Suspend ground search for missing 4-year-old
TAMPA (AP) – The search for evidence in the cold case of a missing 4-year-old girl at a property in southwest Florida has been suspended.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office began digging Tuesday afternoon using sophisticated ground penetrating radar near a home in Punta Gorda, 75 miles south of Tampa. Sheriff Bill Cameron said Thursday they did not find any human remains, but they did recover some items on the property for evidence.
Pilar Rodriguez disappeared in 1999, when a young baby sitter , Melissa Cooper, took her on vacation for two weeks. The child was never returned.
Cooper’s mother has said her daughter claims the girl was fatally beaten by her boyfriend, Keith Allen Wilson. Wilson has denied any involvement.