Post by LadyBlue on Jul 17, 2005 8:32:37 GMT -5
EDMONTON - The young, expectant mother at the centre of a massive north-side police search is known as a quiet, friendly woman who always wears a bright smile.
Neighbours on the winding suburban crescent in Dunluce where 29-year-old Liana White and her husband Mike have lived for four years are in shock.
White is four months pregnant with the couple's second child; their first, a girl, is just a toddler.
"She was just here last night with little Ashley, because the little girl wanted to pat my dog, Ginger," neighbour Barb Jama said, tears swelling in her eyes.
"This is so scary. It is hard to even imagine what happened. For her to disappear like this is just so out of character."
Police are treating White's disappearance as suspicious because she has never gone missing before and never failed to show up for work without calling.
"It's very uncharacteristic of her," said acting duty officer Jamie Ewatski.
The couple lives on the kind of street that shuts down for summer block parties, a place where neighbours chat at the end of the driveway -- the perfect place to raise a family.
White was last seen by her husband at 6:15 a.m., when she left for work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where she works as a clerk in the neo-natal intensive care unit.
At 7:27 a.m., police received a report of an abandoned SUV in the parking lot between two baseball diamonds near 116th Street and 157th Avenue, a short drive from the White home.
The driver's door of the 1991 Ford Explorer was wide open and White's purse and keys were inside.
Her wallet was missing and her identification and shoes were scattered around the parking lot.
Other personal items were found in the northwest corner of the ballpark. Her cellphone was found in the grass 15 metres away.
There were no signs of struggle, no drag marks and no blood.
Darryl MacMillan, who was walking to the bus stop on 157th Avenue early Tuesday, said he saw the Explorer in the parking lot around 5:55 a.m.
"I thought it was someone out walking their dogs," he said.
A second citizen reported a suspicious vehicle parked at the ball diamond, which police later seized and took in for forensic identification processing.
Homicide, robbery, traffic and forensic units were brought in to help with the search.
Plainclothes surveillance units were taken off regular duty to canvass the neighbourhood.
Canine units searched the park area and the police helicopter Air One flew overhead.
Civilian volunteers flagged down rush-hour traffic and handed out flyers with the young mother's photo, and civilian search-and-rescue teams combed the area.
Ewatski said White's husband Mike was "very distraught" when he learned of his wife's disappearance.
On Tuesday night, the ex-military man and heavy duty mechanic was with police.
Investigators checked with family, local hospitals and emergency medical services, to no avail.
White is described as five feet four and weighing about 190 pounds. She has a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair that falls midway down her back. She is likely wearing medical scrubs.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at 423-4567.
tinyurl.com/cvz7o
Neighbours on the winding suburban crescent in Dunluce where 29-year-old Liana White and her husband Mike have lived for four years are in shock.
White is four months pregnant with the couple's second child; their first, a girl, is just a toddler.
"She was just here last night with little Ashley, because the little girl wanted to pat my dog, Ginger," neighbour Barb Jama said, tears swelling in her eyes.
"This is so scary. It is hard to even imagine what happened. For her to disappear like this is just so out of character."
Police are treating White's disappearance as suspicious because she has never gone missing before and never failed to show up for work without calling.
"It's very uncharacteristic of her," said acting duty officer Jamie Ewatski.
The couple lives on the kind of street that shuts down for summer block parties, a place where neighbours chat at the end of the driveway -- the perfect place to raise a family.
White was last seen by her husband at 6:15 a.m., when she left for work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where she works as a clerk in the neo-natal intensive care unit.
At 7:27 a.m., police received a report of an abandoned SUV in the parking lot between two baseball diamonds near 116th Street and 157th Avenue, a short drive from the White home.
The driver's door of the 1991 Ford Explorer was wide open and White's purse and keys were inside.
Her wallet was missing and her identification and shoes were scattered around the parking lot.
Other personal items were found in the northwest corner of the ballpark. Her cellphone was found in the grass 15 metres away.
There were no signs of struggle, no drag marks and no blood.
Darryl MacMillan, who was walking to the bus stop on 157th Avenue early Tuesday, said he saw the Explorer in the parking lot around 5:55 a.m.
"I thought it was someone out walking their dogs," he said.
A second citizen reported a suspicious vehicle parked at the ball diamond, which police later seized and took in for forensic identification processing.
Homicide, robbery, traffic and forensic units were brought in to help with the search.
Plainclothes surveillance units were taken off regular duty to canvass the neighbourhood.
Canine units searched the park area and the police helicopter Air One flew overhead.
Civilian volunteers flagged down rush-hour traffic and handed out flyers with the young mother's photo, and civilian search-and-rescue teams combed the area.
Ewatski said White's husband Mike was "very distraught" when he learned of his wife's disappearance.
On Tuesday night, the ex-military man and heavy duty mechanic was with police.
Investigators checked with family, local hospitals and emergency medical services, to no avail.
White is described as five feet four and weighing about 190 pounds. She has a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair that falls midway down her back. She is likely wearing medical scrubs.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at 423-4567.
tinyurl.com/cvz7o