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Search for Missing Boys Intensifies: Families Plead for Their Safe Return; Florida Children's Group Joins Effort

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 03:03 CST

By John Diedrich and Bob Purvis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mar. 22--Milwaukee police ramped up their search Tuesday for two boys who have been missing for more than two days, enlisting the help of other agencies and putting every available officer in the neighborhood where the pair was last seen.

Purvis Virginia Parker, 11, and Quadrevion Henning, 12, were last seen in the 4900 block of N. 53rd St., near their homes, at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, according to their families and police.

Police have no evidence of foul play, but they said the boys have no history of running away and typically, runaways would have returned now.

Detectives continued to check hospitals, bus stations and the train station. Dozens of officers were going door to door and searching the area in squad cars and on foot, bike and horseback, said Anne E. Schwartz, department spokeswoman.

"There is virtually no stone we have left unturned to find these boys," she said.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, the Department of Natural Resources, Oak Creek Police Department and Milwaukee police auxiliaries were assisting, she said.

A Child Is Missing, a group based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., recorded a message about the boys and called all home and business numbers in a one-and-a-half-mile radius around where the pair were last seen and played the message, Schwartz said.

The boys were supposed to be playing basketball at a playground near their house but never came home, their families said. The pair, who have been close friends since summer, live a few blocks apart.

Both boys are good students and well-behaved, their families said.

Angela Virginia said her son, Purvis, loves to draw and attends Elm Creative Arts School.

"Wherever he's at, he needs to come home. He's got to come home. I can't imagine him not being here," Angela Virginia said as she wept.

Quadrevion attends LaBrew Troopers Military University School and is well-mannered, said his grandfather, Garry Henning. Quadrevion, who lives with his grandparents and cousin, wouldn't stray from home, Garry Henning said.

"He's not going to stay out to this point," he said.

At an evening news conference, the families said if the boys did run away, they should come back. If someone took the boys, the families pleaded for their return.

"Sometimes you can make mistakes, but it's never too late to correct those mistakes," said Quadrevion's father, Quentin Henning, who lives in Texas but came to Milwaukee when his son went missing.

"The thing that bothers me is that if anyone for any reason took these kids, that they would have the sense and dignity to bring them home. . . . Have a heart, have the decency to bring them back home."

As the families asked the public for help, Angela Virginia asked why police didn't activate an Amber Alert.

Schwartz explained to reporters earlier that the situation did not qualify for an alert under state guidelines that say police must believe a child is in imminent danger and have a suspect or vehicle description to broadcast.

Lt. Mark Ciske of the department's sensitive crimes unit said the department followed its policies in conducting the search. Officials put out pictures to the media and notified other law enforcement agencies Sunday night. On Monday, they interviewed family, friends and classmates.

He said the department was being "patient" in its approach Monday, allowing for the boys to come home if they had run away and were afraid to return. When they didn't surface, a door-to-door canvass was done late Monday and early Tuesday, he said. More steps were taken throughout Tuesday, including locating all registered sex offenders in the area and searching their homes.

The department frequently gets reports of missing children. Last year, there were 4,625 reports of missing children and 962 so far this year, Schwartz said.

The overwhelming majority of them return home safely.

"We can't do this kind of search for everyone," she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7401. The families are offering a $550 reward for information leading to the boys' return.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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