Volunteers off hunt for toddler

Effort suspended, but police, FBI still seek Searcy boy, 2

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MELISSA SUE GERRITS - 12/01/2014 - Corporal Steve Hernandez speaks to media about the changing nature of the case of a missing toddler in Searcy, AR December 1, 2014.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MELISSA SUE GERRITS - 12/01/2014 - Corporal Steve Hernandez speaks to media about the changing nature of the case of a missing toddler in Searcy, AR December 1, 2014.

SEARCY -- For more than a week, hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officers have searched this White County city for Malik Drummond, the missing 2-year-old boy with a winsome, gap-toothed grin.

photo

Malik Drummond on the Searcy PD's Facebook page

They've crept through abandoned homes, slithered through crawl spaces and inspected empty vehicles. Upon learning that Malik has a fondness for RVs, they searched those, too. The water department provided underwater cameras so that officers could check drains and sewers. Other agencies sent boats and divers to scour ponds, creeks and the Little Red River.

They found nothing.

On Monday afternoon, Searcy Police Chief Jeremy Clark announced that while detectives and FBI agents will continue to look for Malik, the volunteer search effort has been suspended.

"At this point in our investigation, considering the statistical information provided by the experts from [the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children], as well as the extensive range of area searched and re-searched, we cannot reasonably believe this child is lost or hiding, waiting to be discovered anywhere near the area he could've traveled on his own."

As evidenced by social-media postings, Malik's story has tugged at heartstrings across the state -- a little boy lost, with the weather getting colder.

Police opened a criminal investigation and initiated a search on the evening of Nov. 23, after getting a report that Malik had wandered out of his father's home at 710 W. Park Ave. Family members told officers that Malik was last seen playing in the living room with his twin sister, Aryanna.

"The fact that we have searched every bit of Searcy since he went missing and haven't been able to find anything -- it's pretty suspicious," police Cpl. Steve Hernandez said Monday.

The toddler lives with his mother, Tanya Drummond. But he had been staying at the home his father, Jeff Clifton, shares with girlfriend Lesley Marcotte for the past two weeks, Hernandez said.

Clifton told police that he had learned in June that he was the father of the twins, Hernandez said.

Hernandez couldn't say whether the twins had visited Clifton previously, or whether the November visit was the first.

An Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter and photographer went to Clifton's home Monday afternoon, shortly before police suspended the volunteer search. Clifton declined to comment, saying he had to take his girlfriend to a doctor's appointment. Clifton added that he was now reluctant to talk to the media and felt he had been misrepresented in television reports.

Asked if he could take a few minutes to describe Malik's personality and habits, Clifton said he might be able to talk more another day.

Efforts to reach Drummond were unsuccessful. She and her mother moved away from a Searcy mobile home park six months ago, according to the park's manager. They are believed to be living in a camper in Center Hill.

Drummond's Facebook page is devoted to her twins. In nearly every photo, Malik and Aryanna are together, whether sleeping or awake.

Drummond wrote last week of trying to comfort a little girl who knows only that a vital part of her is missing: "Well still cant sleep my son is still on my mind and im laying here with his sister next to me that wont let me leave her side and it hurts to see her hurting cause she did ask bout her brother the whole time she been home i dont know what to say."

Initially, police were led to believe by family members that Malik is autistic. But investigators later learned that he had never been tested and that the behavior described by his relatives was typical of a 2-year-old, Hernandez said.

He confirmed that several family members have been through polygraph testing, but said he could not disclose the names or results.

Clark said it's possible the Police Department will turn to volunteers again. "For the time being, however, the need no longer exists," he said in a statement. "I can't stress enough how appreciative we all are for the wonderful outpouring of concern and assistance has been throughout this horrific ordeal."

He noted all that had been done to locate Malik from the moment he was reported missing, such as the issuance of a Morgan Nick Amber Alert and an immediate request for assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Numerous state agencies have helped in the search -- including the Arkansas State Police, the Game and Fish Commission and the White County sheriff's office. Those agencies will continue to assist in the search for Malik, Clark said.

"Our investigation is ongoing as is the search for Malik. This agency will not stop until he is found and the truth is discovered. We're asking for all citizens to be very clue conscious and report any information learned to us immediately," he said.

"As with any active criminal investigation, the details of such cannot be discussed and we're asking for patience and understanding from all people not to cloud our efforts with false leads, rumors and innuendo. To be candid, this is a very serious matter, and we're appealing to everyone's best nature and sense of responsibility."

What police most need at this time is new information, Hernandez said.

"All we have is that he walked away. And that's what we're working with."

State Desk on 12/02/2014

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