Cash bond set at $25K for Lamar Cone in missing girl case

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — 30-year-old Lamar Cone made his initial court appearance on Thursday, December 12th. Cone has been charged in connection with the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl.

Cash bond was set for Cone at $25,000, and he was ordered to have no contact with the 13-year-old girl or her residence, family, school and/or workplace.

FOX6 News spoke with the victim’s family earlier this week. They say their prayers were answered when the 13-year-old girl escaped from Cone -- her alleged kidnapper and ended up back at her father’s home.

However, what they say is so upsetting is that the girl apparently got into this situation because of someone she trusted.

The girl’s family members say they knew something was wrong when she went missing on November 25th.

“We had that gut feeling — knew she was being held against her will,” a family member told FOX6 news.

However, the girl’s family says they never imagined a friend of the family could have possibly played a part in her disappearance.

“She was walking home and there was a car pulled up and (inside was) a young lady that she knew through her older sister, so she felt comfortable. ‘I`ll take a ride because I know this individual,’” a family member told FOX6 news.

He says the woman in the car, whom police have referenced as “Cashmere,” was the passenger. The driver was Cone.

Cone faces charges including kidnapping, second-degree sexual assault of a child, physical abuse of a child and false imprisonment.

The criminal complaint against Cone indicates that on November 25th, he and a female accomplice offered a ride to the 13-year-old girl “as she was walking to the public library” at Locust and MLK Jr. Drive in Milwaukee.

The complaint says, “Once inside (the car), the suspect told (the victim) he had to go downtown first, and took her to an apartment.” The teen was apparently not allowed to leave that apartment without Cone.

The victim told investigators Cone “kept pressuring her to ‘work the streets.’” Cone allegedly “punched her and grabbed her neck causing pain.” The complaint also says Cone forced the victim to take part in inappropriate behavior.

According to the complaint, police acted on an anonymous tip on Sunday, December 1st. That tip indicated a missing female child was seen at a rooming house on E. Juneau Ave. The teen told investigators she heard officers going door-to-door that day, but that Cone told her to be quiet.

The complaint indicates police apparently left, not realizing the girl was hiding under the bedsheets.

On Monday, December 2nd, the complaint says the victim woke up early and “snuck out of the apartment and fled to her father’s house.”

“She’s pulling through it with the help of family members,” a family member told FOX6 news.

The girl’s family members say they are infuriated to learn Cone is a registered sex offender.

“I think all sex offenders should have some type of monitoring,” a family member told FOX6 news.

The family says what is also upsetting to them is the fact that the female in this case is not facing any charges.

“If it were not for knowing her, (the teen) would have never got in the car. I’m pretty sure she had some idea. She had to know what was going on — what type of guy she was dealing with. They was in it together. She’s just as much involved as he is,” a family member told FOX6 news.

FOX6 News is not identifying the victim nor her family in this case.

We are told the teen is receiving counseling.

Cone has a preliminary hearing scheduled for December 9th.