Questions are abundant in the search for baby Lisa Irwin and answers are few, but the only thing that appears absolutely positive in this case of the missing precious girl is that she is still not found.  While normally here at Project Backstage the coverage of a missing person or baby is not something that we normally cover, this is part of the community that we live in, and it is only right.

The search for Baby Lisa is not only something that is relative to Kansas City, but very quickly catapulted to a national scale spotlight.  Lisa was last seen on October 3rd at around 6:40pm when her mother (Deborah Bradley) placed her in her crib.  The father (Jeremy Irwin) was working a overnight shift and did not come home until almost 4am on October 4th and when he went in to check on the baby, thats when she was found missing.  The Kansas City Police Department was immediately notified and they subsequently issued the Amber Alert around 7:00am on October 4th for Lisa.

The search for Baby Lisa has taken many roads but all have remained very close to the house to date.  Police and FBI have repeated searches in a nearby wooded area many times, the house has been searched multiple times including the most recent search that police obtained a warrant to do and lasted 17 hours, neighbors have been questioned and their residences searched, and they continue to follow leads both local and national that come into the TIPS hotline in Kansas City.  The farthest the police and FBI have searched from the house is just across state lines about 20 minutes from the house at a landfill located in Shawnee, KS.  Through all of the searches nothing significant has been found to put investigators on the right path to bringing Baby Lisa home.

While it is obvious that the family of Baby Lisa is very vocal in wanting to bring her home, wars in the media between the family and police have done nothing but slow information to the public.  The police say that the family is not cooperating with the investigation, and the family insists that they are doing everything they can to help police.  Deborah and Jeremy were actively seen in the public eye on interviews with national TV shows daily, they even granted an interview with People Magazine and Baby Lisa is on the cover of the current issue.  All of this has come to an abrupt stop when they obtained council to represent them.  The New York based attorney Joe Tacopina made very clear to the media that Deborah and Jeremy will no longer be talking to the media, and all communication must go through him.

So despite this circus of media, police accusations, and many other spectacles that make for that awe factor that news channels seem to eat up and crave – what has been done to find Baby Lisa and bring her home?  There is starting to be a public outcry that too much time is being spent on news cameras, and not enough action is taking place to search for Baby Lisa.  The family launched a website yesterday (http://findbabylisa.com/) that contains multiple pictures, fliers, and other items that people can use to identify Baby Lisa.  It was also released yesterday that Lamar Outdoor Advertising will start running billboards around the Kansas City area with a picture and the TIPS hotline phone number so that people can call in if they believe they have a lead.  Facebook has a massive flyer campaign going on that is working very well.  One example is a flyer that we posted, it has been shared by over 110,000 people at the writing of this article.

All this online and digital media is great to try and bring home Baby Lisa, but where is the footwork?  Why have we not seen the mobs of people that when infants or even toddlers go missing in other major cities out searching the fields and streets?  The Kansas City Police Department made very clear early on they do not want volunteers searching for Baby Lisa.  They wanted to keep it with law enforcement only doing the search.  They cited that if someone were to find her, alive or dead, that it would be a crime scene and having outsiders present would contaminate the crime scene and to this same reason is why Deborah and Jeremy are not out looking for Baby Lisa, because the police have been very critical that they did not want other people searching.

There have been rumors about Baby Lisa being found in a shallow grave behind the house, or in the walls of the home.  These are quicly put to rest by the police department actively stating that nothing has been found.  One radio station in Kansas City even announced it on their air that they had found Baby Lisa, but had to retract it later as it was proven to be false.

The big question, what can the public do to help?  Police say just keep an eye out.  If you think you see something, contact the police immediately.  They are still very critical to state strongly they do not want outside people from law enforcement to attempt to search or bounty hunt for the $100,000 reward that seems to be attracting some of those types of people.  You can share a flyer on your Facebook or other social media.  Statistics show that due to Baby Lisa’s age, the probability of her still being alive is very high.

Just In

As of just this morning, Good Morning America has released “exclusive” video (watch here) that would continue to support the parents claim of abduction.  In the video, you can see a person wearing what appears to be all white, walking out of the wooded area near the home.  This same man was seen carrying a baby as listed by 3 different eye witness reports.  The first report was 3 houses down from the Irwin home, another was a significant distance from the house.  The 2nd witness report has not been released as to where that person was.  The timeline of someone being on foot would be pretty close to accurate between the two known reports and the newly released video.

While as you can see from this article, there is nothing that ties everything together with this investigation.  It is very scattered and that is why police are asking for you help.  If you have any information about Baby Lisa, or if you believe you have seen her, contact 816-474-TIPS immediately.  You can also go through their website at http://www.kccrimestoppers.com.  All tips are 100% confidential and currently there is a $101,000 reward for information leading to bringing Baby Lisa home.

Timeline:

Here is a complete timeline of events of this investigation:

Oct 3rd, 6:40pm – Deborah puts Lisa in crib to sleep

Oct 4th, 4:00am – Jeremy comes home and notices Lisa not there and a window open.  Calls police.

Oct 4th – Police issue the Amber Alert for Lisa Irwin

Oct 4th – Police start a massive search around the home with multiple agencies, by afternoon the search is expanded to fields, hillsides, and other difficult terrain including Kansas City Fire Department seen rappelling down steep hillsides searching brush.  By evening most Fire Departments are called off but some are retained to search through the night.

Oct 5th – Police announce nothing significant has been discovered and that they were bringing in special dogs to aid in the search.  By 10am, Police were seen searching Lisa’s home with those dogs for about an hour.  By midday FBI crime labs were collecting evidence at the house by various methods.  At around 2:30pm Deborah and Jeremy make their first public appearance to plea for their daughters return.

Oct. 6th – Deborah and Jeremy appear on local media and state that their cellphones were also taken at what is believed to be the same time as Lisa is believed to go missing.  Police are searching the same wooded area that they were searching the day before, and call a 7:00pm news conference.  At the news conference, the police announce that the family is no longer cooperating with investigators in assisting them to find Baby Lisa.  By 9:30pm, the aunt of Baby Lisa, Ashley Irwin, called a news conference denying the police departments accusations that the family was no longer cooperating.

Oct 7th – Deborah and Jeremy turn to national media to deny reports that they are not cooperating with police.  By mid-day police and FBI are at a Shawnee, KS landfill searching for clues to Baby Lisa.  Nothing comes of that search.

Oct 9th – A reconstruction team for the police department return to the home to try and reenact the abduction.

Oct 10th – Police return to the home for another search, and continue to search the wooded area by the house.  Police also search a neighbors back yard and other close proximity areas around the Irwin home.

Oct 11th – Ashley Irwin appears on national media and announces that Deborah is preparing to be arrested by police.  By 10am police are at an abandoned house that is close by the Irwin home searching a well that was located under a porch.  Nothing was found and the house was demolished immediately following the search.  By nightfall it is learned that the family has retained a private investigator known as Bill “Wild Bill” Stanton.  Stanton will not release who is paying him, except to state “a wealthy benefactor”.

Oct 13th – Deborah and Jeremy are seen meeting with Bill Stanton for the first time since his arrival in Kansas City.

Oct 14th – Bill Stanton announces that the same benefactor that has hired him, has placed a $100,000 reward for Baby Lisa’s return OR for information leading to the prosecution of the individual(s) that took Lisa.

Oct 17th – Deborah announces on national media that she had been drinking the night of Baby Lisa’s disappearance.  She stated that she had more than 5 glasses of wine, but less than 10, but would not state an actual number.  Later that day, New York attorney Joe Tacopina announces he is now representing Deborah and Jeremy.  Police are seen at the home searching it again.

Oct 19th – Police block off the street around the Irwin home, and obtain a warrant for a “unobstructed” search of the home.  The house was protected all night by police to keep anyone from even stepping into the yard until police could execute the warrant.

Oct 20th – Police conduct a 17 hour search of the Irwin home.

Oct 21st  - It is released by police that on a search of the home on Oct 17th, a FBI cadaver dog “hit” on a scent in the parents bedroom next to the bed.  The executed search warrant was also made public along with the items that were taken.  The attorneys for Deborah and Jeremy are stating that police are trying to force the parents to sign a confession.

Oct 22nd – Attorneys for the parents are releasing statements that the cadaver dog “hit” is misleading, and that the public does not understand that that means.  People Magazine featuring Baby Lisa on the cover hits shelves.  A online candlelight vigil was attempted on Facebook, but was immediately shot down and discredited by the official Find Lisa page stating “Candles will not bring home Lisa, pictures will”.  The page immediately started a counter campaign against the online vigil.  The Find Lisa page is NOT ran by the family, but by “Seeking the Lost” which is not located in Kansas City.

Oct 23rd – ABC releases exclusive surveillance video that they say supports the theory that Lisa was abducted.  In it you can see a man appearing to be dressed in white coming out of the wooded area that connects to the home.  Multiple eye witnesses have stated they have seen a man matching this description carrying a baby in both the neighborhood and out of the neighborhood of the home the night of Baby Lisa’s disappearance.  There is also a open to the public vigil at the Irwin home at 6pm.

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