12-26-2011, 08:11 AM
she's 28?
Tarah Souders, right, and her mother talk about Tarah’s daughter Aliahna Lemmon, 9, who has been missing since Friday.
![[Image: bilde?Site=JG&Date=20111226&Category=LOC...0&MaxH=600]](http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=JG&Date=20111226&Category=LOCAL07&ArtNo=312269944&Ref=AR&Q=85&MaxW=400&MaxH=600)
Family seeking answers
Missing girl may have sleepwalked from home
Archie Ingersoll | The Journal Gazette
Amber Story sat in a recliner on Christmas Day clutching a stuffed unicorn. It’s a gift she has not been able to give her 9-year-old granddaughter Aliahna Lemmon who’s been missing since Friday.
Aliahna was reportedly last seen about 6 a.m. Friday sleeping in a family friend’s mobile home just north of Fort Wayne. A search involving more than 120 emergency workerswho combed a 5-mile radius around the home using planesboats and police dogshas produced no trace of her. Investigators have not ruled out any possibilityincluding foul play.
“I just hope that she’s not suffering or in pain” her grandma said.
The search for Aliahna which began Friday evening after she was reported missing was called off Saturday afternoon. Authorities said they had done as much as they could.
Cpl. Jeremy Tinkela sheriff’s department spokesmansaid the search was not restarted Sunday and that there will likely be no searching today unless new leads arise through tips from the public or interviews.
“We’re just trying to come up with some information so we can get this girl home get her found” he said.
Before Aliahna went missing she and her two sisters had been staying with family friend Mike Plumadore for about a week because Aliahna’s mother had been sick with the flu and Aliahna’s stepfather works at night and sleeps during the day. Plumadore and Aliahna’s family live in separate homes in the Northway mobile home park near Diebold Road and North Clinton Street.
Plumadore,39, told The Journal Gazette on Sunday that he left the three girls in his mobile home about 6 a.m. Friday and went to a gas station about a mile away to buy a cigar. (blunt?) Authorities have said the store’s surveillance video shows him there about that time.
“I had deadbolted the door” he said. “When I got back
all the girls was here.”
He said he smoked his cigar
and went back to sleep about 6:30 a.m. He woke up about 10 a.m. when Aliahna’s mother called. After that call he realized the door to the home was unlocked and that Aliahna was gone. He said Aliahna’s sisters both 6 years old told him that Aliahna had left with her mom.
Plumadore believed them so he locked the door and went back to sleep until about 1:30 p.m. He said that when he woke up he and the two other girls went about their day until about 8:30 p.m. That’s when he talked to Aliahna’s mom and learned that Aliahna was not with her and authorities were notified.
Aliahna’s mom Tarah Souders,28 said she last saw the three girls – one of them a stepdaughter – Tuesday after school. Souders agreed with Plumadore’s version of what happened Friday.
She said miscommunication between the two of them caused the delay in determining that Aliahna had vanished.
“She’s never wandered off” Souders said. “She’s never done anything like this before.”
But Aliahna does have a history of sleepwalkingeven unlocking doors and going outside while sleepingher grandma said.
Souders said her daughter also has vision and hearing problems and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and attention-deficit hyperactive disorder.
Aliahna’s family suspects she left Plumadore’s home on her own but after that they can’t say what happened to her.
According to the Allen County Sheriff’s Department website15 registered sex offenders live at the Northway mobile home park. Sheriff Ken Fries said Saturday that police have spoken with those offendersand they are not suspects in Aliahna’s disappearance. Fries also said Plumadore is not an offender.
Plumadore acknowledged Sunday he has three felony convictions for battery,auto theft and forgery. “I’m not an angel by any means.” But he added“I don’t hurt children. I don’t hurt animals.”
Aliahna’s relatives vouched for Plumadore who cared for Aliahna’s ailing grandfather until his death early this month and now lives alone in her grandfather’s mobile home.
“He’s never been inappropriate or out of line. I mean I would trust the man with any of my grandkids” said David Story the husband of Aliahna’s grandma.
Investigators have interviewed Plumadore Aliahna’s mother her stepfather and her sisters. Authorities who have no suspects or persons of interest in the case said they are not aware of any neglect or abuse issues in Aliahna’s family and that there are no custody disputes over her.
Tarah Souders, right, and her mother talk about Tarah’s daughter Aliahna Lemmon, 9, who has been missing since Friday.
Family seeking answers
Missing girl may have sleepwalked from home
Archie Ingersoll | The Journal Gazette
Amber Story sat in a recliner on Christmas Day clutching a stuffed unicorn. It’s a gift she has not been able to give her 9-year-old granddaughter Aliahna Lemmon who’s been missing since Friday.
Aliahna was reportedly last seen about 6 a.m. Friday sleeping in a family friend’s mobile home just north of Fort Wayne. A search involving more than 120 emergency workerswho combed a 5-mile radius around the home using planesboats and police dogshas produced no trace of her. Investigators have not ruled out any possibilityincluding foul play.
“I just hope that she’s not suffering or in pain” her grandma said.
The search for Aliahna which began Friday evening after she was reported missing was called off Saturday afternoon. Authorities said they had done as much as they could.
Cpl. Jeremy Tinkela sheriff’s department spokesmansaid the search was not restarted Sunday and that there will likely be no searching today unless new leads arise through tips from the public or interviews.
“We’re just trying to come up with some information so we can get this girl home get her found” he said.
Before Aliahna went missing she and her two sisters had been staying with family friend Mike Plumadore for about a week because Aliahna’s mother had been sick with the flu and Aliahna’s stepfather works at night and sleeps during the day. Plumadore and Aliahna’s family live in separate homes in the Northway mobile home park near Diebold Road and North Clinton Street.
Plumadore,39, told The Journal Gazette on Sunday that he left the three girls in his mobile home about 6 a.m. Friday and went to a gas station about a mile away to buy a cigar. (blunt?) Authorities have said the store’s surveillance video shows him there about that time.
“I had deadbolted the door” he said. “When I got back
all the girls was here.”
He said he smoked his cigar
and went back to sleep about 6:30 a.m. He woke up about 10 a.m. when Aliahna’s mother called. After that call he realized the door to the home was unlocked and that Aliahna was gone. He said Aliahna’s sisters both 6 years old told him that Aliahna had left with her mom.Plumadore believed them so he locked the door and went back to sleep until about 1:30 p.m. He said that when he woke up he and the two other girls went about their day until about 8:30 p.m. That’s when he talked to Aliahna’s mom and learned that Aliahna was not with her and authorities were notified.
Aliahna’s mom Tarah Souders,28 said she last saw the three girls – one of them a stepdaughter – Tuesday after school. Souders agreed with Plumadore’s version of what happened Friday.
She said miscommunication between the two of them caused the delay in determining that Aliahna had vanished.
“She’s never wandered off” Souders said. “She’s never done anything like this before.”
But Aliahna does have a history of sleepwalkingeven unlocking doors and going outside while sleepingher grandma said.
Souders said her daughter also has vision and hearing problems and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and attention-deficit hyperactive disorder.
Aliahna’s family suspects she left Plumadore’s home on her own but after that they can’t say what happened to her.
According to the Allen County Sheriff’s Department website15 registered sex offenders live at the Northway mobile home park. Sheriff Ken Fries said Saturday that police have spoken with those offendersand they are not suspects in Aliahna’s disappearance. Fries also said Plumadore is not an offender.
Plumadore acknowledged Sunday he has three felony convictions for battery,auto theft and forgery. “I’m not an angel by any means.” But he added“I don’t hurt children. I don’t hurt animals.”
Aliahna’s relatives vouched for Plumadore who cared for Aliahna’s ailing grandfather until his death early this month and now lives alone in her grandfather’s mobile home.
“He’s never been inappropriate or out of line. I mean I would trust the man with any of my grandkids” said David Story the husband of Aliahna’s grandma.
Investigators have interviewed Plumadore Aliahna’s mother her stepfather and her sisters. Authorities who have no suspects or persons of interest in the case said they are not aware of any neglect or abuse issues in Aliahna’s family and that there are no custody disputes over her.