The case of Travelle Martin has two very different interpretations, depending on whom you ask.
Law enforcement officials say he is a fugitive, and they are searching for him so he can face felony assault charges and a bench warrant stemming from a separate incident.
His family and friends, on the other hand, believe he is a missing person and are fraught with worry over his well-being.
That second version of the story was presented to the Berks County commissioners by his mother, Charlotte Croom, who spoke during their weekly meeting Thursday and asked for help.
“As a mother, I’m pleading for your immediate attention and intervention,” she read from a statement. “I’m requesting a thorough investigation into the circumstances involving the disappearance of my son, including the role of the police and any other police activity related to this case.”
Martin, 27, vanished more than seven months ago after fleeing a Flying Hills home following a domestic incident.
OURTESY OF CUMRU TOWNSHIP POLICE)
Travelle Martin (COURTESY OF CUMRU TOWNSHIP POLICE)
According to Cumru Township police, officers were dispatched to a home along Fairway Road on Jan. 2 and heard a male and female yelling. An officer saw Martin punch the woman as she tried to escape through a window, police said.
Martin pulled her back inside. When police entered the apartment, Martin fled out the back door, they said.
Police said the victim suffered injuries. Felony assault charges were filed the next day.
The Rev. Evelyn Morrison, a community activist, also addressed the commissioners on behalf of the family Thursday.
She said the Cumru police department is not offering information about the case to the family.
“The police, when asked for information, tend to ignore the family,” she said. “There is not much the NAACP or the community can do. We are asking you because you do have the authority to investigate this case.”
Morrison asked the commissioners to look into the situation. She said it would be well within their authority to investigate what has happened, what information is available and what were the circumstances in which Martin fled.
The commissioners expressed hope for a speedy resolution but said they are limited in what role they can play.
“My heart goes out to you not knowing what happened,” board Chairman Christian Leinbach said.
Leinbach said he will reach out to District Attorney John Adams to better understand the status of the investigation.
“What a lot of folks don’t realize is that just because we are bigger than a municipality, we have no authority over any township — we are completely separate,” he said. “I would love to be able to tell you we’ll call the Cumru Township police in here, we’ll call the township commissioners in here, but we do not have the authority to do that.”
Reached after the meeting for comment, Cumru police Chief Madison Winchester said the department is doing everything it can to locate Martin. He said officers are acting on any leads they receive and have participated in numerous searches of the area where the incident took place. Those efforts were unsuccessful.
Winchester noted that Martin is wanted on charges for the Jan. 2 incident as well as on a bench warrant out of the county. That means Martin’s status as a wanted individual prohibits him from providing the family with information police have received about his whereabouts.
“The family claims that he’s missing, and I’ve explained to the family a number of times that regardless of what you consider him, it doesn’t change our efforts to locate him,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that the family has been on a mission to spread false information, but that being said it still doesn’t change the way we view this incident.”
Winchester said he sympathizes with the family in that they don’t have answers as to why their family member ran from police and has not come forward since, but that’s not something police can answer.
He added that Adams is up to speed on the investigation.
“We welcome any agency that would want to come in and see how we handled the incident, and they can determine if anything wasn’t done or done inappropriately, but as far as the investigation goes we have been transparent with our law enforcement partners,” he said.
Croom told the commissioners that family members remain without the closure and support they desperately need.
“Our family is devastated and our community is deeply concerned,” Croom said. “Travelle is a beloved son, brother and friend. We need answers, we need trust and, most importantly, we need action. Please consider this an official request for your involvement.”
Crime Alert Berks County, a citizen crime-fighting group, is offering cash rewards of up to $10,000 to anyone supplying tips that lead to an arrest in this case.
Tipsters with crime information can call 877-373-9913 anytime or contact Crime Alert at www.crimealertberks.org or via the AlertBerks smartphone app. No one will ask the name of the caller, who will be assigned a code number.