Why Mark Lunsford is planning to sue

JACKSONVILLE -- Mark Lunsford and his attorneys today at a news conference here put some initial specifics to their pending lawsuit against the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

They have six months to file the suit after giving notice last week. The suit would charge the agency with negligence in the first days and weeks of their investigation of the February 2005 disappearance of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Homosassa.

Pedophile John Evander Couey was arrested almost a month into the investigation and admitted to the kidnap, rape and murder. He was found guilty last year and was sentenced to death.

Attorneys Mark Gelman and Eric Block said today that Jessica Lunsford didn't have to die that way, and wouldn't have if the Citrus Sheriff's Office had done some things differently.

"Jessica's death was tragically unnecessary," Block said, "and could've been, and should've been prevented."

Gelman cited "lapses in judgment" and "repeated mistakes."

The basics:

1. Two weeks before the girl was kidnapped, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement sent the Citrus Sheriff's Office a letter with the names of absconded sex offenders in the county, with the order to pick them up. Couey was one of them. He was not picked up.

2. The lawyers say the Citrus investigation in the first two days focused far too much on Mark Lunsford, and also his father, Archie Lunsford. Mark Lunsford even said Tuesday that some detectives told him they had found his daughter's blood on his father's underwear –- lied to him -– and got him to confront his father.

3. Deputies went four times to the trailer where Couey was staying within sight of the Lunsford trailer and searched the yard but never asked to search inside. It wasn't until Feb. 28, 2005, the fifth day of the search, that they went inside the trailer.

Lunsford and his attorneys believe "Jessie" was not killed that first night she was taken but rather was alive until the early-morning hours of Feb. 28. That goes against what Citrus Sheriff Jeff Dawsy has said.

They base that belief mainly on the words of Couey in his confession -– he said she was alive for three to six days, though he has never been sure of the exact timeline -– and also on the findings of the medical examiner, who said the girl had probably eaten her last food at least 24 hours before her death. If she had been killed immediately, the attorneys argue, there would have been food in her stomach from dinner at her home before she was taken.

Investigators searched the yard the first couple of days after the girl's disappearance. They found nothing, according to the attorneys, because there was nothing to find at that time.

She wasn't there.

Not yet, at least.

Mark Lunsford also responded in the news conference to the people who think he's doing this just for money.

"You're only invested with half your mind," he said, "because you only know half the story."

"All he wants," said Block, the attorney, "is for the truth to come out."

- Michael Kruse, Times staff writer

Comments

[Real Dad]

Mark's ego and wanting to be on camera is growing rather old. As a father, I don't like the way he trying to cash in on his daughters untimely death. Where was this dirt bag when she was alive? Jessica lived with his parents and he did have his own residence. He would have remained under the radar if he didn't get so greedy. How is sueing the Sheriff Department going to help patrol and protect us against offenders. Departments have budgets and this kind of goes against the cause. Do us a favor and get a job and respect your daughter and not try to profit off her.

[Real Mom]

It seems like neither Jessica's Mom nor Jessica's Dad wanted to be too involved in her upbringing; the results,she gets abducted and killed. Rather than bring suit against law enforcement, both parents should use this tragic event to teach other parents not to make the same mistake, and to be deeply involved in their childrens' lives.

[Wonder Woman]

I'm still at a loss....there were numerous mistakes made in the investuigation, so why is he relying on Couey's testimony?I suppose more info needs to be available to the public. Hopefully that's not all.

[Goldie]

Wait a minute..."The parents of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford are relying largely on the testimony of her murderer"....are these people absolutely nuts. They are going to trust what the man who kidnapped and murdered their child said. Are you kidding me? By the way, where has the mother been all this time.

[Cindy]

Did this reporter attend the same press conference that I did??!! They are not relying on the 'killers' testimony as this headline suggests... most of the evidence they are using is the medical examiner!!

It is clear this paper does not support Mark! Your headline is misleading and misinformed!

I wonder if 'real' mom or dad watched the press conference and if so, put yourselves on the flip side. If these details came to light after YOUR daughter was murdered... wouldn't you want answers and CHANGE TO PROTOCOLS!!! After all, that is what this suit is about!!!

And I wonder... these self-professed 'real' parents... you ever make mistakes raising your kids??!!? Oh no thats right... you are too busy planning jrs lavish 1st birthday party...complete with a publicist and room rentals!!

Yea without sin, cast the first stone!

[Willie Crane]

I think Couey got a bad rap. He just wanted to color his coloring books.

She was not abducted as a result of her parents not being there. She was abducted as a result of a pedophile's decision to abduct and kill her. Placing the blame on the parents and by extension her grandparents is as wrong as it is to place it on the Sheriff's Department.

For me to think this suit has merits, more information would be needed. This is not that informative. WHY was the operations center in the wrong place? WHAT precedent would have made them call in experts before they did? HOW could they have searched the mobile home? Perhaps Mr. Lunsford has seen these things done in cases in the course of his work since his daughter died, but that does not mean that they could have done anything differently in her case. They are bound by law. For this to get support, they need to show how they could and should have done more.

[Trish]

I find it truly amazing that both parents are suing. Her mother didn't even live with her, wasn't even in the state. What do you think she is really after? Changes to protocols?

As for Mark, he just needs some more time in the spotlight.

[Gilbert]

The true hurt in all of this is Jessica is gone, God has called her home. But to add such a distasteful thought, her parents suing the very people who dedicated so much to capture this creep (Couey) and prevent him from harming another child is rediculous and shameful. I really had such high praise for Mr. Lunsford, championing a cause to protect our kids, now he has decided to go the way of other snakes and incorporate his personal greed ahead of his deceased daughter. Greed and self serving has always been the downfall for so many worthwhile causes, I guess this is no different!

[sick and tired]

This is outrageous. Lunsford I'm very sympathetic about your loss but you need to sit down. I am so over seeing your face on TV that now whenever you appear, I change the channel. How in the world can you and this missing in action mother sue the police. What you both need to seek is grief counseling. Let Jessica rest in peace.

[JM]

The bottom line is that it is about the money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ab]

Lets face it, parents can be a bit extreme when it comes to their kids. These people are probably going crazy with guilt over not being able to protect their daughter-whether they were there or not, it doesn't matter. It could just as easily have happened if her parents were in the house (look at Jon-Benet Ramsey.)

[ab]

I have to wonder as to why Mr. Lunsford would trust the word of the man who kidnapped, raped, and killed his little girl over the word of the agencies who tried to help him and the physical evidence that discounted what Couey said.

[Kay]

I'm trying to save my opinion for when more facts come out.
A lot of these comments are very harsh. Many parents live in different states than their children and still maintain a relationship and visitation. Many of us, myself included, have unfortunately awoken to find that our door was left unlocked the night before. Many of us, myself included, have found ourselves raising a child basically alone and made a family decision, along with grandpa/ma to raise them together.
I congratulate those of you have the perfect life, perfect marraige and perfect child. The rest of us live in the real world.

[John]

If anyone should be sued, it should be Jessica's parents for being neglectful. A terrible tragedy occurred and now the parents are trying to make money off it. I felt sorry for Mark but no longer feel that way. He's just another greedy ambulance chaser.

[JK]

Be interesting to see the truth come out. Was she ever in John's trailer? Dogs couldn't find her. I read a forensics report online, said no sign of her ever being in the closet of the trailer. Not this little girl's fault she was born into trailer trash. I agree with Willie Crane, John needs a home. Need to take a closer look at this.

Wow, good to see that so many live according to a class system.

/sarcasm

[Disgusted]

If Mark wants to sue someone, why not his mother who apparently did not have the door locked, or himself for leaving his daughter in an unsafe environment. The blame is on the murderer and the elements that allowed the murderer access to the child. Neither mother nor father appear to have been a very diligent parent in regard to the safety of their child but both parents are sure eager in the dollars this tragedy can bring them. Investigators are not mind readers and not able to stop crimes before they are committed. Mark should be thrilled that they were able to find his daughter's killer so quickly and he has the knowledge of justice being served. The bottom line blame is the neglectful parents and they inadequate sercurity of the home these parents left Jessica in.

[Curt]

There is a lot of slanderous things being said about Mr. Lunsford. Many things being said about this law suit , and his handling of the Jessica Lunsford Foundation. First off they have not said anything about this law suit being about money. There are more reasons for law suits than money. Two if you run a charitable organization you are legaly allowed to use funds for salary and expences. Take a look how much of your donations to the United Way are actually used for charity. If a criminal investigation were on going on his use of the funds were occuring some of these claims would be legit. As for how good a father he was not many of you could know anything about that, and neither do I. If he were out for money he could sue many of you for liable and slander. This man has done a lot of good in the name of his daughter and for your children. Because of his work millions of people are more vigilant and aware of sexual preditors in their neighborhoods. Laws have been changed to keep preditors in jail longer because of his work. Many of you out there are far to quick to judge. Give it a rest until the true facts are out there.

[Goldie]

Why are the Lundsfords biting the hand that gave them the murderer of their child.? What a slap in the face to our law enforcement.

[Dave]

Curt I think you are right about him doing alot for awareness but now he will be taking away from the resouces of the police department by making them waste time & money on defending themselves. In this case, no way are they liable. I'm not defending all police everywhere but its quite obvious that, in this case, Mark is doing it for publicity & a payday.....

[Pamela]

We are not being quick to judge! Just stand back and take alook, he should be forunate that they found his daughter and her killer as so many family's out thier with missing children would be so grateful if the police department could work a case and catch a child killer so fast and then be at the court hearings and make sure that the child killer can not hurt another child...They worked with their heart, took it personal..he is showing ungratefulness,,,so people think about that, have him ask the parents of other children how they feel when they still have no closure! Guilt and Greed would come more into play here!!!

[kg]

Mark Lunsford is no saint but the point is - Law Enforcement did a poor job. That needs to be investigated so procedures can be changed so mistakes like this can be avoided in the future. If Couey was picked up when he was supposed to be, this would have been avoided. If Law Enforcement searched the trailer, they could have found her. They should have prosecuted the other people living in Couey's trailer as well!

Perhaps one question that should be asked and answered- and excuse me if it has been previously and I missed it- is how is it that Couey was able to live in a place that was not his registered address? I know that after the issue of stricter tracking of these people was addressed, but what of then? Who was responsible for him? It's not like he ran and left state to violate his terms- he just went a bit further with these people.

To me, the fact that there are so many overworked POs is negligent. The cuts to funding are inexcusable. (But we all want that $200!) This allows for so many to fall through the cracks.

[Bubba Army is back]

Curt your an idiot.. u dont know what ur talking about.. this is about money, get this jobless scumbag off my tv and get a haircut. This is a joke.. another mutt..whos going to make the people of citrus county pay.. cause he's running out of money.. none of it is going into any fund.. what a joke.. maybe watch ur kids better next time.. oh and can we see another pic of Jessica.. oh there isn't any.. yea this guy is father of the year let me tell ya...

[Richard II]

kg you are an idiot. The child was dead two hours after she was taken from the grandparents house. Couey will tell you otherwise, but why should we believe a moron and killer. He just said that to cause pain to the parents and police. As for mistakes being made, it was the Lundsfords that made the mistake not the police.

[Outraged]

I feel very bad for Lunsford, but he has no business running a charity, even if it's for his deceased daughter. If you can't handle your life, children and finances or keep a job, why should you be the president of a charity drawing a salary? Give the money to people that can really help. If you want to help children, sell the $80K custom bike to help another family going through the same tragedy. Do the right thing and give up the charity to a competent organization. I read the transcripts today regarding the charity and either he is dumb as a box of rocks, or is a good actor. The board of a charitable organization should be made to demonstrate intelligence. He does make a good spokesperson, but he not an intelligent man. I am so glad I never donated to the JLF (because of the way it was being run).I'm sure he means well deep down, but what an opportunist... Drop the lawsuit and find a more altruistic way to create change.

[Bubba Army is back]

wow.. Curt.. I actually read your post again... and I almost threw up... reading that was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen... you obvisouly either live in a cave or a box.. not sure which.. get a life.. Mark Lunsford has not done anything that makes people's kids safer.. your an idiot!

[kg]

Richard you are the idiot. The medical examiner said she would have had food in her stomach if she was killed two hours after being abducted.

[Richard II]

kg you are assuming that the child had been given normal care and feeding. Her care was anything but normal. You are a moron.

[kg]

I am not saying a law suit is the way to go - I do think the procedures need to be investigated. If mistakes were made changes need to be made to procedures. Do you think if they asked to search Couey's trailer with a K-9 the first time they went there, they could have found something?

[CG]

This guy is beyond pathetic. He should have been home with his daughter rather than letting his parents take care of his daughter...., while he was shacking up with a girlfriend. And I guess a lawsuit is better than getting a job. He is truly pathetic....

Wouldn't the ME know when she last ate? That generally would be part of the investigation, would it not?

Bubba, could you perhaps tell us why people need haircuts and are idiots when you can type full words and use correct punctuation? I'm thinking someone is trolling for arguments and attention.

1. That is not acceptable. I agree with that. But one also needs to look at the overall picture. Repeated tax cuts take away finding from those departments needed to oversee these predators. It's not just one department who is at fault in this issue. It's all over, from legislators on.

2. From what I understand, most cases do go back to the family, so most investigations look to them at first. The lying may be questionable, but I believe it is within the scope of the law. I would think he would need to prove that they focused on him/them despite evidence to the contrary or due to some bias.

3. Did they have some suspicion when they went to the trailer? Was this part of a door to door canvas? Were they the only one they did not search inside due to refusal or something else? When exactly did they learn Couey was there? If they searched the yard, how did they miss her grave?

[Tricia]

I have to say that I was having doubts about Marks character before the press conference, but now hearing what the lawsuit is about, being a parent I feel that he's doing the right thing! IMO, in this world, the only way to correct things or bring awareness to something that needs improvement is to do it in a public forum.Nobody likes to get sued but the possibility of a lawsuit makes people or companies more aware of their actions, or in this case, a lack thereof!! I have never personally brought a lawsuit against anyone, but then again Ive NEVER had to make a statement of this magnitude either! IMO Mark Lunsford is trying to make a "statement" of his own, I think it has more to do with accountability than money!!God Bless him!!!Even with all the adversity around him, he still pushes forward with what's right!!!

[Still grieving Mom]

As the mother of a child who died, I am compelled to state what cannot be known if you have not been there.

I know absolutely nothing about Mark Lunsford, his qualifications as administrator of a charity or the particulars of his lawsuit. But I DO know about living with the death of a child. And I MUST say to the posters on this board that whatever you were or were not to your child, whatever mistakes you made or didn't make, when your child dies, in ONE INSTANT you are a completely different person.

Whether that new person is good or not, you are transformed, your whole world is different. Whatever he has or has not been or done, Mark Lunsford HAS been a voice for missing children since this terrible tragedy. If Jessica has no other legacy, if Mark Lunsford has no accomplishment in his life, he HAS changed and become a voice. Have ANY of you effected that kind of change either personally OR publicly? I think she would be proud of him. Life changes us all, some more profoundly than others.

[Lisa]

Oh please! No murder case investigation is 100% perfect and we do not live in a perfect world. I feel for the loss of the child deeply, for any parents loss but there are hundreds of parents who don't sue just because of your reasons. Drop the poor me thing and get on with your life. We don't believe anymore that you are doing this for Jessie, it's all about MONEY for your pocket now! I also don't believe that you are doing this to 'improve' the law enforcement either. Get on with your life, we are tired of looking at you and all your 'wonderful' work you have done. God help us, don give him his own TV show, I'll puke!

[john]

Lunsford,"GREASY WEASEL",why don't you just go away,I'm willing to start a fund for you to just move to another state.Anybody with me?

[Mar]

I wonder how many people on here are registered pediphials

[Deborah]

I'm surprised it took this long. There were alot of mistakes made in that investigation, and I agree with the Lunsfords 100%. If this lawsuit spurs one law enforcement official to try harder, look deeper and dig longer to find these missing children it will be worth it. Children are not disposable objects. Its time all branches of government realized that.

[Ted]

Look out for another non-profit Mark has set up. It's called: Support Jessica's Law, Inc. Just found it on the corporate filings list for the St of Florida. He opened it in Jan of 08, so just last month. We'll need to be on the lookout for his scamming those funds too. Wow, why doesn't he just turn this over to someone with crediblity, where donors will know the money will go to the true cause and not Mark's personal use. The other guy listed on it is William Carey, everyone's address is listed a 7266 S. Sonata Av., Homosassa. I guess it's easy to set up a non-profit, get people to donate and then just pay yourself and expenses out of them. Get free press and media coverage when you can.. and live the american dream... What a loser Mark is...

[Deborah]

So 7:36 do you have ANY proof that the funds to those non profits are being misappropriated? You should post your proof or keep your opinions to yourself.

[Deborah]

If charity is too difficult for you folks to understand, don't donate. Problem solved.

[joel]

After watching mark Lunsford today on t.v. & seeing him ask for tougher rules against people with sex crimes.If all was in effect Yes things would be different little Jessica would not have lived with the Grandparents as he was arrested for a sexual offense & she would be alive today right.Don't blame the people or county that supported you.We cared.

[joel]

After watching mark Lunsford today on t.v. & seeing him ask for tougher rules against people with sex crimes.If all was in effect Yes things would be different little Jessica would not have lived with the Grandparents as he was arrested for a sexual offense & she would be alive today right.Don't blame the people or county that supported you.We cared.

[bird]

Ego and greed.

[jim]

Let the facts come out before we convict. I understand you all have gut feelings about this but let's hear the case before we get so freekin ugly.

[BaronLaCroix]

Deborah, what exactly could the sheriff's department done differently that would have made the difference between Jessica being found alive and just being found? For a true look the real Mark Lunsford, you may want to read his deposition transcript. Before he created his non-profit, he spent $20,000 on a new truck for himself. He also put down $5,000 on a motorcycle that was put in his mother's name and gave his father $5,000 for a car. It doesn't seem like he above putting his material needs ahead of everything else.

[Rodger]

If some sick pup found my front door unlocked and stole my kid I would be upset to, but not with the sheriff. Mark should sue for 5 minutes with couey alone with no chance of any charges.

[Roseanne]

Did any of you opiners read that the Sheriff's Office knew he was one of the unregistered sex offenders on the loose 2 weeks earlier and failed to track him down??? Perhaps one of the changes Mark is trying to perpetuate here is that when the police cannot track down someone like this then THE PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO BE NOTIFIED TO BE ON ALERT!!!!!!!!! Something in the line of weekly press releases of those on the loose eluding authorities needs to be offered IN A PUBLIC FORUM...i.e.NEWSPAPERS SUCH AS THIS!!!!!!! And the fact that the poor child was with her grandparents might be testament to a fact you all find easy to ignore....that if either parent for whatever reason cannot provide a stable secure environment for a child then they have INDEED ACTED IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THAT CHILD by placing them with a family member. Maybe you think if the father is abusive or the mother a drunk then they are better parents just by having physical custody of a child they can't properly care for. And something else for you judgmental fools....if this pig Couey wanted Jessica, he'd have gotten to her locked door or unlocked door. Get off your pedestals and think deeper folks! I know I'd rather have a few "grow houses" on my street than the likes of John Couey roaming around free. Good luck Mark...I have faith that if you are awarded any money you will do the right thing with it based on your previous behavior.

[Rodger]

Ted, I think law says he has to donate 15% of everything that comes in. and yes it is just that easy to set up charity or non-profit organizations and make a killing, you must sleep late on sunday mornings.

Typical American mentality. If it breaths or tries to help you, sue it.

[Angela, Esq.]

Regardless of what Lunsford did with some of this money, the facts still remain - there were some critical mistakes made in this investigation. READ THE FACTS PEOPLE!! Rule with the facts in mind not with your own personal beliefs of what YOU think is right and wrong! Heads not hearts.

I agree with what some are saying here - why wasn't Couey picked up when he failed to register, or report in as a sex offender? That should have been a RED FLAG for any agency!!! Bells & whistles should have been going off, but they didn't! why? The sheriff's dept. should be accountable for at least answering that question!

Let's face it people! The state of Florida is way too liberal in it's treatment of sex offenders, that's why they all flock here by the thousands! It's a safe haven for molesters and pedophiles! Why do you all think that there are soooo many sexual offenders here? Because of the weather!? HA! Give me a break! They can live here in peace for the most part. They can live here and be who they are - gross, sickening members of the underbelly of society. Left untouched and unquestioned for the most part. Serena Fasad (news anchor) gave John Couey a FORUM by publicly talking about her exchange with him on channel 28 news..UTTERLY DISGUSTING!! ew! None of us wanted to hear from this pig, let along hear how he found "religion" since he's been on death row! What was she going for? Sympathy for the devil? No, wait - ratings! yea! Ratings. A little girl is dead and we're thinking about how we can attract more viewers to our news broadcast. wow.

This is just a small example of how these awful human beings are treated here in this state. Like heroes or something! It's GOTTA STOP! Mark Lunsford isn't the villian here - John Couey is! Along with anyone who gives this guy a forum to publicly speak or allows him free roam!

Keep your children under lock and key! Teach them with TRUTH, don't hide things from them even if you think it'll scare them. No one here is going to protect them except for you - the parent! Anything is better than what happened to this girl & to all the other innocent children of the state of Florida!

I still can't justify condemning Lunsford for this. I can't help but think -ok-yea- he may be a little bit of a money monger, but I still have to believe that the tragedy of his daugther's death and his personal drive for change in the system is legit!

[Lisa]

Well Roseanne, why doesn't the law enforcement department have enough money to cover all areas that need to be processed. (taxes) The department can hardly keep up now. You want to cough up the money with your taxes to put more employees on the force? Money would certainly help them stay on top of things! As for Mark, his true colors are coming out! Such a humble man. (gag)

[skeeved]

Only poor children that live in trailers are kidnapped. Middle and upper class children are never kidnapped. DUHHHHHHHHHH
While I do not think money should even be brought up in this case, the pathetic police tactics should be. Everyone can shred Mr Lunsford all they want, but deep down you ALL know if this was your child...raped & buried alive by some scum that was supposed to be picked up weeks beforehand by the police, and the Barney Fife's made THOSE mistakes listed in the article, you'd try to raise Johnny Cochran from the dead to get him to pull your legal case together. Not for the money either. If I do my job wrong, I'm responsible. That has to be held true for law enforcment as well.

What hypocrates.

[skeeved]

Oh, and Lisa, maybe they cant cover all the bases because THEY HIDE OUT IN HERDS chatting it up and so often. Anyone with eyes sees what goes on around here. The force doesnt need more employees. It needs the ones it has to do their job.

[BaronLaCroix]

Angela, you must be kidding. "why wasn't Couey picked up when he failed to register, or report in as a sex offender? That should have been a RED FLAG for any agency!!!" A red flag for what? Lots of people abscond from supervision, not just sex offenders. Back when this case was going on, Sex Offenders only had to register once a year and for the most part, no check was done to ensure that the address actually existed or that the person was actually at that address. It was more or less a drivers license or ID check.
Not to mention that you have to know where someone is in order to pick them up. Couey was never registered at the address in question and there was no legal way for the sheriff to enter that trailer to search it. The fact is, Couey could have been anywhere and could have been missing for more than a year based on his registration. As of today, there are 46 sex offenders/predators that are missing/absconded in Hillsborough County. What sort of flag does that raise?

[Ted]

Does Mark and his attorneys realy think that every detective was working on just the one angle of his "Dad did it" at that point in time. This is basic investigative techniques that must be obvious to everyone but them. LE always looks at the family too, and will employ many tactics including the ones used to find the truth. But they probably had multiple other angles that other detectives were working on simultaneously. If that's all they got is Dad on video being interogated - that is pretty P*SS poor. If the sheriff's office DIDN'T INVESTIGATE the family also, THAT would be negligence. Come on Mark give it up... with the kiddie porn found on your home computer... you didn't leave them much choice and opened up your family to interogation... get real

Seems the unemployed Dead Beat Dads and the middle aged white males are today's real enemy. NOT!

[transformerman]

I would like to see the outcome of the court battle. This case really lacks facts. This conviction is based on testimony.

[Dennis C]

Ok, I was waiting for the reason for him suing and now I feel much better about the situation..Lets face it folks, COPS LIE all the time. They tried to turn Mark against his own father with the made up story about Jessie's blood on the grandfathers underwear. They had orders to pick up Couey and didn't bother to get around to it.
Those Cops were probably Too busy busting our kids at the local Taco bell parking lot for a seed ...Its amazing how good these tracking dogs are. And I do mean that.. For some reason they were not let loose to find Jessie and if they were this thing might have had a happy ending.. A bunch of my towns finest and their dogs tracked a guy from a nearby shopping center to my back yard
one night. This was up a wall and through a small forest and across a street..Amazing..Oh and did I mention when I went out into my yard to see what was happening they saw my son with me and said he was the guy (13 yrs old) they were looking for..And arrested him for fleeing and eluding..He was with me the whole time..I told them they were mistaken and they said they had a positive ID from another cop..Who was not even there...They will lie to save face..They even had a helecopter out there over my house. And get this--The person they were looking for did not even commit a crime. The kid they were looking for was just running in the back of a shopping center and was seen by a deputy and stopped for questioning
and the kid got scared and ran..The kid probably just snuck out of his house and would have been in trouble if the parents found out..So he ran.. If the Citrus county PD put as much effort into finding Jessie that morning as the guys who were in my yard that night they probably would have found her alive.. I also think the cops were convinced that Mark or his dad had something to do with the girl missing and were not putting all their efforts in the right place..
I really don't know what Mark does with the money He raises But I do know this..He is doing a lot more good than any of these television preachers who steal million from your sickly old parents every night..He does this to protect your kids people. believe it or not. Just because he didn't attend Harvard and has a ponytail and rides a harley does not make him a scammer..I ride a Harley and I have a ponytail..Does that make me a dumb redneck scammer..The guy who ran Enron is a scammer...We all bleed, we all die no matter what degree you have earned..Is John Walsh a scammer ? He lost his son to a sicko. Is he using Adam to make millions. Get the facts before you judge people and put yourself in Mark Lundsford's shoes if you could even imagine the horror he went thru. He probably still has nightmares every night thinking
about that monster on his little girl and if only he could have saved her and his guilt for not being there..It must suck to be him and no amount of cash will ever change that..Have a little heart folks and stop with all your crap rumors about mark. I'am sure if you met him and listened to him speak you probably would feel differently about him. I am a part time biker and have been on the runs and have met him ..I was a little disturbed about him suing until today.
I waited for the facts and his reasons to come out before passing judgement about the situation and now I say GO MARK..

[TK]

Question. So if something happens, should the cops be able to go into everybody's house, tear it apart, and throw around a generic search warrant for "all houses in a 5 block radius"? I think that's what we need. That's the change in procedure and protocol that will ensure missing people are found! But then again...that would give authorities more power to abuse. Another thing we can do is get rid of the po and just have a bunch of vigilantes. :)

[Casey]

A lot of you are lashing out at Mark not knowing what exactly is going on or what he is trying to do. I and my mother personally know Mark and my mom rides with him in Jessie's Ride. He loves his daughter with all his heart. He is not looking for money or for the fame of the cameras. All he wants is to change the way and order in which things happen when a child goes missing so that this doesn't happen again, to someone else's child. If the police would have done a few things in different order or sooner than they did then maybe they would have found Jessie alive. No one can say for certian tho because no one but Couey and Jessie knows what went on that night. So quit placing blaim on Mark for all of this. Whether the door was locked, unlocked, or whatever...if a pedophile wants to get at a child they will find a way to do so regardless. They did what they would do every night and what every parent does, tucks their child in and goes to bed themselves. No one could have even thought that someone would sneak into their house and take their child. It could have been any one of you!

[Rodger]

Casey if they had the fundamental undestandings of the front door lock Jesse would be 2 years older now.

[Roger]

If it is not about the money, drop the lawsuit. He has brought the problems to the attention of the public, he should offer to drop the lawsuit in favor of a further investigation into the handling of the case. Secondly, I don't think you should be able to sue anyone on "what if"s and "maybe"s. Or maybe you should be allowed to, so that I can go back and sue my teachers for not trying hard enough or teaching fast enough to get to the end of the book, where some piece of pertinent information may have been that would have allowed me to be more successful. They did their job, they found the killer.

[Roseanne]

LISA: I recently read about 3 state employees who thru a loophole in the system were not only drawing fat salaries from tax dollars BUT ALSO STATE PENSIONS!!! There are probably more than 3 (maybe those were just local, I honestly don't recall)...WHY NOT CLOSE THAT LOOPHOLE AND HARNESS THAT MONEY FOR PUBLIC SERVICES LIKE THE SHERIFFS DEPT...I'm sickened by how there is no money for necessary things yet taxes have climbed to unprecedented rates!!!! These people seek out positions because they want to serve the community and then, somewhere along the line, greed and selfishness takes over. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT FLORIDA and leave the grandmas who frequent McDonalds alone!!!!!!!!

[Irritated]

Just being a father of a tragedy is what gets people to make change. Not lawsuits.

How about we all sue Mark Lunsford for living in a h***hole with shady neighbors?

[GrayceesMama]

Where was all this outrage over a lawsuit when little Sabrina Eisenburg went missing and her parents sued and actually won? God Bless you Mark!

[1whonoes]

Mark Lunsford is a slimy scumbag. The door was not locked because he didn't want to fumble with a key when he came home in the wee hours. He said on tv that the grandparents wanted to give Jessica away because of his "partying lifestyle" They should have. Before the Couey trial his lawyers requested that nothing be said about alleged misappropriation of funds from the JML Foundation. His former girlfriend asked for protection from his harassment by riding his (donated) motorcycle back and forth in front of her house. She was ignored. He had porn on his computer. I guess it's ok to demean women with porn as long as its not kids. He should be paying Citrus County back for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he has already cost them instead of costing more. It's all about money.

[tigerpaw]

Some of these comments are made by people with no real knowledge of all the facts of the case.Investigators couldn't do many of the things legally posters wanted them to do.You just can't throw everything out the window in a search, no matter how hard you want to find a person.I have sympathy for Mark Lunsford, but this is not the way to go.

[John]

Wait a min? If people want to know more about this freak Lunsford look at a blog I just read. This seems to be all messed up. Lunsford says he left his girlfriends about 5:30 am and the took 7 min to dress, then drove home all of this had to be like 5:50 am. Heres the catch the first officer on the site said he arrived there at 5:30 am???? SEE DEPOS of both here.

http://marklunsforddeposition.blogspot.com

[Disgusted]

Mark Lunsford is one man who totally disgusts me!! He is using his daughters death to make money!! This man pays HIMSELF from her charity! Pathetic. Its as though he thinks he is entitled to money and "fame" because his daughter died. He is just pathetic!!!

[John]

All we can say is that if one looks at his depo and the first officer that arrived that morning so many lies from Lunsford.

http://marklunsforddeposition.blogspot.com/