Law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation and following up on a handful of leads that have been reported since Thursday morning when girls clothing was found in the men’s restroom at Danner Park.
There is no known suspect and no known victim which makes the investigation difficult. But, the condition of the clothing when discovered causes concern.
“The articles of clothing were damaged in a manner that is consistent with being torn off of the individual that was wearing them,” said Police Chief Rick Knouse. Buttons had been ripped off and a belt broken in two, he said.
The chief said that it is possible that there never was a victim, but given the nature of what was found his department must actively pursue this investigation.
“We can’t deal with it as if it was a hoax,” he said.
“Our biggest problem is that we don’t have a victim,” Knouse said.
Knouse said that Chillicothe Parks Department workers discovered a complete set of girls clothing, size 6, that had been found in the men’s restroom shortly after 8:30 a.m. No blood was found on the clothes or anywhere during the investigation.
The description of the clothes recovered is as follows: Faded Glory blue jeans (size 5 girls) with a purple belt; Faded Glory white T-shirt (size s/ch (6-6x); Faded Glory purple plaid vest (size s/ch (6-6x) with a matching purple scarf; Fruit of the Loom white girl’s panties with multi-colored flowers and butterflies (size 8 girls).
The park was closed to the public most of Thursday while authorities scoured the grounds looking for clues as to what may have happened. A search of the area was conducted with bloodhounds from Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, using the scent found on the girls’ clothing.
Knouse said that three times the dogs tracked to a nearby apartment complex on Morningside Drive and near the residence of a registered sex offender, but all leads failed to provide any solid suspects. Knouse said that officials identified and talked with a person of interest but that individual was no longer being considered a person of interest. He also stated that the dog could have lost the scent when the subject entered a vehicle.
Officers also looked for signs of a girl who may reside in the area and could have been wearing the clothes.
“We canvassed every residence in that area and found nothing,” the chief said.
