Missing Tucson Girl's Family Allowed Back in Home
April 24, 2012— -- The family of a missing 6-year-old girl from Tucson, Isabel Mercedes Celis, will be allowed to reenter their home today after police finished searching for evidence and clues to the girl's Saturday disappearance.
Police wrapped up their search early this morning after serving their final search warrant on the home around 1:30 a.m., Sgt. Marco Borboa of the Tucson police department said today.
Investigators had previously found the girl's bedroom window opened and the screen removed while searching the home this weekend, and FBI-trained dogs "hit upon" something during one of the searches.
Celis was reported missing by her father around 8 a.m. Saturday after Celis' mother left for work and her father went to wake her up. The little girl was last seen around 11 p.m. Friday, when she was put to bed, he said.
Police say they have received more than 200 leads on the case in the past two days, in addition to tips received on Saturday, immediately after the disappearance. Investigators are still combing through those leads, Borboa said today.
For the past three days, Tucson police have focused on a three mile radius of the girl's home, knocking on doors and speaking to neighbors, in addition to searching a nearby landfill. Garbage from the Celis family's neighborhood was collected on the Saturday morning of Isabel's disappearance and taken to the landfill, police said.
Police also searched the homes of a number of residences close to where Isabel disappeared, including one home on the same street as the girl's house.
Police would not say which residences were searched, but did acknowledge that more than 15 registered sex offenders live within a three mile radius of the family's home, including at least one who lives in the immediate vicinity.
Police have not ruled out the parents of the missing child as suspects.
"We are investigating all of the parties involved," he said today.
