Aja Daniell Johnson: Missing 7 Days and Counting, Okla. Cops offering $20,000 Reward
Photo: Aja Daniell Johnson, 7, reported missing Jan. 24.
Aja's mother, Tonya Hobbs, was found beaten to death in her RV Jan. 24 in Geronimo, about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City. She was there with her two daughters, Aja and her older half-sister Kressa, visiting her estranged husband. Relatives got worried when they hadn't seen Tonya Hobbs and Aja for a couple days. They broke into the RV and found Tonya dead and Aja missing.
Photo: Lester Hobbs, 46, suspected of kidnapping Aja Johnson and killing her mother Tonya Hobbs.
A multi-state Amber Alert was issued but authorities say no tangible leads have surfaced. They did, however, find surveillance video from a Lawton, Okla., Wal-Mart 11 miles from where Tonya Hobbs' body was found. The video, shot Jan. 23, shows Tonya and Lester Hobbs entering the store. It is believed to be the last time Tonya Hobbs was seen alive.
Photo: White Toyota Paseo that Lester Hobbs is believed to be driving.
Comanche County Sheriff Kenny Stradley said the investigation has been hampered by the considerable lag time between when Lester Hobbs is believed to have fled with Aja and the time when the body was found, about 29 hours.
Stradley also said that they had assumed that when they put out the Amber Alert it was automatically broadcast nationally, but has since learned that it wasn't the case. He says he believes that Lester Hobbs had more than enough time to get far away from Oklahoma.
"That's why a national Amber Alert system is paramount" Stradley said. "When this is all over I will see what I can do about getting that changed. Right now, we need to find that little girl."
Comanche County District Attorney Fred Smith filed first-degree murder and kidnapping charges against Lester Hobbs last week. Smith said he filed those charges so he would be able to use the services of the U.S. Marshal's Office and the FBI if it became a multistate search.
Aja is 4 feet tall, with brown eyes and brown hair and weighs 65 pounds.
Lester Hobbs is described as 6 feet-1-inch tall and 190 pounds. Hobbs has green eyes, brown hair, and multiple tattoos, including wings on his chest and the word "Tony" on his left forearm.
He last was seen driving a white 1995 Toyota Paseo with Oklahoma license plate 577BPW, according to the release. The rear window may be broken out, the release said.
Anyone with information should call the U.S. Marshals Service in Oklahoma City at 405-231-4206.
MORE ON CRIMESIDER
January 29, 2010 - Aja Daniell Johnson Missing: Does New Video Show Mother's Killer, Child's Kidnapper?
January 27, 2010 - Aja Daniell Johnson Missing: Murdered Mother Feared Husband Would Smash Daughter with Hammer
January 25, 2010 - Aja Daniell Johnson Missing, Her Mother Found Dead; Will They Find 7-Year-Old in Time? (Amber Alert)