Mom of abducted boy issues plea for safe return; dad's "alleged" abuse was "verified" just days before boy's disappearance (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Once again, what an amazing coincidence we have in this case! Dad's "alleged" abuse was in fact "confirmed" as abuse--and just days before dad PAUL MARTIKAINEN and his 3-year-old son happened to "vanish" under the watchful eye of the court-ordered monitor! Wow, and on the same day we just happened to have a newly repainted boat waiting for us at the marina! All these "coincidences" just keep piling up higher and deeper, don't they?

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/at-st-petersburg-marina-boaters-worry-about-father-son-he-may-have-abducted/1055279


Mother of abducted boy issues a tearful plea for his safe return
By Emily Nipps and Andy Boyle, Times Staff Writers

Posted: Nov 30, 2009 09:19 AM


ST. PETERSBURG — Nothing about Paul Martikainen seemed suspicious when he showed up in St. Petersburg nearly two months ago to retrieve a boat a friend purchased.

The 35-year-old Palm Bay man made friends with other Salt Creek Marina boat owners, sharing beer and doughnuts as he lived on the sailboat while refurbishing it. He spoke fondly of his son and asked about basic boating tips, the boaters recall.

He certainly didn't seem like the kind of guy who would abduct his 3-year-old son and take off with him in the boat, braving the Gulf of Mexico with no sailing experience. But that's what authorities accuse Martikainen of doing after escaping a supervised visit with the boy at a Cocoa park on Saturday.

By Monday Cocoa police, the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard were still searching for Martikainen and the boy, Luke Finch. Luke's mother issued a tearful televised appeal.

"Please," said 29-year-old Christa Finch, "just bring Lukey home."

Finch didn't elaborate on how Martikainen and the boy got away from the court-appointed supervisor. But interviews with authorities and witnesses suggest what happened before and after the abduction.

About 4 p.m. that Saturday — a few hours after Martikainen left the park — Gabriel Guzman and Sam Mageramov saw Martikainen sailing away from Salt Creek Marina.

As he was leaving, a dinghy attached to Martikainen's boat came loose, they said. They helped him tie it back to his boat — not knowing what the man on the boat was accused of doing.

At one point the boy emerged from inside the boat, Guzman said, but Martikainen told him to go back. The boy didn't seem scared, Guzman said.

"We should have saved the boy," Guzman said. "We could have saved him had we known."

In recent weeks, Guzman said, Martikainen started asking basic boating questions, such as how to tie certain types of knots.

Debra Van Skiver, who works for Neptune Towing and Recovery near the marina, said she sold the 1977 32-foot Bristol to Martikainen for $6,109 during the third week of October. He told friends he was purchasing it for someone in Arkansas. He was going to fix it up and transport it to his friend, he said, though Martikainen had no sailing experience.

He appeared to be living aboard the boat as he worked on it, said Ted Suratt, whose boat was docked next to Martikainen's.

Suratt said Martikainen claimed to have dual citizenship and once served in the military in Finland. "He never gave an indication that he was capable of this," Suratt said.

Van Skiver said the boat has a sleeping cabin, kitchenette, compass and VHF radio. Martikainen purchased a GPS before Thanksgiving, she said, but had no EPIRB, a device that helps rescuers locate boats in distress.

The boat had adult life vests but no child vests, and Van Skiver didn't know if Martikainen bought one.

He said he would try sailing it after visiting his son over Thanksgiving, Van Skiver said, but she advised him to take boating classes first.

"This is a man with not a lot of sailing experience," Van Skiver said. "It is impossible to take care of a child and sail a boat without multiple people."

Authorities believe the abduction was planned because the boat was recently painted battleship gray — covering identifying numbers and making it tough to see in the water.

Martikainen was ordered to have supervised visitation because of previous allegations that he physically abused the boy, Matthews said. The visits have been ongoing for about six months, his ex-wife said.

The allegations were verified by a Department of Children and Families investigation just days before the child went missing, said DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner.

DCF said there was no reason for the state to intervene because the mother had primary custody and the child was under the supervision of a judge.
DCF said it conducted several investigations of Martikainen this year but the only one it could comment on was the most recent, which verified the abuse. DCF closed its investigation Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
Records show that Martikainen and Christa Lee Finch got a marriage license in 2004 in Palm Beach County. A wedding was held at Great Outdoors in Titusville in Brevard County on Dec. 3, 2004.
They filed for divorce in July 2005, Florida Today reported. She was pregnant with Luke, and Martikainen agreed to give up his parental rights as part of their divorce agreement, the newspaper reported.
The two began living together again in September 2006, then separated in January 2008, Today reported. He filed for joint custody because he said he had developed a bond with Luke.
Martikainen has an arrest record that includes driving without a license and failing to go to court multiple times in the 1990s. In 1999 he was arrested in Palm Beach on a felony charge of trafficking Ecstasy.
In February he was charged with child abuse and domestic battery.
The Coast Guard said it was searching for Martikainen and his son during patrols Monday. A bad storm is expected to move across the Gulf from Texas on Wednesday.
Times researcher Carolyn Edds and staff writer Jamal Thalji contributed to this report. Emily Nipps can be reached at nipps@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8452.