ARCHIVED ARTICLE: Police Continue Search For Missing 3-Year-Old Girl - 5/23/2006

EDITORS NOTE: For some reason this article was posted the same day/time as the previous archived article I posted.
Police Continue Search For Missing 3-Year-Old Girl
May 23 2006 12:00AM
http://www.ap.org

Associated Press

Minot, N.D. - Police were looking for a 3-year-old girl who they believe may be headed to Kansas with a man claiming to be her father.

Authorities say Reachelle Smith was last seen the night of May 16. She was believed to be with Leigh Cowen, 22, a man who had been living with her aunt, the child's legal guardian.

Minot Police Capt. Al Hanson said Cowen considered himself the girl's father, but tests proved otherwise.

Hanson said Tuesday police believed Cowen was headed for Kansas.

"That's where his family is. We have no other reason to believe he's going anywhere else," Hanson said.

The Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for Reachelle after she was reported missing Monday by her aunt.

"Because she's traveling with a stranger and not a blood relative, there's a possibility she's in danger," Hanson said.

Police said Cowen had been living with the child's aunt and his mother sometimes looked after her in Minot.The 3-year-old was put to bed about 10:30 p.m. on May 16 at her home, Minot Police Sgt. Winston Black said. "The following day, she was nowhere to be found," he said.

Cowen claimed the girl had been staying with his mother, but police said his mother had moved to Derby, Kan., within the past few days.

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

Authorities said Cowen was believed to be driving a stolen teal-colored van
with minor front-end damage. He is not accused of stealing the van, Hanson
said.

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.

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