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Johnson behind bars at Maricopa County Jail; couple still persons of interest

by Jared Dillingham

azfamily.com

Posted on January 8, 2010 at 9:44 PM

Updated Monday, Jan 11 at 6:44 AM

UPDATE: Elizabeth Johnson has been extradited back to Arizona. The little boy at the center of the story still has not been located.

Tempe police booked Johnson into the Fourth Avenue jail at early Sunday. She is being held on $1.1 million cash bond.

Elizabeth now faces charges of kidnapping, child abuse and custodial interference.

TEMPE - The case of missing baby Gabriel takes another turn as police turn to a lie detector test to get the answers they say Jack and Tammi Smith won't provide on their own.

The Smiths, who claim to be Gabriel's adoptive parents are now persons of interest in his disappearance.

It all started December 18, when Johnson left Tempe with baby Gabriel.

After Gabriel's father refused to sign papers relinquishing his rights to the boy.

Mom and baby were last seen December 26 in San Antonio.

On December 28, she lost custody of Gabriel after failing to show up for a hearing in Maricopa County.

On December 30, police in Miami arrested Johnson, but found no sign of the baby.

On December 31, Tempe police asked the public for help finding the baby.

That's when the media circus started.

On January 4, the baby's father, Logan McQueary made a public plea for the boy's return.

The next day, police in San Antonio found the mom's car, but still no sign of a baby.

And then on Thursday, a bombshell, as Valley couple Jack and Tammi Smith were named "persons of interest" in the case.
All that brings us to Friday and the lie detector test the Smiths took.

The couple believes they passed the polygraph test they say they were told, it turned out the way they expected it to.
But the official results aren't in yet and police won't comment.

Jack and Tammi Smith tried adopting Gabriel Johnson in December, in the weeks leading up to his disappearance.

They maintain they played no role in that disappearance and have no idea where Gabriel is, but investigators believe the Smiths aren't sharing everything they know.

One reason why is a posting from Tammi Smith's Facebook page from December 23 days after Gabriel's mother took him from Arizona.

She wrote "please keep praying for Gabriel and his mommy's safety on the road. She found underground help in Texas that's given her formulas, diapers, and legal formalities."

We caught up with the Smiths to ask what kind of underground help they knew about.

"A women’s shelter-type thing."

Smith says Gabriel's mother called them a couple times from Texas to let them know the baby was ok.

Still under a cloud of suspicion that they know more than they're telling, the Smiths took a lie detector test Friday.
The couple hopes the polygraph results will clear them.

"I've told you from the beginning we have zero connection to this. I’m telling you."

The Smiths say they're now angry with Gabriel's mother 23 year-old Elizabeth Johnson.

She's still in custody in Miami, not helping police, waiting to be brought back to Arizona.   
   

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