WOWT reporter Matthew Smith and the Omaha Police Department disagree over how the NBC affiliate covered the story of a missing child who was later found dead.
Last Wednesday, Omaha police were alerted that Jesus Marinero and her two sons, 11-month-old Angel and 5-year-old Josue, were missing. Angel was found that afternoon, alive in a dumpster. The mother’s body was discovered later that day, leaving only Josue unaccounted for. On Friday, Smith tweeted that Josue had been found. According to police, he hadn’t.
BREAKING NEWS: Family member tells me that police are saying missing boy is found, man being questioned. No condition update on the boy.
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— Matthew Smith WOWT (@MattSmithWOWT) May 8, 2015
Omaha police then called out the reporter’s report:
@JennaWOWT‘s report that #OPD has located missing 5-year-old Josue is INCORRECT. Click on http://t.co/ivy1ERrKwm for official updates. — Lt. Darci Tierney (@OPDLtTierney) May 8, 2015
Police believe the boys’ half-brother, 25-year-old Roberto Martinez-Marinero, killed their mother, put Angel in the dumpster and threw Josue over a guardrail into a river.
WOWT reported Friday “Relatives tell WOWT 6 News that police told them that Josue had been “found,” but they don’t know what that exactly means. According to family, officers would not elaborate on his condition. They don’t know if he’s even alive.”
Friday, the police suspected Josue had been thrown in the Elkhorn River, but didn’t officially know it until they found his body on Monday.
WOWT told TVSpy it stands by its initial reporting and also addressed claims by TVSpy tipsters that Marinero’s family doesn’t speak English and may not have known Smith was a reporter.
“Within hours of Angel being found, reporter Matthew Smith made contact with family member Veronica Rosa via phone. Veronica lives in Houston, TX. Veronica speaks fluent English,” said WOWT news director Amy Adams. Adams listened to a recording of a call in which Rosa was led to believe Josue had been found. Click here for WOWT’s story.
A source tells us Omaha Police Chief Chief Todd Schmaderer was “unhappy” with Smith, and had cut off interviews with him and WOWT.