The last person to see Larie Butler before her mysterious disappearance on Saturday has stopped cooperating with investigators who continue to search for the 11th-grade East High School student.
Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard said the man, whom he described as an acquaintance of Butler’s, initially told investigators he took Butler to The Marketplace mall about 3:30 p.m. then dropped her off about 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. near East High School.
Police have not found anyone to confirm that story, Sheppard said. He declined to say specifically whether cameras at the mall or around the East High School area were reviewed or provided any information.
Since those initial interviews, the man has declined to cooperate with police, Sheppard said.
Several agencies are now involved in the search for Butler after a Missing Child Alert was issued in her name on Monday. A State Police helicopter did an aerial search on Tuesday and the Laurelton Fire Department drained a pool in Irondequoit on Monday, Sheppard said.
He declined to provide additional details about those efforts.
“We want to make clear that this incident has and will continue to be investigated with the utmost urgency by the Rochester Police Department,” he said. “And we will partner with our law enforcement partners, the Irondequoit Police Department, the State Police to follow up on all the leads that have come into us. We’ve conducted door-to-door searches, checked backyards, check every possibility and we’re leaving no stone unturned.”
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
Butler last talked to her mother, Karen Snipes, by phone about 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The 17-year-old told her she loved her, and said a friend was going to pick her up to take her to the mall.
The family reported Butler missing about 5 a.m. Sunday.
Sheppard called the disappearance “suspicious” and “very serious” and said investigators do not believe Butler is a runaway in part because she is a good student, does not have a history of mental health issues and typically keeps her family apprised of her whereabouts by phone.
“Often when we deal with missing persons, there are issues that are brought to our attention — whether it’s mental health issues, whether it’s domestic issues, whether it’s family trouble issues — that give us some indicators that someone might choose to leave their home,” he said. “We have none of those circumstance in this instance and that has brought us to this point.”
Sheppard said Wednesday that Larie’s phone went inactive Saturday evening, about the time police were told she was dropped off.
“We have checked with social media. There has been nothing that’s been added to her Facebook page or any other means of communication using the Internet and no one else has seen or heard from her since Saturday.”
Snipes attended a police news conference Wednesday to appeal to her daughter and anyone who may have information regarding her disappearance.
“All I want is for my daughter to come home to me. She’s not a runaway. This is not like my daughter,” Snipes said.
Regarding the man who said he went with Butler to the mall and school, Snipes said he is a family acquaintance. She learned only after her daughter’s disappearance the pair had been spending time with each other.
Butler, who lives at 15 Lynchford Park, is 5 feet tall, about 125 pounds and was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, jeans, gray and pink Nike sneakers and gold earrings.
Family members have been posting fliers with that information across the city.
Larie’s teachers and others have been leading a social media campaign to try to reach anyone who may have information about Larie’s disappearance.
Many have used Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to announce Butler’s disappearance.
Snipes complimented the police department on their efforts, saying officers went door-to-door looking for information and she is confident they are doing all they can.
On any given day, Rochester police have between 50 and 75 open missing persons cases. That includes anyone who has been reported missing, regardless of age or the circumstances under which they disappeared. They could be runaways, people who are gone for a couple of hours and then come home, or people who have been abducted.
Police investigated 1,188 missing persons cases in 2011, with the vast majority of those cases closed.
The RPD’s general orders are that missing people younger than 18 take priority, particularly if they are abducted or go missing under nefarious circumstances.
When people are older than 18, police try to determine whether they are likely to cause harm to themselves or whether they are in a weakened emotional state and could easily be harmed by someone else.
