CNN.com - Sex offender sought for questioning in missing girl case - Mar 16, 2005
Sex offender sought for questioning in missing girl case
(CNN) -- Florida investigators said Wednesday they are seeking convicted sex offender John Evander Couey for questioning in last month's disappearance of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.
The Citrus County Sheriff's Department released a picture of Couey, 46, whom it described as a "person of interest," to aid the nationwide search.
Authorities said they don't know whether Couey is involved in the little girl's disappearance, but do know from his lengthy criminal record that he is prone to violence when under influence of alcohol or drugs.
Jessica was last seen in her bed in Homosassa, Florida, February 23. Except for an unlocked front door, the home was undisturbed with no signs of a struggle. She lived with her father and grandparents.
Jessica is 4 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs 70 pounds, has light brown hair and was last reported wearing a pink nightgown.
Couey had been living in the Citrus County area and was last seen in Savannah, Georgia, Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy told reporters.
Dawsy said Couey had been staying with a relative in a house near the Lunsfords', and his name came up when authorities were investigating sexual offenders in the area.
A relative admitted to detectives that Couey left on a bus for Savannah February 28, where he was interviewed by local police Saturday at a shelter, Dawsy said.
Savannah police, who had no jurisdiction, were unable to hold Couey, he said. Three detectives from Florida have now gone to Savannah.
"We still think he's in that immediate area," Dawsy said. He said investigators do not know if Couey had had any contact with Jessica.
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Bucky Burnsed said Savannah police were acting on a request from the Citrus County Sheriff's Department when they picked up the man at a Savannah Salvation Army shelter Saturday.
"He was cooperative," Burnsed said, adding that authorities "didn't have the grounds to hold him" without an arrest warrant.
He said Savannah police don't know whether he is still in their city.
Burnsed said, "Our officers would like to speak with him [again]. We are looking for him. It is not a manhunt."
Under Florida law, a convicted sex offender must register his change of address, and a warrant was issued, according to the sheriff.
He said there also was an August 2004 outstanding warrant for Couey for violating probation because of alleged marijuana possession. That warrant has been amended to be effective outside Florida, the sheriff said. Couey also is wanted on an outstanding warrant that he failed to report to his probation officer.
"There is no indication at all that her family had any contacts with this individual," Dawsy said.
But he said detectives are concerned because of Couey's criminal history spanning more than three decades and 24 arrests, which includes multiple arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, larceny and drug charges.
Couey pleaded guilty to 1991 felony charges of sex offense against a child, fondling a child under age 16 and lewd and lascivious conduct in Kissimmee; he was convicted of indecent exposure in 1987, according to records from the sheriff's office.
During a 1978 burglary, for which Couey was convicted, he was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth and kissing her, Dawsy said.
Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, 41, said he has no "problems with the way the sheriff's department is doing its job," noting that authorities haven't ruled any scenario or possible suspect out.
"I have confidence in my sheriff's department, and I truly believe in my heart that my daughter is coming home," Lunsford said, his voice breaking for the only time in a 10-minute chat with reporters. "I just don't know when. Sometimes it is a little hard to swallow, but you just swallow it and keep going because that's what you have to do."
Polygraphs given to both her father and her grandfather, Archie Lunsford, 72, raised no immediate concerns to investigators. Authorities announced Tuesday a polygraph of Jessica's grandmother, Ruth Lunsford, 73, included two responses that "raised red flags," but could have been stress-related.
A 14-member task force has been assigned to the case full time.
Lunsford asked for volunteers for a weekend search, beginning at 7 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. He said he wants to cover as wide an area as possible.
"I truly believe that my daughter is alive and that she is coming home," he said.
CNN's Susan Candiotti, Patrick Oppmann and Richard Phillips contributed to this report.
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