Amber Alert Issued for Lonzie Barton: A 21-month-old Missing Toddler

By, Crystal S. Kauffman, Contributing Writer

According to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an AMBER ALERT has been issued for Lonzie Barton, a 21-month-old Jacksonville, FL. Toddler. He was reported missing on July 24th, 2015 around 2:00 AM, by the mother’s boyfriend and he also reported his car missing. That morning, little Lonzie and his 5-year-old sister was in the care of his mom’s boyfriend, William Ruben Ebron. The toddler went missing from the 8000 block of Old Kings Rd and police need the public’s help to find him.

His car was a 1995 orange Honda with a black hood, but the car was eventually found four blocks away from the apartments. However, the toddler was not inside the car and the police fear that the boyfriend knows more than he is telling them. Little Lonzie was only wearing a diaper at the time of his disappearance, but police are concerned that he may have just walked off from the car. According to Jacksonville.com, the police are asking everyone to look on their properties and keep a look out for this blonde hair blue eyed toddler.

The police are searching for the toddler on foot and with search dogs, as well as other agencies that have offered their services. The police say that the natural parents are victims and not considered suspects, but Mr. Ebron was charged with two counts of child neglect on Friday, which was unrelated to this case. However, he was on bond from a prior case from Baker County and he had a record of different types of charges like: armed robbery, grand theft auto, possession, domestic violence, and violation of probation.

According toJacksonville.com, one of the conditions of his bond was that he was not supposed to have contact or live with Lonna Lauramore. The couple was living together in the Ravenwood apartments at 8030 South Old Kings Rd. The mother and father are working closely with police to help find their son. According toJacksonville.com, both the mother and the boyfriend face drug related charges, which is separate from the toddler’s disappearance.

The mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Ebron told the police that he stopped by the apartment to “get something”, but later he admitted that he went inside to “use cocaine”. The police verified that the mother was working at the time her young son went missing, while in the care of her boyfriend.  According to Gray, the police say that the mother’s boyfriend is now considered a suspect and may have been lying about the car being stolen.

Unfortunately, both children were left alone inside the car by Mr. Ebron, but the 5-year-old sister got frightened and left the toddler in the car by himself. The police believe that Mr. Ebron has the answers, which they need to find the missing toddler. The investigation has turned from a missing child to a possible homicide investigation. Police are now focusing on searching waterways, retention ponds, and wooded areas. If you have seen this child, call 911 immediately!

References:

Gray, Jeremy (2015) Lonzie Barton Amber Alert: Boyfriend of missing Florida toddler's mother now suspect
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on July 26th, 2015
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/07/lonzie_barton_amber_alert_boyf.html

Jacksonville.com (2015) Man who reported Lonzie Barton missing charged with neglect; was using drugs at the time, affidavit says
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on July 26th, 2015
http://jacksonville.com/breaking-news/2015-07-24/story/man-who-reported-lonzie-barton-missing-charged-neglect-was-using

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (2015) AMBER ALERT: Lonzie Barton
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on July 26th, 2015
http://www.missingkids.com/poster/AMBER/11784/8682/