Mother pleads for kids’ return

Coeur d’Alene police are investigating scores of tips concerning the whereabouts of two children feared abucted by a fugitive sought by authorities in six states.

An Amber Alert has been issued and the mother of one of the children issued a plea Sunday for her daughter’s safe return.

Regional media are broadcasting and publishing information, and messages have been posted on electronic billboards asking area residents and motorists to be on the lookout for a gold-colored, four-door 1996 Lincoln towncar with Louisiana license plates.

The driver is thought to be John “Jack” Marc Thompson, 56, who is suspected of abducting 4-year-old Tatiana Siebert and her 5-year-old cousin Ford Ware.

“Jack, if you still have Tatiana and Ford with you, you can drop them off in any public place where somebody else will find them,” pleaded Yvonne Siebert, mother of missing Tatiana Siebert, in a statement issued Sunday.

“To Tatiana and Ford, keep believing in God. God will take care of you wherever you are. Come home soon, Mommy loves you, lots of hugs and kisses.”

Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Christie Wood said a black 1991 Ford Explorer with a white hood bearing Idaho license plates is also being sought. The vehicle may be driven by relatives with information about the missing children.

Tips have been phoned in from the Priest River and Bonners Ferry areas, Wood said. Also, tips have been pouring in to law enforcement officials in other states.

The alleged abduction is an odd case involving a group of transients, their children and Thompson, a relative newcomer who claimed to be an ordained minister.

The group left their campsite along the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River on Thursday with plans to caravan to Sandpoint.

The two missing children were riding with Thompson in the gold Lincoln, Wood said.

When the car failed to rendezvous in Coeur d’Alene, the parents of Ford Ware called police.

Police describe Thompson as a well-traveled con man who frequents transient camps. Although warrants for his arrest have been issued in several states, Wood said he is accused of theft and embezzlement rather than violent crimes.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with Coeur d’Alene police on the case, along with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.