DETROIT – The search is growing for missing two-year-old Bianca Jones from Detroit.
Community members are being asked to join law enforcement officers in the search for the toddler. Starting Monday, volunteers will be recruited. They are asked to go to the
Metropolitan United Methodist Church, located at 8000 Woodward Avenue. Community members are required to sign up daily before helping with the search. Volunteers will be recruited from 10a.m. to 8p.m.
Detroit's police chief says investigators are questioning the truth of a story that the two-year-old girl was kidnapped during a carjacking.
Chief Ralph Godbee issued a statement Sunday saying police are interested in "allaying some of the fears of the public" about the "apparent randomness" of Bianca Jones' disappearance.
Thirty-two-year-old Dandre Lane told police Friday that a man forced him from his car and drove off with his daughter Bianca strapped into a seat. The car was fund later with a child seat and no sign of the girl.
On Saturday, Godbee said Lane was in custody on unrelated charges.
Godbee now says "the authenticity and credibility of the original version of events" are "under intense scrutiny" from detectives.
Godbee's full statement is here:
"The search for Bianca Jones is on going and continues to be of the highest priority relative to our commitment of dedicated resources to this case. The Detroit Police Department will not comment on the quantity nor the quality of any evidence or information we have gathered to date. However, in the interest of allaying some of the fears of the public regarding the apparent randomness of Bianca's disappearance, the authenticity and credibility of the original version of events is under intense scrutiny by our investigative team. We still need the public to relay any tips that could help in establishing the whereabouts of Bianca Jones to either 1-800-SPEAK-UP or to 313-596-2260, Bianca's safe return is priority one."
Volunteers have been canvassing neighborhoods looking for the toddler.
"The thought of it being my daughter just wouldn't allow me to sit out and not do anything," said volunteer Courtney Lawson.
Bianca's mother is also asking making a public plea for the safe return of her daughter.
"It's been very, very hard for us. It's like a nightmare. No one ever expects this to happen," she said. "Please being Bianca home. No one is looking for you, no one is trying to persecute you. I just want my baby back. That's all I want, my Bianca to please come home. We miss her."