Mother of Missing 10 Year Old Girl Arrested

As state and federal law enforcement. desperately try to find a missing. 10-year-old girl who hasn't been seen. since June, her mother has now been. arrested. But the charge is interesting, as well as what she allegedly has been. up to. We are bringing in a private. investigator and psychologist to try to. get to the bottom of what may have. happened to [music] this child. Welcome. to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Obviously, this is a story we wanted to. put a spotlight on. It's important to. cover. Okay? And the reason that we can.

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your phone. So, if you're injured, you. can start a claim at forthepeople.com/lc. sidebar. You can click the link below or. you can scan the QR code on screen. Big development we have for you in the. case of a missing 10-year-old girl, a. child who has been missing for 4 months. We can now announce her mother has been. arrested. Now, it is interesting what. she is currently being charged with and. what that could mean. We are talking. about Gabrielle Patricia Terrellong out.

of Margate, Florida. This innocent, sweet child was last seen June 21st out. at a Walmart with her mom in Hollywood, Florida. But she was only recently. reported missing. It wasn't until. October 29th that she was reported. missing. And I'm going to explain why. Now, the Margate Police Department. posted on Facebook in part, quote, "The. Margate Police Department is asking for. the public's assistance in locating. 10-year-old Gabrielle Terrellong. Gabrielle Terillong is approximately 4'8. in tall and weighs approximately 90 lb.

Anyone who has seen Gabrielle Terrellong. is urged to contact the Margate Police. Department's Criminal Investigations. Division at 954-972711.". Now, WSVN reported also that she was. last seen wearing a white t-shirt, black. long pants, white Crocs, and this is. somebody who authorities said would. travel from place to place, more. specifically traveling between Central. and South Florida with family. And at. the time, authorities indicated that she.

may be with her 34year-old mother, Pasha. Davis, who was apparently last seen at. the time wearing all black clothing and. possibly carrying a large black. backpack, indicating also that they may. have traveled to Orlando. Oh, and by the. way, Miss Davis was in jail. Yeah. She. was arrested on October 17th for. allegedly shoplifting at a Dollar Tree. store. This is when Gabrielle's father. reported his daughter missing. He lives. in Central Florida. So, now you're. understanding the timeline. Now, here's. the thing. Before she was arrested, which is the current update, which we're.

going to talk about, Davis actually made. bond, was released from jail, and no one. knew where she was. Gabriel's aunt, who. last saw her niece last year, told NBC 6. that Davis is usually unhoused, that she. suffers from mental health issues, that. she was even Baker acted, that's. involuntarily committed, and refused to. stay with her, ended up disappearing. with Gabrielle. There was even a missing. child alert that was issued in Florida. The aunt saying, "I fear that someone. has taken her or she's given her to.

someone that she doesn't know." Her. mother does not trust Gabby with anyone. And so that is the most alarming, scary. part of this whole situation. She's in. jail for over 10 days and we have no. idea where Gabby would be. Well, now we. got to talk about what's happening. Her. mother, Miss Davis, the person we've. been talking about, has been found and. she has been arrested on a charge of. child neglect without great bodily harm. Okay. Her bond has been set at $100,000. She is ordered to undergo a mental. health evaluation, to wear an ankle.

monitor. Her attorney reportedly didn't. discuss where Gabrielle may be. And. actually, listen to this back and forth. between the judge and the assistant. state attorney. >> Am I to understand that allegedly she. doesn't know where the child is. >> Your honor, what's understood is she. hasn't said anything. We It's not known. if that's actually accurate. But to be. clear, the FBI Miami field office, which. joined the search, Margate Police. Department, and the Florida Department. of Law Enforcement, they have confirmed. that Gabrielle still has not been found,

that she is at risk. So, anybody with. information on her whereabouts is urged. to contact the FBI at 1800 call FBI or. you can submit a tip online at. tips.fbi.gov. or at the FDLE or the Margate Police. Department. again. 954-972-711. or call 911. Now, Gabrielle's aunt. telling WSVN 7 News Miami, quote, "We. don't have any clue where she is. I. mean, it would have been better if they. even didn't want to give her to me. They.

could have taken her and put her in. foster care, but there was more than. enough family members that were willing. to take her, but nobody was willing to. help to do the right thing. Her family. loves her, and my worst fear is that. Gabrielle is not alive." All right, I. want to bring in Joanie Johnston, clinical and forensic psychologist, licensed private investigator. I'm so. happy to have you and get your. perspective on this. Um, what concerns. you the most right now about Gabrielle's. whereabouts? >> I think what concerns me the most.

immediately, of course, is the mom is. not cooperating with police and she's. been reluctant to say anything about. where her daughter is. And I think when. you take that and you put it in the. context of what the relatives are. saying, particularly the aunt, in terms. of this is somebody who apparently has a. history of untreated severe mental. illness and substance use, who doesn't. have a history of leaving her daughter. with other people. Um, the fact that the. aunt has checked with people that they. know and the daughter is not there. the. fact that the aunt describes her um that.

the mom as deteriorating and getting. worse over time. All these things I. think are really scary in terms of you. know where where do we go from here? >> Could a mental health evaluation that's. being ordered right in terms of the the. bond conditions. Could a mental health. evaluation have you seen it ever provide. answers um from a defendant uh regarding. what may have h happened here? I think that a mental health evaluation. can be helpful in a couple of different. ways. You know, first and foremost to.

see um how severe this person's mental. illness is currently and probably has. been over the past several months. We. know, for example, that she was. apparently what they call baker acted at. one point, which means she was held um. because she was believed to be a danger. to herself or others. And it's that's. oftenimes a difficult thing to do. So. that means that at that point in time. this person was in some kind of crisis. So I think a mental health evaluation. can help understand for example if she's. suffering from delusions and what those.

delusions might be. Sometimes we see. parents who are um untreated who have a. severe mental illness and develop. delusions for example around a child or. a family member and end up harming that. child in the context of that delusion or. that belief. So I think it can help us. understand that. It can also help us. understand how disorganized or organized. she was in her thinking or her. functioning. If this is somebody who was. disorganized, particularly if she was. also using drugs or alcohol, she may. very well not remember what happened to.

her daughter. Um, so I think those are. the kind of things that those questions. can answer much more than directly, you. know, what happened to your daughter and. >> and I appreciate that. That that's a. good explanation about some of the. difficulties that may be found if she's. interviewed. Let me ask you, generally. speaking, you know, we don't know. exactly what happened here, right? She's. innocent till proven guilty. She hasn't. directly uh been implicated. Um well, she has been charged and we'll talk. about what that charge can mean, but.

what would be some of the questions that. you would ask? What would be some of the. ways that you can elicit information. from somebody, from a family member who. is potentially suspected of doing. something to their child? What are ways. you get them to open up? I think [clears throat] one of the. things that would be helpful is, you. know, first of all figuring out what is. she saying? What is her frame of. reference currently? You know, she must. be giving, you know, if I'm talking to. this person, I want to figure out what. their explanation is. Is she not saying.

anything at all? Is she saying she. doesn't remember? Um, you know, what is. she saying as an explanation? Starting. with her there. And I would also, I. think, want to kind of take her back and. try to do some kind of timeline with her. in terms of when was the last time that. she remembers being with her daughter. and taking her through that. Also, what. has her life been like over the past, you know, three or four months? Why does. she think that maybe her daughter is. with her husband, which is what she. apparently has said, or her, I mean, with the the child's father, not her. husband, um, with the child's father. So.

trying to get a sense where she is um. and starting from there and working our. way back um I think is going to be the. most helpful thing with her because if. we don't start with where she is, she's. likely going to shut down and not say. anything. >> Does it surprise you at all that no one. has found this little girl yet? >> It certainly concerns me. I mean if she. has in fact been missing for 4 months, I. think that is really concerning in terms. of we don't I mean she could be. anywhere. I mean she could have gone off. with somebody else. Somebody could have. picked her up. So, I think that part of.

it makes it much more complicated and. much more understandable in a way that. we don't know where she is. Also, the. fact that they were transient, they. moved around quite a bit, I think, makes. it also very complicated. So, I think. those things make it more. understandable. Um, and it's it's. frightening to think that you could have. a child who just disappears. And not. only do we not know where she is, but. nobody seemed to notice that except for, you know, a few immediate family members. for so long. And that I was going to ask. you the age 10 years old. Does that.

affect does that present a challenge. when you're talking about a missing. person? >> I think it's a challenge when you're. talking about any missing child. I think. that you know she's old enough certainly. to be to be verbal and be able to say. what her name is and you know where. she's from, who she's been living with. and those kinds of things. So I think. you know to that extent it's better that. she's 10 than she's three or four. So. she can you know she can certainly. communicate. Um, but she's still very. young and she's vulnerable, you know, and even though her aunt says that she's. kind of street savvy, she's somebody.

who's used to not trusting adults. Um, you know, her mom has kind of taught her. to be suspicious of other people. She's. used to kind of navigating the streets. At the end of the day, she's a. 10-year-old child and she thinks like a. 10-year-old child and that might mean. that she can be easily tricked to go. with somebody. It might mean that she. believes stories that you or I wouldn't. believe. So, she's vulnerable certainly. to that extent. when she's now been arrested and charged. with child neglect without great bodily. harm. It's a very interesting charge to. arrest her on. Obviously, the first.

thing that I thought is, is that a way. to detain her? Is that a way to maybe. get more information? It's a placeholder. charge maybe. Um, I hope it's not, you. know, placeholder charge if we're. thinking something worse has happened to. this little girl. But to charge her with. that, what did you make of that? >> I I would agree with you. you. I mean, I'm not an attorney certainly, but I. would think that that would be a way of, you know, keeping her in custody and. also hope hoping that she's going to. cooperate at some point, hoping that.

she's going to, you know, be willing to. sit down with them and talk about what's. happened um to her daughter as opposed. to them slam, you know, throwing the. book at her now and running the risk of. her shutting down completely. And she's. the only person who can provide likely. any insight into what happened to her. daughter. How difficult will be to track. her movements if you're talking about. somebody who was at the Walmart, who was. arrested, who was in jail, who. disappeared. Um, you look at that. timeline from the last four months. How. difficult is it to track her movements,

her actions? >> Well, I think on the one hand, we have. surveillance cameras everywhere, and. that's always a benefit to us. So when. she's going into stores and those kinds. of things, it sounds like that um that. that Gabby's aunt has made a lot of. effort on numerous occasions to find. her. So she knows it sounds like at. least some of the places that Gabby was. going and where she was staying and. those kind of things. So I think that. there's some optimism in terms of you. know knowing kind of the region or the. area where she would kind of travel back.

and forth from and the fact that there. are more surveillance cameras. But four. months is a lot lot of time to try to go. back and piece together. And so I don't. think that's going to happen quickly. >> And if they don't have evidence, and I. hate to get Macob here, but I I have to. ask, if they don't get evidence that. there was a disposal of some way, there. was no evidence of a killing or no. evidence of a disposal. is the next. natural conclusion that this little girl. like we talked about before um and.

mentioned before that she was given off. to she was handed off to someone else or. is in the custody I don't care of. someone else. I think those are probably the two most. likely scenarios at this point that. either something tragic has happened to. this child um with the mom and that has. yet to be discovered or that somehow. this child has been either given or. taken by somebody else which is I mean. both of those are very frightening. scenarios. Um but I do think that would.

be the probably second most likely thing. to have happened. I I I think it's a big. deal that they issued um a missing child. alert that that was activated. And just. to give everybody uh an understanding of. this, according to the Florida. Department of Law Enforcement, that is. when the four following criteria are. met. So you have a child who's under the. age of 18, law enforcement has a. wellfounded belief based on an active. investigation that the child is in. danger of death or serious bodily. injury. There is a detailed description. or photograph of the child to broadcast.

to the public and the local law. enforcement agency of jurisdiction. recommends activation. Thoughts on that. being activated and how much that is a. resource that can be used here? >> I certainly think it's it's been it's. time for it to be activated for sure. I. mean they've explored every avenue it. sounds like in terms of trying to get. the mother to talk and provide some. information about where her daughter is. and that has failed at least to date. And so I think second to that, knowing. that where she that she's been living on. the streets that she's been with her.

mom, that she hasn't been seen in four. months, um those criteria are certainly. met. And I think that's, you know, the. best avenue for for trying to locate. this child at this point as long as the. mom isn't talking. So I think that's a a. very important resource. And I'm sure. they're doing more than just, you know, releasing this information. I'm sure. they're looking at um what they know. about sex trafficking in Florida. I'm. sure they're exploring all those. resources as well, talking to people. that would have access to that. >> How much can the public help here? In. your experience, how much does the.

public help in these active missing. person's cases or missing children's. cases? >> I mean, I think it's incredible the. number of tips that have that have. panned out for law enforcement. And I. think one of the kind of really one of. the benefits of the fact that more. people are interested in in crime and. understanding what happens when people. go missing and people get hurt and there. are victims and there are perpetrators. is I think people are much more um eager. and willing to put effort into finding a.

child. So I think you know there's never. been a time like now where it's most. likely to be helpful to law enforcement. because I think people are have their. ears and their eyes open and they'll be. looking for her. Uh you hope so and you hope that the. more it's published, more it's. publicized. One of the reasons we wanted. to cover it and provide information uh. to people out there if they have, you. know, if they can contact law. enforcement, more eyeballs on something, the better. And particularly in missing. person's cases, time is of the essence. Uh uh FBI is now involved in this too.

How does that affect things? What kind. of resources do they bring? >> I mean, I think they just really elevate. the resources that are available and. their reach. So, I think, you know, one. of the benefits with the FBI, of course, is they're going to be looking at. multiple states. They're going to be. doing some coordination with different. law enforcements. And so, I think they. can really in some respects broaden the. search and intensify it. And I think at. this point, certainly every resource is. available needs to be utilized to help. try to find this little girl.

>> Now, if she did, Miss Davis did hurt her. daughter or harm her daughter in some. way. Okay. In your experience, in your practice, in. your profession, what could cause a. mother to harm her own child if that is. what happened here? Again, she hasn't. been directly implicated in the worst. that we can imagine, but if we are. thinking of different scenarios here, what could cause or motivate a mother to. harm her child?

>> Well, I think there are several. scenarios when we look at parents who. harm their children. One is there is. often times and again this is not. related to this case that we know of at. this point but sometimes you have. obviously a history of abuse right a. history of physical abuse that kind of. quote goes too far. So it's not a. planned murder but it happens and so. there's a history and a pattern of abuse. other people have often noticed injuries. on the child those kinds of things. So. that's one scenario that can happen. Um,

you know, number two can be the much. rarer scenario of when you have a parent. who plans to murder a child for the. child is an inconvenience to them in. some respects. They don't want to check. pay child support. There's all kinds of. reasons that a parent might murder a. child. And then in also relatively rare. situations, you have uh severely. mentally ill individuals who are, you. know, delusional. Um they're hearing. voices telling them they need to make a. sacrifice, for example, and their child. they're going to be like Abraham. I saw. a couple of cases like that where the.

person was hearing voices and you know. Abraham was called to show his love to. to to God by sacrificing his child to. develop this kind of delusion and the. child was in serious danger. Fortunately, no harm came to this child. But that that's another scenario is when. you when it's not just the person has a. mental illness, it's an untreated mental. illness and the delusions directly. involve that child. So, I think those. are some of the scenarios that come to. mind in terms of re, you know, situations where parents do end up. murdering a child.

>> Scary to think about. Um, before we wrap. up, I want to put up the contact. information one more time. So, you can. contact the FBI if you have information. at 1800 call FBI. You can also submit a. tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You can contact the uh Florida. Department of Law Enforcement or the. Margate Police Department at. 954-9727111. or obviously you can call 911. Jonie. Johnson, thank you so much for taking. the time. Really, really appreciate it. >> It's my pleasure. Thanks. >> And that's all we have for you right now.

here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcast. You [music] can follow. me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.