Update on Missing Baby Lisa Irwin Investigation

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben
Police in Kansas City, Mo., continue the search for missing 10-month-old baby Lisa Irwin, who disappeared during the night of Oct. 3. Police explored a well near the home shared by the child's parents Jeremy Irwin and Debbie Bradley. The parents are now cooperating with police again. They have hired a private investigator. Here's an update on where the case stands.

* Tuesday, October 11: Police searched a 40-foot well near the family home for clues to baby Lisa's whereabouts. A tip was sent in to explore an abandoned home about four blocks from the Irwin's home. The report said a well was located under the back deck. Police cut into the deck attached to the home and lowered investigators by tripod into the well. The well was drained and no evidence was found. The home has since been demolished.

* Irwin's family hired a private investigator to search for the missing child. "Wild Bill" Stanton, a retired New York police officer and security consultant for ABC and NBC News, joined the search. Stanton says he is launching an independent search. He also says he's coordinating efforts. Stanton says though police probably won't cooperate with him, he will cooperate with them.

* Jeremy Irwin's cousin Ashley Irwin said police will probably arrest Lisa's mom. She spoke to ABC's "Good Morning America." Irwin told reporters that she personally didn't believe Bradley was guilty. Irwin said that the police need someone to "pin" it on and the parents are the likely suspects.

* Police said Irwin's statements were "absolutely not true." Capt. Steve Young said the job of the police is to find a child, not to assign blame or make a quick arrest.

* Irwin's cousin backed off her earlier statements. She told a Kansas City Star reporter that she didn't choose her words carefully and that her comments were taken out of context. Irwin says she has no knowledge of whether police intend to arrest Bradley.

* Monday, October 10: Reports of a homeless man seen in the area had police questioning residents. A neighbor, Norval C. Nichols, said he spoke with the man, who asked Nichols if he knew of any handyman jobs in the area. Nichols said the man's behavior made him feel uncomfortable. Nichols says he has not seen the man since. The homeless man is described as being in his early 20s, with brownish-blond hair and clean. He was seen by other neighbors riding a red bicycle.

* Investigators ran simulations of breaking and entering. According to his statement, when dad Irwin came home from work at 4 a.m., he found Lisa's crib empty, lights on and doors and windows open. Police tested the theory that Lisa had been abducted by someone outside the home. They said it would be difficult to access the windows, let alone remove a child, without making noise and waking someone. One investigator was actually injured trying to exit through the window in the staged recreation

* Saturday, October 8: Police say Irwin's parents have resumed cooperation. When parents "stopped cooperating" last week, it was after a heated debate with investigators. Irwin and Bradley had stormed off and driven away. Bradley had also failed a lie detector test. The parents say they were blamed for failing to report their daughter missing, but that their cellphones had been stolen. Police are saying the break in participation was more a of cooling off time for the parents.

Published by Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben

Happy wife. Mom of 4. 10+ year homeschool vet. Certified K-8/special ed. Yahoo! News Beat Writer: Parenting, Michigan, Detroit. Published on Helium, SEED, AT&T, Diabetes Active, Mapquest, Best Contractors, H...  View profile

1 Comments

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  • NANCY CZERWINSKI10/14/2011

    This is a very sad case! Great article!

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