The search continues for a 5-year-old Floyd County girl missing since Friday from the apartment she shared with her two baby brothers, her mother, and the woman’s boyfriend. Her family and law-enforcement officers last (Tuesday) night gave an update on the search.
Noel Miller the mother of the missing girl, Evelyn Celeste Miller (shown above), says it’s hard to believe the child’s gone, “and yet the reality is terrible all at the same time.” She says they have to remain strong, for Evelyn and for the community that’s worked so hard to try and help find her. Lieutenant Brian Tiedemann praised the people who’ve offered to help search for the child, noting there were 220 volunteers Tuesday alone, including 42 professionals who showed up unpaid to help Floyd County officials.
He says for the five days up to now, they’ve had a thousand-81 volunteers in the search, and the time everyone’s given for free totals 244 workdays. The sheriff’s lieutenant notes the Civil Air Patrol put in hours searching and gathering helpful data from the air. He says their 22 flight-hours have provided mapping, and the CAP’s also provided “forward-looking infrared imaging.” He says the Wisconsin National Guard also provided free air support from the search. And Tiedemann says the Iowa State Patrol also provided six hours of aerial surveillance to the search effort.
Lieutenant Nick Critelli with the Civil Air Patrol says they all still hope the child will be found. Critelli says this is what the Civil Air Patrol does and they’ve been involved a lot of these things. But he says he’s never seen a search this intensive or well-organized, and he thanked Floyd County Sheriff Rick Lynch. “Every searcher that is out there is heartbroken,” Critelli says, “you can’t help but be.” He pledges that the volunteer force will continue its active search and “we’re going to do our very best to bring her home.”