Hudson River to be Searched

Hudson River search set in effort to locate Jaliek

Police divers mark area near Troy on route traveled with adoptive father

Police divers plan to search the Hudson River near Troy today as part of the ongoing hunt for missing 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker.

Greenwich-Cambridge Police Chief George Bell said crews will use a sonar mounted to a boat, and if the weather cooperates divers will be sent in as well. The search will begin near the Troy Farmer’s Market, Bell said.

Rainwalker has been missing since Nov. 1. Searchers probed the Batten Kill in November and December, but today’s search is their first in the Hudson River.

Bell said police were not operating on a specific tip, but rather chose the new river site based on conversations with Stephen Kerr, Rainwalker’s adoptive father and the last person known to have seen the youngster alive.

Police believe Kerr drove with Rainwalker through Troy on the night of Nov. 1 after the two of them went out to dinner at a Red Robin restaurant in Latham. Kerr picked up his emotionally troubled son from a stay in respite care and took him to dinner. Kerr said the two went straight from the restaurant to Kerr’s father’s house in Greenwich.

Rainwalker disappeared sometime during the night. Kerr produced a note his son had written that seemed to indicate he had run away. But police have had doubts about that story from the beginning.

No one has been charged with a crime related to Rainwalker’s disappearance.

At the time of his disappearance, Kerr and wife Jocelyn McDonald were attempting to undo their adoption of Rainwalker, because of what they described as frequent emotional outbursts.

Last week, copies of a letter that seemed to indicate Rainwalker was still alive were sent anonymously to local news organizations, including the Times Union. The cryptic note offered few details, but police requested the letters to check for fingerprints or other forensic evidence. No results from the forensic tests have been released.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=661786