ARCHIVED ARTICLE: Amber Alert Issued For 3-Year-Old Girl - 5/23/2006

Amber Alert Issued For 3-Year-Old Girl
May 23 2006 12:00AM
http://www.ap.org

Associated Press

Bismarck, N.D. - The Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for a 3-year-old girl, saying she is believed to be with a man posing as her father.

The patrol said Reachelle Smith was last seen at her Minot home on May 16.

Minot Police Sgt. Winston Black said the girl is believed to be with Leigh Cowen, 22, a man claiming to be the girl's father.

"The person we're looking for is making the claim he is the father of the child, when in fact, he's not," Black said.

"We have reason to believe the child is in danger," Highway Patrol Capt. Mark Bethke said.

The girl's mother does not have legal custody of the child, Black said. The girl lives with her mother's sister, the child's legal guardian, he said.

Black said Cowen had been living with the child's aunt and Cowen's mother sometimes looked after the child in Minot.

The 3-year-old was put to bed at about 10:30 p.m. on May 16 at her home, Black said. "The following day, she was no where to be found," he said.

Cowen claimed the girl had been staying with his mother in Minot. The child's aunt reported her missing Monday."

It was not uncommon for her to spend time with (Cowen's) mother," Black said.

Cowen's mother moved to Derby, Kan., within the past few days, Black said.

Police believe Cowen may be headed there, in a stolen teal-colored van with minor front-end damage.

Reachelle Smith is white, about 3-foot-4 and weighs about 40 pounds, authorities said. She has brown eyes and straight, light brown hair.

Authorities said Cowen is white, 5-foot-9, and weighs 220 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo of a Chinese symbol on his neck.

The Amber Alert program is named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in her hometown of Arlington, Texas.