home, he reportedly found a note from Alissa saying she had gone to California. Her cell phone and house key were also said to have been left behind, according to a police report.

She was scheduled to attend a friend's graduation party but never attended and was not heard from again, according to police.

In 2006 a man went to police in Fort Lauderdale, reportedly confessing to several murders, including the Phoenix teen's. After investigating, Fort Lauderdale police found no reason to believe the man's confessions, according to the report.

In recent months, police say investigators developed probable cause to serve two search warrants and a court order related to the case. Those search warrants were served on the home where the teen lived and another across the street where her family now lives.

Police said this is an ongoing investigation. No suspect has been arrested yet in this and anyone with information is asked to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or the Family Investigations Bureau Missing Persons Unit at 602 261-8042.

[sarahhod]

Police: Bombs built to destroy Phoenix union hall

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/12/13/20081213turney1213.html

by Michael Ferraresi - Dec. 13, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The homemade bombs and weapons that police found stockpiled at a northeast Phoenix home were built with the intent to destroy a local union hall, court records show.

Police originally went to Michael Roy Turney's house Thursday to seize identifying information in the 2001 disappearance of his 17-year-old stepdaughter, who detectives believe was a victim of foul play.

What they found was unrelated to the Alissa Turney cold case.


Investigators uncovered 32 improvised explosive devices, loaded guns and homemade silencers at Turney's house - a cache that will likely lead to felony weapons-misconduct charges, officials said.

Local explosives experts described the seizure as the most significant of its kind in Valley history.

The discovery led to the rapid evacuation of more than 100 residents in dozens of surrounding homes in the 17200 block of North 34th Street. Phoenix police worked with federal investigators in the wake of the bomb scare to dig in Turney's backyard, seize a van and collect other evidence.

Turney, 60, told authorities he planned to use the bombs to target a local union with which he had an ongoing dispute, according to the probable-cause statement released Friday. Police did not specify which organization Turney targeted, though neighbors said Turney was an electrician who often boasted about a brief stint as a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office employee.

"(Turney) stated he intended to bomb the union hall and commit suicide in the process," investigators said in the statement.

Turney is not named as a suspect in the ongoing investigation into his stepdaughter's disappearance. His arrest is based solely on the suspected weapons violations and recovered IEDs, police said.

Investigators in recent months developed new probable cause to obtain search warrants in the Alissa Turney investigation. One search warrant was served at Turney's house on 34th Street, the other at a house directly across the street that is owned by a Scottsdale-based development group.

Phoenix police said they detained Turney on Thursday morning as he walked to his mailbox armed with two handguns, multiple rounds of ammunition and a knife. Neighbors were evacuated shortly after police discovered the pipe bombs, one of which was "large enough to destroy the house," one Phoenix Police Bomb Squad member told investigators.

After the bombs were cleared and residents were allowed back into their homes, police continued to search the area early Friday, lining the driveways with plastic bins and cardboard boxes containing evidence.

Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms requested a hold be put on Turney in case of additional charges, records show. He is being held on a $100,000 secured appearance bond.

Some residents of the area north of Bell Road described Turney as a polite, unassuming neighbor. Those who knew him were aware of the time he served in the military and with the Sheriff's Office.

Judy Wacker, who lives next door to the Turney family, said she first moved to the neighborhood just months before Alissa's disappearance.

Wacker described Michael Turney as an odd but helpful neighbor. He would rant about the government and the military but was always willing to fix something on her car or at her house.

"He was always paranoid about people watching him," she said. "He said the FBI was watching him. I thought he was one of those people who built themselves up as more than they actually are."

Alissa Turney was last seen at her home in Phoenix on the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School in May 2001.

A note, reportedly written by Alissa, said she ran away to California - what those who knew the family perceived as a decision to flee the stepfather she was forced to live with after her mother died of cancer.

Since her disappearance, Alissa has been "off the grid," leaving no traces on the Internet or elsewhere, according to Phoenix police Detective Will Andersen, who is investigating the case for the department's Missing Persons Unit.

In 2006, a man told police in Florida that he murdered Alissa, but the confession turned out to be false.

[sarahhod]

Sister of missing Valley girl says her dad is innocent

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/story/Sister-of-missing-Valley-girl-says-her-dad-is/at1AwZHG_kuns7W8v5F9VA.cspx

Reported by: Christopher Sign
Email: csign@abc15.com
Reported by: Deborah Stocks
Reported by: Brent Roulier
Reported by: Angie Holdsworth
Last Update: 12/17/2008 6:38 am




More than seven years after her sister disappeared, Sarah Turney has been searching for answers.

"I think she left and started a new life, I just want to find my sister and find out what happened to her," said Sarah Turney.

Alissa Turney was last seen May 17, 2001 after she came home from school then vanished.

Last Thursday, Sarah came home to another scene at her north Phoenix house.

Phoenix Police Department detectives served a search warrant on the home and arrested Sarah's father Michael Turney, 60.

"It was difficult to be forced out of my home like that," said Sarah.

Investigators also focused on a home across the street from Sarah and her dad's home.

Michael Turney lived at the rental property, across from his current residence at the time of Alissa's disappearance.

Officer pulled 29-pipe bombs, 3 incendiary devices, 19-weapons and two silencers from Michael and Sarah's house.

"He's a really good guy, he's very loving," said Sarah, "I mean he's the only parent I have and the best dad I could ask for."

Sarah Turney says her mother died of cancer several years ago and her dad was left to raise her and her step-sister Alissa.

"I miss her (Alissa) everyday, I mean she was my mom and my sister," said Sarah.

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has placed a hold on Michael Turney, therefore, he remains in jail charged with misconduct involving weapons; he has not been charged in his step daughter's disappearance.

"We know he (Michael Turney) had nothing to do with disappearance of my sister," Sarah said Tuesday afternoon, "and no, no, he did not kill my sister, no he did not."

Police used a cadaver dog to search Turney's former rental home last week.

At the time of the investigation at Turney's former and current home, police evacuated approximately 100 people from the neighborhood for several hours near 34th Street and Bell Road as a safety measure.

Court documents indicate that Turney had dozens of pipe bombs, the largest was two feet long and six inches around packed with roofing nails.

At the time of her disappearance it was reported that Alissa Turney may have run away. Police now believe she was murdered. No one has been arrested for that charge.

Sarah Turney believes her sister is still alive.

"I mean until evidence proves otherwise, I'm going to keep hope alive," said Sarah.

Neighbors say Michael Turney was an odd man who often expressed his anger about the government.

Judy Wacker remembers when Alissa disappeared. She said even recently Turney would talk about the girl and how he wanted to find out what happened to her.

"Even recently when he would talk about her he'd get a tear in his eye," said Wacker.

Hoping that Alissa may be hearing media reports, Sarah had a message for her missing sister.

"Alissa I love you, I want you to come home, we all want you to come home."

[FoolsGold]

Sister of missing Valley girl says her dad is innocent
"I think she left and started a new life, I just want to find my sister and find out what happened to her,"
Nope.
That Florida confession is nonsense.
Surveillance cameras inside the home, telephone recordings, ... yet she ran away without touching the $1,800.00 in a nearby bank or taking her cell phone, her makeup, etc. Yet all that surveillance equipment coincidentally "wasn't turned on" the day she disappeared from her ultra-controlled life in that home?
That step father for sure!! Forget that confessing convict in Florida, he probably just wants a break in his routine and perhaps some notoriety and a free trip to Phoenix thrown in.
Step father!!
From my reading of the time line... she had to have been ditched somewhere within a one hour drive.

[sarahhod]

Phoenix detectives, seeking fresh leads, bring '01 case to TV

by Michael Ferraresi
Aug. 13, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic


When Phoenix detectives served a search warrant at Michael Turney's home in December in connection to the 2001 disappearance of his 17-year-old stepdaughter, they found hoards of video surveillance tapes dating back to the 1980s.
The old VHS tapes included footage of Alissa Turney at home. But most were of ordinary family moments with no impact on the case. Detectives also uncovered audio recordings that led nowhere.
Investigators dug through the backyard to no avail, and a police cadaver dog never spotted evidence of a body.
Although a the warrant led them to a dead end in the cold case, they found dozens of improvised explosive devices at Turney's northeast Phoenix home. The cache, large enough to destroy part of the neighborhood, landed Turney in a federal holding facility as he awaits trial on multiple weapons charges.
On Wednesday, the Alissa Turney story appeared on "ABC's Primetime: Crime," as detectives pleaded with a national audience to help them uncover the missing evidence to confirm how the teen disappeared from the house near Bell Road and 34th Street.
Phoenix Detective Will Andersen, who picked up the case last year when he joined the department's Missing Persons Unit, said Turney was obsessed with recording the everyday actions of his own children. But the tape of Alissa's last day at the home never turned up.
"I haven't found any consistency in his audio or his video," Andersen said. "For as paranoid as he comes across, or as Machiavellian as he is in his control, has hasn't organized a thing worth a damn."
Turney is considered the lone investigative lead in Alissa's disappearance. Andersen and fellow Phoenix Detective Stuart Somershoe believe the teen was last seen at home by her stepfather on her final day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School.
Turney told police he quarreled with Alissa and left the home, only to return to a note that said she had left for California. Andersen said he believes that Turney has been vague in sharing details with investigators and that he refuses to take a polygraph test.
After his arrest on weapons charges, Turney admitted the weapons were intended for a local electricians union with which he had a disagreement, according to court records.
Multiple people also told investigators they suspected Turney sexually molested Alissa. The teen's friends told police she cried and admitted that her stepfather touched her inappropriately, which investigators only recently made public.
Turney's family members dedicated a Web site to his case, stating that police "obtained the search warrant by hearsay . . . from estranged family members and former boyfriend." They added that Turney made 30 trips to California to try and locate Alissa.
Anyone with information about Alissa Turney's disappearance can make a an anonymous call to Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/08/13/20090813coldcase0813.html

[sarahhod]

Stepfather Speaks Out About Missing Teen


Shocking Discovery Leads to New Questions About Stepdaughter's 2001 Disappearance


By JOHN QUINONES and SHANA DRUCKERMAN
PHOENIX, Aug. 12, 2009
http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/showlogos/carousel_primetime_logo.gif

In December 2008, Phoenix Police detectives (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:openPopup%28%27http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8188085%27,%20%27popup%27,%201010,% 20700,%20%27status=1,%20resizable=1%27%29;) went looking for clues in the disappearance of Alissa Turney (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=8183178&page=1) inside the home of her stepfather, Mike Turney. Their hope was to find video and audio tapes from Turney's extensive surveillance system (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=8192217&page=1) that might reveal what happened to the 17-year-old girl on the last day she was seen alive in May 2001.


"There were video cameras set up that covered the door, the car port area, pretty clearly and also there was a video camera inside of the main thoroughfare through the house," said Det. Stuart Somershoe, one of two detectives who were tasked with investigating the seven-year-long mystery.

They say they were looking for evidence of Alissa leaving the house if she really did run away and a tape of the phone call her stepfather claimed she made to him a week after she allegedly left.

Alissa disappeared on the last day of her junior year at Paradise Valley High School. Mike Turney told police he had picked Alissa up early from school, taken her to lunch and then dropped her off at home. When he returned, Turney said that he found a note in her bedroom, which said she was running away to California. Aside from a brief phone call to her stepfather, Alissa has not been heard from since.
But Turney's extensive home surveillance system, stories from Alissa's friends about his almost obsessive control of her life and allegations of sexual abuse, became part of a growing list of strange details about Alissa's home life, which prompted detectives to look closer at her stepfather. The Phoenix Police Department considers Turney to be an "investigative lead" in her disappearance.

A few hours into the search for the surveillance tapes and Alissa's original runaway note, investigators uncovered several homemade pipe bombs filled with gunpowder and roofing nails around the Turney home.
The bomb squad was called and the neighborhood was evacuated. Investigators say they removed 26 homemade bombs, which they say was the largest explosive seizure in Arizona history. They say they also found two unregistered silencers, as well as 19 registered high-caliber assault-style firearms. Mike Turney was arrested for the pipe bombs and silencers, and turned over to federal agencies.
"When they took him into custody, Mike had two pistols on his person. He had seven magazines filled with ammo. He had a knife. He had a recording device," Somershoe told ABC News.

Turney Blames Local Union for Alissa's Disappearance

Alissa's mother, Barbara Strahm, died of cancer when she was 8 years old. Her mother had married Turney when she was 3 and Turney officially adopted Alissa and all of Barbara's children. As she grew older, Turney said he and Alissa experienced the normal parent-child friction. But in interviews with police, Alissa's friends described a bizarre home life, one in which Turney became controlling and allegations of sexual abuse emerged.
Investigators say that as they focused in on Turney, he exhibited bizarre signs of paranoia and hostility (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=8192217&page=1). And during the search of his home, they say they uncovered a 98-page document written by Mike Turney in which he blames a local union for Alissa's disappearance.
Turney had worked as an electrician in the 1980s and said he complained about workplace conditions. He had previously told police that the union had a grudge against him and that they kidnapped Alissa and killed her to punish him. In his writings, Turney indicated he wanted to avenge Alissa's death by attacking the union hall.

"The idea that he would have taken all of those explosives and prepared to do something that might have been horrendous was something that wasn't in anybody's mind as we were looking for a person who was missing," Sgt. Andy Hill of the Phoenix Police Department told ABC News. "So I think we are very fortunate that we were able to come across this person before he was able to carry out something that would have hurt a lot of people."
The authorities say they believe Turney's attack was imminent. "We served that search warrant on Dec. 11," said Det. William Andersen. "The next meeting for that union hall was the 15th."

In his only interview to date, Mike Turney told ABC News that the bombs were not his and that they were planted in his home by police. He did admit that he was planning to take his own life to bring attention to Alissa's case.
As for the numerous recordings from video surveillance cameras within his home, Turney told ABC that those cameras were for the protection of his home. He denied allegations made by friends of his teenage stepdaughter involving sexual abuse (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=8192217&page=1).
"They have no proof whatsoever of anything other than rumors and innuendos and lies," Turney said, "There's only two people that can confirm whether I did it, and one is me, and the other is Alissa. Alissa's not here and I'm sitting here and all I can say until hell freezes over, I didn't do a damned thing to my daughter."

Is Union Plot Part of Elaborate Eight-Year Cover Up?

But Mike Turney's arrest for the bombs and discovery of his violent plans for attacking the union has brought speculation and big questions about his stepdaughter's disappearance. Detectives say they wonder if Turney's writings and stories about the union were fabricated as part of an elaborate eight-year-long cover up of Alissa's disappearance.
"I have a lot of questions for Mike Turney. And I have suspicions," Andersen told ABC. "There is behavior that doesn't make sense. And I believe he has information that would help us in this investigation."

Investigators say Mike Turney has refused to sit down with them for a police interview. Prior to his arrest, he did communicate with police through fax, e-mail and phone calls. Turney says he provided them with documents and recordings that they asked for and would have visited them for a formal recorded interview if the detectives had set a time and place.
During his interview with ABC News, Turney said he would agree to a visit with the detectives to discuss Alissa's case at the prison where he is being held. But in a phone call with detectives weeks later, they say, he refused.

As for finding Alissa after so long, Turney told ABC News, "It's been eight years. It bears very heavy on my conscience. I blame myself. There's no other parent to look around. There's nobody else to blame but me. If your kid runs away, you can sit around pointing fingers all you want to. There's nowhere else to look but yourself. So that burden lies with me, and will until the day I die. There is a hope in the back of my mind. It's very bleak, but I do hope that she's still alive."

Detectives Less Optimistic Alleged Runaway Is Alive

Detectives were less optimistic about Alissa, who would now be 25, turning up.
"It would be great if she does. That would be the best ending to the story," said Somershoe. "I think something very bad happened to Alissa shortly after she was taken out of school, because there is no trail after that. She didn't touch her money, she didn't get any new identification issued to her. She basically disappeared."

Andersen agreed. "I don't see that this 17-year-old girl would be, number one, cold blooded enough to cut off all ties with everybody she has ever known in her life. And at the same time, to be ingenious enough to reinvent herself, to move on with her life ... I just don't think that she had that in her."
Stepdad speaks out and answers tough questions for the first time on "Primetime Crime" Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET

Mike Turney is currently in federal custody. He was recently indicted on federal charges of unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices, unlawful possession of unregistered silencers and attempt to damage or destroy a building by fire or explosives. He could face up to 25 years in prison and may face trial as early as this fall. Turney has not been charged with anything related to Alissa's disappearance.
"The last time I saw my daughter, she was alive. That is the absolute truth," Turney told ABC News. "She called me one week later. That's the last time I heard from her. As far as doing something to my daughter, could I do anything like that to her? Not in a million years."
The Phoenix Police Department is still investigating the case and considers Turney to be an "investigative lead."
If you have information that might help solve the mystery of what happened to Alissa Turney, please contact the Phoenix Police Department on their Web site (http://phoenix.gov/police/), or by phone 1-480-WITNESS, 1-480-948-6377.

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Story?id=8302498&page=1

[sarahhod]

In interview with John Quinones, Mike Turney denies killing stepdaughter.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8307208

[sarahhod]

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Primetime/abc_pt_crimes1_090812_mc.jpg (http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=8315942) WATCH: FULL SHOW: Teen Gone Without a Trace (http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=8315942)

[sarahhod]

Photo's

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/popup?id=8184084

[SavannahStar]

I watched Primetime last night about the case. That father was/is a real wacko. I don't know what I think about him being responsible for her disappearance though. Two of his kids can't believe he'd ever hurt her. The other kid thinks it's possible. I just don't know.

[FoolsGold]

I just don't know.You know!
He won't produce the video tapes from her last day there. He claims the automatic recording system was suddenly "off" on her final day there.
You know!!