Nadia Bloom -- Found Alive 4/13/10

Search continues for missing 11-year-old girl

Updated: Saturday, 10 Apr 2010, 7:35 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 10 Apr 2010, 7:28 PM EDT






Story from MyFoxOrlando

WINTER SPRINGS - Officers with the Winter Springs Police Department are still searching Saturday for a missing 11-year-old girl, reported missing shortly after 4:30 p.m. early Friday evening.

In addition to searches on ground, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office is assisting with helicopter surveillance around the Barrington Estates subdivision.

The girl, identified as Nadia Bloom, was last seen wearing orange shorts and a blue shirt. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5 feet tall and weighs approximately 85 pounds.

Bloom is a resident of Barrington Estates and there are conflicting reports that the she may be autistic. Her bicycle was found just a few blocks from her home, according to investigators.

George and Cindy Anthony, parents of accused murder suspect Casey Anthony, arrived late Friday to offer their support. George Anthony returned Saturday morning hoping to aid searchers.

At this time, the search party is not suspecting any foul play or abduction scenario. If you have information about Bloom's whereabouts, contact the Winter Springs Police Department at 407-327-7964.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/state/search-continues-for-missing-11-yr-old-girl-041010

Nadia Bloom
Age: 11
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5′ 0″
Weight: 85 lbs.

An Amber Alert has been issued


Criminal investigation launched in missing girl case
Sunday, April 11, 2010

WINTER SPRINGS -- Investigators have now launched a criminal investigation in the search for a missing 11-year-old girl.


Nadia Bloom was last seen Friday afternoon in her Winter Springs neighborhood of Barrington Estates.

Right now, police said they do not have any evidence of foul play, but they have started the criminal investigation in case something suspicious turns up.

Saturday night, more than 100 people gathered to pray for Nadia's safe return at Oviedo's Lawton Elementary.


The vigil came together in just a few hours as people spread the word on Facebook.


It was mainly organized to help Nadia's young classmates who are having a hard time dealing with her disappearance.

Investigators used smaller groups to go out and search smaller areas Saturday. They narrowed down that area into 5 or 6 even smaller sections with 4 or 5 people, each with their own search dog.

They searched well past dark Saturday night, covering 3,000 acres -- resuming again Sunday morning.

The dogs led officers around all Saturday morning, but so far nothing has panned out.

"We haven't located any information to include nothing from Nadia's personal belongings or anything like that. It's very discouraging to me anytime that we go and go and every hour that passes we're not finding anything, anything at all," said Chief Kevin Brunelle, Winter Springs Police Department.

Nadia was last seen wearing an orange shirt with blue shorts. She was possibly carrying a black horse backpack.

Authorities have sent an e-mail with Nadia's picture to thousands of neighbors, as well as distributed paper fliers around the community.

Police said they did not suspect foul play, and believe Nadia is still somewhere in the woods, but wanted everyone to know what she looks like in case she's somewhere else.

Chief Brunelle said Nadia's family found her bike Friday afternoon with the "kickstand up, helmet hanging on the handle bars. No indication of any struggle."

Police said they are concentrating their efforts on a 5- to 10-acre section of the Black Hammock Woods, a dense marshy area where they said it is tough to see more than a few feet ahead at times.

"We have divers in the ponds, seeing if they can find anything," Brunelle said. "We have to eliminate it. We don't know anything, but we have to eliminate it as a possibility."

As many as 150 officers and trained volunteers searched on ATVs and airboats, mindful of signs warning them to beware of alligators earlier Saturday.

"It just pulls on my heart strings, because I have three kids, and I know she's scared," said Danny Ibison, with Florida-3 Airboat Search and Rescue.

"We've learned some stuff about Nadia that we are very happy to hear," Brunelle said. "She's an 11-year-old young lady, and she don't like to get dirty. So we don't believe she's going into, circumvent that mud -- and let me tell you: There's a lot of mud out there."

As the search entered its second day, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement deployed its Child Abduction Response Team, and police paid a visit to all sex offenders in the area.

Even though there was no evidence to support that Nadia was abducted, the problem is there has been no evidence at all of what happened to her.

"Right now there are no leads," Brunelle. "We have one thing: A child that's missing."

Police distributed missing posters with Nadia's photo at area businesses, hoping that if she comes out of the woods -- where rescuers aren't -- she will be met by a friendly face.

"Hopefully she'll find her way, or find someone who will guide her back to her family," said Tabitha Miller, a Winter Springs resident. "Pray for strength for her family."

The police chief said the parents have been holding up rather well. They have their pastor and family with them, and have cooperated fully with the investigation.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2010/4/11/605691.html?title=Criminal%20investigation%20launched%20in%20missing%20girl%20case&cid=rss

Teams Continue Search For Missing 11-Year-Old

Nadia Bloom Last Seen Riding Bike In Winter Springs Friday Afternoon
POSTED: 1:17 pm EDT April 10, 2010
UPDATED: 9:35 pm EDT April 10, 2010
WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. --
Multiple agencies and more than 150 volunteers continued searching for an 11-year-old girl missing from Winter Springs Saturday evening.

Search and rescue teams will cover up to 10 acres from the Barrington Estates subdivision, where Nadia Morgan Bloom was last seen riding her bike, all the way back to Lake Jesup.

Nadia's family members said she's autistic, and she requires medication. She was last seen Friday afternoon.

http://www.wesh.com/news/23112246/detail.html

Nadia is autistic and needs medication. I hope she is found soon, two nights now she's been missing.

The Anthony's went to their home Friday night and George went back Saturday.

I hope she's found soon too. It's so sad that there are so many new cases each & every day.

The A's need to stay away. I know if I had a child missing, the LAST people I would want involved would be THAT pair! JMO

George and Cindy Anthony offer support to family of missing girl

posted by halboedeker on April, 11 2010 9:54 AM

The search for missing Nadia Bloom, an 11-year-old Winter Springs girl, has been a top local story.

“She has seemingly disappeared without a trace,” WFTV anchor Eric Rasmussen said last night after Saturday’s daylong search.

WESH-Channel 2 talked to family friends at a vigil last night. The friends’ goal: Bring more attention to Nadia.

Television gave more time to the story for another reason: George and Cindy Anthony, the parents of Casey Anthony, went to the Bloom family home Friday night.

WFTV’s Rasmussen noted “two familiar faces” — the Anthonys — showed up in the Blooms’ Winter Springs neighborhood Friday night.

“We saw that she was missing. I said ‘Oh, my gosh, this is right around the corner.’ I said, ‘We need to go,’ ” Cindy told reporters.

“We’re just here to offer her family some support — a hug,” George said. “To let them know we understand, we understand what these first few hours, first few minutes can be like,” George said.

Were the Anthonys right or wrong to go? They did gain more TV time for the story.

Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/04/casey-anthony-george-and-cindy-anthony-offer-support-to-family-of-missing-girl.html

In the comments, our favorite commenter OrlandoEAST says, "Talk about a lack of gratitude! The SS Caylee could search the Lake Jessup area of interest and find a sewing needle pronto. Have you people ever heard the expression – 'don’t bite your nose off to spite your face'?"

“We saw that she was missing. I said ‘Oh, my gosh, this is right around the corner.’ I said, ‘We need to go,’ ” Cindy told reporters.

“We’re just here to offer her family some support — a hug,” George said. “To let them know we understand, we understand what these first few hours, first few minutes can be like,” George said.

Not to take anything away from the search for Nadia....but George and Cindy, what did you smell in the first few moments when you thought Caylee might be missing? ARR....pisses me off...

Desperate Search For Missing Girl Enters Third Day





Posted: 6:23 am EDT April 12, 2010
Updated: 8:42 am EDT April 12, 2010

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- Once daylight broke, search teams began a third full day of searching for a missing 11-year old autistic girl in Winter Springs.

Police told Eyewitness News they are not giving up hope that they will find Nadia Bloom okay. The search for her has been going on since Friday afternoon when Nadia disappeared from the Barrington Estates neighborhood. (see map)

As the third full day of searching got underway, would be rescuers are working with a new theory of what happened to 11-year-old Nadia Bloom. Police believe it is possible that girl may actually be trying to survive in the woods by herself.

"We found a book that she read on how to keep safe in that type of environment. I'm hoping that she's utilizing the information she may have found in that book to stay out there," said Chief Kevin Butler, Winter Springs Police Department.

Her bike was found last Friday near a wooded area that has become the focus of attention and has become the interest of blood hounds that are being used to help in the search. Investigators say there is nothing strange about the way her bicycle was found. It was parked at the end of a cul-de-sac, near a home, with its kickstand down and the helmet placed on the handlebar.

Nadia's sister told investigators that she has an interest in survival skills and even had two cameras and a survival book in the backpack police believe is with her.

But if she is trying to survive it would prove to be a difficult task because of the proximity to Lake Jessup, a huge lake filled with alligators.

"It's a bad, bad environment there, and it's going to be tough for anybody who's out there, especially an 11-year-old," said Chief Butler.

Before the sun went down Sunday night, searchers tried to provide help if she is lost or just exploring. They left water bottles for her with notes telling the autistic girl to go home.

During the overnight hours between Sunday night and into Monday morning, police used helicopters equipped with heat detection technology to try to locate the girl but they did not find anything. Searchers also said that while canines have indicated that the girl was in the area, they have not been able to track her scent.

Anyone with information on the location of Nadia Bloom is asked to contact the Florida Department of Law Enforcement tip line at 1-866-282-0672.


CLASSMATES RETURN TO SCHOOL

Nadia attends Lawton Elementary in Oviedo and Monday her friends will return to class.

Counselors are scheduled to be at the school Monday to help students and Nadia's classmates deal with their emotions.

Monday is the first day back for students here at Lawton and all over Seminole County because they were on spring break last week.

It is likely some of the students and faculty may not even know about Nadia Bloom's disappearance.

However, those counselors will be here for those who do know and need someone to talk to.

Parents and students from Lawton Elementary in Oviedo were among those who stopped by the First United Methodist Church in Oviedo to pray for Nadia Bloom.

Linda Sarabasa's 11- year-old daughter goes to school with the fifth grader who disappeared last Friday.

"We've tried to be involved. It's hard because it's not much you can do to help them, except give them our prayers," said Linda Sarabasa.

School administrators have made arrangements for grief counselors to be on campus Monday morning.

They will be available to talk to students. Some of them were at the school Sunday afternoon to make posters that will be used to help find her.

"I'm really sad because she's my friend. I've known her for a really long time. I really hope that we find her," said Sophia Sarabasa.

Her parents are optimistic, too. But they have also prepared their daughter just in case her friend Nadia Bloom does not ever come home safely.

"This is a very close knit town, it's going to be extremely hard on them," said Linda Sarabasa.


INDEPENDENT WEBSITE HELPS SEARCH

Nadia's family is saying, thanks, but no thanks to an organization that helped search for Caylee Anthony.

The Kid Finders Network launched the website NadiaBloom.com. The organization also spent Sunday handing out fliers with Nadia's picture on them.

Nadia's family says they appreciate the help, but they do not approve of the web site and would prefer that it be taken down.

At last check Monday morning, the website was still active.


http://www.wftv.com/news/23121215/detail.html#

I sure hope and pray that Nadia IS out there camping somewhere and that she will emerge from those woods and say "So, what's all this fuss about?"..I used to play/explore the woods near my home when I was a young whippersnapper...My family went serching for me too...However I was never gone overnight...I never did understand why they were worried...That's kids for ya...

I hope she is found soon too.

Estee, me too. I wasn't supposed to play in there, but I did, all the time.

Missing girl, 11, may have been inspired by book



Associated Press - April 12, 2010 2:24 PM ET

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) - An 11-year-old girl who went missing from her home near Orlando may have been inspired by a book about an adventurous girl who decides to go camping in her backyard.

The Winter Springs Police Department has been looking for Nadia Bloom since Friday.

Authorities say she disappeared the same day her sister and father left for a trip to the Everglades with a Brownie troop, and that she carrying a book called "Lanie" about a young girl who loves the outdoors.

Police believe she disappeared into woods near her house and say K-9 dogs have tracked the child's scent into the woods near Lake Jesup. No signs of the girl have been found.

Nadia has an autism-related disorder called Asperger syndrome.


Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com

http://www.mysuncoast.com/Global/story.asp?S=12296249

American Girl character and first book that was released:


Lanie Holland

Lanie Holland is an energetic girl who loves the outdoors and longs to explore the wide wonderful world.

Ten-year-old Lanie loves science and nature, but she has a problem: she’s an “outside” girl with an “inside” family. She longs to get out and go camping, but they all want to stay home. It wouldn’t be so bad if her best friend was around, but she’s halfway around the world, living out their dream of studying wildlife. Lanie feels she never gets to have any adventures—anywhere. But when her favorite aunt comes to stay, Lanie discovers that the wonders of nature are everywhere—even in her own backyard.

The second book is titled "Lanie's Real Adventures".

http://www.americangirl.com/index.php

I sure hope this is the case and Nadia is found safe, "camping out".

At first it was believed that Nadia had taken a book based upon one of the characters from the American Girl Doll series, ‘Lanie’ with her, but authorities found the book in her home.

http://www.examiner.com/x-32312-Amber-Alerts-Examiner~y2010m4d12-Amber-Alerts-and-missing-children-cases-Nadia-Bloom-photos-videos

I hope that this girl is found...the thought of alligators anywhere near where this girl may be is making me shudder. She probably felt "left out" when her father and sister went to a Brownie outing.

This will be her fourth night out in the elements. I know it's warmer in Florida, but it's been said that area was alligator infested. It's dark and creepy in the swampy woods...

Thanks for the update on the book, Julie. I hope there will be a positive outcome and Nadia will be found safe.

I hope so too. I checked around to see if anyone else verified the book update, but I couldn't find any.

NADIA BLOOM FOUND ALIVE!!! KH
http://www.wesh.com/news/23134261/detail.html?treets=orl&tml=orl_break&ts=T&tmi=orl_break_1_08270104132010


http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/seminole_news/041310-Nadia-Bloom

i just saw that on the news.. havent heard details yet, but what a relief, a happy ending for this one.

I am so happy and relieved that she is found and OK...Prayers have surely been answered...wesh will keep everyone posted when she is brought out of woods...There is a "woods truck" on its way to clear a path for them to bring her out...she is on a stretcher, getting IV fluids for dehydration and she is talking...only has bug bites and dehydrated...

This is great news!

This is fabulous news! Thanks for all the updates, ladies. What a joyful day for her parents, brings tears to my eyes. I'm sure Nadia was so scared, bless her heart.

This is absolutely wonderful news!!! If only we could have more cases like this

This is great news. I'm glad she was able to survive four nights out in the elements.

A happy ending, I'm so glad she was found.

I am estatic...Can't wait to hear of her experiences and what ever happened to her shoes???

God 'led me directly' to girl lost in swamp, Florida rescuer says

By the CNN Wire Staff
April 14, 2010 10:38 a.m. EDT



New York (CNN) -- The man who rescued an 11-year-old girl lost in a dense Florida swamp said Wednesday that God led him directly to her, and that finding her was no surprise.

James King said he set out on his own to look for Nadia Bloom on Tuesday, trusting that he was going in the right direction even when that meant through water or dense brush.

"I was expecting to hear her voice," King told CNN. "So I'm yelling, 'Nadia!' and at one point, I yell, 'Nadia!' and I hear 'What?' And I said that way -- right there."

King said he was surprised by the good shape Nadia was in. She had been missing since Friday, and though shoeless and covered in insect bites, she was in otherwise good condition, he said.

"She was not panicked. She looked like she had been sitting there, waiting on me," he said.

The two of them then stayed in the swamp, near Lake Jesup in central Florida, while King called authorities. When he got hold of a 911 dispatcher, he put Nadia on the phone.

"Hi. This is Nadia. I'm the girl who got lost," came the little girl's voice.

King said it took him "two hours of rough time" trekking through the swamp to find Nadia. He said he figures it took her just as long to reach the same spot.

She told King that she had gone on a "nature walk" and simply got lost.

The swamp was so dense, King said, that the rescuers who carried Nadia out on a black cloth stretcher Tuesday had to use machetes to cut through the brush, bushes and trees.

"I see it as an answer to a lot of people's prayer," King told CNN. "I'm just very thankful, I'm thankful that God used me as a part of it to be able to find her. It's definitely a miracle.

"I didn't know where she was. The only person who knew where she was was God, and I asked him, and he led me directly to her, straight -- well, as straight as you can go through the swamp."

King said he prayed the whole time he was searching, even when it seemed like he was going in the wrong direction. In one case, he said, there was water all around and he didn't know where to go.

"He said, 'Go that way.' And I'm looking at water. I said, 'Lord, are you sure?' He said. 'I got ya.' And as soon as I start walking, the ground under the water is solid. It's only about a foot and a half deep. He took care of me all the way there."

The disappearance of Nadia, who is described as mildly autistic, had sparked an Amber Alert that was canceled when King found her.

King and Nadia's family at one time attended Metro Church in Winter Springs, Florida, but they didn't know one another, though King said Nadia did seem to register him as a friendly face when she was found.

The church held an open-air thanksgiving service to celebrate Nadia's return Tuesday evening.

"Give the glory to God," Nadia's father, Jeff Bloom, told reporters after seeing his daughter Tuesday.

King had brought trail mix and drinks to give to Nadia if he found her, but he also brought another important item: toilet paper.

The swamp vegetation was so thick that the helicopter that came to retrieve Nadia and King couldn't see them on the ground. King said he heard the chopper overhead and tried to give the dispatcher directions for the pilot, but it still didn't work.

"I had brought toilet paper for signaling, and so I covered the top of a couple of bushes that were in more of an open area than I was in," King told CNN. "They still had a hard time finding me, but I used that on the top [of the bushes], and they finally were able to locate it."

Authorities questioned King after they got to safety, something King said was "unexpected" but understandable, especially given his ability to find Nadia so quickly.

"They also have a job to do," he said. "They have a responsibility to the community to make sure there is no foul play. And so I understand that, I understood it completely."

Coming out of the swamp was a blur with lots of hugs and praise, King said.

He said that he hopes he'll be able to see the Bloom family again, and that Nadia even hinted he'd be welcome: "She said she might invite me to her pizza party."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/14/florida.girl.rescued/index.html?hpt=T2

James King speaks about Nadia Bloom on Today Show, CNN

By Walter Pacheco

Orlando Sentinel
Posted: 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, April 14, 2010

WINTER SPRINGS — Nadia Bloom's rescuer James King appeared on NBC's Today Show and on CNN this morning and recounted how he found the Winter Springs missing girl.

"As soon as the sun came up I couldn't imagine leaving her out there," King, 44, told host Meredith Vieira.

King also talked about how his family's faith helped guide him to 11-year-old Nadia.

He told Vieira that on Monday night his wife, Diane King, told him, "James, when we lose something we pray in the spirit and we always find it."

On Tuesday, King packed a cell phone, toilet paper, chocolate milk and some other items and headed out to the swampland surrounding alligator-infested Lake Jesup.

When asked about packing toilet paper, King said "I thought maybe I would leave markers so that I would be able to have a way back out."

He said he headed east and eventually discovered Nadia — bug-bitten and dehydrated, but in good spirits.

Winter Springs police Chief Kevin Brunelle said his investigators were skeptical when they first heard reports of how King had found Nadia, but they found nothing to indicate that King was being anything but straight-forward with them.

"I think we're done with him," Brunelle said of King. "The man is a hero."

King is a University of Central Florida alumni who helped look for Nadia on the fourth day of her disappearance.

Nadia disappeared from her Barrington Estates neighborhood last week. She was admitted to South Seminole Hospital in Longwood Tuesday and left that evening, a spokeswoman for the hospital said today.

On CNN, he said it took two hours to reach Nadia through the thick brush and wetlands.

"I was surprised at what good shape she was in…[she was] not panicked," King said.

He said Nadia told him she was on a nature walk and lost her way in the woods.

Gary Taylor of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/rescuer-of-central-florida-girl-said-god-directed-563040.html

Nadia Bloom: ‘Today’ airs exclusive new photos of rescued girl
NBC, Today, WESH — posted by halboedeker on April, 16 2010 9:22 AM

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/04/nadia-bloom-today-airs-exclusive-new-photos-of-rescued-girl.html

You can't watch those videos without getting teary-eyed! Definitely a miracle :)

I hope everything is okay and that her infection is cleared up quickly.

Not very often is there a happy ending to a story of a missing child. Reminds me that there are still miracles and I'm so happy for this family.

Yes, mary - it is good that we can still be reminded of miracles among all the bad stuff!