Missing New Hampshire Girl: Search Extends to Canada
July 28, 2011 — -- The frantic search for missing New Hampshire girl Celina Cass was extended to Canada today and police from at least three states and the FBI have joined the manhunt.
The 11-year-old girl, who lives one mile from the Canadian border, was last seen by her parents at her computer in her bedroom Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, she had vanished from the family's West Stewartstown home.
At least 48 law enforcement agents, some coming from New York and Virginia, have arrived in New Hampshire to aid in the search for Cass, New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Jane Young told ABC News. The Royal Canadian Mountain Police are working with New Hampshire officials to look for the girl, he said.
"Until we find her, we are going to continue to scour this area," Young said.
Friends and family described the girl as a shy fifth grader who would never run away or leave with a stranger.
Today, authorities pored through Celina's computer and phone records, looking for any clues into her disappearance. FBI agents have also been seen questioning neighbors on their front porches.
No Amber Alert has been issued for Celina. Authorities are treating this as a missing persons case and no suspects have been named.
Court documents obtained by ABC News reveal that Celina's stepfather, Wendell Noyes, has a troubled past.
Court Docs Reveal Past of Celina Cass' Stepfather
Noyes, 47, was involuntarily committed to a hospital in 2003 because of his schizophrenia and arrested for threatening an ex-girlfriend, according to court documents.
Noyes was charged with violating a protective order held by his ex-girlfriend and for criminal trespassinig, criminal threatening and hindering apprehension.
The girlfriend, who lived with her two kids at the time, said that Noyes broke into her home while she was sleeping, lifted her mattress and slammed it down and then threatened to throw her down the stairs.
While awaiting trial, a judge ruled Noyes incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to be involuntarily placed in a hospital. Judge Richard Hampe wrote that Noyes' mental illness creates "a potentially serious likelihood of danger to himself and others."
A forensic examiner deemed Noyes a paranoid schizophrenic who likey developed his mental illness while in the Air Force, according to court documents.
Attempts to reach Noyes and his wife have been unsuccessful.
