Aja Johnson -- Found Deceased 3/29/10

Amber Alert Issued for 8 Year Old Oklahoma Girl
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010 8:12 AM CT

The State of Oklahoma issued the Amber Alert Monday morning (1-25) after the girl was reportedly abducted by the suspect from her home in Geronimo late Sunday. The girl's mother was found dead in the home and the suspect is wanted for questioning in the woman's homicide. The suspect should be considered dangerous.

Aja Johnson, a white female, 8 years old, 4', 65 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a very thin build.

The suspect is Lester Hobbs, a white male, 47 years old, 5'9", 180 pounds with green eyes.

The suspect vehicle is a 1992 white Toyota Paseo with Oklahoma tag number 577BPW. The back window has been replaced with a piece of sheet metal.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Comanche County Sheriff's Office at 580-353-4280 or dial 911.

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Girl may be with her mom's killer
http://www.whas11.com/news/AMBER-ALERT-Girl-may-be-with-her-moms-killer-82623697.html

(ABC News) - An Amber Alert has been issued for a 7-year-old girl who authorities believe may be with the man who is a person of interest in the murder of her mother this weekend.
Aja Johnson, described as a 65-pound, 4-foot tall young girl with brown eyes and brown hair, and was last seen Saturday evening at her Geronimo, Okla., home.
Her abduction is believed to have occurred sometime before 9 p.m. Sunday, when the body of her mother, 37-year-old Tonya Hobbs was found dead in her RV by authorities at the Comanche County Sheriff's Office.
Calls made to Comanche County Sheriff Kenny Stradley for comment regarding the case were not immediately returned, but a statement about the death of Tonya Hobbs was released by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, which is helping with the investigation.
"Investigators do believe she was murdered," the statement said.
The cause of death is not yet known, according to the OSBI. The medical examiner's office is performing an autopsy on the body today.
The man who is a person of interest in Hobbs' death and who authorities believe may have now also kidnapped Aja is 46-year-old Lester Hobbs. Hobbs, who is not Aja's biological father, is estranged from the girl's mother and used to live with Tonya Hobbs in Davenport, Okla.
Aja and her mother were visiting Hobbs at his sister's home prior to the murder and disappearance, according to authorities.
Hobbs is driving a white 1992 Toyota Paseo with Oklahoma license plates that read 577-BPW. The back window of the two-door car has been replaced with a piece of sheet metal, according to The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the vehicle has no hubcaps.
Person of Interest In Aja Johnson's Disappearance Is Believed to Be Dangerous
Hobbs is believed to be dangerous. Public records show that he served time in 2003 for assault with a deadly weapon.
Anyone with information about Aja is asked to contact the Comanche County Sheriff's Office at 580-353-4280.

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http://www.wane.com/dpps/news/national/south/oklahoma-mom-dead-girl-missing-man-sought-jgr_3201585

Mom dead; girl missing; man sought
Mom's body found, Amber alert issued for daughter

Updated: Monday, 25 Jan 2010, 2:06 PM EST
Published : Monday, 25 Jan 2010, 2:04 PM EST

* SEAN MURPHY,Associated Press Writer

A mother's body was found inside a camper in Oklahoma and authorities have issued an Amber alert for her missing 7-year-old daughter.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said Monday that the girl, Aja Daniell Johnson, is believed to be with Lester William Hobbs. Brown says he is an ex-convict wanted for questioning in the woman's death.

Brown says Lester William Hobbs is the estranged husband of Tonya Hobbs, whose body was discovered inside a recreational vehicle late Sunday in Geronimo. Brown says the last time Lester Hobbs and the girl were seen was Saturday evening.

Lester Hobbs was last seen driving a 1992 Toyota Paseo with the Oklahoma license plate number 577-BPW.

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http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Amber-Alert-Issued-For-Missing-8-Year-Old/2oMs3qWJX02UVHSpSMVpcQ.cspx

GERONIMO, Okla. (AP) — An Amber alert has been issued for a missing 8-year-old girl whose mother was found dead inside a home in Geronimo.

The Comanche County Sheriff's Office is searching for 7-year-old Aja (ASIA) Johnson, who is believed to be with a man wanted for questioning in the woman's death.

Authorities say 47-year-old Lester Hobbs is driving a 1992 Toyota Paseo with the Oklahoma license plate number 577-BPW. The car has no hub caps and plastic covers the rear window.

Comanche County records technician Gina Clark says Hobbs may be headed toward Davenport, Okla. Clark says Hobbs is not the girl's father.

The body of the missing girl's mother was found by deputies about 9 p.m. Sunday. Her name and cause of death weren't immediately released.

I hope Aja is found safe. She must be terrified being held by the man who murdered her mother.

Does she know her mother is dead? Did she witness it?

Please let this child be ok!!!! I have a bad feeling about this one. He would have nothing to lose by killing her and she would slow him down. I'm very scared for this little girl.

I truly fear for Aja. I agree with you, Dis. Especially if she witnessed him killing her mother. And what was her mother thinking? She was only to have supervised visits with Aja anyway and Aja was not to be in the presence of Lester Hobbs.

AMBER ALERT: Aja Johnson, 7-year old girl, Geronimo, Oklahoma – Updated 02/15/10

Posted on February 15th, 2010 by Valhall

My apologies for the delay in updating this still active and very important search for Aja. On February 4th it was announced that the U.S. Marshal’s Service added its Sex Offender Investigation Unit to the search for little Aja Johnson. This decision was made after they received information leading them to believe Hobbs could be sexually abusing Aja. While this is a horrific thing to imagine, it also leaves hope that little Aja COULD be held some where and not yet murdered.

On the heels of this decision, the U.S. Marshal’s office moved it’s $1.3 million command center to Geronimo, Oklahoma, the last place Aja is known to have been before the murder of her mother, Tonya, and the disappearance of Lester Hobbs and Aja. This unit is capable of linking up real-time with multiple sources of information so that investigators assigned to this case can receive updated information as it occurs.

Read the rest:
http://www.thehinkymeter.com/?p=1534

Agent: Okla. girl may have witnessed mom’s slaying

February 26, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma man may have used a hammer to beat his wife to death and her 7-year-old daughter — who is missing — might have witnessed the attack, a detective said Thursday.

Comanche County authorities have charged Lester Hobbs, 46, with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of 37-year-old Tonya Hobbs and the disappearance of her daughter, Aja Johnson.

Tonya Hobbs’ body was discovered Jan. 24 inside her husband’s motor home in Geronimo, about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The Medical Examiner’s Office said Tonya Hobbs suffered blunt force trauma.

Lester Hobbs and the missing girl, who is not his biological daughter, were last seen by relatives the night before.

Richard Goss, agent in charge of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s Southwest Regional Office, said Hobbs may have used a hammer to kill his wife.

She had filed a protective order just months before she was murdered that said her husband had threatened to kill her children with a hammer.

Investigators believe Aja, who suffers from bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sleeping issues that require medication, likely witnessed her mother’s slaying, Goss said.

Goss said law enforcement authorities had conducted hundreds of interviews during an extensive search for Hobbs and the girl in Oklahoma and Texas, where Hobbs previously lived. He said authorities had found no trace of Hobbs, the girl or the 1992 Toyota Paseo he is believed to be driving.

“We’re looking everywhere,” Goss said. He said there was no evidence that the girl has been harmed.

http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x568428748/Agent-Okla-girl-may-have-witnessed-mom-s-slaying

NEW PIC RELEASED TOO!

It's been a month and still not even ONE siting. How sad. He's even KNOWN to abuse this child.

Is is very disturbing that Aja may have witnessed Hobbs murdering her mother. Hobbs is a despicable human being who deserves no mercy.

I don't even want to imagine how he is treating Aja if she is still alive.

I cant see that this monster still has her...

I find sometimes find myself wondering if Aja, would be lu .. I cant even say it...

Aja's dad mentioned she needs medication.

I musty have must the explantion...
Such a sad story ..

Family members have said he hated Aja. She was bruised so bad from one beating she couldn't even sit down. AJ, I agree with you. I don't believe Aja is still with us. God only knows what he has put this child through. If he has kept her alive, I can't even imagine the torture he has inflicted upon this little girl. I'm sorry the mother was killed, but she knew what Hobbs had done to her and Aja was not to be around him. Why wasn't this man arrested for beating this child when these orders were put in place?

Pretty much a repeat of the above info.

http://newsok.com/release-aja-oklahoma-police-officials-say/article/3442287

One of the news channels were talking about how he made Aja eat Jalepeno peppers by the mouth full! What a freak. I pray she's alive but you know, I hate to say this, but sometimes it's almost better that she not be. (I don't mean that literally..I think you all know what I mean)

I can't imagine what he would do to her the first time she cried or had a nightmare of what he did to her mommy. It's almost unthinkable.

And yet the Mom stayed with him? She had to have known some of these horror stories.

‘Release Aja,’ Oklahoma police officials say
Girl’s suspected abductor described as drifter who can live in society’s shadows

BY RON JACKSON The Oklahoman
Published: February 26, 2010

LAWTON — Lester William Hobbs, the suspected abductor of 7-year-old Aja Johnson, is a man who can survive in the shadows of society, investigators said during a Thursday news conference.


Lester Hobbs is a person of interest in an Amber Alert for Aja Johnson. PHOTO PROVIDED

Investigators said they have uncovered a portrait of a drifter who can hustle money in pool halls, work on cars and sustain himself on pocket change. Now, more than a month after Aja’s disappearance, they are again asking for the public’s help.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent in Charge Richard Goss had a message for Hobbs, who is charged with Aja’s kidnapping and the Jan. 24 killing of his estranged wife and Aja’s mother, Tonya LeAnn Hobbs.

"Release Aja now,” Goss read from a statement. "Drop her off at a Target, a Walmart, a K-Mart — any busy store where she will be safe. Attach a note to her clothing simply stating: ‘Call police — Amber Alert — Aja Johnson.’”

Then Goss added, "For once in your life, do the right thing.”

State and federal investigators said they have immersed themselves in Hobbs’ world, starting with the Geronimo homicide scene inside his recreational vehicle.

Goss revealed that investigators think Tonya was beaten to death with a hammer and that Aja likely witnessed the killing "lying by her mother’s side on a sofa.”

The U.S. Marshals Service and FBI have joined the manhunt in a case that reached the national stage with a segment on "America’s Most Wanted.”

Goss said his team has not received any concrete leads on Aja, Lester Hobbs or Tonya Hobbs’ 1992 Toyota Paseo, which they think Lester Hobbs was driving when he left.

"Hobbs can survive on very little money — 20 bucks here, 20 bucks there,” Goss said. "In fact, his needs seem to be met with only cigarettes, liquor, and very little food. He is a self-taught automobile mechanic and will offer to do minor repairs for little money.

"He likes to cruise the Internet searching for lonely women. If Hobbs no longer has a vehicle, he will travel across the country by bus, or will hitchhike.”

U.S. Deputy Marshal A.D. Templeton likened Hobbs to a coyote.

"A coyote will run quickly across the road, continue on for another 20 yards into a field, and then lay down until the danger passes,” Templeton said. "Lester Hobbs is really no different. At first he quickly made his escape in the middle of the night, and now he’s laying low. He’s probably traveling by night like a scavenger, moving from point to point.

"I’ve hunted for individuals from one end of this country to the other. Sometimes, we find people in a few days. Sometimes, it takes 15 years. But we always find those people.”

Goss said Lester Hobbs’ relatives described him as a "cowardly abuser who preys on women and children.” He said Hobbs appears to have no friends, but he suspects someone is harboring him.

"To that person or persons, I implore you to do the right thing and do it now before it’s too late. Hobbs is only using you,” Goss said. "Call your nearest law enforcement agency immediately. If you do not, the consequences could be severe.”

Investigators said Hobbs likes to change his appearance with the use of hair dyes and hair growth, but there are two physical characteristics he can’t easily hide: tattoos and a broken nose.

Hobbs has the word "ROSE” tattooed across the fingers of his right hand and "LOVE” tattooed across the fingers of his left hand.

http://newsok.com/release-aja-oklahoma-police-officials-say/article/3442287

Poor kid....

Valhall has been following this story and I doubt too that she is still with us. I shudder to think of the horror she went through. I get what you are saying Fysty, and I agree. Amazingly though if she does survive, she has probably developed coping skills to help her get through.

If she is alive somewhere I pray that God will lead someone to her.

i still can't believe this creep has been able to elude LE for this long....

Why would LE state so clearly "that Aja likely witnessed the killing "lying by her mother’s side on a sofa.”

I'm thinking there was a void area of blood spatter that indicated that Aja was lying in that spot witnessing her mothers murder - that's JMO - but how else could they know that?? It's a very specific detail - and we know that if he beat her to death with a hammer that there would be high velocity blood spatter all over that trailer...
I can't even imagine either Aja still being with that man and what she must be enduring or the alternative - what she could have endured before her death. although, I imagine it's far fetched to even hope in this case that she might still be alive - many ppl claim how he "hated" this child - now she just witnessed her mothers death - I don't think he would risk her escaping or telling on him. Also, he would be more recognizable if he was travelling with a young girl as opposed to travelling alone... he's scum - i hope they catch him soon. I still hold out hope that like Dis said, she is utilizing the coping mechanism to survive that even before her mother died, she no doubt had to develop just to stay alive. Her mother certainly didn't do anything to keep her child out of harm's way... back to the choose your partner campaign... just another wicked example...

I think Aja reached out for her mom to get it to stop and got blood on her hand, and maybe left behind a handprint somewhere, on the couch, on her Mom's shirt?

Breaking news
3/29/10 4:40 p.m.

Norman PD confirms car found near SE 108 & HWY 9 is Lester Hobbs'. No confirmation of the status of Hobbs or the girl he's accused of kidnapping, Aja Johnson. FOX 25 has crews heading there..

https://www.facebook.com/foxokc/posts/112945068721669

Okla. Police Find Car From Murder, Kidnapping Case
March 29, 2010 18:06 EDT

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Police say they have found the car belonging to a man charged in January with killing his estranged wife and kidnapping her 7-year-old daughter.

Lester Hobbs was last seen with the girl Jan. 23. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, his car was found Monday off Oklahoma 9 near Lake Thunderbird in southeast Norman.

The body of Hobbs' estranged wife, Tonya, was found Jan. 24 in Hobbs' motor home at Geronimo.

Officials have said they believe Hobbs took off with Aja Johnson, who has been the subject of an Amber Alert since late January.

Hobbs was charged with murder in Tonya Hobbs' death and kidnapping in the girl's disappearance.

http://www.okcfox.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.ok/3d9d9777-www.okcfox.com.shtml

KFOR Channel 4 News Chopper and livestream chat:

http://www.kfor.com/news/livestreaming/

Per Channel 4 Five O'Clock News: 2 bodies confirmed to have been found - one inside the car and one outside the car. Not identifying anyone yet...

This is not looking good.

Thank you pi-girl........I missed the livestream. Is the car hidden, off a busy road? This is so sad.

God only knows what this sick SOB did to her. He treated her so badly, he was known to beat her, she watched her mother die.......

Hi, Piper! The video at the site below shows the area where the car was found.

Right now, they are not telling anything on TV until all the proper steps have been taken - not even verifying bodies. So, we don't know if they have been there for a while or if he has kept her somewhere all this time and just now decided to kill her and himself. The article does say that a medical examiner has been called to the scene.

Lester Hobbs' Car Found In Norman
Stay Tuned To KOCO.com For Further Details
POSTED: 4:39 pm CDT March 29, 2010
UPDATED: 5:32 pm CDT March 29, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. -- A vehicle belonging to a man sought in the death of his wife and the kidnapping of her 7-year-old daughter has been found, police said.

New Video: Lester Hobbs' Car Found In Norman http://www.koco.com/video/22992789/index.html

Lester Hobbs' Toyota Paseo was found near 108th Street and Highway 9 at about 4 p.m. Monday. A spokeswoman with the state medical examiner's office confirmed that an examiner has been called to the scene.

http://www.koco.com/news/22992639/detail.html

They stated it's in a rural, wooded area. I can only pray she went quickly and didn't know what happened to her. The thought of her enduring severe abuse, cold and hunger all of this time is just utterly heartbreaking.

UPDATE: Hobbs's car found
Posted: Mar 29, 2010 5:29 PM EDT
NORMAN, Okla. - Police say they have discovered the car belonging to Lester Hobbs, the man accused of kidnapping 7-year-old Aja Johnson of Geronimo and killing her mother, Tonya Hobbs, in January.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman, Jessica Brown, confirmed the 1992 Toyota Paseo belongs to Tonya Hobbs. The Norman Police Department received a call from an unknown person around 2:45 p.m. reporting they had found a vehicle.

Investigators found the car in a remote area near SE 108th Street and Highway 9, near Lake Thunderbird, east of Norman. Police say the license plate confirmed the match.

Lester Hobbs' sister, Mildred Anderson, tells 7News that the location that the car was found at is one mile away from the cemetery that their mother and father are buried.
The OSBI has told the Comanche County Sheriff that two bodies, both badly decomposed, were found inside the vehicle. Their identities have not been confirmed.

Bolded by me.....interesting it's found so close to that cemetery. Other reports saying a body inside and outside the car.

http://www.kswo.com/global/story.asp?s=12223014

The last thing I heard on the news was that authorities had not identified the bodies but they didn't see any way they could be anyone other than who they had been looking for. That pretty much tells us who they are!

I wish the sick SOB would have just dropped Aja off somewhere safe and then went and killed himself. It makes me sick wondering what Aja had to endure before she was murdered.

Me too, J4A..........but he hated her, I can only assume because she wasn't his. Her mother is the one responsible for placing Aja back in harms way. She brought Aja right back to him, I realize she paid dearly for that, and I'm sorry for that. But she knew how brutal he was towards her daughter, and most likely herself. I am still stunned there was a court order that Aja not be in his presence, yet he was not charged or prosecuted for beating this little child before.

He even looks evil, nasty and mean... it makes me sick looking at his pictures.

Note found in connection with death of Aja Johnson
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-hobbs-car-bodies-found-story,0,5237607.story

NORMAN, OK -- The Medical Examiner has been notified of two bodies at the scene where the car Lester Hobbs was last seen driving was found. Their identities have not been released but are believed to be those of Lester Hobbs and Aja Johnon. "We have not positively identified those due to the rate of decomposition," OSBI Spokesperson Jessica Brown said. "They will determine the positive ID on Hobbs with finger prints and on Aja Johnson possibly with dental records. We have no reason to believe it is not those two people."

Authorities have not yet released details of how the deaths happened, but they did give a new twist; a note found at the scene.

"We do not know the cause or manner of death," Brown said. "However we do know a note was found in or near the car that has talked about what happened."

I wonder what the mean SOB wrote in the note. I have a feeling it will make me angrier than I already am about this.

In Pi-girl's post above, click on that link. At the bottom of the article, click on read all posts. There is a female on that claiming to be Lester's bio daughter and another one just below that claims to be a niece, telling the daughter she did not know Lester had any children and said she would like to talk with her. One lives 3 miles from where they found the car, and the niece lives in TN.

Man Finds Closure In Discovery Of His Missing Girl

Last Update: 8:41 am

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma City man says his family is finding closure in the discovery of the bodies of his missing daughter and her stepfather.

J.J. Johnson spoke to reporters Monday after authorities reported finding a car and two bodies in southeast Norman fitting the descriptions of his 7-year-old daughter, Aja Johnson, and Lester Hobbs. Both had been missing since authorities found Aja's mother, Tonya, dead Jan. 24 in Hobbs' motor home in Geronimo.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says the bodies are badly decomposed, but spokeswoman Jessica Brown says investigators believe they are Aja and Hobbs.

Johnson said he felt his little girl was dead, but he didn't want to accept it.

He says his daughter is in a better place and he won't have to worry about her.

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Man-Finds-Closure-In-Discovery-Of-His-Missing-Girl/0qsiohyiIkateO9nXKxKtA.cspx

This just broke my heart when I heard it last night. I had been watching this case since she went missing - and his trail just went cold... few sightings and none that were verifiable... so sad.

since they wouldn't reveal WHO wrote the note, i just wonder if aja didn't write it?

also, it saddened me to read that the bodies had likely only been there a month - meaning that aja could have been kept alive and enduring all kinds of unimaginable torture for a month before he killed her, since she's been missing since Jan.

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12227928

I'm just glad that she doesn't have to endure anything anymore, and she's safe in the arms of Jesus.

http://www.kwtv.com/global/story.asp?s=12222803

Car, Bodies Found in Connection With Case of Missing Girl Aja Johnson

Posted: Mar 29, 2010 5:08 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 30, 2010 1:22 PM EDT

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Authorities are awaiting confirmation that two bodies found in rural Norman are of missing 7-year-old Aja Johnson and the man charged with kidnapping her and killing her mother.

A white Toyota Paseo with Oklahoma license plate number 577-BPW was found at S.E. 108th Street and State Highway 9 in Norman. The car matched the description of a car authorities said they believed Lester Hobbs was driving after murdering his estranged wife, Tonya Hobbs, in January and kidnapping her 7-year-old daughter, Aja Johnson.

Norman Police said they found the car after receiving a 911 call from an unidentified person around 2:45 p.m. Monday, telling them to check out an abandoned vehicle in some woods along S.E. 108th Street near Lake Thunderbird.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Jessica Brown said an adult's and child's bodies were found at the scene, but were so decomposed they would have to use fingerprints and dental records to identify them. However, Brown said they do not have a reason to believe the bodies are not those of Lester Hobbs and Aja Johnson.

SkyNEWS 9 HD captured one body being pulled from the driver's seat of the vehicle, and another body was found outside the car on the passenger's side.

The bodies were taken to the state Medical Examiner's office where investigators will determine the cause of death and positively identify the bodies.

Brown said a note was also found inside the car. She did not go into details of what the note said exactly, but said it was somewhat of a suicide note.

"It does give us an idea of what happened, and what Hobbs was thinking at the time," Brown said.

NEWS 9 was told that in the note Hobbs blamed a host of people for recent events, including the death of his estranged wife, Tonya Hobbs, but he never blamed himself. He also poked fun at police in their inability to locate him.

Brown said the car had been in the woods, "weeks if not more than a month or so," but investigators do not believe it had been there since Hobbs and Aja went missing in January.

A decade ago, Hobbs lived in a house not far from the crime scene in Norman. Bobie Ford knew Lester Hobbs when he lived there, and said after the abduction he suspected Hobbs would come back, so he called 911.

"They said they would pass the information along, but they didn't have the police force to be able to come out here and patrol to look for him," Ford said.

Norman police said they recalled a call like that.

"We would go to that area and there was nothing we could confirm in that area whether they were camped out or staying in somebody's house," said Norman Police MPO Jennifer Newell.

NEWS 9 met Aja's father, J.J. Johnson, outside his Oklahoma City home and broke the news to him of the discovery in Norman Monday. He was immediately overwhelmed with grief but also expressed relief and admitted for the first time he lost hope long ago.

"As a parent, love for your child always burns, but for some odd reason that fire went out. I had a funny feeling something like this would happen. That gutless person he is, he would do something like this. I never wanted to accept it, but in the back of my head I knew he'd do something like this," J.J. Johnson said.

Terri Johnson, J.J. Johnson's wife, said from video she saw of the scene, she recognized a jacket outside of the vehicle as Aja's.

"We saw the coat Aja took with her on the back rear tire of the car," Terri Johnson said.

While dealing with the devastating situation, the Johnsons said the one positive thing to come out of this for them was closure.

"It is closure to me because now I know she is going to be in a better place, and those thoughts in my head of what he was doing to her, the torturing he is doing, you know, I don't have to think of that anymore," J.J. Johnson said.

And now that the search for Aja is over, her family said they are remembering the life of the girl they loved so much.

"Aja was loved by a lot of people. She touched a lot of people's hearts during her short time here on earth. She touched a lot of people," J.J. Johnson said.

The Johnsons said they also wanted to thank Oklahomans for their support during the difficult past two months.

"I cannot thank you all enough for everything you have all done for me. Your support is overwhelming. I moved here in 1982, and from the bottom of my heart I love Oklahoma," J.J. Johnson said.

J.J. Johnson said he stayed home instead of going to the crime scene because he wanted to remember his baby girl the way she was when he last saw her in January, "beautiful, happy and full of life."

Norman man recalls finding car in wooded area

March 31, 2010

Norman — When Jerry Spotts set out Monday afternoon to check on property that belongs to his wife’s family near Lake Thunderbird, he didn’t anticipate coming upon a crime scene.

“I never expected to see anything like that out there,” Spotts said.

Spotts, a Norman resident, discovered the 1992 Toyota Paseo that Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation officials said belonged to Lester and Tonya Hobbs. The vehicle was found in a heavily wooded acreage north of the State Highway 9 and 108th Avenue SE intersection.

Officers with several law enforcement agencies had been searching for Lester Hobbs, 47, and Aja Johnson, 7, since Jan. 24. Investigators have accused Hobbs of killing his estranged wife, then kidnapping her daughter, Aja. Two bodies believed to be Hobbs and Johnson also were found at the scene Monday.

Spotts said he was looking for survey stakes that a surveyor was supposed to have staked out on the property several weeks ago. As Spotts searched for the stakes, he saw a white car he considered suspicious.

“Incidentally, the surveyor mentioned a white car was out there,” he said. “I thought it could be a hunter.”

Spotts walked closer to the vehicle to get a better look. He said he got within 20 feet of the car when he spotted a body lying beside the car.

“It had to be a small individual. It was covered with a blanket. I could see the top of the head. It was decomposed. I backed away as soon as I saw the body,” Spotts said.

He said when he saw the car was a Toyota Paseo, he thought for a moment it might be the vehicle associated with the Amber Alert for Johnson.

“I called police immediately,” he said. “They came right out.”

Spotts said he met police near Highway 9. He brought the officer to the scene using an all-terrain vehicle.

“There was a body behind the steering wheel,” Spotts said.

Spotts said the Paseo was parked next to a cedar tree in the brush.

“It was not visible from highway or land,” he said. “I was there looking for the survey stake or I would not have seen the car.”

Spotts said there are few entrances onto the property.

People can reach the field from a gate on Highway 9 or another road north of the highway.

http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x1175543440/Norman-man-recalls-finding-car-in-wooded-area

Piper, that is a beautiful picture. I can imagine that little Aja left this earth exactly that way.

She is safe now.

Medical Examiner's Officer Confirms Identities of Bodies

Posted: Mar 31, 2010 4:09 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 31, 2010 5:34 PM EDT




OKLAHOMA CITY – The State Medical Examiner's office has confirmed that the two bodies found in rural Norman on Monday are of Lester Hobbs and 7-year-old Aja Johnson.

The cause of death is still under investigation.

Investigators used finger prints to indentify Hobbs and dental records to confirm Aja's identity.

The bodies were found in a wooded area in rural Norman on Monday afternoon.

Authorities had been searching for Hobbs and Aja since January after Aja's mother was found dead in a travel trailer in Geronimo.

Hobbs was charged with Aja's kidnapping and the murder of Aja's mother, Tonya Hobbs.


http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=12236017

It doesn't come as a surprise that he put Aja out in the elements and kept his sorry ass in the car.

Aja was a beautiful, innocent little girl.... my heart is just broken.

Mine too Snaz, mine too.

FBI: OSBI declined assistance in search for girl


Published April 02, 2010 09:22 am -

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An FBI spokesman says the agency's offer to help search for a missing 7-year-old girl was turned down by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.


But an OSBI official says an FBI agent was involved in the search for Aja Johnson and her suspected abductor — Lester Hobbs. The bodies of the two were found Monday near Lake Thunderbird in east Norman — about two months after they had disappeared.


FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said Thursday the agency offered its Child Abduction Response Team but the offer was declined.


OSBI agent-in-charge Richard Goss says an FBI agent did work with the OSBI at the command post in the early days of the investigation. Goss says the agent told state authorities they were doing everything that's on a checklist the abduction team uses.

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/statenews/local_story_092102241.html?keyword=topstory

I don't see what right a local agency has to turn down the enormous resources of the FBI in tracking down a missing child... is this a pride problem?? the FBI deals with this on a DAILY basis - while the Norman police will only handle this one case in their whole entire career - yet they think they can do this on their own??? I would bet that NO ONE would look down on them for asking for assistance from the FBI - but they ought to be reprimanded for turning it down, that's for sure!

FBI, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation differ on handling of Aja Johnson search

BY RON JACKSON
Published: April 2, 2010

EDMOND — The FBI offered the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation the assistance of its Child Abduction Response Team in the search for 7-year-old Aja Johnson, but their proposal was declined, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said Thursday.

"We offered our assistance,” Johnson said.

"That offer was declined. I don’t know why, but we were disappointed and frustrated our offer for assistance was declined.”

The Child Abduction Response Team is composed of special agents from across the nation who are experienced in such cases.

Johnson said the team is on call 24 hours a day and can be flown in at any time to assist local agencies with abduction cases.

OSBI agent-in-charge Richard Goss said the FBI was involved in the case.

"In fact, we had an FBI agent working with us in the command post during the early days of the investigation,” Goss said.

Goss said the FBI agent had a checklist the abduction team uses, "and he told us we were already doing everything on that list.”

The U.S. Marshals Service also played a key role in the investigation, overseeing the fugitive aspect of the search, Goss said.

Helicopters used in search, official says
Aja Johnson’s remains were discovered by a property owner Monday in woods east of Norman near Lake Thunderbird. Her decomposing body lay on the ground under a faded red blanket.

The body of her abductor, Lester Williams Hobbs, was nearby — inside the 1992 white Toyota Paseo that once belonged to the girl’s mother, Tonya LeAnn Hobbs.

Investigators said Lester Hobbs beat to death his estranged wife, Tonya, with a hammer Jan. 24 in Comanche County before fleeing with Aja.

Authorities say they don’t know what means Lester Hobbs used to kill Aja or himself.

The bodies were found in a small clearing on rural, private property — less than a mile from where Lester Hobbs’ parents are buried at the Denver Cemetery and about the same distance from where he once lived with a former wife.

An OSBI airplane, U.S. Marshals Service airplane and Oklahoma Highway Patrol helicopters were used at various times during the two-month investigation, Goss said.

At no point were aerial searches conducted over the woods where the bodies were recovered, he said.

Manned surveillance, however, was done nearby at the Denver Cemetery.

"There’s more than 67,000 square miles in the state of Oklahoma,” Goss said. "It’s impossible to think we could have covered every square inch.”

CONTRIBUTING: Staff Writer Johnny Johnson

http://newsok.com/article/3450835