ANETH, Utah—After three unsuccessful days of ground and water searches, authorities said Sunday, March 17, they were temporarily suspending the search for a 4-year-old girl missing since last week on the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation.
In a statement, the Navajo Police Department said a pause in the search effort will allow authorities to “organize and secure additional resources for subsequent search efforts.”
Community volunteers will continue organizing search teams, and police officers will remain in the area to investigate any leads in the case, according to the statement.
More than 100 volunteers assisted with the day 3 search of 3-year-old Andanndine Jones. https://t.co/X9fdrZhplb
— KSL (@KSLcom) March 17, 2019
Anndine Jones reportedly wandered away Thursday afternoon from her home, located 3 miles north of the Aneth Utah Chapter House.
Police originally listed her age as 3, but Sunday’s missing person advisory had it at 4. Police didn’t immediately explain the discrepancy.
Andanndine Jones – March 14, 2019 – Aneth, Utahhttps://www.facebook.com/1973211002957136/photos/a.1978008052477431/2295443020733931/?type=3&theater#LMIC #MissingPersons
Initial search efforts focused along the McElmo Creek that feeds into the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River that flows into Lake Powell.
Police said the girl’s footprints were found along the creek, which was searched by boat teams, divers and drones.
More than 100 volunteers searched Saturday for Jones on foot along 8 miles (13 kilometers) of the riverbed west of Aneth.
Police, volunteers searching for missing 3-year-old Utah girl https://t.co/2YQxxmatbW
— Gephardt Daily (@GephardtDaily) March 15, 2019
Boat crews from county, state, and federal agencies covered 24 miles of the San Juan River.
Police said there are no indications that the girl was abducted, so the Navajo Nation Amber Alert system wasn’t activated. But she is listed as a missing person with the National Crime Information Center.
Missing Children
There were 464,324 missing children reported in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center in 2017, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under federal law, when children are reported missing to law enforcement they must be entered into the database.
In those cases, 91 percent were endangered runaways, and 5 percent were family abductions.
Nancy McBride, the executive director of Florida Outreach at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said that most of the runaways involve technology.
“(Technology) has great benefits and some potential risks,” McBride told USA Today in 2017. “It’s important to stay plugged into their lives.”
Tech is utilized by online predators, McBride said, who exploit gaps when the children’s relationships with their parents aren’t strong.
8-Year-Old Boy Found Unharmed
The Edmonton boy at the center of an amber alert that spanned two Alberta cities was found safe on Saturday, March 16, and police are crediting an off-duty officer from Calgary with spotting the child and his mother.
Police said the boy’s mother has been charged with one count of abduction, and the 8-year-old boy has been returned to his father.
Amber Alert issued for 8-year-old boy http://dlvr.it/R0x5Ft
When they issued the alert Friday night, March 15, police said they believed the boy had been abducted from school by his mother that afternoon, and that he was believed to be in danger.
Emerson said police were alerted by a parent at around 3:50 p.m. that a boy was walked out of the building by a woman, without his coat or his outdoor footwear. The school had notified the parent, Emerson said, who then called the police.
Amber Alert issued for 8-year-old boy in Edmonton https://t.co/DNde81l8td pic.twitter.com/faBWgeBStB
— Times of News Europe (@TimesEurope) March 16, 2019
Emerson said investigators didn’t know at first who the woman was. They then learned there was a parenting order in place and suspected the woman might be the noncustodial parent.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.