Caleigh Anne Harrison, 2. MA. missing

[Lady Cop]

this is likely not criminal but a tragic ocean accident. i just heard about it at 0500. but foul play not ruled out yet.
the ocean was fierce and ripping at this area yesterday when this happened. :(

Boston Herald
ROCKPORT — Authorities continued their dogged search late yesterday for toddler Caleigh Anne Harrison, who disappeared around noon while playing with her sister on a footbridge that links two popular beaches, police said.

“This is an active and ongoing investigation,” state police spokesman David Procopio said last night from Cape Hedge Beach, where rescue crews were scouring the windswept sand and choppy ocean waters for the missing girl.

“We’ve seen no trace of Caleigh Harrison yet,” Procopio said.

Rockport police said the girl’s mother frantically called them just after noon yesterday to report Caleigh missing.

The Gloucester mom was at the beach with Caleigh, 2, her sister, 4, and the family dog, police said.

The sisters were playing with a ball on the Saratoga Creek Footbridge, which connects Long Beach and Cape Hedge Beach, when the ball bounced over a wall and into a cottage yard, police said.

Caleigh’s mother told police she climbed over the wall to retrieve the ball and when she returned moments later, the girl was gone.

Rockport Police Chief John McCarthy said police interviewed people who were on the beach and the boardwalk when Caleigh went missing, but no one reported seeing anything.

Procopio said detectives are interviewing everyone in the family.

“We haven’t ruled out foul play at this point,” he said.

Just minutes after the tot was reported missing, rescue crews took to the waters.

State and local police, the Rockport Fire Department, the Coast Guard, and Rockport and Gloucester harbormasters aided in the search, officials said.

Locals assisted, too.

“I just came down to see if I could do anything,” said Linda Ryan of Gloucester, who said she was worried the little girl had been swept out to sea.

Dennis Outwater of Rockport said he did his own shoreline search, after hearing that a child was missing.

“I didn’t want to find anything, because I knew she’d be dead,” Outwater said. “The ocean is really rough here.”

Police said Caleigh, who has light brown hair and blue-gray eyes, was wearing a light-pink T-shirt and dark pink Capri pants when she disappeared.

[Lady Cop]

photos of search, no sound.

[Lady Cop]

search is continuing, chopper is up now.
water temp is 48 degrees F.

Boston Globe

After searching unsuccessfully for hours by air, land, and sea, authorities have not ruled out any causes in the disappearance of a 2-year-old girl Thursday at a Rockport beach, a State Police spokesman said.

David Procopio said Caleigh Anne Harrison was playing at Long Beach with her mother, 4-year-old sister, and the family dog when she went missing shortly after noon Thursday.

“The circumstances are mysterious: At one point she was there with her sister, and a few minutes later, there was one little girl standing there,’’ Procopio said. “So we are praying for a good outcome, but we also need to investigate every possible scenario, including some that are potentially very tragic.’’

A woman who answered the phone at Caleigh’s home and said she was the toddler’s grandmother declined to comment Thursday night.

[Kip]

Very sad. It does seem to be an accident. I do wonder what the four-year-old sister has to say about what happened.

[Lady Cop]

i don't think they got much out of the 4-year-old sister.

Four divers this morning were in the water combing near rocks just off the beach, resuming the search that was pulled back at 7 p.m. Thursday. A State Police team is using a sidescan sonar device underwater to search.

Rockport police, Rockport Fire Department, the Coast Guard and other public safety departments are also on scene. Helicopters searching for Caleigh were once again circling overhead.

The site where Caleigh was last seen, where Long Beach meets Cape Hedge Beach, has been roped off with yellow crime scene tape, though Procopio said the scene was a potential crime scene, not a certain one.

"We're diving, we're searching on land, we're hoping for a good outcome," said Procopio.

The rest of the beach, a mile long, is blocked off as well. Locals are searching for Caleigh as well, on their own or in small groups. Several fishing boats were noted in the area, and they also seemed to be searching the water.

[Ma Huang Sor]

It usually takes a couple of days for the body to surface after drowning. I'm not being morbid, but if she drowned she'll float up probably tomorrow. They should be checking the current, riptide and undertow currents to get a feel for where she may end up.

[Duchess]

Did I understand this correctly, the mother was letting her children play on a bridge?

[Lady Cop]

Did I understand this correctly, the mother was letting her children play on a bridge?

just a little wooden footbridge. there is a photo briefly in the youtube. ^ post 2

[Ma Huang Sor]

^that. unattended no less. At the gym where I work out, there's an olympic sized pool on the other side of the workout room. Huge gang of kids in there a couple weeks ago, and one of the kids got pushed under and stayed under long enough to take in water and not be breathing when the father (10 feet away) realized what was actually happening. Fortunately a couple firemen were working out, and the lifeguard CPR'd the kid back to consciousness.

That was WITH adults around. A four year old and a two year old unattended like that borders on criminal, I think.

[Duchess]

just a little wooden footbridge. there is a photo briefly in the youtube. ^ post 2

Thanks, I thought it was larger than that.

[Lady Cop]

here Duchess

[Duchess]

I've been around small children & you can't take your eyes off them for a nano second.

I'm a little surprised that the 4 yr. old wasn't able to articulate where her sister went.

[Kip]

I wasn't sure what they mean by footbridge. Sometimes, around here, there's like a raised wooden boardwalk going over a tidal pool or a rocky area that goes from the parking lot to the sandy beach.

Oops, I see a photo is posted already.

I'm also surprised the four year old can't say what happened. It's quite possible she was looking at something (for example, where her mother went) and didn't see where her sister went.

[Jezreel]

I say this about every child, but always mean it, I hope she is found safe and okay.

Maybe the 4yr old wasn't paying attention to her sister either, I wonder if she did go int he water, would she not have screamed for help or something before going under?

[Lady Cop]

Jezreel: would she not have screamed for help or something before going under?


wicked strong fast rip there, and it was quite windy & wild yesterday. it could have happened in an instant or a heartbeat. with no time to scream. or voice lost in noise of the wind and waves crashing.

choppy and rough out there--->
helicopter up

[Jezreel]

Jezreel: would she not have screamed for help or something before going under?


wicked strong fast rip there, and it was quite windy & wild yesterday. it could have happened in an instant or a heartbeat. with no time to scream. or voice lost in noise of the wind and waves crashing.

Oh I see, poor girl, I hope this is not the case

[JsMom]

How horrible! I can't even think about it. Poor precious baby.

[Kip]

http://bdtonline.com/cnhi/x192352607/Pol...cean-beach

....Procopio said authorities have not ruled out foul play, including the possibility the little girl was snatched while the mother was distracted.

Police said they talked with the sister but she said she was playing ball down beach with the mother and did not notice her sister was missing until their mother began calling for her....

[Lady Cop]

i'm starting to worry about mom's story.

mother. no name given anywhere.



Coast Guard has called off search, however, local and state police continued to look for the toddler.

ROCKPORT — The U.S. Coast Guard has pulled back its role in the search for the missing 2-year-old Caleigh Ann Harrison, viewing the case now as a recovery mission, rather than one of search and rescue.

[Lady Cop]

video news report here gives good overview of the area--->

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local...-24-hours/