Police Looking for Missing Woman, Granddaughter


Portia Washington(54yrs old) & Angelica Livingston (7yrs old)

Updated: 6/15/2006

(West Columbia) - West Columbia police are looking for a missing grandmother and her granddaughter.

Portia Washington, 54, and Angelica Livingston, age seven, haven't been seen since last Saturday. Livingston lives with Washington.

Officers think the two may be with 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch, Washington's boyfriend who lives in the house.

He was last seen in Texas by himself driving Washington's car. That car is described as a 2006 tan Ford Focus with South Carolina tag 682 SEH.


Kenneth Lynch (Person of Intrest)

Family and friends say this disappearance is very unusual for Washington.

Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS or e-mail a tip to the Crimestoppers website.

http://www.wltx.com/news/news19.aspx?storyid=38844

Posted on Fri, Jun. 16, 2006
Woman, grandchild missing

West Columbia police are looking for a woman and her 7-year-old granddaughter who have been missing since Saturday.

Portia Washington, 54, and her granddaughter, Angelica Livington, might be with Kenneth Andrew Lynch, Washington’s live-in boyfriend. Lynch, 46, was last seen in Texas, traveling alone in Washington’s tan 2005 Ford Focus. The S.C. tag is 682 SEH.

It is unknown if foul play is involved in the disappearance, said police Capt. Tony Owens.

Washington is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 162 pounds. Angelica, who lives with her, is 4 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 50 pounds and has shoulder-length hair usually worn in braids.

Anyone with information can call West Columbia police at (803) 794-0721.

— Lauren Leach

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...=thestate_local

No new leads in West Columbia missing persons case

(West Columbia) June 21, 2006 - The West Columbia Police Department has no new leads as to the location of Portia Washington and her granddaughter, Angelica Livingston.

Washington and Livingston have been missing since Saturday, June 10th. They were reported missing by family members who became concerned when they could not make contact.

The man charged with stealing the car belonging to Portia Washington is now being held on $500,000 bond, and Kenneth Lynch is fighting being returned to South Carolina from Washington State.

Lynch is currently being held in the Whatcom County Detention Center charged with grand larceny over $5,000 for the theft of a motor vehicle belonging to Portia Washington. That's where he was arrested over the weekend.

Lynch is currently accused of car theft, but investigators in West Columbia think he knows something about the disappearance of his 54-year-old live-in girlfriend and her seven-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston. Both have been missing since June 10th.

West Columbia police said again Tuesday they had no new leads in the disappearances.

Also Tuesday, police searched around the area where Kenneth Lynch, Portia Washington and Angelica Livingston lived. The police chief says he felt the area had to be searched. They were looking for anything that could tell them where Washington and Livingston may be.

Police say Lynch is not cooperating when asked what he's been doing since he disappeared along with the woman and her granddaughter.

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall tells WIS, "The FBI did get to interview Mr. Lynch Monday. He talked with them for a little while. He had a lot of inconsistencies in his story. He didn't give up any knowledge of the whereabouts of Ms. Washington or Angelica Livingston. And he didn't give up any knowledge of him having anything to do with their disappearance."

Lynch is also fighting extradition. He has a public defender, and it might be 20 to 30 days before another hearing can be scheduled that would determine when Lynch will be brought back to South Carolina. That's bad for police, because as Chief Tyndall said Monday, time is of the essence in trying to find Washington and her granddaughter.

According to Chief Tyndall, Lynch was detained by US Customs officials early Sunday morning attempting to cross the border into Canada. Lynch was a passenger on a Greyhound bus.

Chief Tyndall says, "He was being real evasive about his answers on where he was coming from and where he was going. I don't where was actually headed to, but obviously he was at the border attempting to cross and once he got into another country it would have been hard for us to get him back."

Lynch also turned up last Wednesday near El Paso, Texas. He was stopped there by a state trooper who wrote him a speeding ticket. Washington and her granddaughter were not in the car during the Texas traffic stop.

Police say Lynch claimed he was taking the car he was driving, Washington's car, to its owner in Arizona.

West Columbia police have since determined that around the time of the speeding incident, Lynch used his ATM card to take out all the cash in his bank account.

Authorities say Lynch did not tell the truth when he was nabbed near the border either. Chief Tyndall says, "He told customs that he got a ride with a guy in a Cadillac to Seattle and picked up the bus from Seattle to go across the border. We asked Seattle authorities to go check around the bus station and sure enough, two blocks from the bus station they found the car. The tag was removed off the vehicle."

Washington’s vehicle, a tan in color Ford Focus, was located two blocks from the bus terminal in Seattle, Washington, where Lynch boarded the bus.

Over the weekend, WIS spoke with the girl's grandmother, Sandra Livingston, "I'm holding on because of God. I am so scared. I know something is wrong. I know this."

Portia Washington is described as a 54-year-old black female, approximately 5'7" tall and weighing 162 pounds. Angelica Livingston is described as a 7-year-old black female, approximately 4'3" tall and weighing 50 pounds. Her hair is shoulder length and usually worn in braids.

Police have no clothing description on either of the missing females. Anyone who has any information concerning the case is asked to contact the West Columbia Police Department at 803-794-0721.

Updated 10:55am by Bryce Mursch

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5049223

West Columbia relatives questioning speed of search for missing woman, child

(West Columbia) June 21, 2006 - West Columbia police are again asking the public for help in finding a missing woman and her granddaughter. And as they look for that new information, they're now taking some heat from one of the victim's relatives.

Angelica Cassandra Livingston is known to classmates and family by her middle name, Cassandra. Eleven days ago, Cassandra and a grandmother, Portia Washington, disappeared from their West Columbia apartment.

Police have searched near that apartment. They've interviewed friends and co-workers. But the girl's other grandmother, Sandra Livingston, is not satisfied, "They took too long to react what they're doing now. You know I appreciate what they're doing, but it's a little too late. It's not too late, but I feel if they would have done it earlier, this man wouldn't be where he at right now."

"This man" is Kenneth Lynch. Washington's 46-year-old live-in boyfriend was arrested over the weekend at the US-Canadian border north of Seattle.

Portia Washington and the girl remain missing, and police say Lynch has refused to tell them what he knows. So far, Lynch has not been charged with kidnapping.

But Sandra Livingston says police should have put out an Amber Alert as soon as they knew they were dealing with an abduction, "Police waited a little bit too late to do what they had to do. I don't care. Nobody can't make me feel any different and I do believe that. Not just me, a lot of people."

West Columbia police say the trio had been gone four days before they were notified. They then had to determine whether they were dealing with a crime, or just a case of people deciding to leave.

Police had no specifics that might help identify the victims. They do have Lynch and the car he was driving. "Right now, we don't have any clothing description. We have the car and we have the suspect. So what we can basically give out at this point would be just the description, their physical description. And that's not a whole lot to go on an Amber Alert."

The Amber Alert system covers all 50 states, and according to the official website, the criteria for issuing an alert include "sufficient descriptive information of a child, captor or captor's vehicle."

Meanwhile, there are no new leads on the whereabouts of Portia Washington or Cassandra Livingston.

A spokeswoman says police are keeping the mothers of both victims fully informed on any new developments.

Reported by Jack Kuenzie

Posted 6:17pm by Chantelle Janelle

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5062267

Man resists extradition in W. Columbia case of missing woman, granddaughter

(West Columbia) June 22, 2006 - State law enforcement agents are in the Pacific Northwest, trying to crack the case of a missing West Columbia woman and her granddaughter.

Meanwhile, lawyers are filing the paperwork needed to bring suspect Kenneth Lynch back to South Carolina.

It took only hours to bring murder suspect Jerry Buck Inman back to South Carolina. Inman, accused of killing Clemson student Tiffany Souers, had fled to Tennessee.

In 2001, Lexington County had no trouble retrieving Robert Northcutt, later convicted of killing his infant daughter. Police caught up with him near Atlanta.

It will take much longer to bring Kenneth Lynch back to the Midlands.

Lynch, now held in northern Washington state, is resisting extradition. That's one reason investigators are having a hard time figuring out what happened to his girlfriend, Portia Washington, and her granddaughter, Cassandra Livingston.

West Columbia Police Captain Jackie Brothers says, \"We're following up on leads. We're talking to co-workers and neighbors and friends and family, trying to get as much information as we can about Mr. Lynch, about Ms. Washington and Cassandra and their relationship and those kinds of things. We're trying to start from square one and know everything we can about these folks.\"

Police will need help from two governors. West Columbia police have already asked the 11th Circuit Solicitor's Office to draft a request to Governor Sanford. Once the governor receives that request, his office will send a warrant to the governor of Washington State.

If the governor there approves, then the warrant will go to the prosecutor and public defender in Whatcom County Washington, where Lynch is being held.

Legal experts tell WIS Lynch probably won't be served with papers for his transfer until well into next month.

Lynch and Washington both worked at Bob Bennett Ford in Columbia. Parts and services director Brad Clary says their co-workers are baffled by the case, \"I tell you what it's done. It's made us all realize that we're a family here more than just a job, because we all kind of rallied around each other.\"

Police say Lynch drove Washington's car to Seattle, ditching it there before he tried to cross the Canadian border.

Thursday night, SLED agents are in that city, checking the car for evidence that might help locate the two victims.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5067719

Endangered Missing
ANGELICA LIVINGSTON
DOB: Jul 2, 1998
Missing: Jun 10, 2006
Age Now: 8
Sex: Female
Race: Black
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 4'3" (130 cm)
Weight: 50 lbs (23 kg)
Missing From:
DIXIANA
SC
United States
PORTIA WASHINGTON
Companion
DOB: Jun 20, 1952
Sex: Female
Race: Black
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
Weight: 162 lbs (73 kg)

Angelica was last seen at her home in Dixiana, South Carolina, on June 10, 2006. She may be in the company of her grandmother, Portia Washington.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Columbia Police Department (South Carolina) 1-803-794-0721

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/ser...earchLang=en_US

Extradition delayed for man linked to missing pair

Posted on Sat, Jul. 22, 2006

A man linked to the June disappearance of a West Columbia woman and her granddaughter has been allowed another month to fight extradition from Washington state.

An extradition hearing for Kenneth Lynch, who is being held in the Whatcom County (Wash.) Jail, was held Thursday, said West Columbia Police Capt. Jackie Brothers. The hearing was delayed to Aug. 17 because Whatcom County officials had not yet received required paperwork from South Carolina, county Deputy Prosecutor Rosemary Kaholokula said Friday. Kaholokula said it’s not uncommon to wait up to 90 days for out-of-state governors warrants.

Lynch, 46, was arrested June 18 by U.S. Customs agents after trying to cross the Canadian border from Washington. He is facing extradition on a grand larceny charge involving the theft of a car belonging to his live-in girlfriend, Portia Washington.

Washington, 54, and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, who lived at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia, have been missing since June 10.

Contributing: Staff writers John O’Connor, Czerne Reid, Chuck Crumbo and Rick Brundrett

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...=thestate_local

http://z13.invisionfree.com/PorchlightUSA/...opic=9135&st=0&

Posted on Mon, Jul. 10, 2006
Fliers to be posted across the country
By RICK BRUNDRETT - rbrundrett@thestate.com

Prosecutor sees lack of evidence for further charges
A missing persons organization will post photos of a West Columbia woman and her granddaughter along the path the woman's boyfriend took across the country after their disappearance one month ago.

West Columbia police know some of the cross-country stops made by Kenneth Lynch, the man police think is linked to the June 10 disappearance of 54-year-old Portia Washington and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston.

* A hotel stay in Mississippi

* An attempted ATM withdrawal and traffic stop in Texas

* Purchase of a bus ticket in SeattleBut Capt. Jackie Brothers said Friday that investigators still have to fill in "a lot of gaps." The department has asked the state chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to post missing persons fliers along interstates in various states.

Today marks the one-month anniversary of the disappearance. Angelica turned 8 on July 1.

Brothers said her department is continuing to treat the disappearance as a missing persons case, but there are doubts the two left willingly.

"We still have hope," she said. "We're going to do that until we have reason not to."

Efforts to reach Washington's relatives were unsuccessful.

Lynch, 46, was arrested June 18 by U.S. Customs agents after trying to cross the Canadian border in Washington state, authorities said. He is facing extradition on a grand larceny charge involving Washington's car, which was recovered in Seattle.

Brothers said investigators continue to believe Lynch was involved in the pair's disappearance, though he has not been charged.

There have been no sightings of or communication from Washington or the girl since their disappearance, Brothers said.

Washington had custody of her granddaughter and lived with Lynch at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia for about three months, police said.

Washington was "in communication with people" the evening of June 10, Brothers said, though she declined to discuss specifics. Lynch reportedly was in the Midlands area on June 11, she said.

Since the disappearance, investigators have learned Lynch was in Mississippi, Texas and Arizona. Detectives believe he stayed in at least two hotels and carried cash only.

The trail grows cold between Arizona and Seattle, where Lynch boarded a Greyhound bus that was stopped later at the Canadian border. He might have traveled through California to Seattle, Brothers said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children plans to post missing persons fliers at rest stops, fast-food restaurants and convenience stores on interstates along Lynch's known travel routes, said Margaret Frierson, state chapter director.

She said her office also will contact other center offices in those states for help.

The fliers will have pictures of Lynch, Washington, Livingston and Washington's 2005 tan Ford Focus, Frierson said. Washington's car was found about two blocks from the Greyhound bus terminal in Seattle; Texas state troopers stopped him in El Paso for speeding, where Lynch said he was taking the Ford Focus to the car's owner in Arizona.

"Hopefully, someone saw the car or had an encounter with Lynch," she said. "We're hoping it will jog some memories."

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact West Columbia police at (803)794-0721.

TIMELINE

Jan. 10 - Portia Washington, 54, tells Cayce police her live-in boyfriend, 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch, assaulted her in their apartment. Her 7-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, is a witness. Washington decides not to press charges.

June 10 - Washington and Livingston, who now live at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia with Lynch, are last seen.

June 11- Lynch reportedly is in the Midlands area.

June 12 - Lynch is in Vicksburg, Miss., in the southwest part of the state near the Louisiana border, where he stayed in a hotel.

June 13 - Lynch is in Waskom, Texas, in the northeastern part of the state along the Louisiana border. Investigators believe he attempted to make an ATM withdrawal there.

June 14 - Washington and Livingston are reported missing by relatives.

June 14 - Texas state troopers stop Lynch for speeding in El Paso in the southwest corner of the state along the Mexican border. The missing persons report had not yet been entered into a national database.

June 15 - Lynch is in Casa Grande, Ariz., between Tucson and Phoenix, where he stayed in a hotel.

June 17 - Lynch buys a Greyhound bus ticket in Seattle.

June 18 - Lynch is arrested in Washington state while trying to cross the Canadian border in a Greyhound bus. He is charged with grand larceny in the theft of Washington's car.

June 19 - A $500,000 bond is set for Lynch, who decides to fight extradition to South Carolina.

June 20 - Investigators and dogs search the Saluda River area near Riverbanks Zoo and Garden for the woman and girl. Nothing is found.

June 22 - State Law Enforcement Division agents fly to Seattle to examine Washington's car, a 2005 Ford Focus found two blocks from the Greyhound station.

June 23 - Washington's mother and aunt hold a press conference at the West Columbia Police Department. The two say they fear the worst but have not given up hope that Washington and Livingston are alive.

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/129899.html

Posted on Sat, Aug. 05, 2006
Police: Missing pair slain
By RICK BRUNDRETT - rbrundrett@thestate.com

Prosecutor sees lack of evidence for further charges
The June disappearance of a West Columbia woman and her granddaughter is being treated as a double homicide, Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said publicly Friday for the first time.

"We're working it as a homicide at this point," he said. "I feel we have a strong case."

Although Portia Washington, 54, and Angelica Cassandra Livingston, 8, have not been located, Tyndall said investigators believe they are dead and were the victims of foul play. There have been no sightings of them since June 10.

Kenneth Lynch, 46, the man police have linked to their disappearance, was returned to South Carolina from Washington state Friday night to face a court hearing on a grand larceny charge involving Washington's car. He was booked at the Lexington County jail.

A bail hearing for Lynch, who was Washington's live-in boyfriend, could be held as early as today before a Lexington County magistrate.

Tyndall said Friday his department would request a high bond. "He's a flight risk, and we do believe foul play was involved."

He said their apartment at Park Place Apartments on Comanchee Trail was a "crime scene," though he declined to discuss specifics.

Tyndall said his department plans to present "all the evidence" to 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers for review, though no timetable was given.

Contacted Friday, Washington's niece, Tonya Oree, said she was happy to hear about Lynch's return to South Carolina.

"Maybe he can tell what he did with them or where they are at," the 37-year-old Columbia woman said.

Oree said she believes her aunt is dead, noting Washington, who routinely called her several times per week before her disappearance, "would have called me by now."

Tyndall initially said investigators were treating the pair's disappearance as a missing persons case, though he left open the possibility of other theories.

He said Friday that as time passed with no reported sightings of the pair, investigators began treating the case more as a homicide investigation.

Several West Columbia detectives flew to Washington state earlier this week to do more investigation and to pick up Lynch, who was arrested June 18 by U.S. Customs agents while trying to cross the Canadian border by a bus.

Washington's 2005 tan Ford Focus was recovered in Seattle near a Greyhound bus station where Lynch boarded a bus, authorities said. Tyndall has not said whether any evidence was found in the vehicle.

Before his arrest, Lynch traveled through Mississippi, Texas and Arizona on his way to Washington state, investigators said. On June 14, a Texas highway trooper stopped Lynch, who was alone in Washington's car, for speeding but let him go because a missing persons report had not been entered into a national database.

After his arrest on the grand larceny charge, Lynch was held in the Whatcom County jail near the Canadian border pending extradition proceedings.

Although it is rare, murder cases can be brought under state and federal law even if the victims' bodies are not located.

In 2003, Jeffrey Weston received a 40-year sentence after a Richland County jury convicted him of murdering his 78-year-old mother, Frances Franchey. He was the first person in Richland County convicted of a killing in which the victim's body was not found.

In 2004, Branden Basham and Chadrick Fulks received the first federal death sentences in state history after being convicted of murdering Galivants Ferry resident Alice Donovan, 44. She was abducted from a Conway Wal-Mart parking lot. Her body has never been found.

There have been no murder cases in West Columbia in which the victim's body wasn't located, Tyndall said.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact West Columbia police at (803) 794-0721.

TIMELINE

Jan. 10 - Portia Washington, 54, tells Cayce police her live-in boyfriend, 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch, assaulted her in their apartment. Her 7-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Cassandra Livingston, is a witness. Washington decides not to press charges.

June 10 - Washington and Livingston, who now live at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia with Lynch, are last seen.

June 11 - Lynch reportedly is in the Midlands area.

June 12 - Lynch is in Vicksburg, Miss., in the southwest part of the state near the Louisiana border, where he stayed in a hotel.

June 13 - Lynch is in Waskom, Texas, in the northeastern part of the state along the Louisiana border. Investigators believe he attempted to make an ATM withdrawal there.

June 14 - Relatives report Washington and Livingston missing.

June 14 - Texas state troopers stop Lynch for speeding in El Paso in the southwest corner of the state along the Mexican border. The missing persons report had not yet been entered into a national database.

June 15 - Lynch is in Casa Grande, Ariz., between Tucson and Phoenix, where he stayed in a hotel.

June 17 - Lynch buys a Greyhound bus ticket in Seattle.

June 18 - Lynch is arrested in Washington state while trying to cross the Canadian border in a Greyhound bus. He is charged with grand larceny in the theft of Washington's car.

June 19 - A $500,000 bond is set for Lynch, who decides to fight extradition to South Carolina.

June 20 - Investigators and dogs search the Saluda River area near Riverbanks Zoo and Garden for the woman and girl but find nothing.

June 22 - State Law Enforcement Division agents fly to Seattle to examine Washington's car, a 2005 Ford Focus found two blocks from the Greyhound station.

June 23 - Washington's mother and aunt hold a news conference at the West Columbia Police Department. The two say they fear the worst but have not given up hope Washington and Livingston are alive.

July 10 - One-month anniversary of the disappearances. West Columbia police ask the state chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to post missing persons fliers along interstates in various states.

July 31 - West Columbia detectives fly to Washington state to do more investigation and pick up Lynch.

Aug. 4 - Lynch is returned to South Carolina to face a court hearing on the grand larceny charge.

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/129902.html

Prosecutor sees lack of evidence for further charges

By ISHMAEL TATE - itate@thestate.com
Related Content
Police: Missing pair slain
Fliers to be posted across the country
Family concern grows
Sallie Jones, of Columbia, has been waiting since June 10, 2006, to hear from her daughter, Portia Washington, and her great-granddaughter, Angelica Livingston.

They are presumed dead, though their bodies haven’t been found.

“It’s really hard not knowing what happened to them,” Jones said.

In Lexington County, a man has been sitting in jail for almost a year, waiting to find out whether he will be charged with murder in their disappearance.

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall says Kenneth Lynch, Washington’s live-in boyfriend, knows what happened.

“I want to give this family some closure,” Tyndall said.

Lynch has been in the Lexington County jail since last August with a $500,000 bond, charged with stealing Washington’s car.

He isn’t talking.

And Jones likely will have to keep waiting for closure. There’s a stalemate between the police department and the solicitor’s office over when — or whether — to charge Lynch.

The final decision belongs to 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers. Murder cases without bodies are rare; convictions are even more so.

Myers says he doesn’t have enough evidence to prosecute Lynch on murder charges.

“We are no closer to bringing any further charges,” Myers said this week. “They just need to produce more evidence.”

Lynch’s lawyer, Ari Bax, could ask a judge to reduce the bond, which defense attorneys say is excessive for a car-theft charge.

But longtime defense attorney Jack Swerling said Bax likely has a reason for not requesting a new bond hearing.

Asking the court to reduce the bond “might force the state’s hand to go ahead and bring additional charges,” Swerling said.

WITHOUT A TRACE

There are more questions than answers in the case. What happened to Washington and Angelica? Where are they?

What is known is that Washington, 54, and Angelica, who would have turned 9 on July 1, have been missing since June 2006.

Lynch was found June 18, 2006, on a Greyhound bus, trying to cross into Canada from Washington state. Washington’s tan Ford Focus was found abandoned near the Seattle bus station.

But police don’t think Washington and Angelica ever made it to Washington.

NO BODY, NO CRIME?

Murder charges are rare in cases when the victims’ bodies are not found.

“You have to prove these people don’t exist anymore, that they’re not just somewhere else,” Tyndall said.

There have been no murder cases in West Columbia in which the body has not been found, Tyndall said.

But there have been at least two high profile cases in South Carolina in the past five years in which people were convicted although no body was found.

In 2004, Branden Basham and Chadrick Fulks received the first federal death sentence in state history. The body of 44-year-old Alice Donovan, kidnapped from a Conway Wal-Mart parking lot, was never found.

In 2003, Jeffrey Weston was the first person in Richland County convicted of murder without the victim’s body being found. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing his 78-year-old mother, Frances Franchey.

WHAT’S NEXT

Tyndall has been vocal about investigators’ belief that foul play befell Washington and Angelica — and that Lynch is responsible.

Police officials announced in August they would treat the case as a double homicide.

Tyndall said the apartment Lynch and Washington shared is a crime scene and physical evidence links Lynch to the disappearances.

Tyndall hopes Lynch will start talking.

“There are some things that we know that (Lynch) doesn’t know we know,” he said.

He declined to be more specific.

Myers said police had not provided him with enough evidence, though he wouldn’t say what he thought the case was lacking.

The choice to prosecute can be difficult because of pressure from police, the public and victims’ families, Swerling said.

The solicitor is “the one who has to take it to court and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

BEHIND BARS

Bax declined to say whether he was going to ask for a bond reduction for his client, which could make it easier for Lynch to get out of jail.

Bax said he filed a motion in January to compel the solicitor’s office to hand over evidence against his client on the car-theft charge. He hopes to have a hearing before an administrative judge next week .

“I’ve asked repeatedly for items, and I’ve been told repeatedly that I was going to get them, but I haven’t,” he said.

WISHING, WAITING

It’s been a difficult year for Sallie Jones.

Her mother, Frances Simons, died in March just shy of her 88th birthday.

She marked the anniversary of her only child’s disappearance in June.

She has stopped calling the police for updates.

“I just don’t bother them like I used to because I know they are doing all they can.”

Jones has been spending time with her sisters, but not a day goes by that she doesn’t wonder about her daughter and great-granddaughter.

She’s beginning to accept that they aren’t coming home but is not yet ready to have a memorial service.

“I just don’t want to have a service until they find them.

“I really wish he would tell what he done with them, but it don’t look like he’s going to.”

Reach Tate at (803) 771-8549.

THE CASE

Jan. 10, 2006 — Portia Washington, 54, tells Cayce police her live-in boyfriend, 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch, assaulted her in their apartment. Her 7-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Cassandra Livingston, is a witness. Washington decides not to press charges.

June 10, 2006 — Washington and Livingston, who live at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia with Lynch, are last seen.

June 11, 2006 — Lynch reportedly is in the Midlands area.

June 12, 2006 — Lynch is in Vicksburg, Miss., where he stays in a hotel.

June 13, 2006 — Lynch is in Waskom, Texas. Investigators believe he attempted to make an ATM withdrawal.

June 14, 2006 — Relatives report Washington and Livingston missing.

June 14, 2006 — Texas state troopers stop Lynch for speeding in El Paso, along the Mexican border. The missing persons report has not yet been entered into a national database.

June 15, 2006 — Lynch is in Casa Grande, Ariz., where he stays in a hotel.

June 17, 2006 — Lynch buys a Greyhound bus ticket in Seattle.

June 18, 2006 — Lynch is arrested in Washington state while trying to cross the Canadian border by bus. He is charged with grand larceny in the theft of Washington’s car.

June 19, 2006 — A $500,000 bond is set for Lynch, who fights extradition to South Carolina.

June 20, 2006 — Investigators and dogs search the Saluda River area near Riverbanks Zoo but find nothing.

June 22, 2006 — State Law Enforcement Division agents fly to Seattle to examine Washington’s 2005 Ford Focus, found two blocks from the Greyhound station.

Aug. 4, 2006 — Lynch is returned to South Carolina to face a grand larceny charge.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact West Columbia police at (803) 794-0721.

http://www.thestate.com/crime/story/130040.html

http://www.crimelibrary.com/missing_childr...livingston.html

Angelica Livingston

Eight-year-old Angelica Cassandra Livingston lived in the Park Place Apartments in West Columbia, South Carolina with her grandmother, Portia Sumter Washington. Portia also had a live-in boyfriend, Kenneth Andrew Lynch. Fifty-four-year-old Washington was known to be an honorable and reliable person, who was active with her church and Lynch was known to be abusive and recalcitrant. Young Angelica was a loving child who was devoted to her grandmother and liked to be called by her nickname, Cassandra.

On June 10, 2006, Washington and Lynch failed to show up at the automobile dealership where they both worked. Angelica's mother, Theresa Brown, usually talked with her several times a day and repeatedly tried to contact her, unaware that the phone had been turned off. When she went to her mother's apartment, she found it to be empty and her mother and daughter were gone. This was highly unusual and Brown strongly suspected foul play. She and everybody in the neighborhood knew how abusive 46-year-old Lynch was to Washington and Brown was afraid. She was sure Lynch had forcefully taken her daughter and mother away. The frightened woman called local police.

Authorities initiated a search for Angelica, Washington and Lynch. Members of the missing girl's family wanted an Amber Alert issued, but authorities did not have enough proof of an abduction to issue one. Initially, police did not want to file charges against Lynch. "Sometimes some people want to disappear for a while, domestic relations or whatever," said West Columbia Police Department's Chief Dennis Tyndall. "So it could be anywhere from that to something worse. We don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

Despite an expanded search, investigators still could not find Angelica and her grandmother. Eventually, suspicions grew that they may have been abducted by Lynch and this led to an Amber Alert. Several days later, U.S. Customs officials caught Lynch onboard a bus in Seattle, Washington, while trying to cross the Canadian border. Angelica and her grandmother were not with him. The missing car was located a couple of blocks away from the bus station. Lynch proved to be uncooperative with authorities and would not tell them anything regarding Angelica and Washington.

Authorities placed Lynch under a $500,000 bond on grand larceny charges for car theft. He was eventually extradited back to South Carolina. Meanwhile, investigators traced his trail from South Carolina to Seattle, trying to find the missing females. As the weeks passed by, the case turned from being a missing persons case to a possible multiple homicide case. Brown said she and family members have been praying for her missing daughter and mother. "I pray to God for him, too," said Brown, "that he'll have the heart to talk. Right now, I can't have hatred in my heart toward him if I want my baby and mother to come back. Just to wake up everyday and still have no mother, no baby, it's hard."

Law enforcement authorities consider Angelica Cassandra Livingston and her grandmother to be abducted and endangered persons. Anyone with information on their whereabouts and/or this case is urged to immediately contact the West Columbia Police Department (803-794-0721).

Man charged with murders of missing SC woman, granddaughter
The Associated Press

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. --Police say they have charged a man with the murders of a missing West Columbia woman and her granddaughter, after investigating more than two years.

Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said Friday 48-year-old Kenneth Andrew Lynch has been charged with murder in the deaths of his live-in girlfriend, Portia Washington, and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston.

Washington and the girl have not been seen since June 2006. Police have said they were likely dead, but their bodies have not been found.

Lynch has been held the Lexington County jail since he was extradited from Washington state in July 2006. He was charged with grand larceny after Washington's car was found near a Seattle bus terminal, where Lynch was trying to board a bus for Canada.

Arie Bax, listed by prosecutors as Lynch's attorney, did not immediately return a phone message left at his office Friday.


http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/575/story/486017.html

Authorities searching for missing persons in West Columbia

June 16, 2006
Reported by Jack Kuenzie

Six days have passed, and there's still no word on the whereabouts of a little girl, her grandmother and her grandmother's boyfriend. Now West Columbia police are trying to track them down and find out why all three seem to have vanished.

For almost a week, 54-year-old Portia Washington has been missing along with her seven-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston. Kenneth Andrew Lynch, Washington's 46-year-old boyfriend, has been unaccounted for much of that time.

Two days ago he did show up near El Paso, Texas, driving Washington's car, alone.

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall says, "Well, obviously we're handling it as a missing persons case. But also on the other hand we're handling it in case there's some foul play involved. There's enough smoke there to make us believe that foul play could be involved. We haven't got to that point yet to say it is."

Lynch was stopped for speeding. Tyndall says Lynch told the trooper he was delivering the car to its owner in Arizona. That was clearly not true.

All three live at Park Place apartments in West Columbia. Police say the lease is paid up and the apartment is in good condition.

Washington and Lynch both work at Bob Bennett Ford. Neither one called to explain why they weren't coming in to work.

Washington's mom told police she usually talks with her daughter several times a day, but hasn't heard from her since Saturday.

Washington's phone has been turned off. Chief Tyndall sees that as a bad sign, "It's very unusual for her not to tell her employer if she's not there and unusual for her to turn her phone off. Her friends and neighbors say, her family say that she usually has that phone on at all times."

Until a few weeks ago, the trio lived in Cayce's Riverland Park neighborhood. Neighbor Anthony Allen says the couple did not always get along, "Quite often they had disputes. I remember one night about 3:00, 4:00 in the morning I heard the police over there, Cayce police. And she was actually sleeping in a car, in her car. And the little girl was too."

Police filed no charges. Chief Tyndall is not jumping to conclusions, "Sometimes some people just want to disappear for a while, domestic relations or whatever. So it could be anywhere from that to something worse. We don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

Washington's car is a tan 2005 Ford Focus, South Carolina plate 682-SEH, last seen in west Texas, a long way from West Columbia.

Portia Washington is described as a 54-year-old black female, about 5'07" tall and weighing 162 pounds. Angelica Livingston lives with Ms. Washington and is described as a 7-year-old black female, about 4'03" tall, 50 pounds, shoulder length hair usually worn in braids, and unknown clothing description.

The West Columbia Police Department requests that anyone having contact with any of these people please contact the department immediately.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5039507&nav=0RaPWIlX

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/14854699.htm

Posted on Mon, Jun. 19, 2006

Arrest made in W. Columbia missing persons case

WEST COLUMBIA POLICE DEPT.

A 54-year-old woman and her 7-year-old granddaughter remain missing from West Columbia, but the woman’s car has been found in Seattle, Wash., and her live-in boyfriend has been arrested while attempting to cross into Canada.

Kenneth Andrew Lynch, 46, has been charged with grand larceny in the theft of the car, said West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall. Tyndall said the FBI has been asked to interview Lynch and paperwork has been filed to have him extradited from Whatcom County, Wash., to Lexington County.

The arrest so far has not shown any new light on the location of Portia Washington or her granddaughter, Angelica Livingston. The two were last seen June 10 by family members.

Lynch was detained by U.S. Customs officials early Sunday morning on a Greyhound bus, Tyndall said. Washington’s tan Ford Focus was found two blocks from the bus terminal in Seattle.

Washington is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 162 pounds. Livingston is approximately 4 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 50 pounds. Her hair is shoulder length and usually worn in braids. Police have no clothing description on either, Tyndall said.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the West Columbia Police Department at (803) 794-0721.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtl...ne/14855143.htm

Posted on Mon, Jun. 19, 2006

Man charged with stealing missing woman's car

Associated Press

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. - Police investigating the disappearance of a 54-year-old West Columbia woman and her granddaughter say the woman's live-in boyfriend was arrested in Washington while attempting to cross the Canadian border Sunday.

Portia Washington and her granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, 7, were reported missing by relatives June 10.

Kenneth Andrew Lynch, 46, was detained by U.S. Customs officials early Sunday morning while attempting to take a Greyhound bus across the border. He was being held Monday at the Whatcom County jail in Washington charged with stealing Portia Washington's car.

Her Ford Focus was found two blocks from the Seattle bus station where Lynch boarded the bus, according to the West Columbia police station.

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said the department is working to have Lynch extradited to South Carolina to face the grand larceny charge.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9396464/detail.html

Police Investigate Woman's Disappearance

POSTED: 8:43 am EDT June 20, 2006
UPDATED: 8:45 am EDT June 20, 2006

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Police investigating the disappearance of a 54-year-old West Columbia woman and her granddaughter say the woman's live-in boyfriend has been arrested in Washington state while trying to go to Canada.

Portia Washington and her seven-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, were reported missing June Tenth.

Forty-six-year-old Kenneth Andrew Lynch was detained by U-S Customs officials early Sunday morning while trying to take a bus across the border. He was being held at the Whatcom County jail in Washington charged with stealing Portia Washington's car.

West Columbia police say her car was found two blocks from the Seattle bus station where Lynch boarded.

Police Chief Dennis Tyndall says his department is working to have Lynch returned to South Carolina.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/14860862.htm

Posted on Tue, Jun. 20, 2006

Man connected to missing pair has bond set in Wash. State

WEST COLUMBIA POLICE DEPT.
From upper left, Portia Washington, Angelica Livingston and Kenneth Andrew Lynch.A man believed by authorities to be the last person to see two missing West Columbia residents has been placed under a $500,000 bond in Washington State on car theft charges.

Kenneth Lynch, 46, is the subject of extradition proceedings to bring him back to South Carolina from Whatcom County, Wash.. He was arrested there Sunday morning on a Greyhound bus headed for the Canadian border, West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said.

The search continues for Portia Washington, 54, and her 7-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, last seen by family members June 10. Lynch has been described to investigators as Washington’s live-in boyfriend.

Washington’s Ford Focus car was found two blocks from a Seattle bus terminal, the point of departure for the bus on which Lynch was found, the chief said. FBI agents interviewed Lynch in Washington, but did not learn any information about where the woman and the girl, he said.

Extradition proceedings could last 30 days, Tyndall said.

Washington is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds. Livingston is 4 feet 3 inches tall and weights about 50 pounds. She wears her hair in shoulder-length braids.

Information about the case can be called into the West Columbia Police Dept. at (803) 794-0721, Tyndall said.

http://www.wltx.com/news/news19.aspx?storyid=38969

"We Need to Know If It's Bad or Good"

(Columbia)- Patrick Livingston has dozens of photos of his seven-year-old niece, Angelica Livingston, opening presents under the Christmas tree.

"She loved opening gifts," he said. "Everything under the tree was hers."

However, Livingston is concerned that Angelica will not be able to tear open her birthday presents on July 1st. She has been missing since June 10th, along with her 55-year-old grandmother Portia Washington.

Since their disappearance, Livingston says it has been hard to sleep. "The other night, I heard the helicopter and I jumped up," he said. "I thought it was out looking for her."

According to the West Columbia Police Department, authorities arrested Washington's 46-year-old boyfriend Kenneth Lynch. He was apprehended in Seattle, Washington, while trying to cross the border into Canada, according to officials.

Lynch is charged with grand larceny for the theft of Washington's vehicle, but authorities say he offered no information regarding the whereabouts of Washington or her granddaughter. He is being held on $500,000 bond.

"I'm trying to be strong, but inside it's breaking me down," said Livingston. "I'm just hoping that they will find them all right."

Livingston believes Lynch knows more than he is telling authorities, but doesn't know why anyone would want to harm the seven-year-old and her grandmother.

"She'll do anything for you," he said of Washington. "She has a wonderful heart. She was very active in church. Angelica is an angel. She's one of a kind."

A photo of Angelica in a white, church dress is one of the last pictures he took of his niece. She is the only child of his brother, who was murdered in 1999.

"That was a part of him that we hope is still here," he said.

If you have any information on this case, please call Crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS or e-mail a tip to the Crimestoppers website.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...on/14865181.htm

Posted on Wed, Jun. 21, 2006

Missing woman reported assault
Police search for woman, granddaughter near Saluda River

By RICK BRUNDRETT
rbrundrett@thestate.com

Five months before she vanished, Portia Washington told Cayce police her live-in boyfriend had assaulted her, a police report obtained Tuesday showed.

Authorities still are searching for Washington, 54, and her 7-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, who have been missing since June 10.

The pair most recently lived with Kenneth Andrew Lynch, 46, at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia.

Investigators and dogs searched the Saluda River area near Riverbanks Zoo and Garden on Tuesday for the woman and little girl. West Columbia Police Capt. Jackie Brothers described it as “just a cursory search ... to cover our bases.”

Lynch was arrested early Sunday after he tried to cross the Canadian border in Washington state. He was being held Tuesday in the Whatcom County (Wash.) Jail on $500,000 bail for a grand larceny charge involving Washington’s car.

Washington told Cayce police Jan. 10 that Lynch had pushed her down onto the floor of their former New State Road home and pinned her against a wall when she got up. She had visible — though minor — injuries, the incident report said.

Washington, who said she had breast cancer, initially wanted to press charges, saying a 7-year-old girl witnessed the assault, the report said.

But she later asked police to drop the charges, saying Lynch had been upset about the death of his mother.

“It looks like at this point they had a rocky relationship,” West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said Tuesday.

Tyndall said neighbors at the Park Place apartment complex on Comanchee Trail told investigators about recent arguments involving the couple. The couple and Angelica had lived in the apartment for about three months.

Tyndall said his department had no reports of any problems involving the couple. He also said investigators have not established a motive in the disappearance of Washington and her granddaughter and were pursuing all leads.

Lynch has no criminal record in South Carolina.

Investigators believe Washington and her granddaughter were with Lynch when they disappeared. Tyndall said he suspects they vanished somewhere between South Carolina and El Paso, Texas, where Lynch was stopped June 14 driving alone in Washington’s car.

Tyndall said state troopers didn’t detain Lynch then because the three were not reported missing until that day. Information about them wasn’t put into a national computer database until after he had been stopped.

Lynch made several ATM cash withdrawals of $200 to $300 in Texas, eventually overdrawing his personal bank account, Tyndall said.

He said he thinks Lynch first thought about going to Mexico but reconsidered because of recent efforts to beef up security along the border.

Lynch is accused of stealing Washington’s 2005 tan Ford Focus, which was recovered in Seattle near a Greyhound bus station where Lynch had boarded a bus, Tyndall said.

U.S. Customs officials early Sunday stopped the bus at the Canadian border and detained Lynch after learning about the missing persons report.

Lynch decided to fight extradition to South Carolina at a hearing Monday afternoon in Whatcom County Superior Court, said Dawn Rood, a spokeswoman in the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office. An extradition hearing likely won’t be held for at least 30 days.

A judge at the hearing could order Lynch returned immediately to South Carolina once his identity and arrest papers are confirmed, said C. H. Jones Jr., a senior S.C. assistant attorney general.

http://www.wltx.com/news/news19.aspx?storyid=39000

Police: Lynch Says He Has No Role in Disappearance

(West Columbia) - West Columbia police said Wednesday a man arrested in connection with a disappearance states he has no role in the mystery.

Investigators say 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch says he doesn't know where 55-year-old Portia Washington and seven-year-old Angelica Livingston are. Police say Lynch has hired a lawyer, and isn't saying much right now.

Washington and Livingston have not been seen since June 10th.

Lynch was arrested Sunday trying to cross the U.S.-Canadian border on a Greyhound bus. Officers say he drove Washington's car to the bus station in Seattle. Lynch been charged with grand larceny in the theft of that car.

Officers said Wednesday they've search wooded areas around Washington's home and work in an effort to find new clues. They've also requested an order to examine the car which was taken into custody in Seattle.

Police here are working to bring Lynch back to South Carolina, but they say that process could take up to a month to complete.

Anyone with information in this case should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS, or
e-mail a tip to the Crimestoppers website.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5062267

West Columbia relatives questioning speed of search for missing woman, child

(West Columbia) June 21, 2006 - West Columbia police are again asking the public for help in finding a missing woman and her granddaughter. And as they look for that new information, they're now taking some heat from one of the victim's relatives.

Angelica Cassandra Livingston is known to classmates and family by her middle name, Cassandra. Eleven days ago, Cassandra and a grandmother, Portia Washington, disappeared from their West Columbia apartment.

Police have searched near that apartment. They've interviewed friends and co-workers. But the girl's other grandmother, Sandra Livingston, is not satisfied, "They took too long to react what they're doing now. You know I appreciate what they're doing, but it's a little too late. It's not too late, but I feel if they would have done it earlier, this man wouldn't be where he at right now."

"This man" is Kenneth Lynch. Washington's 46-year-old live-in boyfriend was arrested over the weekend at the US-Canadian border north of Seattle.

Portia Washington and the girl remain missing, and police say Lynch has refused to tell them what he knows. So far, Lynch has not been charged with kidnapping.

But Sandra Livingston says police should have put out an Amber Alert as soon as they knew they were dealing with an abduction, "Police waited a little bit too late to do what they had to do. I don't care. Nobody can't make me feel any different and I do believe that. Not just me, a lot of people."

West Columbia police say the trio had been gone four days before they were notified. They then had to determine whether they were dealing with a crime, or just a case of people deciding to leave.

Police had no specifics that might help identify the victims. They do have Lynch and the car he was driving. "Right now, we don't have any clothing description. We have the car and we have the suspect. So what we can basically give out at this point would be just the description, their physical description. And that's not a whole lot to go on an Amber Alert."

The Amber Alert system covers all 50 states, and according to the official website, the criteria for issuing an alert include "sufficient descriptive information of a child, captor or captor's vehicle."

Meanwhile, there are no new leads on the whereabouts of Portia Washington or Cassandra Livingston.

A spokeswoman says police are keeping the mothers of both victims fully informed on any new developments.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/14877822.htm

Posted on Thu, Jun. 22, 2006

SLED agents in Seattle seeking clues in missing-persons case

WEST COLUMBIA POLICE DEPT.

South Carolina SLED agents traveled to Seattle on Wednesday to examine the car belonging to a missing West Columbia woman, hoping to find evidence about where she is.

Portia Washington, 54, went missing June 10, along with her granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, 7.

Her car, a Ford Focus, was found Sunday two blocks from a Greyhound station in Seattle. Washington’s live-in boyfriend, Kenneth Lynch, was detained by U.S. Customs agents that day on a bus that departed from the station enroute to the Canadian border.

He is being held on $500,000 bail in a Whatcom County, Wash., jail as extradition proceedings continue.

Seattle police inventoried the contents of the vehicle, but West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said two State Law Enforcement Division agents flew there Wednesday to conduct a forensic examination.

Investigators also are trying to piece together a timeline of Lynch’s movements from June 10 through Sunday, Tyndall said.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5067719

Man resists extradition in W. Columbia case of missing woman, granddaughter

(West Columbia) June 22, 2006 - State law enforcement agents are in the Pacific Northwest, trying to crack the case of a missing West Columbia woman and her granddaughter.

Meanwhile, lawyers are filing the paperwork needed to bring suspect Kenneth Lynch back to South Carolina.

It took only hours to bring murder suspect Jerry Buck Inman back to South Carolina. Inman, accused of killing Clemson student Tiffany Souers, had fled to Tennessee.

In 2001, Lexington County had no trouble retrieving Robert Northcutt, later convicted of killing his infant daughter. Police caught up with him near Atlanta.

It will take much longer to bring Kenneth Lynch back to the Midlands.

Lynch, now held in northern Washington state, is resisting extradition. That's one reason investigators are having a hard time figuring out what happened to his girlfriend, Portia Washington, and her granddaughter, Cassandra Livingston.

West Columbia Police Captain Jackie Brothers says, "We're following up on leads. We're talking to co-workers and neighbors and friends and family, trying to get as much information as we can about Mr. Lynch, about Ms. Washington and Cassandra and their relationship and those kinds of things. We're trying to start from square one and know everything we can about these folks."

Police will need help from two governors. West Columbia police have already asked the 11th Circuit Solicitor's Office to draft a request to Governor Sanford. Once the governor receives that request, his office will send a warrant to the governor of Washington State.

If the governor there approves, then the warrant will go to the prosecutor and public defender in Whatcom County Washington, where Lynch is being held.

Legal experts tell WIS Lynch probably won't be served with papers for his transfer until well into next month.

Lynch and Washington both worked at Bob Bennett Ford in Columbia. Parts and services director Brad Clary says their co-workers are baffled by the case, "I tell you what it's done. It's made us all realize that we're a family here more than just a job, because we all kind of rallied around each other."

Police say Lynch drove Washington's car to Seattle, ditching it there before he tried to cross the Canadian border.

Thursday night, SLED agents are in that city, checking the car for evidence that might help locate the two victims.

http://www.wltx.com/news/news19.aspx?storyid=39068

"Please Help Us"

(West Columbia) - The family of a missing woman and her granddaughter appealed to the public Friday to help them find their missing loved ones.

Portia Washington, 55, and seven-year-old Angelica Livingston have been missing since June 10th.

Sallie Jones, Washington's mother, and Vernelle Bellamy, her aunt, spoke at a news conference Friday.

"I haven't heard anything from her," says Jones. "She always calls me two or three times a day...my only child's gone."

Bellamy thanked the public for their support and said, "Please help us."

Meanwhile, West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall updated the investigation. He said Friday that SLED agents had completed their examination of Washington's car.

The car was discovered two blocks from a Greyhound bus station where officers say Washington's boyfriend, 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch, abandoned it. So far, the theft of that vehicle is the only crime Lynch is charged with. Investigators say he refuses to say if he knows anything about where Washington and Livingston are.

Tyndall says at this time, it's not clear if any useful information will come out of the examination of the car.

Tyndall also said Friday that it appears Lynch tried first to enter Mexico after leaving South Carolina, but for some reason turned north to try and cross the Canadian border.

Lynch was ultimately arrested by U.S. border patrol agents June 18th while trying to cross over on a Greyhound bus.

The effort to extradite him back to South Carolina for questioning will have to wait until July 20th, when Lynch will have his next hearing in Washington State.

If you have any information which could help authorities, call crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS or e-mail a tip to the Crimestoppers website.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5071451

Relatives of missing W. Columbia family speak out

(West Columbia) June 23, 2006 - State investigators have wrapped up their look at a car belonging to a missing West Columbia woman. It's not clear whether they found anything that might help locate her or her granddaughter.

Portia Washington and seven-year-old Cassandra Livingston have been missing for almost two weeks.

Authorities in Washington State are holding Portia Washington's boyfriend, Kenneth Lynch.

On Wednesday, SLED agents flew to Seattle to examine the car Lynch was driving.
Meanwhile, more family members pleaded for help finding the two victims. They also thanked the community.

Vernelle Bellamy, Portia Washington's aunt, said, "People that we know and people that we don't know...have really supported the family and really have given us strength by all the hard work that they have put into this case. We want to thank the police department for the support that they're giving us."

Washington's mother says she used to talk with her daughter two or three times a day.

Sallie Jones says it's hard to imagine losing her only child.

MISSING WOMAN, GRANDCHILD
Family’s concern grows
‘If she was in fear, she would try to get someone to help her’

By RICK BRUNDRETT
rbrundrett@thestate.com

The day before she disappeared, 7-year-old Angelica Livingston went shopping with her great-great-aunt, Vernelle Bellamy — a favorite activity of the little girl.

“She picked out this purse for me,” a smiling Bellamy recalled of their trip to TJ Maxx on Harbison Boulevard.

Bellamy and other relatives are trying to hold onto pleasant memories as West Columbia police continue their search for Angelica and her 54-year-old grandmother, Portia Washington.

The pair, who lived with Washington’s boyfriend, Kenneth Lynch, 46, at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia, have been missing since June 10.

Bellamy and Washington’s mother, Sallie Jones, briefly shared their feelings Friday at a press conference at the West Columbia Police Department. The Columbia sisters were tearful, hugging each other for support at one point.

“You can’t imagine what I’m going through — my only child gone,” Jones told reporters.

Said Bellamy: “Someone may see something. Someone may know something. If you do, please help us.”

Lynch was arrested early Sunday after trying to cross the Canadian border in Washington state. He is facing extradition on a grand larceny charge involving Washington’s car, which was recovered in Seattle.

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said the whereabouts of Washington and her granddaughter remain unknown. He said investigators are pursuing all leads.

Capt. Jackie Brothers said the state chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has offered to help in the search.

In an interview after the press conference, Jones said she fears the worst as time progresses.

“It’s the 14th or 15th day. Something happened to my daughter. If something didn’t, she would have called me.”

Jones said her daughter grew up in Columbia and has worked at Bob Bennett Ford here for four or five years. Washington worked on the cleaning staff, while Lynch worked in the dealership’s shipping and receiving parts department.

Washington had been married previously, Jones said. She has a grown daughter in Columbia and a grown son in Greenville.

Tyndall barred reporters from asking Jones and Bellamy about the relationship between Washington and Lynch. Washington told Cayce police in January that Lynch had assaulted her at their former home in Cayce, though no arrest was made, according to a police report obtained earlier this week by The State newspaper.

Washington had custody of Angelica. Angelica’s two brothers, Eddie Brown, 14, and Terry Brown, 9, live with Bellamy. The boys were at the press conference and spoke with The State afterward.

They said their sister likes to jump on a trampoline, swim and ride her bicycle. Jones said her great-granddaughter also has a collection of 10 to 15 dolls.

Angelica attended C.A. Taylor Elementary in Cayce and was planning to transfer in the fall to the second grade at Hyatt Park Elementary in Columbia, where Terry attends, Bellamy said.

Bellamy said Angelica’s outgoing personality makes her disappearance all the more of a concern.

“If she was in fear, she would try to get someone to help her.”

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...thestate_nation

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5133439

Posters of missing West Columbia persons sent out nationwide
Jack Kuenzie on missing West Columbia woman, granddaughter

(West Columbia) July 10, 2006 - It's been one month since a West Columbia woman and her granddaughter disappeared.

And the man who might know where they are is still thousands of miles from South Carolina. Now police are trying a new tactic to track down new leads in the case.

It's the latest attempt to find Portia Washington and her granddaughter.

A poster has been sent out nationwide to areas where people might have seen Washington, seven-year-old Cassandra Livingston or Kenneth Lynch, the man police believe can unlock the mystery of their disappearance.

The Midlands chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is putting the posters together.

"We hope that it will generate maybe another witness, and they have come in contact with either Mr. Lynch or Mrs. Washington or the child. Maybe someone saw the vehicle. Just something that would jog someone's memory," says the center's executive director, Margaret Frierson.

Monday marks one month since anyone has seen Washington or the girl. Lynch remains in a jail in northern Washington state, where he's been for more than three weeks after deciding to fight extradition.

He is not likely to be brought back to South Carolina until he has another court hearing and that might not happen for another ten days.

After his arrest at the Canadian border, investigators did find receipts that give them a more accurate picture of where Lynch went after leaving West Columbia in Washington's car.

"We found some receipts in his possession and we backtracked those and then from those we've tried to develop other leads to give us indications where he might have been. You know, banks and convenience stores, those kinds of things," says Captain Jackie Brothers of the West Columbia Police Department.

Lynch stayed in a hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He tried to use an ATM in northeast Texas.

And, after a speeding ticket in El Paso, Lynch showed up at a hotel in Casa Grande, Arizona.

On June 18, he ditched the car in Seattle and bought a bus ticket north. Police say it appears Lynch was alone by the time he got to Mississippi.

When asked if that map of his trail helps narrow their search for the missing persons, Cpt. Brothers says, "you know it's still a lot of territory between here and Vicksburg, Mississippi. So while it limits it somewhat, it doesn't limit it enough."

A month after the victims disappeared, police still need a lucky break to find them.

Reported by Jack Kuenzie

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...on/15003415.htm

Posted on Mon, Jul. 10, 2006

HOW TO HELP

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact West Columbia police at (803)794-0721.

Timeline

Jan. 10 — Portia Washington, 54, tells Cayce police her live-in boyfriend, 46-year-old Kenneth Lynch, assaulted her in their apartment. Her 7-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, is a witness. Washington decides not to press charges.

June 10 — Washington and Livingston, who now live at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia with Lynch, are last seen.

June 11— Lynch reportedly is in the Midlands area.

June 12 — Lynch is in Vicksburg, Miss., in the southwest part of the state near the Louisiana border, where he stayed in a hotel.

June 13 — Lynch is in Waskom, Texas, in the northeastern part of the state along the Louisiana border. Investigators believe he attempted to make an ATM withdrawal there.

June 14 — Washington and Livingston are reported missing by relatives.

June 14 — Texas state troopers stop Lynch for speeding in El Paso in the southwest corner of the state along the Mexican border. The missing persons report had not yet been entered into a national database.

June 15 — Lynch is in Casa Grande, Ariz., between Tucson and Phoenix, where he stayed in a hotel.

June 17 — Lynch buys a Greyhound bus ticket in Seattle.

June 18 — Lynch is arrested in Washington state while trying to cross the Canadian border in a Greyhound bus. He is charged with grand larceny in the theft of Washington’s car.

June 19 — A $500,000 bond is set for Lynch, who decides to fight extradition to South Carolina.

June 20 — Investigators and dogs search the Saluda River area near Riverbanks Zoo and Garden for the woman and girl. Nothing is found.

June 22 — State Law Enforcement Division agents fly to Seattle to examine Washington’s car, a 2005 Ford Focus found two blocks from the Greyhound station.

June 23 — Washington’s mother and aunt hold a press conference at the West Columbia Police Department. The two say they fear the worst but have not given up hope that Washington and Livingston are alive.

Extradition delayed for man linked to missing pair

Posted on Sat, Jul. 22, 2006

A man linked to the June disappearance of a West Columbia woman and her granddaughter has been allowed another month to fight extradition from Washington state.

An extradition hearing for Kenneth Lynch, who is being held in the Whatcom County (Wash.) Jail, was held Thursday, said West Columbia Police Capt. Jackie Brothers. The hearing was delayed to Aug. 17 because Whatcom County officials had not yet received required paperwork from South Carolina, county Deputy Prosecutor Rosemary Kaholokula said Friday. Kaholokula said it’s not uncommon to wait up to 90 days for out-of-state governors warrants.

Lynch, 46, was arrested June 18 by U.S. Customs agents after trying to cross the Canadian border from Washington. He is facing extradition on a grand larceny charge involving the theft of a car belonging to his live-in girlfriend, Portia Washington.

Washington, 54, and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, who lived at Park Place Apartments in West Columbia, have been missing since June 10.

Contributing: Staff writers John O’Connor, Czerne Reid, Chuck Crumbo and Rick Brundrett

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...=thestate_local

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15136446.htm

Posted on Thu, Jul. 27, 2006

Extradition imminent for man connected to missing West Columbians

WEST COLUMBIA POLICE DEPT.

Portia Washington and Angelica Cassandra Livingston have been missing from West Columbia since June 10. Kenneth Lynch, bottom, was arrested on grand larceny charges June 18 on a Greyhound bus headed for Canada, after Washington's car was found near a Seattle bus station.The extradition paperwork to bring Kenneth Lynch back to West Columbia has been completed, town officials said.

Lynch is charged with grand larceny in connection with the theft of the car of his live-in girlfriend, Portia Washington.

The West Columbia Police Department was notified by Whatcom County, Wash., today that the warrant for Lynch’s extradition has been received, spokeswoman Jackie Brothers said in a news release.

Once the warrant has been served, the town will make arrangements to transport Lynch back to South Carolina, she said.

Washington, 54, has been missing since June 10 along with her 8-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Cassandra Livingston.

Her car was found near a train station in Seattle, and Lynch was arrested June 18 on a Greyhound bus that left from that station en route to Canada.

Flyers have been posted around the nation asking for help locating the missing pair.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5242373

Police hope car theft suspect will provide help finding West Columbia woman, granddaughter
Jack Kuenzie on search for missing West Columbia woman, granddaughter

(West Columbia) August 4, 2006 - Car theft suspect Kenneth Lynch will be returned to South Carolina by Saturday according to West Columbia police. He is wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a missing woman and her granddaughter. Without Lynch, police are getting nowhere on the case.

The 1400 block of Mohawk Drive runs close to the Saluda River in West Columbia. Some parts are undeveloped and covered in heavy brush. Not long ago, police searched the area after one of many phone tips from someone trying to help crack the case of Portia Washington and Cassandra Livingston.

They've now been missing for eight weeks.

West Columbia police captain Tony Owens has been following-up on any leads, "Sometimes people call in a lead saying that they had a bad odor in a wooded area in this place or that place. And we'll send a team out and take a look at it and see if we can find anything."

None of those tips has helped police get any closer to finding Washington or the girl. But investigators are hoping for more solid information when they get prime suspect Kenneth Lynch back in the Midlands.

Lynch has been since mid-June in Washington state, captured there and charged with stealing the car belonging to Portia Washington, his girlfriend.

Police think Lynch tried to enter Canada after a cross-country trip that also included an attempt to get into Mexico. Capt. Owens says, "The last place that we had him was down in a little town right near the border. And we can't find anybody down there that he was associated with."

Lynch has refused to cooperate with investigators. Capt. Owens hopes for a change once Lynch gets to South Carolina, "That may not ever happen but we hope that he would want to help find his loved ones too."

Three years ago, a Richland County jury convicted Jeffrey Weston of killing his mother. The jury reached its decision even though the victim's body was never found. Prosecutors have had similar successes elsewhere in the state.

Lynch has not been charged with murder yet, but authorities don't always need to find a victim's body before taking the case to court.

Reported by Jack Kuenzie

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...=thestate_local

Posted on Sat, Aug. 05, 2006

EXCLUSIVE

Police: Missing pair slain

They now confirm they have suspected local woman and her granddaughter victims of foul play; man tied to case back in S.C.

By RICK BRUNDRETT
rbrundrett@thestate.com

The June disappearance of a West Columbia woman and her granddaughter is being treated as a double homicide, Police Chief Dennis Tyndall said publicly Friday for the first time.

“We’re working it as a homicide at this point,” he said. “I feel we have a strong case.”

Although Portia Washington, 54, and Angelica Cassandra Livingston, 8, have not been located, Tyndall said investigators believe they are dead and were the victims of foul play. There have been no sightings of them since June 10.

Kenneth Lynch, 46, the man police have linked to their disappearance, was returned to South Carolina from Washington state Friday night to face a court hearing on a grand larceny charge involving Washington’s car. He was booked at the Lexington County jail.

A bail hearing for Lynch, who was Washington’s live-in boyfriend, could be held as early as today before a Lexington County magistrate.

Tyndall said Friday his department would request a high bond. “He’s a flight risk, and we do believe foul play was involved.”

He said their apartment at Park Place Apartments on Comanchee Trail was a “crime scene,” though he declined to discuss specifics.

Tyndall said his department plans to present “all the evidence” to 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers for review, though no timetable was given.

Contacted Friday, Washington’s niece, Tonya Oree, said she was happy to hear about Lynch’s return to South Carolina.

“Maybe he can tell what he did with them or where they are at,” the 37-year-old Columbia woman said.

Oree said she believes her aunt is dead, noting Washington, who routinely called her several times per week before her disappearance, “would have called me by now.”

Tyndall initially said investigators were treating the pair’s disappearance as a missing persons case, though he left open the possibility of other theories.

He said Friday that as time passed with no reported sightings of the pair, investigators began treating the case more as a homicide investigation.

Several West Columbia detectives flew to Washington state earlier this week to do more investigation and to pick up Lynch, who was arrested June 18 by U.S. Customs agents while trying to cross the Canadian border by a bus.

Washington’s 2005 tan Ford Focus was recovered in Seattle near a Greyhound bus station where Lynch boarded a bus, authorities said. Tyndall has not said whether any evidence was found in the vehicle.

Before his arrest, Lynch traveled through Mississippi, Texas and Arizona on his way to Washington state, investigators said. On June 14, a Texas highway trooper stopped Lynch, who was alone in Washington’s car, for speeding but let him go because a missing persons report had not been entered into a national database.

After his arrest on the grand larceny charge, Lynch was held in the Whatcom County jail near the Canadian border pending extradition proceedings.

Although it is rare, murder cases can be brought under state and federal law even if the victims’ bodies are not located.

In 2003, Jeffrey Weston received a 40-year sentence after a Richland County jury convicted him of murdering his 78-year-old mother, Frances Franchey. He was the first person in Richland County convicted of a killing in which the victim’s body was not found.

In 2004, Branden Basham and Chadrick Fulks received the first federal death sentences in state history after being convicted of murdering Galivants Ferry resident Alice Donovan, 44. She was abducted from a Conway Wal-Mart parking lot. Her body has never been found.

There have been no murder cases in West Columbia in which the victim’s body wasn’t located, Tyndall said.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5251266

Suspect's silence frustrates officers in W. Columbia missing persons investigation
Tamara King on man refusing to speak about missing W. Columbia woman, child

(West Columbia) August 7, 2006 - At his bond hearing Sunday morning, Kenneth Lynch had very little to say.

Lynch's silence has been a major frustration for police. Since being arrested in Washington state two months ago, investigators say Lynch has refused to cooperate in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his live-in girlfriend and her granddaughter.

Portia Washington and seven-year-old Cassandra Livingston have been missing since June 10th. West Columbia Chief Dennis Tyndall is convinced Lynch has information about the case, "He obviously knows something but he doesn't want to tell us."

Chief Tyndall says Washington and Livingston are presumed dead, and Lynch is officials' main suspect, "He was the last one to be with her, and be seen with her, had possession of her vehicle and we have evidence, that we're not talking about that yet."

Tyndall believes evidence found at Washington's apartment will link Lynch to the victims' disappearance, "The apartment has always been a crime scene we just haven't released the details of evidence picked up in the apartment."

After months of questions, Tyndall says lynch has provided very little information, "The biggest thing we have right now is where are they at, why haven't they turned up. That is the biggest frustration."

Tyndall continues, "We are waiting on him to be assigned a lawyer to see if it will allow him to talk to us so we can find out if he wants to tell us anything."

The judge denied Lynch bond, calling him a flight risk and a threat to the community. For now, Lynch remains behind bars, held on charges of grand larceny.

Chief Tyndall hopes Lynch will start talking soon so they can get to the bottom of what happened to Portia Washington and her granddaughter.

Reported by Tamara King

Family grieving for missing West Columbia woman, granddaughter

Angie Goff with update on case of missing West Columbia woman, granddaughter


(West Columbia) September 22, 2006 - Murder charges could come soon in a three-month-old missing persons case.

In June, Portia Washington and her seven-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Livingston, disappeared from West Columbia. Police think they're dead, and they believe the prime suspect - Washington's boyfriend - killed them.

Now, for the first time since Kenneth Lynch's arrest, the victims' family is speaking.

Washington's mother, Sallie Jones, tells WIS' Angie Goff, "Nobody can imagine what I'm going through. Nobody can imagine when you lose your only child."

There is not enough tissue to catch her tears. Sallie Jones has struggled since June, when the pair disappeared. She's convinced Kenneth knows something, "You just don't vanish off the face of the earth. A 54-year-old woman, a seven-year-old baby, no way. He know where they at."

Lynch is the prime suspect in the case. He was arrested in June after being found with Washington's car out of state. When he returned to South Carolina last month he was charged with stealing the car and then denied bond.

Since then, investigators have gotten closer to charging Lynch with murder.

Chief Dennis Tyndall says, "He has her car, he's out of town. What we have at our crime scene, which I'm not discussing yet, a lot of things are tied together that show he did something to these folks and he tried to leave the country to avoid prosecution."

In South Carolina, under state and federal law, murder cases can still be tried even if the victim's bodies are never found. Police say it doesn't happen often, and it isn't easy.

Police aren't the only ones now looking for bodies. The family has accepted their loved ones' fate. But it's still painful for those like Washington's aunt, Vernelle Bellamy. "I will never know Angelica's husband. I will never be at Angelica's wedding."

Bellamy and her sister Sallie know finding out what happened will hurt, but both agree they have to know.

Police say Kenneth Lynch is not cooperating with the investigation. Calls to Lynch's lawyer were not returned.

Reported by Angie Goff

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5447241

Posted on Fri, Oct. 06, 2006

Investigation into missing pair goes on

By ADAM BEAM
abeam@thestate.com

West Columbia police say they plan to charge Kenneth Lynch with two counts of murder, but Chief Dennis Tyndall isn’t in any hurry.

Lynch, 46, is the only suspect in the disappearances of Portia Washington, 54, and Washington’s 8-year-old granddaughter, Angelica Cassandra Livingston.

Tyndall is treating the case as a double homicide, although authorities haven’t found the bodies.

Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers said there has never been a double-murder, no-body case in South Carolina.

Myers, who has met with Tyndall about the case, said the department’s investigation is “not quite there yet.”

“It takes a heck of a lot of work on a case like this,” Myers said. “They’ve got some more investigative work they need to do.”

Investigators have the added burden of trying to prove the victims no longer exist. The longer time passes without a sighting — or a bank transaction or a credit card purchase — the tighter the case becomes.

Because Lynch is being held in the Lexington County jail without bail, Tyndall isn’t in a rush to press charges.

“Time is on our side,” he said. “We have enough probable cause to get a warrant if we want one.”

Tyndall said he has physical evidence that connects Lynch to the killings, but he would not discuss it. He has said in the past that Washington and Lynch’s apartment at Park Place Apartments on Comanchee Trail is a “crime scene.”

Police in Washington state arrested Lynch on June 18 as he was trying to cross the Canadian border on a Greyhound bus. Police later found Washington’s car near a Seattle bus station.

So far, the only crime Lynch has been charged with is grand larceny, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years or a fine at the discretion of the court.

It’s unusual for a judge to deny bail on a grand larceny charge, but officials say the case’s special circumstances justify the decision.

“We certainly do not want him out since he was heading to Canada when we caught him,” Myers said. “But the ultimate decision would be up to a judge.”

At an Aug. 6 bail hearing on the grand larceny charge, Lexington County Magistrate Thomas Rawl noted that Lynch was the focus of a “possible double homicide.” He said he thought Lynch would be a “tremendous threat to the community” if allowed bail.

Lynch was Washington’s live-in boyfriend, according to police. On Jan. 10, Washington told Cayce police Lynch assaulted her in their apartment in front of Livingston, who was 7 at the time. Washington decided not to press charges.

Washington and Livingston were last seen June 10. Four days later, Texas state troopers stopped Lynch for speeding in El Paso. Lynch was driving Washington’s car, but no one was with him. Police had not yet entered the missing persons report into the national database, so the officers did not know Lynch was a wanted man.

Lynch has not asked for a bail reduction hearing on the grand larceny charge. Lynch’s attorney, Arie Bax, declined to comment about the case.

Reach Beam at (803) 771-8405.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...=thestate_local

http://www.crimelibrary.com/missing_childr...livingston.html

Angelica Livingston

Eight-year-old Angelica Cassandra Livingston lived in the Park Place Apartments in West Columbia, South Carolina with her grandmother, Portia Sumter Washington. Portia also had a live-in boyfriend, Kenneth Andrew Lynch. Fifty-four-year-old Washington was known to be an honorable and reliable person, who was active with her church and Lynch was known to be abusive and recalcitrant. Young Angelica was a loving child who was devoted to her grandmother and liked to be called by her nickname, Cassandra.

On June 10, 2006, Washington and Lynch failed to show up at the automobile dealership where they both worked. Angelica's mother, Theresa Brown, usually talked with her several times a day and repeatedly tried to contact her, unaware that the phone had been turned off. When she went to her mother's apartment, she found it to be empty and her mother and daughter were gone. This was highly unusual and Brown strongly suspected foul play. She and everybody in the neighborhood knew how abusive 46-year-old Lynch was to Washington and Brown was afraid. She was sure Lynch had forcefully taken her daughter and mother away. The frightened woman called local police.

Authorities initiated a search for Angelica, Washington and Lynch. Members of the missing girl's family wanted an Amber Alert issued, but authorities did not have enough proof of an abduction to issue one. Initially, police did not want to file charges against Lynch. "Sometimes some people want to disappear for a while, domestic relations or whatever," said West Columbia Police Department's Chief Dennis Tyndall. "So it could be anywhere from that to something worse. We don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

Despite an expanded search, investigators still could not find Angelica and her grandmother. Eventually, suspicions grew that they may have been abducted by Lynch and this led to an Amber Alert. Several days later, U.S. Customs officials caught Lynch onboard a bus in Seattle, Washington, while trying to cross the Canadian border. Angelica and her grandmother were not with him. The missing car was located a couple of blocks away from the bus station. Lynch proved to be uncooperative with authorities and would not tell them anything regarding Angelica and Washington.

Authorities placed Lynch under a $500,000 bond on grand larceny charges for car theft. He was eventually extradited back to South Carolina. Meanwhile, investigators traced his trail from South Carolina to Seattle, trying to find the missing females. As the weeks passed by, the case turned from being a missing persons case to a possible multiple homicide case. Brown said she and family members have been praying for her missing daughter and mother. "I pray to God for him, too," said Brown, "that he'll have the heart to talk. Right now, I can't have hatred in my heart toward him if I want my baby and mother to come back. Just to wake up everyday and still have no mother, no baby, it's hard."

Law enforcement authorities consider Angelica Cassandra Livingston and her grandmother to be abducted and endangered persons. Anyone with information on their whereabouts and/or this case is urged to immediately contact the West Columbia Police Department (803-794-0721).

http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/...livingston.html

No Charges Against Kenneth Lynch in Angelica Livingston's Disappearance

By David Lohr

July 30, 2007

GREEN BAY, Wis. (Crime Library) — "We are no closer to bringing any further charges," 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers told TheState.com Friday. "They [investigators] just need to produce more evidence."

The news came as a blow to Sallie Jones, a woman who has been waiting for more than a year to find out what happened to her daughter, 54-year-old Portia Sumter Washington, and her great-granddaughter, 8-year-old Angelica Cassandra Livingston.

Portia and Angelica lived together in the Park Place Apartments in West Columbia, South Carolina, along with Portia's live-in boyfriend, 46-year-old Kenneth Andrew Lynch. Portia and Lynch's relationship was rocky, at best. In January 2006, Portia told police that Lynch had assaulted her and that her granddaughter had been a witness, but, shortly afterwards, she declined to press charges.

On June 10, 2006, neither Portia nor Lynch showed up at the automobile dealership where they both worked. Over the next few days, Angelica's mother, Theresa Brown, attempted to contact her daughter several times, to no avail. The two usually talked on a daily basis, and Portia's lack of response quickly raised concerns. When Theresa went to her mother's apartment on June 14, she was shocked to find it completely empty. Her mother, her daughter, and Lynch were nowhere to be found.

Suspecting foul play, Theresa filed a missing persons report. Despite repeated requests from the family, investigators refused to issue an Amber Alert, citing a lack of evidence that a child abduction had occurred.

"Sometimes, some people want to disappear for a while, domestic relations or whatever," West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall later told reporters. "So it could be anywhere from that to something worse. We don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

At about the same time that police were taking Theresa's report, Lynch was stopped for speeding near the Mexican border in El Paso. Unfortunately, the missing persons report had not yet been entered into the national database.

On June 18, 2006, U.S. Customs officials caught Lynch onboard a bus in Seattle, attempting to cross the Canadian border. Portia and Angelica were nowhere to be found, and Lynch refused to answer questions regarding their whereabouts.

When police found Portia's missing car down the street from the bus depot in Seattle, they arrested Lynch, and charged him with grand larceny. In August 2006, he was extradited to South Carolina, where he remains today on a $500,000 bond.

Both Portia and Angelica are presumed dead, even though their bodies have not been found. In September, Tyndall announced that his department was treating the case as a double homicide. Last week, he told reporters that the apartment that Portia and Lynch had shared is a crime scene and that his investigators have recovered physical evidence linking Lynch to the disappearances; however, the county prosecutor is not convinced that that evidence will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lynch murdered Portia and Angelica.

According to Lynch's lawyer, Ari Bax, the district attorney does not have enough evidence to convict his client of car-theft, and he expects the charges to be dropped when the case goes before an administrative judge sometime this week.

Last week, Jones told reporters that she is having a difficult time accepting the fact that she will probably never see her daughter or great-granddaughter again.

"It's really hard not knowing what happened to them," Jones told TheState.com Friday. "I really wish he would tell what he done with them, but it don't look like he's going to ... I just don't want to have a service until they find them."

http://m.wltx.com/news.jsp?key=45710&rc=ne

Murder Mystery: A Family's Search for Justice

May 20, 2008 14:34 PM

West Columbia (WLTX) – June 10, 2006 is a date that may not mean much to some people, but to a West Columbia family, it's a day that they’ll never forget. That's when 8-year-old Angelica Livingston and her grandmother, Portia Washington, disappeared.

Days after they were reported missing, police said Washington's live-in boyfriend, Kenneth Lynch, was arrested in Seattle driving her stolen car, trying to cross over into Canada.

It's been nearly two years since the two went missing and family members are still wondering why no one has been charged with the disappearance.

Angelica's paternal grandmother, Sandra Livingston, said that not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her granddaughter. “You know, there was a day that I was at work and there was this little girl walking down the hallway and I just swore that was my baby running to me and the closer she got to me, she faded away,” she said.

When Angelica disappeared she was staying at the Park Place Apartments in West Columbia with Washington and Lynch.

Livingston said she knew Lynch and Washington were having problems, but she didn’t realize what he could be capable of until her family members disappeared and Lynch was arrested in Washington.

“My grandbaby and her grandmother, they’re missing and this man is in jail for car theft? No. It’s going on two years, and no sign of them," Livingston exclaimed. "This man should’ve been charged with murder."

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall told News19 that Lynch will be charged with murder - possibly as soon as this summer - but investigators said they need more time because the only concrete evidence they have right now is the victims' blood found in their apartment. “We’re still working the case and as long as we’re actively being able to work the case, then there’s no chance of him getting out of jail," Tyndall said. "As time goes on, the bodies may turn up, physical evidence may turn up.”

Chief Tyndall went on to say that they are taking their time because his department has never dealt with another case like this. He explained that, eventually, they’ll have to convince a jury that this isn’t a missing persons case but rather a double homicide.

“They’re probably buried somewhere because nobody’s stumbled across them in the woods or anything,” Chief Tyndall said.

While he realizes that each day that passes is another with unanswered questions for the victims' family, the chief said it will all be worth it. “Just bare with us," Tyndall said. "Work with us. What may seem like we’re dragging our feet is really we’re trying to do the best job we can to get this case to trial."

For now, Livingston said she’ll hold on to hope that maybe in time she and her granddaughter will be able to see each other again.

Livingston added that she has tried to hold a memorial service for the two in the past, but she said she just can’t until she finds out the truth about what really happened.

If you have any information that can help investigators, please call Crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS.

http://m.wltx.com/news.jsp?key=45710&rc=ne

Murder Mystery: A Family's Search for Justice

May 20, 2008 14:34 PM

West Columbia (WLTX) – June 10, 2006 is a date that may not mean much to some people, but to a West Columbia family, it's a day that they’ll never forget. That's when 8-year-old Angelica Livingston and her grandmother, Portia Washington, disappeared.

Days after they were reported missing, police said Washington's live-in boyfriend, Kenneth Lynch, was arrested in Seattle driving her stolen car, trying to cross over into Canada.

It's been nearly two years since the two went missing and family members are still wondering why no one has been charged with the disappearance.

Angelica's paternal grandmother, Sandra Livingston, said that not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her granddaughter. “You know, there was a day that I was at work and there was this little girl walking down the hallway and I just swore that was my baby running to me and the closer she got to me, she faded away,” she said.

When Angelica disappeared she was staying at the Park Place Apartments in West Columbia with Washington and Lynch.

Livingston said she knew Lynch and Washington were having problems, but she didn’t realize what he could be capable of until her family members disappeared and Lynch was arrested in Washington.

“My grandbaby and her grandmother, they’re missing and this man is in jail for car theft? No. It’s going on two years, and no sign of them," Livingston exclaimed. "This man should’ve been charged with murder."

West Columbia Police Chief Dennis Tyndall told News19 that Lynch will be charged with murder - possibly as soon as this summer - but investigators said they need more time because the only concrete evidence they have right now is the victims' blood found in their apartment. “We’re still working the case and as long as we’re actively being able to work the case, then there’s no chance of him getting out of jail," Tyndall said. "As time goes on, the bodies may turn up, physical evidence may turn up.”

Chief Tyndall went on to say that they are taking their time because his department has never dealt with another case like this. He explained that, eventually, they’ll have to convince a jury that this isn’t a missing persons case but rather a double homicide.

“They’re probably buried somewhere because nobody’s stumbled across them in the woods or anything,” Chief Tyndall said.

While he realizes that each day that passes is another with unanswered questions for the victims' family, the chief said it will all be worth it. “Just bare with us," Tyndall said. "Work with us. What may seem like we’re dragging our feet is really we’re trying to do the best job we can to get this case to trial."

For now, Livingston said she’ll hold on to hope that maybe in time she and her granddaughter will be able to see each other again.

Livingston added that she has tried to hold a memorial service for the two in the past, but she said she just can’t until she finds out the truth about what really happened.

If you have any information that can help investigators, please call Crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS.