ARCHIVED ARTICLE: Mother and Aunt Plead For 3-Year-Old's Return As Search Continues - 5/24/2006

Mother and Aunt Plead For 3-Year-Old's Return As Search Continues
May 24 2006 12:00AM
http://www.ap.org
JAMES MacPHERSON

Associated Press

Minot, N.D. - Reachelle Smith's mother and aunt tearfully pleaded for her safe return as searchers on horseback, in all-terrain vehicles and on foot fanned out through a wildlife refuge north of here to look for the 3-year-old girl.

The search centered around an area where the body of a man suspected of taking her was found Tuesday.

Leigh Cowen, 22, was found inside a van on a gravel road at the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, and authorities said he apparently killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning.

There was no trace of Reachelle, who was last seen the night of May 16 when she was put to bed at her home.

Stephanie Smith, the girl's aunt and legal guardian, and Samantha Smith, her mother, joined other relatives and friends at a news conference with law enforcement officials Wednesday.

They said the 3-year-old has asthma and needs treatment for it. Stephanie clutched the girl's doll as she spoke about how Reachelle knows the alphabet, likes puzzles and likes to have her picture taken.

"Right now, we just want her back," Samantha Smith said, crying.

Ward County Sheriff Vern Erck said more than 200 people were searching the 32,000-acre refuge northwest of Minot. They included members of the National Guard, horseback riders and others on foot and in all-terrain vehicles, the sheriff said. Divers also were searching the Souris River and Lake Darling.

"We're concentrating along trails where the vehicle was found," Erck said. "There's a couple of hundred acres in just that small area alone."

Authorities said dive teams were searching part of the Souris River in Minot's Oak Park, near the girl's home. The search also included in the Surrey area, where a farmer thought he had recently seen the van in which Cowen's body was found.

"We're going where the evidence takes us. We're not going to leave any leaf
unturned. We're not going to close the door on other suspects," Police Capt. Al Hanson
said.

The terrain near the refuge was rough, with marshes and ravines, authorities said. They also asked people to check abandoned buildings in the area.

Reachelle Smith was put to bed at about 10:30 p.m. on May 16 at her home in
Minot and disappeared the next day, police said.

Authorities said Cowen lived with Stephanie Smith and had told her that the girl was staying with his mother. Police later learned that Cowen's mother did not know the girl's whereabouts and issued an Amber Alert.

State officials said Cowen was on probation for theft of property in Ward County and had failed to report in as required. A warrant was issued last month for his arrest on charges of violating his probation.

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