Witnesses Say They Saw Man Carrying Baby Resembling Lisa Irwin

Witnesses Say They Saw Man Carrying Baby Resembling Lisa Irwin

There were new reports Friday about witnesses who believe they saw a man carrying a baby resembling Lisa Irwin in her neighborhood on the night her parents say she disappeared from her home.

ABC’s “Good Morning America” reported that three witnesses saw a man in a t-shirt holding a baby wearing nothing but a diaper in the early morning hours of October 4. All said they found this unusual because of the cold weather in the area that night.

Lisa’s parents have said she vanished from her crib sometime between 6:40 pm on October 3, when mother Deborah Bradley put her to bed, and 4:00 am on October 4, when father Jeremy Irwin returned from work.

Around 12:15 am, a couple that lives a few houses away from the family spotted the man and baby. The female witness, who spoke to ABC, said she has been interviewed by police four times about what she saw.

Three miles away and nearly four hours later, around 4 am, Mike Thompson saw a man and baby fitting a similar description at an intersection off I-435. Thompson said the man was 5’7” or 5’8” and probably in his late 30s or early 40s.

Initial media reports about Lisa’s disappearance mentioned that a man and baby had been seen on their street that night, but Thompson did not report his sighting to police until a week later.

A police spokeswoman confirmed Friday that they are still investigating the possible sightings.

Attorneys for Bradley and Irwin said in a newspaper interview Friday that authorities still seemed to be focused on their clients, and the sense that they are being treated like suspects is contributing to their strained relationship with law enforcement. Attorneys Cynthia Short and Sean O’Brien insisted that, despite what police have said, Lisa’s parents are still willing to cooperate with investigators.

“Refusing to cooperate means not wanting to sign a confession,” O’Brien told the Kansas City Star of police complaints that they are not being fully cooperative.

Short said that the parents still talk to investigators regularly, have allowed several searches of their home and have provided DNA, fingerprints and hair samples. They have also allowed police to take their computer, interview their other children, search their vehicles and shed, view Lisa’s medical records and conduct a polygraph exam on Bradley.

Kansas City police Cat. Steve Young told the paper that the parents have been helpful, but they have still not provided everything investigators need.

“What we need from them, and what we are not getting, is for them to sit down with our detectives and get answers to questions we need answered,” Young said.

O’Brien, who was representing Bradley and Irwin during their last interview with police on October 8, said detectives suggested theories at the time that Lisa may have died in an accident in the home or from being shaken by one of the parents. According to O’Brien, police clearly believe the parents know more about what happened to Lisa than they have said.

Short said the parents are considering whether to submit to new interviews with police.

A former friend of Deborah Bradley told a Nancy Grace producer that she was interviewed by police on Thursday. Shirley Pfaff said a detective asked her a lot of questions about Bradley’s character, including whether she drank a lot.

Bradley revealed in media interviews earlier this week that she drank several glasses of wine on the night Lisa disappeared and may even have blacked out.

Pfaff, who knew Bradley when their husbands were stationed at Fort Bragg, said police also asked if she was familiar with a 2007 case in North Carolina where a mother falsely claimed her baby was missing and was later charged with the child’s murder.


http://nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/21/witnesses-say-they-saw-man-carrying-baby-resembling-lisa-irwin/?hpt=ng_bn3

Have these witnesses only just come forward?

AnnaEsse wrote:Have these witnesses only just come forward?

the date was 21st October on the blog so Im assuming these witnesses have only come forward.

milly wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Have these witnesses only just come forward?

the date was 21st October on the blog so Im assuming these witnesses have only come forward.

The witness statements were made at the time but have only just been revealed.

Also, more worryingly, a cadaver dog (most likely Eddie) has hit on the mothers bedroom......

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051903/Lisa-Irwin-missing-Cadaver-police-dog-smells-scent-dead-body-parents-bedroom.html

It's like history repeating itself......

wantthetruth wrote:

milly wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Have these witnesses only just come forward?

the date was 21st October on the blog so Im assuming these witnesses have only come forward.

The witness statements were made at the time but have only just been revealed.

Also, more worryingly, a cadaver dog (most likely Eddie) has hit on the mothers bedroom......

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051903/Lisa-Irwin-missing-Cadaver-police-dog-smells-scent-dead-body-parents-bedroom.html

It's like history repeating itself......

It will be fantastic if the cadaver dog is proved right, as I am sure will be the case. I hope the parents will give up very soon, because their story is just not credible. I don't think they're getting the sympathy and money for the Find Lisa Fund (YUK!) they were hoping for. But worldwide publicity will finally sow some doubts into previous believers of the McCann myth.

As they say DOGS DONT LIE. ive posted a video of the witnesses who saw a man carrying a baby fitting lisa's description in the video section.

tigger wrote:

It will be fantastic if the cadaver dog is proved right, as I am sure will be the case. I hope the parents will give up very soon, because their story is just not credible. I don't think they're getting the sympathy and money for the Find Lisa Fund (YUK!) they were hoping for. But worldwide publicity will finally sow some doubts into previous believers of the McCann myth.

Agreed. I hope they send the forensic evidence to a competent lab and get all the evidence they need to secure a prosecution on this one. I bet TM are filled with horror watching this story play out. Here's hoping the UK press report on it widely.

As with the Mccann's, I wanted to believe the mother in the beginning, but let's face it, the stories are changing so much they have lost all credibility now.

wantthetruth wrote:

tigger wrote:

It will be fantastic if the cadaver dog is proved right, as I am sure will be the case. I hope the parents will give up very soon, because their story is just not credible. I don't think they're getting the sympathy and money for the Find Lisa Fund (YUK!) they were hoping for. But worldwide publicity will finally sow some doubts into previous believers of the McCann myth.

Agreed. I hope they send the forensic evidence to a competent lab and get all the evidence they need to secure a prosecution on this one. I bet TM are filled with horror watching this story play out. Here's hoping the UK press report on it widely.

As with the Mccann's, I wanted to believe the mother in the beginning, but let's face it, the stories are changing so much they have lost all credibility now.

in both cases its the child that matters but there are so many things that dont add up. The changes in their statements. Witnesses coming forward. Timelines and the attitude of the parents. its literally like history repeating itself all over again.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/baby-lisa-irwin-family-attorney-cadaver-dogs-misleading/story?id=14790822

By CHRISTINA NG
Oct. 22, 2011

The search for Lisa Irwin hit closer to home this week as cadaver dogs have picked up the scent of human remains next to the her parent's bed, according to a police affidavit.

But an attorney for the family said following the cadaver dog's nose may be misleading investigators.

"My understanding is that there are cold cases where dogs have hit on scents of decomposition that have been in the home for as long as 28 years," said Cyndy Short, in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America." "This is an old home. 63 years old. There could be a lot of other explanations for that."

But Brad Garrett, an ABC News consultant and former FBI special agent, said cadaver dogs are typically accurate.

"In studies done of cadaver dogs where the dog has direct access to the scent and its reasonably fresh - its above 90 percent.

The affidavit, released on Friday, revealed that a cadaver dog searching for evidence for missing the 11-month-old "indicated a positive 'hit' for the scent of a deceased human" next to her mother's bed.

The affidavit was filed with a Kansas City court to request a search warrant of the family home.

The search was conducted Wednesday and police left with several items, including a large portion of carpet.

The court document also indicated that Lisa's parents, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, restricted police access to the home.

"The only areas extensively processed for DNA and fingerprints during the consent were the baby's bedroom and possible points of entry," the document states.

"The extent of the search had been limited in nature with consent" of the parents, police stated in the request for the search warrant.

The cadaver dog that searched the home on Oct. 17 with the parents' agreement "indicated a positive 'hit' for the scent of a deceased human in an area of the floor of Bradley's bedroom near the bed," the affidavit stated. The consistency and accuracy of cadaver dogs has been challenged in past cases.
PHOTO: Lisa Irwin
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Lisa Irwin was last seen around 10:30 p.m.... View Full Size
Cadaver Dogs Search Baby Lisa Home Watch Video
Missing Baby Lisa Irwin: Eyewitnesses Speak Out Watch Video
Missing Baby Lisa Irwin: Was Missing Child Spotted? Watch Video

The police request for the warrant said, "A more extensive and intrusive search needs to be completed at the property where the baby was last accounted."

New Clues in Disappearance of Missing Baby Lisa?

The document also contained a puzzling comment by Lisa's mother. "Bradley made the statement she did not initially look for her baby behind the house because she 'was afraid of what she might find,'" it said.

In addition, the police cited a "garden area with portions of dirt having an appearance of being recently disturbed or overturned."

The affidavit lists items that investigators took from the house, including a multicolored comforter, purple shorts, a Disney character shirt, a glow worm toy, a Cars-themed blanket, rolls of tape and a tape dispenser.

Bradley has previously told investigators that Lisa was wearing purple shorts and a purple t-shirt when she last saw her on the night of Oct. 3, the night Lisa vanished.

The document also revealed that inconsistent stories from the "people involved" may have hampered the early stages of the investigaton.

"Investigative interviews with the people involved revealed conflicting information for clear direction in the investigation," the affidavit said.

Earlier Friday, three witnesses in two Kansas City locations told "Good Morning America" they were convinced they saw a man carrying a baby matching Lisa's description the night she disappeared from her Missouri bedroom.

Mike Thompson told ABC News that he was on his way home from work around 4 a.m. on Oct. 4 when he saw a man in a t-shirt carrying a baby at an intersection about three miles from the Irwin home.

It was shortly after 4 a.m. that Lisa's parents said they discovered she was missing.

"[At] 4 a.m., 45 degrees, baby don't have a coat or nothing and this guy is walking down the street and I thought it was kind of weird," Thompson said.

He thought the sight was so unusual that he recalled considering offering the man and baby a ride home, but couldn't because he was on his motorcycle. He later reported what he saw to police and told ABC News he is convinced the baby was Lisa.

Thompson described the man as around 5-feet-7, between 140 and 150 pounds and in his late 30s or early 40s.

A few hours earlier, a couple living three houses down from the Irwin family said they saw a similar sight. A woman and her husband said they saw a man in a t-shirt carrying a baby. They thought the situation was so unusual that they reported it to police on the morning of Oct. 4.

"It was shocking because I couldn't imagine anyone outside walking with their baby in the cold like that with no clothes on," the woman told ABC News.

Bradley has said that Lisa was wearing purple shorts and a purple t-shirt when she last saw her, but the neighboring couple said they baby they saw did not appear to be wearing any clothing.

"We seen the little arm, the leg, it didn't look like the baby had on any clothes, just a diaper," she said.

New Developments in Baby Lisa Investigation

The woman said police have interviewed her four times and police say they are still looking into the possible sightings.

"That is something that we've followed up on," said Kansas City Police Department Sgt. Stacey Graves. "We've haven't discounted it and we have no reason to believe that they didn't see what they said that they saw."
Cadaver Dogs Search Baby Lisa Home Watch Video
Missing Baby Lisa Irwin: Eyewitnesses Speak Out Watch Video
Missing Baby Lisa Irwin: Was Missing Child Spotted? Watch Video

The focus of the investigation this week has been largely centered on Lisa's parents.

The couple has retained two lawyers: well-known New York defense attorney Joe Tacopina and a local Kansas City attorney.

An anonymous benefactor is offering a $100,000 reward for Baby Lisa's safe return or the conviction of whoever took the little girl.

milly wrote:As they say DOGS DONT LIE. ive posted a video of the witnesses who saw a man carrying a baby fitting lisa's description in the video section.

First sighting 12.15am. Another sighting 4am some distance away. So, an abductor was wandering around for hours carrying the child?

Annabel wrote:http://abcnews.go.com/US/baby-lisa-irwin-family-attorney-cadaver-dogs-misleading/story?id=14790822

Oh dear! According to that attorney, cadaver dogs are capable of detecting the odour for up to 28 years! I do hope Gerry McCann has read this!

AnnaEsse wrote:

Annabel wrote:http://abcnews.go.com/US/baby-lisa-irwin-family-attorney-cadaver-dogs-misleading/story?id=14790822

Oh dear! According to that attorney, cadaver dogs are capable of detecting the odour for up to 28 years! I do hope Gerry McCann has read this!

Was going to say the same! Before you know it the story will be Kate will have stumbled upon dead people all her life - except her own childs of course.