OMAHA, Neb., Nov. 2, 2007

Cops: Teacher And Teen Fled To Mexico

Police Searching For Female Middle School Teacher And 13-Year-Old Student From Nebraska

  • This photo from Nov. 2006 shows missing Kelsey Peterson, 25, a sixth-grade middle school teacher and basketball coach at Lexington Middle School, who was placed on administrative leave last week on suspicion of having a relationship with a 13-year-old boy student at the school. The two are believed to be on the run after police began investigating an alleged intimate relationship between the pair.

    This photo from Nov. 2006 shows missing Kelsey Peterson, 25, a sixth-grade middle school teacher and basketball coach at Lexington Middle School, who was placed on administrative leave last week on suspicion of having a relationship with a 13-year-old boy student at the school. The two are believed to be on the run after police began investigating an alleged intimate relationship between the pair.  (AP Photo/Tri-City Tribune)

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(CBS/AP)  A female schoolteacher and a 13-year-old boy believed to be on the run from central Nebraska may have crossed the border into Mexico, a Nebraska police investigator said Friday.

Paul Schwarz of the Lexington Police Department said the white Pontiac owned by 25-year-old Kelsey Peterson crossed the California border into Mexico around 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

"We know that that vehicle crossed the border and that they are probably in it or possibly in it," Schwarz said. "We've already had the FBI active on the case, so they, of course, will continue to be active on the case."

The pair disappeared after police began investigating whether they had an intimate relationship. Court documents supporting a warrant for the teacher's arrest chronicle love letters between the two.

Peterson, a sixth-grade math teacher and basketball coach at Lexington Middle School, was put on administrative leave last week, one day before the boy was last seen. A judge issued an arrest warrant Monday charging her with kidnapping, child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Authorities believed the two were traveling together in Peterson's car, and police nationwide and the FBI were notified about them. Court documents said the boy was last seen Oct. 26.

The boy, 13-year-old Fernando Rodriguez, was an eighth-grader at the school, but district Superintendent Todd Chessmore said he wasn't sure whether Peterson was his teacher two years ago.
Quote

We're still focused on locating both of them, whether they're together or not. I think right now anything is possible.

Dawson County Attorney Elizabeth Waterman

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who may be victims of sex crimes, but the boy's name has been widely publicized as police search for him.

According to court documents, Fernando's aunt Laura Rodriguez told police that she talked to her nephew by phone after he disappeared, and he asked her whether a visa or passport was required to travel to Mexico.

Court documents showed authorities had recovered several e-mails and letters in which the two professed their affection for one another.

In letters, the boy called Peterson his "Baby Gurl" and said their relationship was "just not about the sex but that it was pretty good," according to court documents.

Court documents say Peterson's school-issued laptop contained letters to the student, including one from April saying she loved him, thought he loved her, was "100 percent faithful" to him and would always be faithful.

Police said the boy contacted his family over the weekend and said the two were in Grand Island, about 85 miles east of Lexington. Police have also said the pair were spotted over the weekend in Denver and Ogallala, in western Nebraska near the northeast tip of Colorado.

Peterson's MySpace Web site indicated she last logged in to the site two days before Chessmore confiscated her laptop.

"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits," Peterson said in her profile.

Lexington, a farming and meatpacking town of about 10,000, is about 220 miles west of Omaha in central Nebraska.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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by michellem99-2009 November 5, 2007 3:59 AM EST
Thank you toldyouso21..I have never lied to any one. I have never whined but share my soul with all. My room mate was pissed. I miss spell sorry there. Ye handled it better or what I mean is yer command of english said it. Some are blind in their mind. It pisses us as people we pay the school systems their staffs and this is the Thank You we get as tax payers. Teacher runs off with a child lover that is a minor. The lessons my father taught me before mother ran out. Are with me. I love that man as he is a very good soul. He raised his paw and to do that Gramma had to sign..He went in the US Army. He served 3 years. He is 72. Dad never hurt me. Foster homes did. Mother ran Dad off as she was married to Dad but dating her then boyfriend. The marriage ended and she married the boyfriend. She throw us on the state as her them new husband told her they go.
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by michellem99-2009 November 5, 2007 3:29 AM EST
Tucker. I showed my sighted room mate the posts. Ye whine about God. Ye cut me down..Fine..Ye have never walked in my shoes. He said * WHAT AN ASRE*. Is it any wonder I dislike the sighted. GO BACK TO YER GODLESS WORLD. When ye die yer going stand before Him..Then yer going to whine. I HAVE NEVER WHINED..I have to educate azzes who need it..Frankly yer not my eye Dr. and yes I see him for the care of my legally blind eye. I have met cops that know what a white cane is and they place my hand on their badge as that tells me they are cops.
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:56 PM EST
Good and evil are entirely in the mind of the beholder.

One man''''s evil is another man''''s good. The terms have no specific meaning.

Much like God. He (it?) has no specific meaning, either. God is whatever someone claims him (it?) to be since we invent Gods in our own images.

Have a good evening.

Always enjoy visiting with my I''''net friends. (and I have no enemies, so that makes us all friends)

Posted by tuckerndfw at 11:25 PM : Nov 02, 2007


1.Let''s see....does not believe in God so no natural spititual boundaries to behavior.

2. Thinks all laws concerning *** crimes should be done away with.

3. Thinks sexxx with children is okay and that society should butt out if the 2 want to do it (Or maybe if the one convinces the other to do it)

4. Sees or respects no limits on the acts with animals or children and no consideration for immaturity to lead to unthought of choices.

Yep. Hope someone turns your name over to the FBI--if you aren''t a pedophile in actuality--you probably are one vicariously through fantasy--hope they confiscate your hard drive and eliminate one more problem hidden among us.




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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:52 PM EST
Being beaten half to death (having your face punched in) is far more traumatic and painful than most rapes.

Posted by tuckerndfw at 05:07 PM : Nov 02, 2007


There speaks a chauvinist pigg, if ever their was one. Rape is not simply a matter of physical assault, it is a mental assault, psychic assault and emotional assault as well. A punch in the face is on the outside of one''s body and will heal in time, but a rape is invasion on the inside of ones body--a breach of what any human considers inviolate and not to be trespassed without their consent--and even then, the degree of damage is debatable. A man entering a child for ***, can not only cause severe damage and even death but the child must endure the agony and suffer those other torments of the spirit as well. Obviously rape is a theory with you. Tell you what--maybe someday a group of men will find you and take turns raping you--and you can contemplate how it is not so bad and how you can just get over it--there is no more dangerous person, than one without empathy--because if you have no clue how another person feels or what harm your own actions can bring about--you remain capable of doing anything to anyone. A true sociopath.
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:36 PM EST
So that is some of the harm it can do--though the greater the liberties the deeper the damage and depending on the person, the more long lasting the ramifications. In short--it is not all about you or any other molester--you have no rights to seduce or touch anyone not old enough to contemplate, understand and consider the long term ramifications--so that puts kids off limits--FREAK
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:34 PM EST
At what age does that no touch zone kick in?
Posted by tuckerndfw at 08:49 PM : Nov 03, 2007

Boy, what a great cop you must have been. For people like you--that no touch zone kicks in from the time of birth--you should not be allowed near any child. The issue is intent and the damage is not what it does or does not do to you but what happens to the child. I know several people who were merely fondled as children--I know one woman who had the guilt and nightmare of that even though the man (her friends father) only tickled her and kissed her high up on her inner thigh when she was eight. To this day--she is enraged and angry and humiliated and hurt. Now. You may think she is over reacting, or self pitying or making it up or something else--but the fact is--she has just as much right to her view as you do to yours and since it was her body and personal space that was violated, her opinion on the matter trumps yours and the man who had the pleasure of doing that to her.

She lives with the anger and powerlessness of that moment for the rest of her life and it does affect her decisions and disrupt her life. nxt post
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:27 PM EST
am a bachelor (divorced) and live alone. I get very little attention at home since there is no one here but me (most of the time).Posted by tuckerndfw at 08:49 PM : Nov 03, 2007


I don''t doubt that for a minute. YOu have revealed yourself to be an uncaring maggot--too tainted with cynicism, anger, disillusion and misanthropism. I am surprised that you do not jack off to the war in Iraq--because it appears that other than your stance on that one issue--you are on par with the most venal and most horrid of personas. For all we know--you could be Karl Rove--trying to perfect your ideas of perversion.

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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:22 PM EST
Everyone travels a tough road. No one''''s road is any easier or more difficult than anyone else''''s. The primary difference is the view. Posted by tuckerndfw at 07:55 PM : Nov 03, 2007

That is the most inane and ignorant comment I have ever heard. Of course the view is different. Those who have no empathy for others are considered sociopaths. Those who fail to see that the personal experiences in this world do shape and color views is either a fool and ingrate or just a self centered twit. Consider that if on your journey, you had no loving parents, were thrown into various foster homes, denied an education and repeated butt fvcked by strangers--your view may differ from someone who grew up a little more safely. The amazing thing about Michelle (and yes, I believe her stories) is that she still manages to be inciteful and considerate and empathetic--you missed your calling tucker. Not only should you be a neo con--but you are ripe to be a torturer--because you can see no further than your own personal bias and ideas. Michelle, for all her handicaps and "whining" is far above you in spirit. You are not fit to even lick her feet and you are losing a lot of credibility here--grow up--everyone and everything is not about attacking--you must be very miserable indeed to try to make yourself feel better or superior by attacking others--it is YOU who are irrelevant and ugly as hell.
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:15 PM EST
Posted by crzmeat at 07:02 PM : Nov 03, 2007


I agree with you and Michelle that tucker is out of line and actually shows little empathy for Michelle or respect for our laws. I have posted with tucker on other sites dealing in politics and he/she seems to be a liberal with an empathetic bent. Not so, on this issue--but this is a case of "me thinks someone protests too much" I remember another poster who had a similar attitude towards crimes about molestation, he basically blamed the victim or said that girls and boys were really grown and it was no man''s fault...he kept it up but one day...he must have slipped. It turns out this poster was a pedophile and his remarks had aroused suspiscion. Someone referred him to the FBI (Or they monitored the site) next thing we knew, another poster who knew who this person was, told us all that he had been arrested for child porn on the internet--he gave the man''s email info, etc. So when a person defends the indefensible, sadly--it may mean because they want to excuse thoughts or behaviors that they also have. Not saying that tucker is a pedophile--but.....:as a man thinketh, so is he"
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:08 PM EST
The kid is a US citizen (assuming someone is illaglly here jsut becasue they are hispanic is racist,

Posted by peppersn12 at 03:12 PM : Nov 03, 2007

You are in error. It has been reported repeatedly that the kid is an illegal immigrant assuming that those who enter the US without going through immigration and stay here are doing so without obeying the laws for staying here. Your posts make you a bleeding heart--but regardless, the issues are separate. The child was victimized, but he did not have to be so--by an American, had he stayed in his own country along with his family, this woman would never have met him. That said, the molester should go to jail for a long time, the family should be deported if illegal and the aunt or anyone else who knowingly harbored the family should have their citizenship status revoked (If amnestied or newly a citizen) and should be jailed and fined for aiding and abetting this huge social problem and for harboring fugitives from immigration.
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by toldyouso21 November 4, 2007 8:00 PM EST
Of course the boy should not come back to America--as an illegal, he and whoever else in that family unit that is illegal should be deported--then the aunt and whoever else supported this family should be charged with harboring fugitives. This is why we need those laws about aiding and abetting illegals--as for the boy--he will have to learn the hard way, that thinking with his little head between his legs instead of the one between his ears can get a man in a world of hurt. And the woman should get at least 20 to 30 years in jail. She is a pedophile who will always think those in a similar age group are her equals and the ones for her. She has the emotional mentality of a 12 year old and nothing will change that--not psychoanalysis, church--nothing. If a 13 year old can be her idea of a "man" to be faithful to---odds are--THAT is the age group she is attracted to.

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by michellem99-2009 November 4, 2007 1:57 AM EST
First of all my sister born in 56 and brother born in 58 were foster children in the locke home in Bucksport. That is true. I am the oldest.I went to different homes. I have no idea who crzmeat is. Never met.Will never meet. I WILL TELL YOU WHAT MY BIGGEST DREAM WAS TO HAVE WHAT I CAN''T HAVE AND NEVER WILL,,FULL SIGHT. But you do. so enjoy it as you nay go blind..I WAS TAUGHT AS A BLIND CHILD THIS IS THE GREATSET NATION IN THE WORLD..It was,
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by michellem99-2009 November 4, 2007 1:02 AM EST
The first Amreicans are the Indians. Whites robbed them of their lands. The white male..We all came from over seas. When they hit the shores the Iadians never sent our forebears back home where they came from. Why..We are here. So give the illgals time and they will be American. I was born here.
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by michellem99-2009 November 4, 2007 12:34 AM EDT
It pisses me as they think it fine to rape a child,teen,a helpless person. Sure they shut their mind and think no way. It does happen in the home,school,church, where ever. I will speak out.It messe them up. The fact is there are parents that don''t give a dang.
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by Krazcarl November 3, 2007 11:38 PM EDT
tucker you have turned into a nasty troll that does not get enough attention at home and spend way to much time on the computer looking at porno. The funny thing it is obvious you were a cop by how you act.
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by Krazcarl November 3, 2007 11:35 PM EDT
No I''m not blind I live in Ga. I''m a guy as you should be able to tell from my post. It is a wierd one but life is strange the most interesting part. As I said before she went on about her siblings she hadn''t seen since mom dumped them on the state she knew the name of the people that was it and they were neighbors that took in state children and the names matched one was a year or so younger one was a year older and no one could make that up unless it was CIA
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by Krazcarl November 3, 2007 11:05 PM EDT
Tucker I know her family I was raised less than half a mile from them a sister and a brother I''ve never met her never will. It was a wierd blog story she went on about her departed siblings and she spoke the truth cause I grew up beside them so I have the utmost confidence in what she says to be honest it was the coolest blog experence I''ve had. So get back to telling everyone how cool it for a 23 year old playing with a 11 year old privates you are wrong on both agendas period.
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by Krazcarl November 3, 2007 10:43 PM EDT
tucker unfortunatly some people have traveled a tougher road than you and I. I admire her honesty I''m disabled a car accident but never bring it up but have nothing against anyone that does gives you a perspective on there thoughts she sees a totaly different world than you and I and I enjoy her perspective. Anyone that thinks it''s cool for teacher to play with a young ones privates {he was most likely 11 when all this started she was his sixth grade teacher] is disabled and to blind to see it you two have a lot in common your blind you just don''t know it and your disturbed or just tryingt to be troll and feel superiour to others the funny thing is none of us know you and none of us care.
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by Krazcarl November 3, 2007 10:02 PM EDT
Tucker that was very cold to Michelle I thought you would above that. For some reason this story has you in a tizey. Fact she was 25 a college graduare with rducation fact he was 13 and there is a distinct possibility that this was on going for years 11-13. I don''t care how macho you want to be a 25 year old getting frisky with a 11-12 year old is wrong and dieappointing anyone that condons that behavior stradles the fence of pedophilia were not talking a young joke on the football team were talking a young kid by shere fact she found love and enjoyment there is sick and says volumes about her mental condition some things you don''t have to go to counselers and find out if there wrong you should know if you don''t your lieing or have a severe mental condition period.
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by michellem99-2009 November 3, 2007 7:08 PM EDT
I wonder that as yer sick remarks..They would can yer asre where I come from. I am white as that means nothing to me..Sir there be trash and it is time to haul that out. I share to open yer blind mind and it is blind even tho ye see. I PITY YE.Children/teens are not sexual toys for adults to do as they please. Ye sexually abuse a child yer job is history..If they find out and they do..I know what they do to them..Lock them up..That teacher should be fixed than all her rights gone. Yer the kind of asre that got no problem killing a person as he/she as yer proud ye did..I don''t have self pity and won''t take yer pity..My dad and vets in my family raise/ed their paws for military. God and Nation and so I said that pledge with feeling..We are as a people FEEL that adults don''t sexaully abuse children..Yes they do..I know that pain. There are cold persons who look out for them...There is a hell..Ye ask where..Right here on earth..When I die I will be free of this body that is a prisom. Don''t go what..Them in mates got it better..They put themselves there. I did not asked to be born with legal blindness and other handicaps..There is a difference. Get on yer knees and thank God ye can walk,see,be able bodied..Ye want proof that THERE is God. there it is.
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