Keara(12)& Sierra(11) Hess 9/24/09 Redell, NC.

Keara Lasha Hess is 12 years old and is pregnant,
According to Keara Hess’ biological mother, the 12-year-old was pregnant and started going into labor last Wednesday. Thursday morning, she found a note from her ex-husband, Matthew Hess, saying he was taking the girls to school, though they never appeared at school that day.



Sierra Nicole Hess


Matthew Charles Hess



REDELL COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Authorities in Iredell County are looking for two missing Mooresville girls who are believed to be in the custody of their adoptive father.

According to Lt. Julie Gibson, the Iredell County Sheriff's office is holding a non-secure custody order that was issued by Iredell County District Court. Once the girls are located, they will be taken into custody and turned over to the Department of Social Services.

The sheriff's office is looking for Keara Lasha Hess, 12, and Sierra Nicole Hess, 11. Keara Hess is 5' 1" tall, weighs 128 pounds, has brown curly hair, brown eyes and wears glasses. Sierra Hess is 5' tall, weighs 100 pounds, has brown curly hair and brown eyes.

They were last seen by their mother Wednesday night around 9 pm. The mother discovered a note Thursday morning which was left apparently from the father stating that he had left early to get some school supplies and was taking his daughters to school.

The sheriff's office says the girls never made it to school.

The adoptive father is Matthew Charles Hess. He is described as a 40-year-old white male. He is 5' 10" tall and weighs 190 pounds.

The sheriff's office think they are in Matthew Hess's 1993 Ford Explorer which is tan or brown in color with NC tag YTE8014. The back right passenger window is broken out and is covered with plexiglass and held in place with duct tape. The sheriff's office thinks he may be traveling to New York.

The sheriff's office says Keara is in need of special medical care and that her health may be at risk. If you see them, call the Iredell County Sheriff's Office at 704-878-3100.

Search on for pregnant 12-year-old and stepfather
Posted: Sep 27, 2009 8:24 PM MDT
Updated: Sep 28, 2009 11:51 AM MDT
2 Mooresville girls missing, manhunt underway
Mother worries about missing children
Keara Hess & Sierra Hess


MOORESVILLE, NC (WBTV) - Authorities across the country are on the look out for two Iredell County girls -- including one who is 9-months pregnant -- who disappeared with their step-father last week.

Janette Hess says her 12-year-old pregnant daughter Keara and 11-year-old Sierra, vanished with their stepfather, Matthew Hess, on Thursday, Sept. 24.

Janette Hess said she hasn't seen her daughters since they went to bed on Wednesday around 9 p.m.

"It's been a nightmare, I've been living in a nightmare," Hess said.

The Iredell County Sheriff's Office has entered Matthew Hess and the two girls into NCIC. The children are also now listed on the Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. An AMBER alert was not issued because are with a legal guardian and do not meet the criteria of a missing child.

During the sheriff's office investigation this week, the sheriff's office learned new information. Lt. Julie Gibson said there is the possibility that Matthew Hess or the girls packed items for the purpose of having "...an intended stay away from home." The sheriff's office is not sure at this time. Some of the girls' clothing and other things were missing which they very likely would have taken on a trip Gibson said.

The sheriff's office is asking other states to check their state parks, homeless shelters, camping areas, hotels and rest areas in case they see Matthew Hess and the two girls.

The sheriff's office says Hess has not broken any laws at this time. He is their legal guardian and in North Carolina, a parent or guardian has the right to take their child whenever they want outside the state. The sheriff's office just wants to make sure the girls are safe.
Matthew Hess has been married to the girls' mother for 11 years. At this point, the sheriff's office doesn't have any reason to suspect that Matthew Hess has ever harmed the girls.

When asked if Hess may have taken the girl away to have an abortion, Gibson said Keara is too far along to have a legal abortion.

Keara was due to have a medical procedure on the day in which she disappeared. This procedure was very important for Keara to have, Gibson said. She would not comment further, though.

Keara has never indicated that her stepfather was the father of the child. They think the father is a young person Keara's age. The mother told authorities her daughter named a young person as the father.

Keara got pregnant when she, her sister and Matthew Hess lived in Lincoln County. At the time, Matthew and Janette Hess were separated.

This summer, Matthew and Janette Hess started living together again with the girls at a home in Mooresville.

Once the girls are found, a non-secure custody order has been issued by the Iredell County District Court to have the girls turned over to the Department of Social Services, said Lt. Julie Gibson with the sheriff's office. Gibson said this DSS order was not issued until the day the girls were reported missing.

Janette Hess says her estranged husband left a note early Thursday morning indicating that he left early to get some school supplies and was taking his daughters to school.

When Keara didn't show up for her doctor's appointment later that day, Janette Hess became suspicious and worried. She said Keara is nearly nine months pregnant.

"I'm concerned about the welfare of my daughter," Hess said. "I don't know if he's scared to take her to the hospital or if they're going to try to do this on their own."

Bank records show no activity on Matthew Hess' account since he left Thursday morning. Jeanette Hess believes the three may have left the state.

"I have a suspicion they might be over in New York or over in Tennessee because we used to live in Tennessee," she said.

The sheriff's office has been following leads from other states, but as of Monday afternoon, Gibson said they have not had any success in locating the girls.

Janette Hess is pleading for her the safe return of her daughters.

"I just want my kids back, I want my girls back," Jeanette Hess said.

Keara Hess is described as 5' 1" tall, 128 pounds, wears glasses, has brown curly hair and brown eyes. Sierra Hess is described as 5' tall, 100 pounds, has brown curly hair and brown eyes.

The sheriff's office said Matthew Hess is driving a brown 1993 Ford Explorer that is either tan or brown in color. It has a NC tag YTE-8014. The back passenger window is broken and covered with Plexiglass and duct-taped in place.

Missing Girls Found Safe, Pregnant 12-Year-Old Getting Medical Attention
Reported by: Shane Myers
Email: smyers@myeyewitnessnews.com
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/state/story/Missing-Girls-Found-Safe-Pregnant-12-Year-Old/_9cil76N9UWD5qivAdXmOw.cspx?rss=60

Endangered Missing Child Alert: Search for 2 Young Girls in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, TN – Authorities say two girls, including a pregnant 12 year old, were found safe after a day of searching for them and their stepfather.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, THP officers pulled over a truck that fit the description of the vehicle in question. Police say they were driving west on I-40 near Cookeville, TN.

TBI officials issued an Endangered Missing Child Alert Tuesday afternoon, September 29, 2009, for the girls. Investigators say 11-year-old Sierra Nicole Hess and 12-year-old Keara Lasha Hess, from North Carolina, were believed to be heading to Tennessee with their adoptive father Matthew Charles Hess, 40. According to investigators, the girls’ mother told police that Matthew left a note saying that he had to go to the store to get some things and he took the girls with him. Police say he never returned home.

Authorities say the 12-year-old girl was 9 months pregnant and was in need of immediate medical treatment.

TBI officials say both girls were being treated at a hospital until North Carolina Department of Child Services contacted investigators.

Matthew Charles Hess has been taken to the Smith County Jail. There is no word on charges at this time.

Man who sparked Amber Alert charged with rape

Monday, October 5, 2009

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. | Charlotte Observer


Mathew Hess

MOORESVILLE, N.C.-- A Mooresville man who sparked an Amber Alert when he disappeared with his 12-year-old pregnant adopted daughter and her 11-year-old sister now faces rape and incest charges.

Mathew Charles Hess, 40, had already been charged with misdemeanor child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile after, authorities say, he took his two adoptive daughters to Tennessee despite the condition of the daughter who was nine months pregnant.

Now he faces additional charges in Lincoln County - indecent liberties with a child, first-degree rape and felony incest between near relatives.

Details of the charges were unavailable. Authorities haven't said whether they believe Hess is the father of the older daughter's baby.

Hess and his wife, who is the girls' biological mother, are separated, authorities said.

The girls were living with Mathew Hess in Lincoln County when the older girl became pregnant.

The Observer published the girls' names when they were the subject of a large-scale search, but is not naming them now because authorities say at least one was a victim of a sex-related crime. Authorities believe Hess drove away with his daughters on Sept. 24 after leaving a note for his wife saying he was taking them to school.

The girls' mother called authorities soon after, when the pregnant daughter didn't show up for a doctor's appointment. Last week when the pregnant girl missed an important medical procedure, authorities issued a nationwide Amber Alert.

A motorist in Tennessee who saw the alert on an interstate sign recognized the family's faded green Ford Explorer and called the Tennessee Highway Patrol on Wednesday.

Less than half an hour later, the search was over. Social services took temporary custody of the girls.

Two members of the Iredell Sheriff's Office's warrant squad drove to Tennessee on Friday and brought Hess back to North Carolina.

His first court date for the Iredell County charges is Nov. 16 in Statesville.

Now, he's in Iredell jail under a $12,000 bond. He's also deemed a flight risk because of the charges in Lincoln County