Detectives collect ‘items’ near creek possibly linked to missing 8-month-old
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Investigators spent hours Wednesday collecting items possibly linked to missing Indianapolis 8-month-old Amiah Robertson.
Police began searching Eagle Creek near Sadie and West McCarty streets around 4:40 p.m. following a tip from an undisclosed source.
Rescue crews and dive teams were dispatched to assist in the investigation but were only able to recover debris from the water, officials said.
Authorities declined to provide descriptions of items recovered from the shoreline but did not rule out toys, shoes or articles of clothing.
Emergency medical workers arrived at the scene around 5:40 p.m. in an ambulance with flashing lights and left by 7 p.m.
The child was not located in or near the water, according to detectives.
UPDATE: Search continues for missing 8-month-old girl
Police said Wednesday night the items collected during the investigation had not yet been conclusively linked to Robertson or the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
“To protect the integrity of the investigation, we can’t let out too much information,” said Sgt. Jim Gillespie, a spokesperson for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. “The investigation continues so we continue to plead for the public’s help.”
Local authorities also sought federal help; a regional spokesperson for the FBI confirmed Wednesday the agency was assisting in the search for Robertson.
“We’re always going to utilize all the resources available to us,” Gillespie told News 8. “We have officers that work directly with the FBI as liaisons so it’s not unusual to have them involved in a case like this.”
Wednesday’s creek-side investigation unfolded less than a mile from Robertson’s last known location in the 200 block of South Holmes Ave.
The 8-month-old’s family reported her missing Saturday, according to police, and initially stated she was “not in danger” and had last been seen Thursday.
Authorities eventually discovered discrepancies in the timeline of her disappearance and updated her last reported sighting to Saturday.
A Silver Alert was issued Tuesday after investigators determined the child could be in “extreme danger.”
The Silver Alert for Amiah Robertson was canceled Wednesday night “due to very few tips coming in on that specific hotline,” according to Gillespie.
People with credible tips were urged to call the police department’s Missing Persons Division instead at (317) 327-6160.
IMPD’s social media accounts have also generated “numerous tips,” Gillespie said, and will continue to be monitored by detectives involved in the investigation.
Robertson’s grandfather issued an emotional plea for her safe return during an interview Wednesday with News 8, mere hours before authorities received the tip that sparked the search near Sadie Street.
“If you have my granddaughter, please take her to a fire station and drop her off,” Chuck Robertson said. “I’m just hoping to get a phone call telling me, ‘We found your granddaughter.’ I hold that phone in my hand all day long just so I don’t miss a call.”