Baby Lisa Irwin Missing: Mother Faces Suspicion of Involvement in Disappearance
A private investigator engaged by the parents of 10-month-old Lisa Irwin told reporters of the anguish the parents are enduring over their missing child.
"I’m seeing a family’s heart literally torn out of its chest," Bill Stanton told ABC News on Thursday.
The family of the missing girl has been experiencing the continuous glare and even suspicion of the media since the reported disappearance of their child.
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Lisa was last seen when she was put to bed by her mother Deborah Bradley around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 3, according to investigators. The child's father, Jeremy Irwin, discovered her missing when he returned home from work early Tuesday morning at 4 a.m.
Initially, Kansas City Police spokesman Captain Steven Young reported that the parents were cooperative with authorities, and made it clear that they were never in custody.
On Oct. 6, the assessment of the parents had changed when police claimed they had become uncooperative.
Following reports that they had returned to speaking with police, Bradley informed the Associated Press that the police had accused her of being involved in her daughter's disappearance:
"From the start when they've questioned me, once I couldn't fill in gaps, it turned into 'You did it, you did it.' "
Recently, in an interview with ABC News, Ashley Irwin, the aunt of the little girl, accused police of spending more time focusing on the family, in particular Bradley, than on finding viable suspects.
"It's what the police do," Irwin said. "They don't have any leads, so they just have to pin it on somebody."
When asked if he thought Bradley had anything to do with the baby’s disappearance, Stanton replied, "She wants to be looked at, she wants to be vetted, and then once everyone feels she’s not a suspect, let’s move on and get the bad guy. In my opinion, she understands, look at me, question me; let’s get this done."
ABC News Video: Baby Lisa Irwin Search Enters 11th Day; Parents Cooperate With Police
