Posted on 02/28/2004 12:18:45 PM PST by nuconvert
Person in Custody; Search Warrants Issued in Case of Missing Family in Rural Mississippi
Feb. 28, 04
By Jack Elliott Jr. / Associated Press Writer
TAYLORSVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Investigators moved on what appeared to be the first big break in the search for a missing couple and their young son Saturday as officers took someone into custody for questioning and searched a southern Mississippi veterinary clinic. Highway Patrol and Smith County authorities closed off a county road on both sides of the Leaf River Veterinary Services.
The clinic was given as a residence address by Earnest Lee Hargon, an adopted cousin of the missing family, whose wife is a veterinarian, said police officials who spoke on condition that their names not be used.
There has been no trace of Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick, since Valentine's Day. Lawmen reported finding blood and spent bullet casings at the family's home, but no signs of forced entry.
Police would not say where Earnest Lee Hargon was Saturday. Calls to the clinic were not answered and there is no listing for his residence. Calls placed to the cell phone of Hargon's wife, Lisa Ainsworth, were not returned.
However, Warren Strain, a state Highway Patrol spokesman, said a person was in custody for questioning.
"We're very hopeful that the questioning and the search warrants will lead to a resolution about the whereabouts of the Hargon family," Strain told AP Radio. "The latest developments have been dramatic, groundbreaking. We are very confident that the resolution of this tragic and awful situation is imminent."
Strain said there were five woodframe structures in the area of the veterinary clinic and that crime laboratory teams were checking each building. Strain said officers were also searching the property, which includes woods.
Investigators have also been checking a piece of property owned by Earnest Lee Hargon's brother, Michael, which he recently inherited from his uncle, Charles Hargon, to determine if it is linked to the disappearance, said sister Jennifer Hargon. Earnest Lee Hargon, Charles Hargon's adopted son, was not included in the will, she said.
The Yazoo County Sheriff's department is leading the task force, which includes the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the FBI.
Rebecca Hargon's aunt, Trudy Duncan of Poplar Bluff, Mo., said Saturday she had talked with family members in Mississippi about the search.
"I hope that they are OK. That's all I want," Duncan said. "All we want is to see the media with some beautiful faces on there."
Authorities have received about 400 tips, dozens related to a white van, Strain said. The van had been spotted in the area around the time they believe the family disappeared, investigators said.
A reward of $100,000 is being offered from information leading to the safe return of the Hargons.
They're searching a veterinary clinic for clues to the missing young family? This sounds really bad.
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