By Times Staff
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ROCKPORT — Four days into the search for 2-year-old Caleigh Ann Harrison, Massachusetts State Police and local authorities still have virtually no answers regarding the little Gloucester girl's disappearance, and they're now facing another obstacle: the weather.
With rains beginning to pelt Cape Ann, and heavy rains with high winds expected tonight and into Monday morning, state police say the dive teams that have been a big part of the search efforts off Rockport's Long Beach would not enter the water today or tomorrow, with dive efforts tentatively slated to resume on Tuesday if Caleigh is not found before that. Any searches today and tomorrow are expected to be limited and confined to land along the area where Caleigh disappeared from Long Beach.
Caleigh Ann Harrison, age two years, nine months, was last seen on the beach with her 4-year-old sister, Elizabeth, and her mother, Allison Hammond, shortly after noon last Thursday when a ball with which the little girls were playing went over a nearby wall. Hammond has reportedly told authorities that she left for perhaps a minute to retrieve the ball, and when she looked back, Caleigh was gone.
Caleigh is described as being less than 3 feet tall, and weighing 27-35 pounds, with light brown hair. She was last seen wearing a light pink top and darker pink bottoms, State police are advising anyone who has any information regarding the cae to call 911 immediately.
While the search has focused on the water, State Police continued to note today that they have not ruled out foul play. Yet authorities never issued a so-called Amber alert, and State Police spokesman David Procopio has said there was not enough evidence of a potential abduction to do so. State Police carefully interviewed Caleigh's her 4-year-old sister Elizabeth, who could be seen on the beach talking one-on-one with a police officer, and who reportedly helped investigators retrace her and her sister's steps in the moments prior to Caleigh's disappearance.
WBZ radio reported this morning that Elizabeth told police she does not remember what happened, and that state police are looking to bring in a special child psychiatry investigative expert to speak with her again. But a state police spokesman told the Times today he cannot confirm that, and was not aware of the report.
We will update this story here at gloucestertimes.com when any new information becomes available.
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