Bay Lisa Irwin Missing Case: Teen Denies 'Jersey' Kidnapping Rumors
The Irwin family legal team backpedaled Saturday as the rumors concerning a handyman nicknamed "Jersey," which caused a media frenzy Friday and Saturday, turned out to be false.
The confusion began Friday, when the Irwin family’s defense attorney Joe Picerno told Fox Insider News that an unidentified teenager overheard "Jersey" bragging to an unknown person that he had abducted the 11-month-old infant in exchange for $300.
The handyman's real name is John Tanko.
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The Irwin family consultant Bill Stanton cleared the air Saturday evening, blaming the media for blowing up a possible theory into fact.
Well, they might have, they may have," Stanton told KHSB NBC Action News’ Investigative Reporter Russ Ptacek.
"I'm not sure, but then again, it's the press that makes the headlines," he said.
Ptacek then caught up to the teen who allegedly accused 42-year-old Tanko of stealing Lisa. According to Ptacek, the teen denied ever hearing Tanko admit to stealing the child; rather. He was reportedly merely speculating based on the handyman's character.
"While it’s interesting, it may be people who are overzealous," Stanton said.
Baby Lisa has yet to be found as police continue to follow new leads in the missing person's case.
Lisa's father, Jeremy Irwin, was out on a late call doing electrical work for a local Starbucks when his 11-month-old daughter disappeared during the early morning hours of Oct. 4. When he returned from work roughly around 4 a.m., he reported several lights on, the front door unlocked, three missing cell phones and a tampered with screen window.
Irwin and Lisa's mother, Deborah Bradley, reported that their daughter was snatched from her crib on Oct. 4.
Megan Wright, who lives about a mile from Lisa's home, received a phone call from one of the stolen cell phones, belonging to Bradley, on the night of the disappearance.
Tanko is suspected to be the ex-love interest of Megan Wright.
On Nov. 2, Wright spoke with Jane Velez-Mitchell, a talk show host on HLN, concerning her relationship with Tanko.
Wright said she "found out that he was getting into some drug activity," and she thought he was into "meth."
She added that Tanko would disappear for hours without explanation: "Towards the last couple of days I was actually fearful being around him."
Investigators previously reported that Tanko was cooperating with their questioning. He is currently in prison on an unrelated burglary charge.
"We're satisfied at the moment and we're moving on. That's not to say something may change later where we would like to speak to [him] again. That's why I'm staying away from the word 'cleared.' Really, truly, the investigation is wide open. We aren't ruling anything out yet," said Kansas City spokesperson Steve Young to People Magazine regarding Jersey.
Baby Lisa's case entered its one-month anniversary on Nov. 4. Police have received 1,200 tips regarding the case, although they continue to have no significant leads or suspects.
