Test results reveal high levels of sleep aid chemical

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer

02-27-2008

Benjamin Preuitt Stanford's body had high, but probably not lethal levels of a chemical sleep aid when the Lincoln teenager's body was found in Villa Rica, Ga., in November, officials told The Star Tuesday.

Carroll County Georgia Coroner Sam Eady said based on toxicology results, Stanford's body had "above therapeutic levels" of doxylamine, a chemical found in over the counter sleeping pills such as Unisom.

Eady said the testing showed no signs that any illegal drugs or alcohol were in Stanford's system when he died in a wooded area of Villa Rica, Ga., on Nov. 5. Stanford, a 17-year-old Donoho School student, was found shot in the head after a search by more than 100 volunteers on Nov. 13. His death has been ruled a suicide.

Eady said ballistics testing indicated the bullet that killed Stanford was fired from the gun found next to him. Scientists were unable to extract any fingerprints from the firearm.

Authorities had originally said it would be mid-February before the tests would be finished, but Eady said the last test was completed on Jan. 10. Eady said the case might have been hurried through the system because Stanford is the grandson of state Sen. Jim Preuitt, D-Talladega.

An FBI spokesman said the agency had ended its investigation into the matter shortly after Stanford's death was ruled a suicide and said he saw no reason why the investigation would be re-opened.

Full Story

Ben Stanford remembered by senate

The Star's capitol correspondent posts on her blog that the senate officially remembered Ben Stanford last week.

Family offers $100,000 reward for information

This is from The Daily Home. There is only one source: the boy's mother. I called the DA in Talladega and the FBI yesterday and neither would tell me anything, on or off the record. I'm not an expert, but I wonder if this is a family struggling to accept a terrible fact or if there are still plenty of wheels turning behind the scene. -aj

By Chris Norwood
11-27-2007

TALLADEGA — The family of Benjamin Stanford announced a $100,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and conviction (of) those responsible for” his death, according to fliers that began appearing around Talladega Monday.

Stanford was last seen alive Nov. 5 in Anniston wearing rust colored Carhartt jeans, a purple shirt, a long-sleeved, dark gray fleece and a white Polo cap. He was last seen driving a silver 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The vehicle was recovered on I-20 East near Villa Rica, Ga., the afternoon of Nov. 5. Stanford’s body was found eight days later in dense foliage about a mile away from the mile marker where the car was found.

A preliminary finding by the Carroll County, Ga., Coroner’s Office ruled that Stanford died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, but several forensic test results remained unavailable Monday and his family is not so sure.

“We haven’t heard any new information today,” Stanford’s mother, Lynne Stanford, said Monday afternoon. “I think they’re still looking at a lot of options.”

Lynne Stanford said, for one thing, she found it curious that “he had a money clip with a couple of dollars and his gas card with him, but his keys, billfold and cell phone have not been found. I know they’re working on enhancing the video from the gas station where he bought a couple of gallons of gas, but there’s a glare on the windshield, so you can’t tell if it’s him in the car or if there’s someone with him,” she added.

Lynne Stanford also said she found it “odd that someone ruled it a suicide when he was shot behind his ear. And I know there is absolutely nothing in his personality that says suicide. He deserves further investigation.”

The Stanford family is still in regular contact with Texas Equusearch, the search and rescue organization that found Ben Stanford’s body two weeks ago. That group became involved after the case began drawing national media attention, including television coverage on the Fox News Network.

Full story

Star strives for proper tone in Stanford story

This should explain a lot about how we work as a newspaper and about how we handled the Stanford case. -aj


By Bob Davis
Editor, The Anniston Star

An e-mailer to Anniston Star editors last weekend was
unhappy with the newspaper. She termed the absence of an
update on the missing Lincoln teen in Saturday’s edition
“shameful.” Our reader wanted the newspaper to “do its part” to help find
Ben Stanford, the Donoho School senior whose body was discovered in
west Georgia on Tuesday. We took that message — as well
as countless others the paper received imploring it to keep the story before
readers — as both a plea to find the missing teen and an expression of
readers’ faith in their daily paper.

With those expectations comes
responsibility. My response to our
e-mailer took that into account as I
assured her that there is no roadmap
on how to cover this sort of story. We had checked our sources
Friday, and there was nothing new to report. Still, our reader
wanted the paper to become an advocate, using our news pages
to go beyond merely reporting the story.
Balancing how we covered (and are covering) this story is a
judgment call. In times like this, we lean heavily on principles
of accuracy, fairness and tastefulness. We must avoid the sort of
salacious trafficking in a family’s tragedy that is too often standard
fare on cable TV news.
Under those guidelines, we set out to report on the search for
Stanford.
Over the past eight days, including today’s edition, The Star
has published numerous stories in our print edition as well as
many online updates.
When searchers gathered along Interstate 20 near Villa Rica,
Ga., early Tuesday morning to search in the nearby woods,
reporter Andy Johns and photographer Trent Penny were there.
Johns and Penny had an update and photo online by late
morning. Within hours, a body was discovered, and Johns filed
multiple updates at annistonstar.com. Online readership on this
story has been among the highest ever recorded at our Web site.
The interest is high, hunger for fresh details is intense, and
reporters and editors are being bombarded with rumors, but
the mission remains. We are obligated to serve the calling of
journalism, namely to check it out and not publish until we are
assured of its accuracy.
On this count, our coverage was incomplete when we reported
that, according to a Georgia coroner, Stanford’s body did not
have any visible signs of trauma. That version was amended
when the same coroner revealed Wednesday that the teen had
an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Carroll
County (Ga.) Coroner Sammy Eady explained to our reporter
that he had not noticed the wound when looking at the body on
Tuesday.
Equally important is presentation and perspective. Do the
headlines, photos and stories mix into an informative yet sensitive
reporting of the facts? With that in mind, Wednesday’s front and
subsequent inside pages were inspected by several editors, each
applying a fresh set of eyes, striving to strike the proper tone.
How often to update the story and where to place it in the
paper are difficult decisions. We – including Managing Editor
Anthony Cook, Metro Editor Ben Cunningham, myself and
others – took into account that many people are reported missing
from our coverage area over any given time, and we asked
ourselves what makes this one any different.
The decision to regularly update this story and make it more
prominent was driven largely by the way law enforcement
responded. Several agencies combined efforts and made Talladega
District Attorney Steve Giddens the point person. Another
factor was the public’s response to this story. Rarely do we have
readers turn so proactive about a missing persons case.
Also, to a much lesser degree, Stanford is the grandson of a
sitting state senator, which adds a level of prominence to this
story.
Every missing persons case won’t be handled the same way
by the newspaper, but those are the main factors that played a
part in the decision-making on this case.
Our difficult task is to inform the public without invading
personal moments of grief. Wednesday’s front page photo,
taken by Johns, was not lightly placed on the page. We felt the
image captured the emotion of students who had just learned
that their classmate’s body had been found. Had the faces of
the three students not been obscured, editors would have had a
more lengthy discussion of how far to go in capturing the emotional
moment.
As the story transitions to another phase, we will remain
obligated to being sensitive. Our reporters and photographers
respected the wishes of those at a Tuesday memorial gathering
who asked us to stay away. Likewise, our coverage of the funeral
and burial will depend on the wishes of Stanford’s family.
Let this not be taken as ambivalent detachment. The newsroom
in recent days has been a more somber place. As members
of this community, we, too, are grieving at this tragic loss.

Bob Davis is editor of The Anniston Star.

Students honor memory with candlelight vigil

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

11-16-2007

Donoho students try to keep the wind from blowing out their candles during a vigil for Ben Stanford. Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star

The candles wouldn’t stay lit at first at Thursday evening’s memorial service for Ben Stanford at The Donoho School.

The gathering of Donoho students, parents and faculty, swollen to well over 200, was spread in groups of twos and threes, some under the school’s carport watching a memorial video, and others comforting each other on the grass inside the school’s circular drive.

They huddled out of a cold, finicky wind, trying their best to pass a flame from one small candle to another.

Soon, a circle of seniors emerged from within the group and the flames found footing with them.

Parents, teachers, and classmates pulled in tight, their candlelit faces flushed with cold, and grief.

“Ben, we’re gathered here to say we love you and miss you,” said Coach Shannon Felder after a brief moment of silence.

But there weren’t many words to be said.

Pastor Dr. Roland Brown of Golden Springs Baptist Church briefly addressed the gathering.

“Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve walked through the valley of the shadow of death,” he said. “We hold this flame tonight to show the memory of Ben Stanford will burn within our lives.”

They stood, dressed against the cold, wearing subtle articles of green – a ribbon, a scarf, a green pattern of argyle.

After just a few minutes the program was over. The seniors had to caravan to the visitation at the Speed Dome International Motor Sports Hall of Fame.

But after a moment of silence and the extinguishing of the candles, the group stood fixed as if held there under a giant weight.

For more than a minute there was barely a movement save an occasional sniffle.

They stood in a collective mass, some holding each other, unsure or unprepared to do whatever came next, facing each other in the hum of the amber parking lot lights.

Then the seniors at the center traded embraces, and people began to break away from the edges.

Some moved toward the video slideshow and bulletin boards, others to their cars.

Mothers seemed to hold their children’s hands tighter.

Friends, neighbors, and teachers left notecard messages for Stanford on the green bulletin board.

One child at the board asked her mother, “Mommy, how do you spell remember?”

A former teacher wrote, “You almost chewed your pen off in 5th grade trying to do your English. Thanks for that memory.”

Donoho cancelled Friday classes to allow students and faculty to go to Stanford’s memorial service at 11 a.m. at the Speed Dome International Motor Sports Hall of Fame at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, with the Rev. Bob Blackwell officiating.

Investigation will likely continue into next week

By Chris Norwood
Consolidated News Service

11-16-2007

Representatives of all of the law enforcement agencies involved in the hunt for Ben Stanford met in Talladega on Thursday, but the investigation of his death will likely continue into next week, according to Carroll County, Ga., chief deputy Brad Robinson.

“We’ve got some other tests pending through the state crime lab, and we’re waiting on some other information from the pathologist,” Robinson said. “I’ve asked for a rush to be put in those tests, so hopefully it will be here in the next five or six days. And I don’t mind reporting on anything then.”

Stanford, a 17-year-old senior at the Donoho School in Anniston, was reported missing Nov. 5. His body was found Tuesday during an exhaustive search by more than 100 volunteers and the search-and-rescue group, Texas Equusearch.

According to Carroll County Coroner Sammy Eady, Stanford died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, fired from a .25 caliber automatic handgun.

Robinson said Stanford did not leave a suicide note. He said investigators know where the gun came from, but did not wish to disclose that information Thursday.

A memorial service is scheduled for today at 11 a.m. at the Speed Dome International Motor Sports Hall of Fame at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, with the Rev. Bob Blackwell officiating.

Stanford is the son of Bill and Lynne Stanford, and the grandson of Sen. Jim and Rona Preuitt of Talladega.

Stanford’s death ruled suicide

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer

11-15-2007

Benjamin Preuitt Stanford, who sparked a two-state search after he went missing Nov. 5, took his own life with a gun, according to one official in the county where his body was found Tuesday.

A .25-caliber automatic handgun was found lying near the body, Carroll County, Ga., Coroner Sammy Eady said Wednesday.

Eady spoke after the Georgia Bureau of Investigations crime lab conducted an autopsy on Stanford’s body, found in a wooded area near Interstate 20 in Villa Rica, Ga.

Carroll County Sheriff’s deputies remained tight-lipped about the case Wednesday.

No one at the sheriff’s office would confirm the coroner’s report or confirm that the body found was Stanford’s.

Eady’s account differs from the story he gave The Star Tuesday night, when he said the body showed “no visible signs of trauma.”

“From the initial scene, you couldn’t see the trauma because of the length of his hair,” Eady said Wednesday.

Stanford, a 17-year-old Donoho School student, was found after a search by more than 100 volunteers.

Earlier Wednesday, Carroll County Chief Deputy Brad Robinson said he would not release any information about what caused Stanford’s death. He said he planned to come to Lincoln today to meet with FBI, ABI and local law-enforcement officials to decide how the investigation should move forward.

Robinson said all unexplained deaths, including this case, are treated as homicides until proven otherwise. Investigators would not confirm that a weapon had been recovered or if authorities were searching for suspects.

GBI medical examiner’s spokesman John Bankhead said the examiner’s office could not release any information.

For the rest of the story and information about the memorial service click here.

Stanford’s death ruled suicide

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer

11-15-2007

Benjamin Preuitt Stanford, who sparked a two-state search after he went missing Nov. 5, took his own life with a gun, according to one official in the county where his body was found Tuesday.

A .25-caliber automatic handgun was found lying near the body, Carroll County, Ga., Coroner Sammy Eady said Wednesday.

Eady spoke after the Georgia Bureau of Investigations crime lab conducted an autopsy on Stanford’s body, found in a wooded area near Interstate 20 in Villa Rica, Ga.

Carroll County Sheriff’s deputies remained tight-lipped about the case Wednesday.

No one at the sheriff’s office would confirm the coroner’s report or confirm that the body found was Stanford’s.

Full story (free)

Students, staff at The Donoho School stunned by news of classmate

By Steve Ivey
Star Staff Writer

11-14-2007

Tim Miller, head of Texas EquuSearch, gives instructions to volunteers at a staging area in a shopping center in Villa Rica, Ga. Photo: Trent Penny/The Anniston Star

More than a week of guarded optimism at The Donoho School turned to stunned silence Tuesday afternoon with word the search for a missing classmate had ended with the discovery of Benjamin Preuitt Stanford’s body in Georgia.

Students at the school tearfully milled around the traffic loop, many wearing green ribbons as they had since last week to remember the 17-year-old senior.

Jan Hurd, president of The Donoho School, said she had been to the search site near Villa Rica, Ga., earlier in the morning to offer help. On her way back to Anniston, she learned volunteers had found the body.

Star Multimedia

Slideshow: Search for Ben Stanford

Hurd said Karen Hester, the school’s dean of students, gathered teachers to deliver the news, and teachers then told their students.

“Each day that went by, a little more doubt creeps in,” she said. “We’ve held out hope for the past nine days. Even the younger students who would not have known Ben personally were upset.”

Stanford had not been seen since the morning of Nov. 5. Georgia State Troopers found his car near Villa Rica later that afternoon.

Hurd said students gathered in the school Tuesday for a prayer, and ministers visited campus to comfort the grieving school community.

She said Donoho likely would have a private memorial service for Stanford later this week.

For more of the communities reaction click here.

Body of Lincoln teen found in west Georgia

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer

11-14-2007

Family and friends react to the news Tuesday that search teams have found the body of a young white male wearing clothing similar to what Ben Stanford was last seen wearing. Photo: Andy Johns/The Anniston Star

VILLA RICA, Ga. — The weeklong, two-state search for a missing Lincoln teen ended Tuesday with the discovery of a young man’s body. Now, investigators are trying to learn what happened to him.

Just before 2 p.m., Carroll County, Ga., officials stepped into an RV in a grocery store parking lot to deliver grim news to the family of Donoho School student Benjamin Preuitt Stanford. The body of a teenager wearing clothes similar to Stanford’s was found in a wooded area near where the missing boy’s SUV had been abandoned a week before. An official said there was no sign of what caused the young man’s death.

Star Multimedia

Slideshow: Search for Ben Stanford

The discovery came at the end of a search by more than 100 volunteers, who combed through nearly a square mile of kudzu and pine trees south of Interstate 20 near the west Georgia town of Villa Rica.

Carroll County Chief Deputy Brad Robinson confirmed volunteers had found the body of the young man about three-quarters of a mile from where Stanford’s 2007 Jeep Cherokee was found Nov. 5, a few hours after he failed to show up for class at The Donoho School in Anniston. Robinson said authorities would not be able to confirm the body’s identity until after a Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy today.

State Sen. Jim Preuitt, Stanford’s grandfather, said Alabama State Troopers told him the body found was his grandson’s.

Lynne Stanford, Ben’s mother, confirmed Tuesday that the clothing description “matched what he was wearing the last time he left the house,” and that the body was discovered “not a great distance from where the vehicle was abandoned.”

The discovery ended more than a week of searching by Stanford’s friends and family, but left many questions as to how he died, where he had been that day, and how his body came to rest in the kudzu-knotted field where he was found.

For the rest of Andy's story click here.

Online community bulletin board forms less than 90 minutes after body found

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer
11-14-2007

Less than 90 minutes after a body was found in brush near a Georgia interstate, an online community bulletin board called “In Loving Memory of Ben Stanford” was formed.

The group was the fourth Facebook.com group dedicated to Stanford. Those groups, along with a Web site devoted to the search for the missing teen and an e-mail appeal to state media to keep covering the story, were all examples of the Internet’s central role in the week-long case.

Throughout the eight-day ordeal the online bulletin boards served as a forum for supporters. It allowed them a place to post and share their grief, anxiety, and new information.

It seemed at times there was more information about the investigation coming through Facebook than through traditional news sources.

One group had more than 5,000 members. More than 100 comments were left from Stanford’s close friends and from many who had never met the 17-year-old.

ERA King Realty directed visitors from their business’ site to www.benstanford.com, where 11 photos of Stanford and an appeal for tips appeared with the latest information on the search.

Traffic through the sites may have been responsible for the 108 volunteers who showed up in Villa Rica, Ga., Tuesday. The search there eventually yielded the body of a young man believed to be Stanford.

Just over an hour after the discovery, expressions of grief began to fill the Facebook groups. Below are some of the messages:

“I love you, man. I’ll never forget all of the good times. I am really going to miss you.” — Los Angeles resident

* * *

“I can’t believe this has happened … I keep crying just thinking about his family and I never even talked to him. R.I.P.” — Student at Alabama School of Math and Science

* * *

“I’m gonna miss you so much man. Wherever I go or whatever I do [you’ll] always be with me. I love you Ben.” — Student at The Donoho School

* * *

“Ben … I can’t believe you’re gone… it seems like just yesterday you were riding up and down my street on your four-wheeler… I’m gonna miss you. Rest in peace Ben.” — Student at the University of Alabama

* * *

“I can’t believe you’re gone man. I’m really gonna miss you. You’ll always be in my heart. Love Ya Buddy!!!!!!” — Student at Saks High School

* * *

“God I’m so sorry…” — Student at Riverwood High School, Atlanta

Authorities say no signs of trauma on missing teen’s body

By Andy Johns
Star Staff Writer
Updated 6:00 p.m.

Volunteers searching for Ben Stanford this afternoon around 1:30 p.m. found the body of a young white male in clothing similar to what Stanford was last seen wearing.

Star Multimedia
Slideshow: Search for Ben Stanford

State Sen. Jim Preuitt, Stanford’s grandfather, said he was told by Alabama State Troopers that the body found was his grandson.

Carroll County Coroner Sammy Eady said there were “no visible signs of trauma” on the body when he arrived at the scene. He said the body was pronounced dead at 2:39 p.m. Central time, but the time of death would likely be sometime on Nov. 5. He said the victim was found lying on his back near the edge of the woods.

Robinson said the body would be taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Lab of Forensic Sciences in Decatur, Ga., tomorrow morning and more details could be released then.

The discovery came at the end of a search by more than 100 volunteers who combed through a wooded area South of Interstate 20 near Villa Rica, Ga., more than a week after Stanford was last seen in Anniston.

Carroll County Chief Deputy Brad Robinson confirmed volunteers had found the body of the young man, about three-quarters of a mile from where Stanford’s 2007 Jeep Cherokee was found Nov. 5, a few hours after he failed to show up for class at The Donoho School in Anniston.

Robinson said there were no identification cards on the body, but would not say if there was a wallet in the car or near the scene.

The body was found after many of the searchers had left the scene. One last group decided to make an extra sweep and found the body in a wooded area about three-quarters of a mile off the Interstate and about three-quarters of a mile from where the search started, according to police. The body was found about 500 yards from Northeast Hick-ory Level Road, Robinson said.

Continue to check annistonstar.com for updates and read tomorrow’s Anniston Star for more coverage.

Vigil held for Preuitt’s missing grandson

Consolidated News Service

11-12-2007

A prayer vigil was held Sunday for missing Donoho student, 17-year-old Ben Stanford.

The vigil was held from noon until midnight in the family chapel at the home of William Killough in Sylacauga.

With no new information on Saturday, the sixth day in the search for Stanford, his family said they were continuing to pray for his safe return.

“I have not been notified of any leads,” said state Sen. Jim Preuitt, Stanford’s grandfather. “I know the law enforcement officials are doing everything they possibility can. We hope everything works out, and he gets home safe. All of us have had death in the family, especially people my age, but nothing has ever been as tragic as this. We’re just hoping and praying for his safe return. We want our Ben back.”

Preuitt said the family is thankful for the love and support they’ve gotten from others.

“People have just reached out,” he said. “Friends have reached out and showed kindness. The family certainly appreciates the media coverage of Ben.”

Ben Stanford is the son of Bill and Lynne Stanford.

A Missing Child Media Alert was issued Wednesday by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. Fliers with his picture have been distributed to many local businesses and in Birmingham, billboards are up displaying Stanford’s likeness. A bulletin is on the “America’s Most Wanted” Web site, as well.

Also, a Web site, www.benstanford.com, is up for people to post information concerning the whereabouts of Stanford. It states that “all information given will be confidential and greatly appreciated.”

A $20,000 reward has been offered for valid information “leading to Ben’s safe return.”

Here's more on Stanford.

Texas group joins search for Stanford

By Todd South
Star Staff Writer

11-13-2007

Parents of a missing local teen have enlisted the help of a Texas search-and-rescue team to search the area where his car was found.

Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit search-and -rescue organization, arrived in the area Monday and met with local law enforcement officials, his office administrator Sheryl Lawless said in a telephone interview.

Ben Stanford, son of Bill and Lynne Stanford and grandson of state Sen. Jim Preuitt, was last seen in Anniston at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 5.

A Missing Child Media Alert was issued Wednesday by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.

Miller flew over the area where the car was found by helicopter Monday, and is asking for volunteers with all-terrain vehicles to meet at mile-marker 23 on Interstate 20 near Villa Rica, Ga., at 8:30 a.m. today to search for Stanford.

“They’ll search until the sun goes down or until we find him,” Lawless said.

Preuitt said there hasn’t been any new information in the case, and most of the reported sightings of Stanford have not led to anything substantial.

“Really there’s not any more information, just bits and pieces,” Preuitt said.

Miller founded the search-and-rescue organization in August 2000.

The organization began as a mounted search group mainly in Texas, Lawless said, but now has more than 470 members nationwide and conducts searches across the country using aerial scanning, cameras, ATVs and, if needed, boats and divers.

Currently the group is working on searches in Texas, Georgia, Illinois and Alabama. Miller works hand-in-hand with law enforcement, offering his organization’s assistance with searches, Lawless said.

The family is offering a $20,000 reward for valid information leading to Stanford’s return.

Stanford, 17, of Lincoln attends The Donoho School in Anniston.

Schoolmates wore Stanford’s favorite color, green, on Thursday and have posted messages and articles on the social networking site Facebook.com.

Friends have created a Web site at www.benstanford.com, with updates on the case and appeals for information.

Around the area, volunteers have posted fliers and held a prayer vigil Sunday in Sylacauga for the teen.

Stanford is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds

Stanford’s 2007 silver Jeep Grand Cherokee was found Nov. 5 around 2 p.m. by Georgia State Troopers about 75 miles from Lincoln, near Villa Rica, Ga., according to the Carroll County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Department.

The vehicle was in the emergency lane, doors unlocked and the passenger side door left open. The keys were not in the vehicle.

According to Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens, who is heading up the multi-agency investigation, someone used Stanford’s credit card to purchase gas at a Texaco station on Alabama 77 North in Lincoln near Interstate 20 at about 9 a.m. on Nov. 5.

To help with today’s search call Sylvia Bentley at 256-310-2800.

An alert flyer from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation is online at:

community.dps.state.al.us/Pages/wfAlertListing.aspx?Type=10&Status=5,10.

Anyone with information on Ben’s whereabouts should contact the ABI at 1-800-843-5678 or call the Lincoln Police Department at 205-763-7777.

$20,000 offered for info on missing teen

By Nick Cenegy
Star Staff Writer

11-09-2007

Three quarters of the junior and senior high class at The Donoho School in Anniston wore green Thursday. It was the only thing they could do.

While the family decided to offer a $20,000 reward, students donned Ben Stanford’s favorite color as a silent show of support for their missing classmate in the third full day without any word of where the high school senior might be.

“We just want him to come back,” said Jan Hurd, president of The Donoho School. “The students that were closest to him are very upset.”

Hurd said some students did not go to school Wednesday; others spent tearful hours with school counselors.

Students feel powerless, she said.

“Today they’ve really started to come together. They’re planning to begin wearing green ribbon and green armbands to show they’re thinking about him.”

Hurd said the senior class of 32 students is a tight-knit group with a history.

“We are a very close family anyway, but most of these students have been together since pre-K. So they have been deeply affected.”

She said Stanford had a reputation for being able to talk to anybody about anything and help his friends out in any situation.

Stanford’s disappearance Monday was a total surprise, Hurd said.

“When he did not show up to school on Monday, we notified his parents,” she said. Parents are expected to call when their children are not going to be in school.

“With a senior class of 32, we’re able to keep tabs on our kids pretty well.”

A Missing Child Media Alert issued Tuesday night by the Alabama Department of Public Safety said Stanford was last seen Monday in Anniston.

His 2007 Jeep Cherokee was discovered on Interstate-20 East by Georgia state troopers on Monday. It was later recovered and searched by the Carroll County, Ga., Sheriff’s Department.

The sheriff’s department also searched the area around the highway by foot patrol, with police dogs and by helicopter.

Talladega District Attorney Steve Giddens said Wednesday the vehicle “did not appear to have been wrecked and was still operable.”

Giddens also said a purchase had been made on Stanford’s credit card Monday at a Chevron station near the I-20 on-ramp in Lincoln.

In the absence of information, coworkers of Stanford’s mother, Lynne, at ERA King Realty decided to lend a hand.

“We are hitting every place we can think of with flyers and sending out mass e-mails,” said Sylvia Bentley, an agent with ERA King Realty.

She said Stanford was a familiar face around the office.

“He’s like one of the family. We’re just trying to get his face out so everyone will be aware.”

Realtors have been canvassing local businesses and posting flyers on bulletin boards advertising the $20,000 reward beneath a picture of Stanford.

Fellow students and friends set up their version of the same thing. Supporters began hosting a pair of online group message boards on the social networking site Facebook.com. One is called “Keep Ben Stanford in Your Prayers.” The other is “Wear Green Thursday for Ben.”

Participants have posted personal photos, news stories and messages about their missing comrade.

“I am praying, Ben and I grew up together,” wrote Katherine Stephens from Talladega High School. “I am keeping Ben ... the rest of his family and other friends in my prayers! Everyone keep your heads up and pray – that is all we have right now! Just be strong!”

Another young woman, Brandy Lea Waugh, wrote, “Ben, we are all so ready for you to pick up the phone and call, please let us know you’re okay!! I love ya babydoll!!”

Stanford was last seen wearing rust-colored Carhartt jeans and a long-sleeved, fleece, dark gray and purple shirt with a white Polo baseball cap. He weighs approximately 140 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes. He was driving a silver 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Anyone with information on Stanford’s whereabouts should contact the Alabama Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-228-7688 or the Lincoln Police Department at 205-763-7777.

Chris Norwood of Consolidated News Service contributed to this report.

Search for missing teen continues

By Chris Norwood
Consolidated News Service

11-08-2007

The search for 17-year-old Lincoln resident Ben Stanford continued with little new information Wednesday.

Stanford, a senior at The Donoho School in Anniston, was last seen Monday in Anniston, according to a Missing Child Media Alert issued Tuesday night by the Alabama Department of Public Safety.

Stanford weighs approximately 140 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes. The media alert says he was last seen wearing rust-colored Carhartt jeans and a long-sleeved, fleece, dark gray and purple shirt with a white Polo ball cap. He was driving a silver 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The vehicle was discovered abandoned by Georgia State Troopers in the emergency lane of I-20 East Monday, and was later recovered by the Carroll County, Ga., Sheriff’s Department.

Anyone with information on Stanford’s whereabouts should contact the Alabama Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-228-7688 or the Lincoln Police Department at 205-763-7777.

Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens, whose office is leading the search for Stanford, confirmed Tuesday that the vehicle had been impounded and was being processed Wednesday evening.

“The search of the vehicle is still not complete,” Giddens said. “It did not appear to have been wrecked, and was still operable. My understanding is that it was recovered Monday, but we didn’t know about it until yesterday (Tuesday).”

Giddens said a purchase had been made on Stanford’s credit card Monday at a Chevron station near the I-20 on-ramp in Lincoln, but he could not confirm who had actually made the purchase. Investigators were in the process of reviewing surveillance video from the gas station Wednesday evening.

“It’s still under investigation right now, but we are still hopeful of a positive outcome,” Giddens said.

Although Stanford was initially reported missing to the Lincoln Police Department, investigator Matt Hill said they deferred to Giddens and the ABI, declining to comment on the case Wednesday afternoon.

Carroll County, Ga., Sheriff Terry Langley told The Times-Georgian Wednesday the vehicle had been discovered by Georgia Highway Patrol just before 2 p.m. Monday on I-20 near the Villa Rica exit. The vehicle was unlocked, the passenger side door was open and there were no keys inside.

Langley said the vehicle had not been reported missing when it was first recovered, but later came up after being entered into the National Criminal Information Center database.

Carroll County deputies searched the general area where the vehicle was recovered and checked with area businesses that have video surveillance cameras, but found no signs of the driver.

Some evidence from the car was collected and processed.

For more on this click here.

Preuitt’s grandson reported missing

Consolidated News Service

11-07-2007

Law enforcement in Alabama and Georgia are searching for Ben Stanford, 17, who was last seen Monday morning near I-20 in Lincoln.

According to family members, Stanford weighs 140 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes, and was last seen about 7:30 a.m., Monday. He was driving a silver 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the time, and the family says they know he bought gas before getting on the interstate Monday.

The vehicle may have been seen in Villa Rica, Ga.

Ben, a senior at The Donoho School in Anniston, is the son of Bill and Lynne Stanford and the grandson of state Sen. Jim Preuitt, D-Talladega.

Bill Stanford said he could not confirm any other information Tuesday evening.

“We’ll know more in the morning,” he said.

Law enforcement in Lincoln and Villa Rica also could not provide any further information.

“We just hope and pray that our grandson is safe,” said Preuitt.