Mon 22 May 00 20:57
STEVE KEMP
The debil did it!

Missing Girl Turns Up At Home

Girl Says That She Was Kidnapped By The Devil

SACRAMENTO, Updated 5:21 p.m. PDT May 4, 2000 -- A 10-year-old girl, missing since Tuesday, suddenly turned up at home Thursday afternoon. The girl said that she'd been kidnapped by the devil.

Officers say that Alexis Bewick ran away from her home on Davenport Way Tuesday, after a having a fight with her mother. They say that she was having minor problems at school and was afraid of getting into trouble.

A dozen police officers and a pack of blood hounds combed the Natomas area looking for the girl.

After returning home, she was taken to the U.C. Davis Medical Center for examination where she was reported in good condition.

Police plan to question the girl to find out exactly what happened to her.

by TheKCRAChannel.

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--Follow up story:

Pair may face child-neglect charges:

Parents put daughter on 'restricted' diet, made her sleep in garage.

By Andy Furillo
Bee Staff Writer
(Published May 10, 2000)

A North Sacramento couple who reported their daughter missing last week are facing possible arrest for confining the girl to a garage and feeding her only bread and water, police said Tuesday. Gerard and Cheyenne Bewick deny mistreating their 10-year-old daughter. They said they did, however, put her on a "restricted" diet that also included fruit and that they made her sleep on a cot in their garage for three nights as part of "our creative discipline to help her make better choices," Cheyenne Bewick said.

No charges have been filed against the Bewicks, but police said they will seek misdemeanor arrest warrants from the District Attorney's Office charging them with child neglect.

The 10-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl were removed from the Bewicks' home Friday by Sacramento County Child Protective Services. The couple called the removal of the children a "kidnapping."

"There is reason to believe there is some abuse here," said Police Lt. Steve Campas. "There is sufficient cause to refer it to the district attorney for review."

"I've never abused or neglected my children, ever -- period," Gerard Bewick said in an interview Tuesday.

According to police, the Bewicks reported May 2 that their oldest daughter apparently had run away from home. Investigators said they searched the home but could not find the girl.

Cheyenne Bewick said the girl returned home Thursday afternoon "dehydrated, delirious, pale, bleeding from the mouth and distraught."

"She mentioned that the devil had taken her to a dark place," Cheyenne Bewick said.

Investigators said there is no evidence that the parents were responsible for the girl's condition and that no warrants are being sought for what happened during the disappearance.

In the missing person investigation, Lt. Bob Mitchell said investigators discovered that the girl "ran away from home to avoid punishment." Mitchell said she feared she would again be confined to the garage and allowed to eat only bread and water. Mitchell said the Bewicks imposed the discipline for a week-long period about a month ago in the family's home in the 2900 block of Davenport Way. Cheyenne Bewick said the girl's restricted diet also included fruit and that the girl was only required to sleep in the garage. "She did have a cot in the garage that she slept on with a sleeping bag and her favorite toy," Cheyenne Bewick said.

The parents imposed the discipline because the girl "had severe problems in school that had gotten worse and she hadn't responded to traditional discipline," Cheyenne Bewick said.

Both the parents and the police said they were at a loss to explain the girl's comments that she had been confined in a dark space with "the devil" during her absence.

A hearing is scheduled todayin Sacramento County Superior Court on the children's custody status.

from The Sacramento Bee

* Origin: Request MATZDOBRE its now on the backbone! (1:3603/140)