I am Not in the Mood to Blog:

Chronology of events
The Journal Gazette

The search for 10-year-old Alejandra Gutierrez started off badly and only got worse. By the time police were called in, nearly 12 hours had passed since the young girl was last seen, and early search efforts were hampered by a heavy snowstorm.

Alejandra’s neighborhood was shocked again less than a week after her disappearance, when Simon Rios, 33, was arrested and charged with murdering his wife and three young daughters.
Following is a timeline, compiled from previously published reports, of the events leading up to the discovery Monday of a body believed to be Alejandra’s.

Thursday, Dec. 8
Alejandra is last seen at 9:50 a.m., when she left her home to walk to the school bus stop on the corner of Calhoun Street and Branning Avenue.

Alejandra is first missed around 4 p.m., when she should have arrived home from school. After hours of searching, police are alerted around 9 p.m.

An Amber Alert is not issued. Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York will later say the department did not issue an alert because no suspect information or suspect vehicle information was available.

Friday, Dec. 9
Police alert the media of the search, as family members start posting fliers across the city.

Saturday, Dec. 10
The search continues through the weekend as the Gutierrez family spends anxious days waiting for information.

A representative for Fort Wayne Community Schools announces that a staff worker at Maplewood Elementary who was supposed to notify Alejandra’s family of her absence never made the call.

Monday, Dec. 12
Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Wendy Robinson says the district is investigating why the Maplewood Elementary staff never called the Gutierrez family the day of her disappearance.

FBI agents who specialize in profiling and missing persons investigations arrive in Fort Wayne to aid in the search for Alejandra. Representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also join the search.

Tuesday, Dec. 13
Police respond to a call shortly after 5 a.m. at 4122 S. Calhoun St. – just 2 1/2 blocks south of the bus stop where Alejandra was heading when she disappeared.

The bodies of Ana Casas, 28, and her three daughters, Liliana Rios Casas, 10, Katherinne Rios, 4, and Thannya Rios, 20 months, are found in the home.

Simon Rios, who also was the children’s father, is taken into custody and preliminarily charged with murder.

Gutierrez family members say Casas and Rios had visited the Gutierrez home the night before, bringing gifts and offering to help search for Alejandra.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Liliana, and Alejandra had been friends.

Hundreds of people – including Alejandra’s parents – attend an evening prayer at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, the search for Alejandra escalates to include an aerial search of the area.

Wednesday, Dec. 14
Allen County Coroner Dr. Jon Brandenberger announces that Casas died of blunt force trauma and strangulation; her children died of strangulation. Court documents reveal that Rios told police he killed Casas after fighting about household chores.

At a news conference, Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York asks Fort Wayne and Allen County residents to search their own properties for clues in Alejandra’s case.

York says police aren’t ruling anyone out – including Rios – as a suspect in Alejandra’s disappearance.

Thursday, Dec. 15
A housekeeper at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church says Casas and Rios visited the church shortly before noon Monday to ask the parish priest to bless some items that they planned to give to the Gutierrez family. Both Casas and Rios were crying, the housekeeper, Ana Vigil, says.
Casas said it was because Liliana and Alejandra were friends, Vigil recalls.

Bishop John D’Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend announces that he will preside over a funeral for Casas and her daughters Friday evening.

Friday, Dec. 16
Simon Rios is formally charged with the murders of his wife and children.

This evening, hundreds again gather at St. Patrick’s, this time for the funeral of Casas and her children.

Saturday, Dec. 17
The remains of Casas and her daughters are flown to Mexico to be turned over to surviving relatives.

The search for Alejandra continues. Police search parks and remote areas around Allen County.
Hundreds attend an evening prayer vigil outside the Gutierrez home.

Sunday, Dec. 18
At 9 p.m., Delaware County Sheriff George Sheridan receives a call from the FBI in Fort Wayne wanting information about gravel pits in the Delaware County area. Law enforcement officials begin a search in Delaware County.

Monday, Dec. 19
The search for Alejandra continues in Blackford and Delaware counties.

At 1:30 p.m., the body of a young girl is found at a gravel pit in Delaware County.

At 3:30 p.m., Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York announces that the body found is believed to be that of Alejandra.


(if any of you wondered why I drink and did so last night, read and be informed, sometimes I hate)