Post by LadyBlue on May 21, 2013 10:03:42 GMT -5
WALNUT RIDGE, AR - The search for a missing Arkansas girl continues, a month and a half after police find the body of the main suspect in her disappearance dead from an apparent suicide.
Sidney Randall, 14, was last seen March 9th wearing a brown Aeropostale sweatshirt.
Authorities are now releasing new photos of the pageant princess.
Since she's been missing, relatives have publicly claimed her late stepfather John Cornell abused his stepdaughter, but police aren't ruling out the possibility of other people being involved.
"It's very hard, we take it minute by minute," says Sidney's mom, Denise Cornell.
It's much more quiet inside her home these days.
"At the same time every morning, I think she is going to walk out of her room and think she's going to try on 5 to 6 different outfits before she goes to school," she says.
But outside, messages sprawled across the house say it all.
"I love you Sid, hope you return safely," reads one.
It's been more than six weeks since her daughter disappeared. Faded flyers remain stuck on storefronts around town.
The once daily searches are now reduced to weekends. Still, local volunteers and out of state crews continue combing Lawrence County for clues.
"It's on my mind 24 hours a day," says Richey Thatcher, the Walnut Ridge Police Chief.
Haunted by the case, the chief shares the latest in the investigation.
"We're stepping back and starting all over again," he says.
Since March, he's sifted through allegations of sexual abuse and shifting storylines.
"The mother had said he'd (John Cornell) possibly been molesting Sidney. Some stories change a little bit, then different allegations came on, so we're just kind of checking on them," says Chief Thatcher.
He's even stumbled across suspicious clothing items and taken them to Denise to possibly identify.
"It's hard looking at that article of clothing to see if maybe perhaps it is Sidney's and a lot of times, it's not and that is heartbreaking," she says.
Despite the sporadic leads, Chief Thatcher says investigators are now back to square one.
While praying for her daughter to come back home, Denise received her school pictures.
"I cried a lot," she says.
Taken before she vanished, Sidney's school pictures more closely resemble what the teen looked like the day she went missing.
Also missing from the home, photos of John Cornell.
When asked about his involvement in the case, Denise says, "I don't feel very comfortable answering that question," and turns the spotlight back on Sidney.
Even though she sometimes speaks of her daughter in the past tense, ("She was funny") Cornell insists no matter how much time passes, she's keeping hope alive that Sidney is well, and has put up homemade signs to welcome her daughter home.
ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=799002
Sidney Randall, 14, was last seen March 9th wearing a brown Aeropostale sweatshirt.
Authorities are now releasing new photos of the pageant princess.
Since she's been missing, relatives have publicly claimed her late stepfather John Cornell abused his stepdaughter, but police aren't ruling out the possibility of other people being involved.
"It's very hard, we take it minute by minute," says Sidney's mom, Denise Cornell.
It's much more quiet inside her home these days.
"At the same time every morning, I think she is going to walk out of her room and think she's going to try on 5 to 6 different outfits before she goes to school," she says.
But outside, messages sprawled across the house say it all.
"I love you Sid, hope you return safely," reads one.
It's been more than six weeks since her daughter disappeared. Faded flyers remain stuck on storefronts around town.
The once daily searches are now reduced to weekends. Still, local volunteers and out of state crews continue combing Lawrence County for clues.
"It's on my mind 24 hours a day," says Richey Thatcher, the Walnut Ridge Police Chief.
Haunted by the case, the chief shares the latest in the investigation.
"We're stepping back and starting all over again," he says.
Since March, he's sifted through allegations of sexual abuse and shifting storylines.
"The mother had said he'd (John Cornell) possibly been molesting Sidney. Some stories change a little bit, then different allegations came on, so we're just kind of checking on them," says Chief Thatcher.
He's even stumbled across suspicious clothing items and taken them to Denise to possibly identify.
"It's hard looking at that article of clothing to see if maybe perhaps it is Sidney's and a lot of times, it's not and that is heartbreaking," she says.
Despite the sporadic leads, Chief Thatcher says investigators are now back to square one.
While praying for her daughter to come back home, Denise received her school pictures.
"I cried a lot," she says.
Taken before she vanished, Sidney's school pictures more closely resemble what the teen looked like the day she went missing.
Also missing from the home, photos of John Cornell.
When asked about his involvement in the case, Denise says, "I don't feel very comfortable answering that question," and turns the spotlight back on Sidney.
Even though she sometimes speaks of her daughter in the past tense, ("She was funny") Cornell insists no matter how much time passes, she's keeping hope alive that Sidney is well, and has put up homemade signs to welcome her daughter home.
ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=799002
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