Kidnapping leaves questions

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: June 19, 2008

The abduction of a 17-year-old Madison boy, reportedly at knifepoint, leaves us with many questions and few answers.
Unfortunately, as investigators have said, language is a barrier – the boy’s family is Hispanic – and that is slowing the search. Even if local authorities had several translators, before it’s over this investigation will involve several law agencies and dozens of people. The work has just begun.
So far, however, law officers have issued an arrest warrant for Antonio Dejesus Granados, 18, of Houston. Granados is charged with kidnapping and burglary, Detective Dana Taylor said. Taylor said he was the only one identified from the incident and is a cousin.
An Amber Alert has been issued for the boy, William Alexander Benitez. Granados is about 5 feet, 6 inches, 138 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. According to initial reports from the boys’ uncle, several people were involved in the break-in, robbery and kidnapping, including a woman.
We have little information about the case and the boy’s family, which leaves us with a string of “why” questions. Why was Benitez’s family targeted, and why was the boy taken? Why did several people enter the home, and how are the boy and his family related to them, if at all? Was the boy in the Honda, which reportedly was carrying the suspects when it wrecked in Guilford County? Are they headed for Houston, and why was Granados here?
What’s most troubling is the boy’s age, so, as sheriff’s spokesman Dean Venable indicated this week, finding him is paramount. We pray that he is found safe, and it’s our hope that some of our questions regarding this puzzling case can be answered.