Investigators digging into the disappearance of a 5-year-old Utah girl say DNA evidence links her uncle to the case — and that it appears the child was hurt, according to a new report.
Police have “strong evidence,” including DNA, connecting 21-year-old Alex Whipple to the vanishing of Elizabeth Jessica Shelley, Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen said at a Tuesday news conference, according to local paper the Spectrum & Daily News.
From the start, Whipple’s been viewed as the main suspect in the disappearance of his niece, who was last seen at her home near the state’s border with Idaho around 2 a.m. Saturday. Whipple had visited the family home the night before and was last seen around the same time as the little girl.
He was taken into custody later Saturday, busted on a warrant for absconding from probation — and ordered held without bail Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
But his niece was still nowhere to be found.
“We would never dash the hope that we would find her alive,” Jensen said at the news conference. “But it’s certainly a concern for us at this point: Lizzy’s safety.”
Police urged local residents and business owners to check their trash for any signs of the girl. They also want to hear from anyone who has surveillance camera footage or smart doorbell video showing Whipple, they posted to Facebook Tuesday, along with images of the man.
Local resident Nancy Buttars, 63, told the AP that crews had been searching along a river behind her house — along railroad tracks, up and down the banks and through underbrush. She even did some searching of her own.
“I just hope they find her and put an end to it,” she said.
Meanwhile, records indicate Whipple has a criminal past.
He was convicted of assaulting his roommate in a 2016 domestic incident, court documents show. He was also busted for allegedly stealing his neighbor’s car and driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the report. Police chased him for 40 miles until the Utah Highway Patrol spiked the tires, the records say.
He was sentenced to prison in March 2018 but his term was suspended, so he was required to serve 180 days behind bars and five years of probation, the outlet reported.
With Post wires
