"Too Many Holes" in Missing Jada Story
Toddler left alone in car was allegedly abducted
By STNG WIRE, PEGGY CASSIDY and BJ LUTZ
Updated 2:45 PM CST, Thu, Jun 18, 2009
The version of events as told by the babysitter of a missing 2-year-old toddler don't add up, police and some family members say, and a search for the girl continues to be focused in and around Gary, Ind.
"There seem to be too many holes in the story," the girl's aunt, Alyssa Huerta, said Thursday morning.
Jada Justice's babysitter, her 18-year-old cousin Angelica Castillo, said she left the girl in the car when she made a quick stop at a Gary gas station for cigarettes and milk. Castillo said that when she returned to the car, Justice was gone.
Other customers to the gas station told police they saw no one around Castillo's 1991 maroon Cadillac Fleetwood while it was parked in the lot. And police dogs brought into the search found no scent in the immediate area.
"She had plenty of other opportunities to go to the other gas stations on the way here. She could have left Jada at home with her boyfriend, whom she trusts, and we all trust. And if she did come here, why leave her on the side, why not leave her in the front? I don't think it would have mattered if there were too many people here. And knowing her, she would have just brought Jada in with her if that was the problem," Huerta said.
Still, Gary police devoted the next six hours looking for the girl in a wooded area south of the gas station. Gary police Cmdr. Jon Cooros and Sgt. Greg Martin flew the city’s helicopter through the top of trees as Gary Fire Department lights illuminated the scene, Cmdr. Anthony Titus said.
"We are leery of the baby sitter's accounting of the facts, but right now that's all we have to work with," Titus said.
U.S. Marshalls and agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation later joined the search.
Castillo is being held by Gary Police as a person of interest, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported Thursday. But Gary police Cmdr. Anthony Titus said it doesn't appear that she had anything to do with the toddler's disappearance.
Gary police contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, but learned the case involving Jada did not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert because investigators do not have detailed information on a suspect.
Jada is 2 years and 10 months old, 2-feet 2-inches tall, weighs about 35 pounds and is black. She was last seen sitting in her cousin's older model Cadillac at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, wearing an orange skirt and a striped shirt, police said.
On Wednesday, friends and family members distributed flyers with the little girl's photo and information.
The FBI on Thursday established a hotline for tips. Anyone with any information about Justice should call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
First Published: Jun 18, 2009 6:54 AM CST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
