Local ABC affiliate is reporting that a female body has been found at the dam, not far from where the 11 year old child lived.
Meanwhile, the step father was taken by ambulance to the hospital this morning. No details yet available.
His statement "the family is grieving" is a highly concerning statement given that people generally grieve when a death has occurred or when hope is abandoned and acceptance is present or expected.
We also learned of his criminal history and mental health issues.
STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. (AP) — Investigators searching for an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl missing for almost a week found a female's body, but authorities didn't immediately identify it, a Vermont prosecutor said Monday.
The body was found near a hydroelectric dam that spans the Connecticut River between Stewartstown and Canaan, Vt., Essex County state attorney Vincent Illuzzi said.
Celina Cass was last seen in her Stewartstown, N.H., home on July 25.
A dive team searched the river Monday. They surfaced, and investigators blocked off the area and asked reporters to leave.
Cass, who lived with her older sister, mother and stepfather a mile from the Canadian border, was last seen at a computer around 9 p.m. and was gone the next morning, authorities said. Police said there was no sign of a struggle, and there was no indication she ran away or that someone took her.
No one was more baffled than friends and family, who described Cass as studious and reliable, shy and timid, not the type to run away from home.
State police and FBI agents from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia turned the local school into a bustling command post. Because of its remote location, law enforcement officers went so far as to have a cellphone tower erected to assist in communications.
At the peak, more than 100 federal, state and local law enforcement officers descended upon the town of 800 residents, searching a mile-wide area around her home, including woods and ponds. The FBI brought in a special team specializing in child abductions.
From CNN:
(CNN) -- A female body was found Monday in the Connecticut River near where authorities were looking for missing 11-year-old Celina Cass, according to Essex County State Attorney Vincent Illuzzi.
The body was found Monday morning in the river near a hydroelectric plant outside Stewartstown, New Hampshire, authorities said.
No more information was released.
The discovery comes a day after Celina's father pleaded for the safe return of the New Hampshire girl.
The father, Adam Laro, who said that he's recovering after being recently released from a hospital, sent a message Sunday to his girl that "Daddy is OK now, I'm getting much better." He did not detail why he had been hospitalized.
He added that he, like others, is "wondering where my daughter is" and hoping she is safe.
"Whenever you want to come home, Celina, Daddy will be here waiting for you," Laro said.
Note that he says whenever she "wants" to come home; putting the choice of coming home upon her.
Note also that he speaks of himself in the 3rd person. It may suggest some distance in the relationship.
Celina was last seen in her room, at her computer, around 9 p.m. last Monday, according to police. CNN affiliate WMUR reported that her parents told authorities the girl was gone when they went to wake her up Tuesday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment