Photo: People
Savanna has still not been located.
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Nov 04, 2019
A newborn baby was found alive in the same apartment building where a 22-year-old pregnant woman, Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, went missing five days before.
Law enforcement in Fargo, North Dakota announced that while they are waiting on DNA results to 100% confirm the baby is hers, it is very likely. And Savanna's family has confirmed it is her baby.
The newborn was found with two people who reside in Savanna's apartment complex, and both William Henry Hoehn, 32, and Brooke Lynn Crews, 38, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. They also indicated the baby was the missing woman's, although they have not revealed what happened to her.
The Fargo Police Department held a press conference announcing the arrest and the details uncovered in the investigation so far:
So what exactly happened to Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind?
The nightmare started on August 19th when a woman who lived in the third-floor apartment above Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind knocked on her door. She said she was sewing a dress and offered the soon-to-be-mommy $20 if she could help her by tryig it on so she could pin it and alter it it so she could put on the final touches.
LaFontaine-Greywind agreed to help the woman, who she did not know well, and went upstairs — but she never returned home.
When Norberta LaFontaine-Greywind went upstairs to check on her daughter, after knocking on the door to the apartment, she was told that Savanna had already left.
“I immediately knew something was wrong because [my daughter’s] car is here,” Norberta told the Forum News Service. “She’s eight months pregnant. Her feet were swollen, so she wouldn’t have taken up walking like that. There was pizza here that she hadn’t eaten. She would not just leave that lady’s apartment and go somewhere.”
The last time Norberta had heard from her daughter was she texted her to tell her she was going upstairs. Savanna also texted her boyfriend, who's also the father of her child, Ashton Matheny, who said they were joking around.
A second-floor neighbor in the same apartment building told police they heard a sustained noise upstairs that afternoon, but police searched the apartment three times and no arrests have been made
"We were getting ready to leave [and] we heard a banging in the bathtub for about 15 or 20 minutes, about 1:30 or 2 p.m.," the neighbor said. After, they heard the shower turn on, which they thought was "kind of odd."
The mother-to-be hasn't been heard or seen since that Saturday night. The baby girl, who the family has named Hazley Joe, is with Savanna's family now.
Here are a few of the disturbing rumors and theories from social media and crime forums about the disappearance as police continue their investigation to uncover what exactly happened to Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind.
1. The woman who asked Savanna to model the dress was a registered sex offender.
A post that's gained a lot of traction on Facebook claims that the woman who asked Savanna to model the dress was a registered sex offender named Dawn Kirby. She was arrested for felony theft and having sexual relations with a 16-year-old child, according to court documents.
The Facebook post — that has been deleted — reads "Dawn Kirby is the female who lured Savanna into her upstairs apartment to model a dress for her, she has not been seen since. Dawn is a registered sex offender who has failed to update her current address and lives within 250 feet of a school."
Local TV stations say they've talked to other people who say Kirby lives there, despite Kirby saying she doesn't and has never met Savanna.
When reporters went to the upstairs apartment to try to identify Kirby, no one answered. But neighbors say they've seen her and that she often goes by different names. The landlord reported that the woman who lives in that apartment is not Dawn Kirby.
The two people arrested have different names than Dawn, so perhaps Dawn was a alias? Or perhaps this rumor was unsubstantiated.
2. She ran away.
According to WebSleuths — a forum site where citizens look into crimes and missing person investigations — Savanna shared multiple videos like the one above that indicated she was overwhelmed with her pregnancy.
"There were some things on her fb that I felt implied she was overwhelmed - one example was about paying bills, another was about health issues during her pregnancy. Although I would have expected her to drive away if she were taking a break," wrote a user by the name of Whiskers16.
Since the baby was found, did she willingly give it to her upstairs neighbors? That seems rather unlikely.
3. She's been captured by four men.
Valley News Live reported that a policeman on the case was showing a picture of four men officers were looking for in connection with her disappearance. Their names and descriptions were not listed.
Other news outlets reported later that police said this rumor was false and that the search has been expanded.
4. An accomplice in her murder was sentenced to 20 years
East Central District Judge Tom Olson sentenced William Hoehn, an accomplice to Savanna Greywind's murder, to twenty years in prison for conspiracy to commit kidnapping and one year for lying to police. The conviction, which was originally overturned, was reinstated in October 2019. Of the sentence, Judge Olson said, "I want to sentence you to as long as I can by law." Greyson's child, who was cut of her womb — and lived — will be in higschool by the time Hoehn is eligible for parole.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, dating, relationships and everything in between.