With police on Friday hinting that there is new information in the case of missing Oakland toddler Daphne Viola Webb, a team of 50 people will search for her at open space in Oakland on Saturday.

“This case continues as we receive new information,” Oakland Police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said. “Time is of the essence. We have a 22-month-old little girl who has been missing since July 10.”

Also Friday, the FBI added $10,000 to the reward fund for information leading to directly to information about the whereabouts of the missing girl, boosting the total reward to $20,000.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

“We are going to solve this case, it’s just a matter of time,” Watson said, noting that Daphne’s father, John Webb, 49,

Police have searched parks and trails behind her father’s Greenridge Drive home, the waterfront along Martin Luther King Jr. shoreline and East Oakland neighborhoods where Daphne was reported missing.

The exact location of Saturday’s search won’t be announced until early Saturday in order to not jeopardize the investigation, Watson said. Searchers will be using cadaver dogs and specialized equipment to help them look for the toddler.

Police have not said what they are looking for or what led investigators to the area they plan to search.

Webb claims that shortly after 11 a.m. on July 10 his daughter was snatched from the backseat of his black Ford SUV after he went into a corner market to buy an energy drink and use his cellphone. He said he left her in the SUV with his 87-year-old mother, who has dementia. He told police that when he returned, the baby was gone from the car seat, which was askew, and his mother’s purse was missing.

Police immediately brought in search dogs and teams of officers to canvass the neighborhood near the store at 79th Avenue and International Boulevard. Investigators also immediately made it clear that they questioned Webb’s story. They asked anyone who had seen Webb or the girl (or both) together in the previous 30 days to come forward. Police have never said whether they received any tips on sightings.

Webb was arrested July 11 on suspicion of felony child endangerment because the child was not in proper care in the SUV, but prosecutors declined to file charges and he was released from jail the following day.

Webb had custody of Daphne because the child’s mother, Kiana Davis-Webb, 31, is living in a drug rehabilitation home in Oakland. Police have not named her as a person of interest or a suspect.

Although the family last week expressed concern that the two police investigations have stalled, Watson on Friday said, “the investigation has not for one moment, not for one second, stopped.”

Police have dual investigations: a missing persons case and a homicide case.

Relatives have held candlelight vigils, a “love walk” and several news conferences in hopes of keeping the word of Daphne’s disappearance in the news. This week, police posted a sign with the girl’s photo on the large electronic billboard outside the O.co Coliseum and Oracle Arena.

Daphne is black, about 2 feet tall and weighs about 30 pounds. She has short, black, curly hair, a medium complexion, brown eyes and is missing part of her left ear. She was last seen wearing an orange, two-piece pajama set with pink hearts and pink socks.

Relatives have set up a website,

href=’http://www.findbabydaphne.com’>www.findbabydaphne.com.

Anyone with information about the case or who has seen Daphne is asked to call the Oakland Police Department missing persons unit at 510-238-3641.

A missing person report has now turned into a death investigation. On August 16, Linda Kay Blackshire was reported as a missing person. The report was filed by a close friend of Ms. Blackshire.

On the evening of August 17, Ms. Blackshire’s car was located near Richland Chambers Lake on FM 488 in Freestone County. The car was located on the side of the road. The car was in good condition. There were no signs of foul play and no signs of a struggle at the location. Police located the keys, cell phone and Ms. Blackshire’s purse still inside the car.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

On Monday August 19 the body of a black female was located in the water at Richland Chambers Lake just south of the dam. An autopsy was conducted the female was identified as Linda Kay Blackshire of Palestine. The cause of death will not be determined until the final autopsy report has been completed.

The incident is still under investigation. Police have talked with a number of people, including family members of the deceased. Additional information will be released when it becomes available.

Police investigating the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl may be elevating her status to an endangered missing person.

Although that won’t necessarily change the way the investigation into what happened to Indica Huddleston is handled, police hope the new label will draw more attention from the public.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

“The fact that she’s been gone now for six days, hasn’t contacted anybody, you know, relatives or friends that we are aware of … we are looking at maybe elevating this more from a runaway to a missing child,” said Lone Peak police detective Dave Ventrano.

Her family, however, is growing increasingly concerned that Indica may be with a dangerous person.

Indica was last seen about 5 p.m. on Aug. 16. Her family found a note indicating that she had run away. But they also believe there is strong evidence to suggest she may have taken off with — or been lured away by — an older man she met on Facebook.

Because there was no evidence that an abduction had taken place, police could not issue an Amber Alert. But Ventrano said the public should not interpret that to mean detectives aren’t doing anything or are not taking the case seriously.

“There’s a lot to it. We have to go through phone records. We have to go through her Facebook account. We have to go through other social media. We have to follow up with leads. All this takes time and effort,” Ventrano said.

“It’s not like, ‘She’s a runaway, and we’re not going to do anything.’ No, we’ve been working on it. I’ve been losing sleep over it. Personally, since I came to work Monday, this has (had) my full-time attention,” he said.

But as of Thursday, there had been no trace of Indica, Ventrano said, including through cellphone or social media use.

“There is absolutely nothing to go on right now,” he said.

Indica’s mother, Andrea Huddleston, said her family remains hopeful, even though it’s like “looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“I can’t believe I’m finding myself in this situation. It’s very hard to believe. It’s so surreal,” she said. “And the only way I’m getting myself through every minute is just believing there’s some purpose that’s greater than me and greater than Indica, and (there’s a) greater good that we can do and something we can (do to) make a difference.”

Indica has never run away before, her mother said. Staying away from home for a night is something Andrea Huddleston said she wouldn’t put past her daughter. But after she didn’t return the next morning, “I knew I was in an emergency,” she said.

“I know my daughter. She does not run away,” she said.

The family believes police are doing the best they can right now and said they understand that they deal with many runaway cases. But a parent has a different kind of urgency to find a loved one than police, Huddleston said.

“This is my child. I wish the National Guard was looking for her. Yeah, I’m going to do everything I can (to look for her). I’m not waiting for anyone,” she said.

Indica’s family has been very active in posting information about the case on Facebook. They have been open to interviews from the media and are planning on issuing their own video on Indica’s story. They want to do everything they can to keep her face alive in the public. They have also hired several private detectives to track down leads.

Ventrano said he encourages the family to keep doing what it is doing on social media.

“I think it’s great. I think we’ve had more tips come in,” he said. “The more people that see this and the more people that put it out and more exposure it gets, someone is eventually going to see her and know where she’s at.”

Ventrano said Indica is listed on NCIC, meaning if any officer across the country comes across her, information on their national database will come up during a background check that she’s missing.

Indica is about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds. She has long, dark brown hair and olive skin. Anyone with information about her should call their local police department.