Luis Colon of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, is shocked to learn the suspect in the murder of his sister is out of jail after posting a $250,000 bail.

​Luis Anthony Sierra, 64, of Ozone Park, New York, was arrested in April 2021 for the 1976 murder of 15-year-old Evelyn Colon of Jersey City, New Jersey. The teen's dismembered remains and her unborn child were found stuffed in suitcases dumped along the Lehigh River in Carbon County five days before Christmas. No one knew her identity until DNA revealed it in March of 2021. Follow-up interviews with Evelyn's family led investigators to Sierra, her then 19-year-old boyfriend, who she had moved in with a few weeks before she was due to have the couple's baby. The retired bus driver was extradited to Pennsylvania and held at the Carbon County Correctional Facility without bail due to the nature of the charges.

Colon told me that he and his family found about Sierra's release this morning.

"The trooper text me saying that recent changes to Pennsylvania's bail law required a bail amount to be specified, and I guess he was able to post the $250,000. I just can't believe this. No one called me or my family to tell us or to explain these changes in the bail law in Pennsylvania. We literally just found out that he's out and back with his family."

According to court records, a hearing took place on June 8 at which time bail was set at $250,000. Sierra posted bail on June 15, court records show.

"I cannot believe this!" Colon said. "This isn't some minor crime he's accused of doing. He's accused of killing my sister, and he gets to go home until the trial? Now there's a dangerous man out there free like nothing. Someone needs to explain this to us."

Sierra is charged with one count of criminal homicide. A trial date has not been set.

​We know Janteyl, then 15 and five months pregnant, was in contact with several older men when she vanished on Feb. 3, 2010. Investigators believe she may have left with one of those men. I asked Detective Herrera about those individuals and if any are considered suspects in her disappearance.

On the afternoon of Feb. 3, 2010, security camera footage from what used to be a PathMark grocery store in Newark, Delaware, shows Janteyl Johnson, 15, walking in to buy candy. She's wearing a puffer jacket, blue jeans, and sneakers. Her braids are tied back in a ponytail.

Janteyl, five months pregnant at the time, pays at a self-checkout register. As she exits the store at 12:31 p.m., she's talking on her cell phone and stops to scratch her leg, then continues walking. The two-and-a-half-minute footage is the last confirmed sighting of the teen. An hour later, Janteyl vanished from her family's apartment and has not been seen or heard from ever since.

Watching Janteyl buying a bag of candy is a reminder that she was just a child, and no one has been held accountable for her disappearance. 

"I can tell you that it's not normal what happened to her," said Detective Roberto Herrera, in an exclusive interview.

"She was 15. She was pregnant, five months pregnant, so it’s a case that catches anyone’s attention right away.”

A missing pregnant child should've made headlines, but Janteyl didn't get wall-to-wall media coverage. She didn't become a household name. There was no social media frenzy over her disappearance. She was barely mentioned in the news. 

But what if from the start, Janteyl's disappearance had generated the type of media coverage that Gabby Petito or Lacy Peterson received? Perhaps she would've been found, and whoever's responsible for her disappearance would've been held accountable by now. 

Janteyl's case serves as an example of how when a black or brown person is missing there isn't always an urgency to cover their case. There are plenty of examples to prove that point. 

What we know is that Janteyl was talking to several older men the day she vanished, including the alleged father of her unborn child. Her family says he was the last person who called Janteyl and that her cell phone later pinged near his relative's home. Det. Herrera didn't confirm that information and has not named any suspects in the case.

“At the end of 2019 we put up a billboard in Delaware with her picture, and we also put her picture and information on a deck of playing cards and distributed them in jails in Delaware prisons," said Herrera, "and we actually got a good lead that I cannot go into detail at this point.”

Herrera wants Janteyl's family to know that she hasn't been forgotten. He feels this case can be solved, and is asking for the public's help.

On June 15, 2017, Antonio Vela Jr., of Victoria, Texas, vanished after leaving a local pub. Other than asking the public to call Crime Stoppers if they have information about Antonio's whereabouts, Victoria Police have not released many details about this case. Not then and not now.

Antonio's family is desperate for answers. They want him home, one way or another, even if it means the former DJ and music producer is no longer here. 

I met Antonio's mother, Ninfa Vela, and his sisters, Michelle and Natalie, in 2018. Victoria, a city of just over 67,000 people, is surrounded by Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi. The Vela's have lived in Victoria their entire lives. Antonio, or TJ, as he's affectionately known, is her only son and the youngest of Ninfa's children. His absence has turned her life upside down. (You can watch our original story on Antonio here.) 

​I wanted to revisit TJ's case to include additional information from different sources who have their own theories about what they believe happened to TJ. But it's important to note: it's not what you know; it's what you can prove. That's why missing person cases are some of the most complex investigations for any police department. And this case is no exception. ​

On the night of June 14, TJ, then 36, went to a couple of pubs near his home. As usual, he ended up at a bar called Sports. He was a regular there. According to one of his friends I interviewed, who was bartending that night, TJ sat at the bar by himself and left at around 1:45, just after last call. He never saw TJ again.

But according to a source who came forward after our initial coverage of this case, at one point that night, a woman at the bar approached TJ and started a conversation. Minutes later, a man the woman was with confronted TJ, and the two exchanged words.

Not long after that, TJ said goodbye to the staff and walked out. According to the source, the couple left a few minutes after TJ. Victoria Police have not confirmed that information, nor have they said if the bar was equipped with surveillance cameras. When I went there I was told there were no cameras, but sources say otherwise.

​As has been reported, on his way home, TJ stopped at a Cimarron Express convenience store to get food. But, according to sources, while at the store, TJ called his roommate and asked if he wanted anything to eat. Keep in mind, the store is only a few minutes away from where they lived; therefore, if TJ had just spoken to his roommate then it's possible that whatever happened when TJ got home, his roommate saw or heard something. Victoria police remain tightlipped about this case.

According to TJ's family, his roommate told them he found the garage door open and a plastic bag with food on the ground. He also reportedly found TJ's phone. The roommate did not call the police. TJ's family reported him missing early that morning, June 15. ​By all accounts, it appears that not much time went by before the Vela family found out TJ was missing.

His car was found on June 16 abandoned along Venglar Road in the town of Inez, outside Victoria City limits. It had a flat tire, and according to multiple sources, the driver's seat was moved up, suggesting someone much shorter than TJ could've been driving. 

There are many questions. Did the store and bar have surveillance video? Did someone follow TJ home? Was someone waiting for him in the garage? Was he set up? Was he ambushed? Was he targeted? Was this a random crime of opportunity? Or did he leave on his own? Another lingering question: Who were the man and woman who allegedly approached TJ at the bar? 

When his home phone rang the afternoon of Feb. 2, Shawn Wilkinson wasn't sure what to do.

"We get this call out of the blue, so I almost didn't answer it because we never use the landline," Wilkinson said.

On the other end of the line was Kurt Bjorklund, Assistant State's Attorney for Baltimore City.

"He asked me, 'Are you sitting down? There's been an arrest. Michael Robertson is in custody in Muskegon, Michigan.'"

Although he'd been waiting for that call for nearly five years, Wilkinson felt a rollercoaster of emotions.

​"It was a combination of tears of joy and tears of sadness," he said.

Joy because it's the beginning of a long journey toward justice for his stepdaughter, Akia Eggleston, who was eight months pregnant when she vanished on May 3, 2017, four days before her baby shower. Sadness because Akia, then 22, and her son are still missing and presumed dead.

"Today is a win. We won this round, but there are many more rounds to go."

At a Feb. 3 news conference, Baltimore City State's Attorney, Marylin Mosby, said investigators focused on Michael Andre Robertson, the alleged father of Akia's unborn son, from the start. He, too, was supposed to be at her baby shower on May 7 but never showed up. 

Robertson, now 41, is no stranger to Akia's family and friends. Wilkinson has known him since they were kids. Robertson is also the cousin of Ciara Diaz, Akia's close friend and the first person I interviewed when I started covering the case. 

In 2017, Diaz told me she knew the pair were dating but that Akia wanted to keep it private. Robertson already had a girlfriend, and they had two kids, the youngest born in August 2016. Diaz described Akia as generous and kind, even allowing the couple to stay at her home in the Cherry Hill section of South Baltimore. But she said the tension between the two women escalated. 

"She sent Akia messages threatening her. I saw them. Akia sent them to me," Diaz said.

Late last year, I interviewed Akia's aunt, Sanobia Wilson who said her niece confided in her about the relationship with Robertson. Although she was disappointed, Wilson said she stood by Akia and hoped Robertson would do the right thing for the baby.

Robertson was not some random person Akia met online or at a club. They had known each other for years. His mother used to babysit Akia when she was a child. 

According to the charging documents, using interviews, financial records, telephone records, and social media communications, investigators believe "the only person with the motive, means, and opportunity to murder Akia was the purported father of her unborn son, Michael Robertson."

Investigators allege Robertson duped Akia into believing he wanted them to live together and convinced her to withdraw cash and purchase money orders to cover the deposit for an apartment he had found. It was all a lie.

On May 1, Eggleston sent a message to a friend via Facebook telling her she was putting down a deposit on a new place.

On May 2, Robertson sent Akia pictures of the interior of an apartment/townhouse via Facebook. That afternoon Akia purchased two money orders totaling $450 using money she withdrew from her savings account. According to the charging documents, Akia messaged Robertson on Facebook, writing, "I called u I got the money order." 

Akia is seen on surveillance video at 12:52 p.m. depositing the money orders at a BB&T bank in downtown Baltimore. At 5:22 p.m. she sent her friend an invite to her baby shower via Facebook. According to investigators, "that was the last outgoing communication sent by Akia to anyone." She was never seen or heard from again. 

​Robertson was questioned multiple times before moving to Muskegon, Michigan, with Pomeroy and their children in October 2017. He allegedly told police he last saw Akia two days before she disappeared, but according to cell phone records, Robertson and Akia communicated by phone and text messages on May 3. According to investigators, cell phone data also places Robertson near Akia's apartment the evening of May 3. 

Charging documents reveal that on Oct. 17, 2017, multiple searches were done from a Google account linked to Robertson, including "where does Baltimore city trash go when picked up," "Baltimore City dumpster pickup," and "Baltimore City landfill," indicating what may have happened to Akia's remains. The searches took place a few days after a local news station aired a piece about Akia's disappearance. 

Investigators determined trash from the dumpsters, located approximately 30 feet from Akia's front door, was picked up several times a week and transported to a landfill in Northern Virginia. Engineers told investigators safety regulations due to hazardous gases prevent the landfill from digging more than four feet down.  

Akia's family members spoke at the Feb. 3 news conference. A heartbroken Sanobia Wilson said she always suspected Robertson had done something to Akia. She also believes he didn't act alone. (As of this writing, Robertson is the only suspect.)

In October, Wilson told me she had recently received a tip about Robertson, and although Wilson didn't go into detail, she did give the information to the FBI and the Baltimore Police. It's not clear if that tip is what finally led to Robertson's arrest. 

​During our interview, Wilson also expressed anger and frustration at what she says was a lack of urgency given to her niece's case when they first reported her missing to Baltimore Police.  

One thing that stands out in the charging documents is that Akia was reported missing on May 7, 2017, but Baltimore Police didn't go to her house until May 9. It's not clear why they waited two days, given that Akia was pregnant, didn't show up to her baby shower, and didn't contact anyone in her family. Wilson says they were left to search for Akia, on their own, without any help from the police. 

Wilson plans to fight for legislation to change the way police handle cases involving missing pregnant women. She would like to see something similar to an Amber Alert. 

Shawn Wilkinson, Akia's stepfather, called me early Feb. 3 to tell me about the arrest. He still finds it hard to accept that Akia and her baby are presumed dead.

"I'm angry and devastated because losing a loved one is bad enough, but not knowing where Akia is, is unbearable," he said.

It's also overwhelming for Akia's younger siblings. Their mom passed away from cancer several years ago, and now their sister and nephew are gone. 

After the news conference, Qureyin Wilkinson, told me the hardest part for him was when investigators described what they believe happened to his sister.

"To hear that he dumped my sister in the trash, and that she's in a landfill is so hard. How can anyone do that?"

Family members thanked everyone who over the years helped keep Akia's story in the public eye. 

Below is the full affidavit. Source: Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.

Almost five years after 22-year-old Akia Eggleston vanished, her suspected killer is now in custody.

U.S. Marshals arrested Michael Andre Robertson the alleged father of Akia's unborn son. He's facing two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Akia and her baby. 

Robertson was arrested in Muskegon, Michigan yesterday. His bond is set at $200,000, according to the Muskegon County Sheriff's website.

Akia's family reported her missing when she didn't show up to her baby shower on May 7. 

At a news conference today, Baltimore City State's Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, said investigators focused on Robertson from the start. He was questioned by police several times before moving with the mother of two of his children to Michigan in October 2017. 

Even though Akia and her son have not been found, investigators said they relied on interviews, financial records, phone records, and social media messages to build a solid timeline of the case.

Robertson is awaiting proceedings to determine whether he'll be extradited to Maryland to face charges. It's not clear if any other arrests are pending in connection with this case.

​Funny, feisty, and full of love for her family is how Janel Kirby-Brinson describes her little sister, Janteyl Johnson. 

​"Janteyl is a beautiful soul. She is the type of person that, if you meet her, you will remember her," Janel, 35, told me during an interview at her North Philadelphia home.

​Janteyl, affectionally known as Puff because of her puffy cheeks when she was a baby, was a typical teenager who enjoyed singing, dancing, and playing pranks on her siblings. She also ran track with her brother, loved to do hair, and was a big fan of Betty Boop. 

​​“If you know Janteyl, you know she does not go anywhere without her Betty Boop pocketbook," Janel said.

​Soft-spoken and shy, Janel, a mother of four, finds it hard to talk about Janteyl's disappearance 12 years ago, and says it's like pouring salt on an open wound.

​“It hurts. I know for me, it plays a lot with my anxiety. It can really put me in a bad state of mind.”

Janel was 23 and had two kids, a girl and a boy, when Janteyl, then 15 and five months pregnant, vanished from her apartment in Newark, Delaware, on the afternoon of Feb. 3, 2010. 

"Puff and my son were very close. He adored her! When she went missing, my son and daughter would sleep with her picture on their pillows."

​Both, now teenagers, still ask about their aunt Puff.

​“My son asked me one time, 'Is she dead? Where is she?' I told him, 'Don't ever say that because she’s not. We don't know yet. We’re still looking,'" Janel explained, fighting back the tears.

​The sisters had a special bond. Janteyl confided in Janel and asked if she would take her to the doctor to
take a pregnancy test. When they got the positive results, the sisters broke the news, first to their mother and then to the rest of the family.

​​"Of course, there was disappointment because she got pregnant young. That would be disappointing for any family if their child got pregnant young," Janel said. "But when she went missing, there was no argument in the family. Everyone came to accept it [the pregnancy]. What can you do at this point? There was no getting rid of it; therefore, it was, okay, let's move forward.”

​The family turned their attention to the alleged father of Janteyl's unborn child and were stunned to learn that he was a 27-year-old man who reportedly lied to Janteyl about his age when he met her.

​​“She told me that he said he was much younger, closer to her age, and I asked her, 'Does he know about the baby?' She said, 'Yes,' " Janel recalls.

​Janteyl reportedly met the alleged father of her child in the Wilmington, Delaware, neighborhood where she and her family lived before moving to Newark in 2010. According to Janel, the 27-year-old panicked when Janteyl told him she was pregnant.

​"She said he wanted her to get an abortion. He wanted her to get rid of the baby because if it came out [about his age], it's automatic lockup for him," Janel said.

​​The last incoming call to Janteyl's phone was at 1:38 p.m. the day she disappeared, New Castle County police confirm. Janel believes the call was from the baby's father, but the police have not publicly confirmed that information or revealed his identity. According to investigators, citing Janteyl's phone records, not long after that last incoming call, Janteyl stopped answering her phone. Hours later, her phone, according to Janel, pinged near the home of one of the man's relatives. The pregnant teenager was never seen or heard from again.

​"I believe he called her and said he wanted to talk to her about the baby, and it was his way of getting her in the car, and his way of going on with his plan…whatever his plan was. But I do not think his plan was for her to return,” Janel said.

Janteyl's case is complicated. Unbeknownst to her family, in addition to the alleged father of her child, Janteyl was also communicating by phone with two other much older men the day she vanished, New Castle County police confirm. But because no one at the apartment complex saw her talking to or arguing with anyone or getting in a car, there is no concrete evidence that makes clear what happened to Janteyl when she walked out of the apartment. According to New Castle County police, of the three men Janteyl was in contact with that day, only one has met with investigators. The other two, including the alleged father of her child, have not been cooperative with the investigation then or now.

​​“I can't call him a man because a man would not do those things," Janel said. "It gives you a sense of anger because how dare you take my sister's joy, life, future, and freedom while you still get to live your life?” Janel said.

She also has strong words for the other men who were contacting Janteyl.

"Why were you even talking to a 15-year-old child? You need to explain that! What could you possibly have in common with her? She was a child!"  

Janteyl's family has not given up hope. They believe that Janteyl is still out there, and that it's a matter of time before she's found.

"I know she's still with us. I know she is. If you know something about my sister please come forward, " Janel said.

​Investigators have not publicly identified any of the men Janteyl was talking to and have not named any suspects in her disappearance. Who are those men, and where are they now? I've tracked down two of them. 

More to come...

If you have any information regarding Janteyl Johnson's case, please contact Det. Roberto Herrera of the New Castle County Police at: 302- 395-2784 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333

It's been more than four years since Joanna Clark, 33, and her daughter Shariece, 15, vanished without a trace.  

​The mother and daughter disappeared on February 4, 2017, but at different times, from their apartment in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.

​​Police suspect foul play, but there have been no arrests.  

​Joanna's six younger children are now in the custody of their father, Dennis Queen. He was the last person to see Joanna and Shariece the day they disappeared. I interviewed Queen exclusively in 2017. He stated that he last saw his step-daughter, Shariece, leaving the apartment that afternoon. As for Joanna, Queen told me he recalls seeing her arrive at the apartment just after 11 p.m. but that "she was gone" when he woke up the next day.

Margaret Tucker doesn't believe Queen's version, and is convinced that he knows what happened to her daughter and granddaughter. Tucker shared new age-progressed renderings of Joanna and Shariece that  were done by a forensic artist at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

​Although Tucker has mixed feelings about the images, she hopes they generate media attention and leads. I reached out to Margaret, who now lives in Virginia, below is part of our exchange. 

Margaret: "I think The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will be doing that." 

Margaret: "A lot of family members' lives are ruined."

Margaret: "​Once in a blue moon.​ There's nothing new with the detective. I don't feel he's doing anything."

Dulce Maria Alavez turns 7 today. 

"It's been almost two years since she disappeared at Bridgeton City New Jersey Park," says the voice behind the camera. "I'm really, really sad and hurt. I don't know where she is. I don't know who she is with. I don't know if my baby girl is ok. Like everyone, I want to know where she is."

We have not independently confirmed with investigators if that is indeed Dulce's father, but the girl's maternal  grandmother, Norma Perez, tells me that it is him talking in the video.

The man says he saw his daughter as much as possible until his deportation right before Christmas in 2018. He vehemently denies having anything to do with Dulce's disappearance.

 "I was in Mexico when everything happened. For those who think that I took my baby girl, let me tell you that I got nothing to do with it."

Dulce was playing with her little brother near the swings at Bridgeton City Park on September 16, 2019. Their mother, Noema Alavez-Perez, and a younger relative stayed in the car some 30 yards away. Many, in the court of public opinion, believe Dulce's mother knows what happened to her daughter, but she has not been named a person of interest or suspect in the case. According to the FBI, Noema and her family have been questioned multiple times and her cell phones have also been checked. 

The FBI believes Dulce was possibly abducted by a Hispanic man seen at the playground at the same time she vanished, but local authorities are not ruling anyone or any theory out just yet. 

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is also working on an age-progressed image of Dulce to show what she would look like today. 

"Let's all pray for my daughter. Please, don't lose hope that Dulce Maria Alavez will be found soon."