Divers poised to suspend search for Caleigh at 3 p.m.

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April 25, 2012

Divers poised to suspend search for Caleigh at 3 p.m.

By Stephanie Bergman Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Wed Apr 25, 2012, 03:58 PM EDT

ROCKPORT — Massachusetts State Police divers who resumed their search for missing 2-year-old Caleigh Ann Harrison this morning are poised to once again suspend it at 3 p.m., spokesman David Procopio said.

Procopio said the nearly 20 divers will stop searching the waters this afternoon near Long Beach and Milk Island, barring any new developments.

"After that, the light changes and the sea conditions worsen," Procopio said in a prepared statement.

The divers were not able to search Sunday, Monday or Tuesday due to the bad weather and high seas, and are still dealing with swells as high as 6 feet in some sections of the water.

State police have also been using a side scan sonar device to search the ocean floor, with no success as of yet, and no apparent new leads.

Caleigh disappeared last Thursday while playing on the beach with her mother, Allison Hammond, of Gloucester, her 4-year-old sister Elizabeth, and the family dog.

Though State Police said they do not have enough reason to believe Caleigh was abducted to issue an Amber Alert, and the search for Caleigh has focused on the water almost fro the outset, authorities have also emphasized they have been unable to rule out foul play. Family members have said they still suspect an abduction, according to media reports, but have not elaborated.

The Coast Guard had also assisted in the search last Thursday, but pulled back on Friday, saying the operation was no longer a search and rescue mission, but instead a recovery mission, indicating that Coast Guard searchers did not expect to find Caleigh alive.

We will update this story here at gloucestertimes.com as more information becomes available. To have text updates on this story and other local Breaking News coverage sent to your mobile phone, sign up for the Times' free text-alert service on the gloucestertimes.com homepage. For full coverage, look to tomorrow's print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com.

Stephanie Bergman can contacted at 978-283-7000 x3451 or sbergman@gloucestertimes.com