The intense search for 5-year-old Elizabeth Jessica Shelley continues, and Logan police are increasingly focused on her uncle, Alex Whipple, whom they are calling “the main suspect” in her disappearance.
Officers are now asking the public for help identifying where Whipple was since Friday evening.
He has been booked in jail on a probation violation, and police describe him as continuing to be “uncooperative.”
Family members reported Shelley missing early Saturday. She was last seen at 2 a.m. When they woke up at 10 a.m., she was gone and so was the 21-year-old uncle. Whipple was later found walking around the city alone.
“We’re very concerned,” Logan Capt. Tyson Budge has said. “At this point, we believe she’s been harmed.”
With the help of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, Logan police conducted search warrants late Saturday and early Sunday and scoured the area between 300 South and 100 North and 300 West to 600 West.
While initially police were asking for volunteer searchers, they are now requesting that people stay out of this area. However, they are asking residents and business owners in the area that have video surveillance, including smart doorbells, to review the footage and report any suspicious activity to 435-735-7555.
Logan police said Sunday that additional search and rescue support has been called in from several other counties and that the search has been expanded to the Hyrum area. They are asking residents in the southwest Logan, Nibley, Hyrum and Mount Sterling areas to watch for any suspicious items on their property and to call dispatch immediately if anything is found.
Elizabeth has shoulder-length curly brown hair and brown eyes. She is 3 feet, 6 inches tall.
Anyone who sees Elizabeth or has information can call 435-753-7555.
Logan police posted on Facebook early Sunday: “There are many agencies in a coordinated effort working around the clock and will continue to work until she is found.”
