In 2009 an 8-month-old, who would later be known as Baby Gabriel, disappeared under deeply mysterious circumstances. Here’s what we know.
Just the Gist:
Gabriel Johnson went missing on Dec. 20, 2009, and hasn’t been seen since.
Over the years, his mother’s story changed multiple times.
Gabriel’s mother was charged with his disappearance and spent five years in prison.
Gabriel’s case is still open and ongoing.
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“Gabriel is in a dumpster. I suffocated him.” That is what his mother, then 23-year-old Elizabeth Johnson, told the baby’s father in December 2009 during a harrowing phone call. Logan McQueary was supposed to pick up his son on Dec. 20, 2009, but never saw him again. This phone call came days after Johnson took her son out of Arizona and away from his father.
What happened next is still unclear. What we do know is the child who would later be known as Baby Gabriel, completely disappeared under confusing circumstances. Johnson told a few conflicting stories regarding his whereabouts, but ultimately the truth remains hidden. What happened to Baby Gabriel? Here’s what we know.
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What happened to Baby Gabriel? He has been missing since 2009.
“The last indications that we have was that Gabriel was alive and well in the San Antonio area on Dec. 26,” said Tempe Police Sgt. Steve Carbajal to Good Morning America in January 2010, via ABC News. “We are receiving some indications that Gabriel is still alive and we’re very optimistic about that.” What led up to this last known update regarding Baby Gabriel?
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According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, “In June 2009 following a disagreement with Gabriel’s father Logan McQueary, Elizabeth Johnson traveled to Boston, Mass. to visit her grandmother.” While on a layover in Indianapolis, Ind., Johnson struck up a conversation with Tammi Peters Smith wherein they discussed Smith and her husband adopting Baby Gabriel.
When Johnson and McQueary decided to break up six months later, Johnson reached out to Smith in order to see if she was still interested in the adoption. “Against McQueary’s wishes, Johnson met with Smith and her husband on Dec. 9, 2009, and gave Gabriel to them along with temporary guardianship paperwork notarized at a local bank,” per the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. McQueary subsequently refused to sign the adoption paperwork given to him by Johnson.
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On Dec. 17, 2009, McQueary and Johnson were awarded joint custody of Baby Gabriel in family court and it was decided that McQueary would have physical custody of his son beginning Dec. 20. While trying to make the necessary arrangements to pick up his son, McQueary was told by Johnson he would “never see him again.”
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Elizabeth Johnson took her son out of Arizona in December 2009.
When McQueary went to pick up his on Dec. 20, he found Johnson’s home empty. Clothes were missing and Baby Gabriel was gone as well. Johnson had fled to Texas which is when she sent the text messages claiming Baby Gabriel was dead. While speaking with a Phoenix CBS affiliate from jail in 2010, Johnson claimed she never hurt her son and was trying to get back at McQueary. “He had ruined my life and he hurt me and I wanted to hurt him,” via ABC News.
McQueary immediately told Tempe police what was going on, which led to a nationwide search for Johnson and Baby Gabriel. She was soon located in Miami, Fla. on Dec. 30 and told authorities she had given her son to a couple she met in a park in San Antonio, Texas. This story would change, but Baby Gabriel was never found.
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Johnson was arrested and found guilty of “unlawful imprisonment, custodial interference, and conspiracy to commit custodial interference” reported PEOPLE. She was sentenced to five years in prison and was released in July 2014 for “good behavior.” This was followed by four years of probation that Johnson violated in April 2016 when she was caught “associating with someone who has a criminal record, leaving the state without permission, and failing to report a speeding ticket.”
In 2021 Johnson gave birth to a baby girl and in 2022 she was able to legally change her name to Naomi Aragon. Sandy Peters, Baby Gabriel’s great aunt, told AZ Family that she believes Johnson is “probably trying to hide from us. She’s probably … there are a lot of people who watch her or try to watch her and see what she’s up to.” As of the time of this writing, Baby Gabriel’s case is “being investigated by Project Absentis, a nonprofit made up of former FBI agents, detectives, and intelligence officials.”
‘The Masked Singer’ Season 10 reveals: a handy list of everyone who has been unmasked so far on the most recent season of our favorite singing show.
Source: FOX
Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 10 of The Masked Singer.
Season 10 of The Masked Singer kicked off on Sept. 26, 2023, and with it came new masks. As creative and over-the-top as the costumes are, the identities of the celebrities underneath will remain a mystery until they’re eliminated and unmasked.
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We’re keeping a running list of all the reveals this season. Be sure to check back after each episode to see who has been unmasked!
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Anonymouse — Demi Lovato
Source: FOX
Anonymouse was revealed as part of the Season 10 kickoff special on Sept. 10, 2023. She sang Heart’s “What About Love” and gave several clues, including the fact that she’s been on “one special list times 100,” she started her career young, and had some connection to Nick Jonas.
Nicole Scherzinger was able to put the clues together and correctly guess that Anonymouse was Demi Lovato.
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Rubber Ducky — Anthony Anderson
Source: FOX
Rubber Ducky was revealed during the official Season 10 premiere on Sept. 27, 2023. He sang “Come on Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners and gave several clues, including the fact that his “family is full of stars,” he tried stand-up comedy, and had some connection to Leonardo DiCaprio.
Ken Jeong was able to put the clues together and correctly guess that Rubber Ducky was Anthony Anderson.
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S’More — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who S’more is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when S’more is eliminated!
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Cow — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Cow is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Cow is eliminated!
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Gazelle — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Gazelle is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Gazelle is eliminated!
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Diver — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Diver is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Diver is eliminated!
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Tiki — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Tiki is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Tiki is eliminated!
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Candelabra — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Candelabra is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Candelabra is eliminated!
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Husky — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Husky is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Husky is eliminated!
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Royal Hen — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Royal Hen is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Royal Hen is eliminated!
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Anteater — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Anteater is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Anteater is eliminated!
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Hibiscus — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Hibiscus is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Hibiscus is eliminated!
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Donut — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Donut is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Donut is eliminated!
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Hawk — Not Unmasked Yet!
Source: FOX
We don’t know who Hawk is yet, but we’re keeping track of the clues and guesses for you. Check back when Hawk is eliminated!
A TikToker recalled a strange interaction with a restaurant customer, where the guest asks the host and waitress for $50 to cover his dinner bill.
By D.M.
Sep. 28 2023, Published 8:49 a.m. ET
On TikTok, user @sassyserver0529, whose real name is Steph Carlisle, uses the platform to share horror stories from her time working in the restaurant industry. Needless to say, her tales are very bizarre.
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In a TikTok video posted on Sept. 24, 2023, Steph recalled a time when a guest asked the host and the waitress for $50 to cover their bill. The interaction with the customer named Mr. Williams started innocently enough. Here’s what went down.
A customer asked a host and waitress to spot him $50 if needed to cover his bill.
Source: Getty
The customer, Mr. Williams, entered and the restaurant the host approached him like normal. The host asked the man if he would be dining as a party of two, but the man suggested he was meeting another couple for dinner at the restaurant. “We’re meeting another couple here and I fully intend on them paying the tab tonight. But should they not, can you spot me $50?” the customer asked. Adding, “I’m dead serious. Money has been really tight lately. Can you spot me the $50 just in case?”
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An hour into the meal, Mr. Williams asked the host a second time to borrow $50 but she denied his request. “I do not have $50 I can spot you,” the host said. “If money has been tight then please don’t dine out.” Mr. Williams then said he would ask the waitress to lend him the money, but the meal was later paid for by the other couple. The ordeal has gotten TikTokers up in arms, as most are siding with the restaurant workers who refused to let Mr. Williams borrow $50.
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The internet agrees that Mr. Williams should pay his own bill.
Most of the internet seems to agree that Mr. Williams should be responsible for his own restaurant bill. The video has garnered more than 10,000 views, as TikTokers are shocked that Mr. Williams would ask employees at the restaurant he was eating at for $50.
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And while Mr. Williams was a regular at the establishment, others pointed out that he appeared to be overly comfortable with the staff at the restaurant.
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Meanwhile, others made their point very clear, suggesting that Mr. Williams should avoid dining at restaurants if he can’t pay the bill. Steph even replied to a commenter and explained that Mr. Williams’s request was “the most outlandish thing anyone has ever asked.”
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And of course, there was one person who wanted to know why Steph didn’t lend Mr. Williams $50. Asking, “So why didn’t ya?” Really? What would this person do if they were put in the same situation?
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Other servers have gotten even stranger requests from customers.
Steph isn’t the first restaurant employee to receive a strange request from a customer. In June, TikToker Mitchell Todd (who goes by @mitchii.moo on the platform) recalled a weird encounter with a customer. The incident occurred during a brunch shift at the restaurant where Mitchell works. The customer, who Mitchell said was “extremely attractive,” was polite at first. Mitchel admits to being flirty with the customer during their interaction, which may have prompted the strange request.
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“He’s like ‘I have a weird request. I was wondering if you could spit in my food?’” the man asked. Mitchell denied the man’s request and explained that it was against company policy to spit on someone’s food. Mitchell suggested that the man ask the restaurant manager if the spitting would be OK, and the manager obliged.
A woman describes being on a Carnival cruise during an unexpected and unexplained blackout and there may be a good reason for this.
If you ever needed another reason not to take a vacation on a cruise, then one woman’s TikTok about a blackout in the middle of the ocean may do it for you. A user by the name of @nieceeb41 shared a video in which she says she and her travel companions “experienced a blackout” with no warning and no information on what was happening in the moment.
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I am in the camp of preferring my vacations on land, where I have the ability to leave if there is an emergency. So, to hear of a Carnival Horizon cruise stopping in the middle of the ocean and cutting all power is a literal nightmare. In her video, the TikTok user doesn’t explain why the cruise blackout happened, but she does give a firsthand account of what it was like.
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Source: Getty Images
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A Carnival cruise’s blackout caused panic among the guests.
In her video, the creator explains that she and the other guests aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise, which had set sail for Aruba, were covered in almost complete darkness. She says that low emergency lights were turned on in the hallways, but that, without warning from a captain or any staff, the power cut off and she and other guests aboard the ship had no clue what happened. Again I say, literal nightmare.
“Tonight, just a few seconds ago, we experienced a blackout, a complete blackout,” she says in the TikTok. “And guess what? Nobody was explaining anything, we got no announcement, no nothing. People in the hallway [were] confused, they had emergency lights on at the bottom [of the hallway walls]… Nobody knows nothing. What is going on, Carnival?”
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If this were a standard power outage, apparently the actual danger is minimal. Cruise ships, including those owned by Carnival, are equipped with high-powered generators. They can turn power back on for lighting, get elevators back up and running, keep communication lines open, and even power the engines.
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But, because the TikToker doesn’t explain why the blackout happened on the Carnival cruise in the video or any videos after it, we don’t have any answers as to what happened or how things progressed once the staff inevitably informed the guests what was going on. Luckily, other people who have been on cruises or even worked on them have some ideas about why there was an unexplained blackout on the ship.
Cruises are often in danger of pirates on the open ocean.
Most of the comments under the TikTok video claim that the cruise ship likely went dark and, therefore, silent in the middle of the ocean because of pirates. If a smaller ship was spotted nearby, it would make sense for the ship to cut power at night and turn off the sounds that pirates could detect.
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“If they announced [a blackout], the pirates would hear them,” one user commented. “Keep an open mind. Most ships don’t just have a blackout.”
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Another person agreed, “Sounds like they saw pirates out there… They are indeed out there and the ships have protocols for them.”
While some of the comments explain that “pirates are real,” others show that people who prefer not to go on cruises are happily justified in their decisions. And with no answers about the blackout and the danger of pirates on the ocean, you can have your cruises.
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