Search For Missing Girl Continues In Cache County, Evidence Points To Uncle
May 27, 2019, 5:09 PM | Updated: 5:18 pm
LOGAN, Utah — For the third straight day, Logan Police searched for a missing five-year-old girl, as they build a criminal case against her 21-year-old uncle.
Elizabeth Shelley disappeared from her home in Logan sometime after 2 a.m. Saturday. Her uncle, Alex Whipple, who also vanished from the home, was arrested 12 miles away in a southern, rural part of Cache County.
“We’ve been working around the clock since Saturday morning,” said Captain Tyson Budge, with the Logan Police Department. “No one has stopped.”
Search crews scoured a field today for several hours today and sifted through and collected potential evidence at a number of other different sites in and around Logan, looking for any signs of the girl. Police said they’ve had enough evidence from the beginning to suspect the uncle.
“Everything he has done has been quite deceitful, and we have no reason to believe anything he told us was accurate,” said Budge. “We interviewed him for several hours. He was uncooperative. He made some statements that we were able to verify as untrue very quickly into this interview.”
Family reported Elizabeth missing Saturday around 10 a.m. Alex Whipple, now the prime suspect, had shown up at the family’s home before everyone went to bed. According to family, Elizabeth was still in the house around 2 AM.
“When they awoke a little after nine, they observed that Alex and Elizabeth were gone,“ said Budge.
Investigators soon found unspecified evidence near the home.
“These items have been forensically tested, and they do link Mr. Whipple to the missing child, Elizabeth,” said the police captain.
Police said evidence also links the girl and her uncle to the home, and links them together outside the home.
“We have several of these scenes that we have located that have evidentiary items in them that we have now tested and have evidence that they were together,” said Budge.
When police arrested Whipple Saturday afternoon, according to court papers, he had a marijuana pipe on him, an arrest warrant on another case and was uncooperative with police.
The search for five-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzy” Shelley continues in Logan. Missing since early Saturday morning. Her uncle still prime suspect, jailed on other charges. @Logancitypolice asking information from anyone who saw 21-year-old Alex Whipple Friday or Saturday. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/nQdcPE3fYT
— Jed Boal (@jedboal) May 27, 2019
Right now, they’re working leads that they got from the public, including some sightings of the uncle before the girl’s disappearance.
Anyone who saw Alex Whipple Friday evening or Saturday, with or without the girl, should contact the police.
This statement is from the family shared by the victim advocate from the Cache County Attorney’s Office:
“As a family, we are overwhelmed, scared and sad at the recent tragic events that have touched our lives. We are grateful for all those who continue to search and help. We would like to thank law enforcement, volunteers and all other agencies and businesses for their tireless efforts in helping us find our daughter. Our familyasks for privacy and respect during this difficult time and continue to hope for the safe return of our sweet girl Lizzy.”
