Published: May 10, 2008 12:13 am            

NEWFANE: Mother suspected drugs in missing girl case

More details have emerged about the search for a missing girl that took sheriff’s deputies from Newfane to the Town of Tonawanda on Thursday afternoon.

The search for 2-year-old Giana Lynn Bootes began when her mother, a Bayview Station woman, reported Thursday morning that her boyfriend, David M. Figueroa-Oehler, had not returned home with the girl.

The woman reportedly told deputies that Figueroa-Oehler took Bootes with him in her 1999 Plymouth Voyager van to get money from his mother in Depew.

The woman said she was sleeping when they left around 7 p.m. Figueroa-Oehler had offered to take Bootes with him so the woman could rest, the report said.

She said she woke up around midnight, and Figueroa-Oehler had not returned.

She called his mother to see if they’d ever arrived in Depew.

Figueroa-Oehler’s mother later told deputies she’d left money for him in an envelope outside her door.

About 8:30 p.m., she’d heard a car stereo in her driveway. She said she had gone to the door and seen the van pulling away, and the envelope had been taken, the report said.

Bootes’ mother told police Figueroa-Oehler did not have a cell phone. She said she believed he might be in Buffalo or Amherst, telling deputies he might be “using” or trying to “score” narcotics, the report said.

She reportedly told deputies Figueroa-Oehler had a brother he “hangs” with, but she was reluctant to give more information because she “didn’t want to get him involved.”

Bootes’ mother was also reluctant to file a missing person’s report for her daughter, the report said.

She reportedly said Figueroa-Oehler had taken Bootes to his mother’s house in the past, and they had always returned, telling deputies he was “good” with her daughter.

Late Thursday morning, deputies put out an attempt to locate the van, asking neighboring law enforcement agencies for help.

The City of Buffalo Police Department reportedly told sheriff’s department dispatch that they were “too busy” at that time to check for the van, but would try later in the day.

The Amherst Police Department checked the area for the van but did not find anything, the report said.

Bootes’ mother told deputies she would continue checking with friends and family members.

As law enforcement officials searched for Figueroa and Bootes, the child’s mother and biological father began searching the West Side of Buffalo and the Town of Tonawanda for the van.

They spotted the vehicle outside the Super 8 motel on Sheridan Drive and called the sheriff’s department.

Chief Deputy James Voutour said the Town of Tonawanda Police Department responded to the scene, along with Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Mack.

They found Figueroa-Oehler in a motel room with Bootes and two women, the report said.

Figueroa-Oehler was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. He was arraigned in Newfane Town Court and was held in lieu of $500 bail.

He is due again in court May 22.

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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