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Researchers are looking for signs of Elizabeth Shelley, age 5, on May 27, 2019 in Nibley, Utah. Shelley was reported missing at home on May 25. | Photo of Eli Lucero / Herald Journal via Associated Press, St. George News
LOGAN, Utah (AP) – DNA has provided new evidence that the uncle of a missing 5-year-old girl living in Utah, 21, is at the origin of her disappearance, announced Tuesday the police.
The evidence also indicates that the daughter, Elizabeth "Lizzy" Shelley, is injured, the authorities said, though without giving further details. Her family reported that she had disappeared Saturday morning after waking up.
"We would never be dashed by the hope of finding her alive again," Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen said at a news conference. "But it's certainly a concern for us at this point; Lizzy's security. "
He added that the police had "solid evidence", including DNA, linking Alex Whipple to Shelley's disappearance.
He was denied bail on Tuesday during a hearing in Logan, during which he appeared by video in a dark blue prison uniform. He dropped slightly in his chair, his eyes lowered. His lawyer, Shannon Demler, had argued that Whipple should be released on bail because he was not charged with the disappearance.
The girl was last seen before the family members went to bed around 2 am, said Jensen. Uncle stayed at home that night but did not live there.
Ongoing research is focused on a one-kilometer area around the Logan family home.
The teams searched a number of locations, including an empty field near downtown Logan, where about nine officers lined up, staring at the ground.
Nancy Buttars, 63, said the crews had searched Monday along a river behind her house, surveying the banks and scrub, as well as along the railroad tracks.
She stated that she herself had searched her property after hearing alerts about the missing girl.
For many people, the case has disrupted the sense of tranquility that reigns in life in a small community.
"I just hope that they find it and stop it," Buttars said.
Betty Balls, 55, a housekeeper in the nearby town of Wellsville, went to court at Whipple's hearing to show her support for the family, though she does not know her personally.
"Whatever you like, wherever she is, take her home to her family," said Balls with tears. "It's a safe environment. The kids are playing outside and you know they are there. Nothing of the sort should happen at all.
Whipple was found Saturday afternoon in a remote area about 10 km from the home of the family, several hours after the disappearance of the girl. He was combative and refused to identify himself repeatedly when the police spotted him walking in a remote area, according to court documents.
The police found him with a metal baseball bat, a paraphernalia for alcohol and drugs. Jensen said the bat was not part of the evidence of the disappearance.
Whipple was sentenced to the Cache County Jail for initiating an investigation into probation offenses, failure to identify with the police and possession of a controlled substance.
In 2016, Whipple was found guilty of assaulting his roommate in a domestic violence incident, according to court records.
The same year, Whipple was arrested after the police had declared that he had stolen his neighbor's car and drove under the influence of alcohol. A 40-mile chase ended when Utah's road patrol took the tires off the car, according to court documents.
Whipple was sentenced to prison in March 2018, but his sentence was suspended. He was ordered to serve 180 days in prison and five years of probation.
Written by LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press.
Morgan Smith, writer at the Associated Press in Salt Lake City, contributed to this story.
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Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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