AMW Recovery #39; Jun 24, 2004

Hope was dwindling that police would find little Rayon Gray, taken by his non-custodial mother. It had been months since his father had seen the boy, and every attempt to locate him had come up empty. AMW gave one final push to find Rayon on May 22, 2004 when the show aired a spot about the abduction. Investigators had faith, but not much hope that the show would succeed. Then, moments into the show, 3000 miles away from Baltimore where Rayon grew up, a little girl was watching AMW with her mother. When she saw the little boy's picture as it flashed on the tv screen, she jumped up. She recognized the boy as the boy in her class at Barranca Elementary School in Covina, California. Quickly, the girl's mother called the AMW tip line. It was the first solid lead the police had in a long time. They immediately contacted the Riverside Police Department and gave them the clues they had about Rayon's case. Riverside police took the ball from there. They talked with the tipster and pulled records from the school. Everything seemed to match, all they would have to do is wait for the youngster to come to school, and they could confirm if they had the right little boy. Unfortunately, Rayon's mother was ahead of the police. Rayon never came back to school, and Riverside police worried that she knew that they were on her trail. For days they watched the school and investigated, but it seemed as if she had given them the slip.

What police did know was that Rayon's mother, Margarita Peterson was now disguising herself as a practicing Muslim, wearing a burkha and living in the Islamic community. Police stayed on the hunt, waiting for Peterson to slip up, and on June 23rd, she did. That day, police got a call from the local social services office. It turns out Peterson had made an appointment to speak to someone about public assistance. Cops had their woman. On the day of the appointment, Margarita arrived as scheduled. She did not have Rayon with her. Even so, police took her into custody. Peterson was taken in for questioning and after much persuasion, eventually revealed Rayon's location to police. It was a great day for police back in Baltimore when they called Rayon's dad and told him that his son was found safe and sound. Thanks to the diligent work of the Riverside Police Department, the Maryland State Police Department, and AMW Rayon is home with his father. Rayon Gray is the 39th missing child recovered by America's Most Wanted.