Saturday, June 23, 2007

Searchers scour fields, woods, for missing woman


About 1,000 volunteers turned out to search for a pregnant mother Saturday, the third straight day searchers picked through rural areas of eastern Ohio.
Ned Davis, the father of 26-year-old Jessie Davis, begged volunteers to continue their efforts, spending much of the morning giving pep talks to groups of searchers.
"I thank them. I remind them to stay hydrated," he said in an interview. "And most importantly I tell them to bring my Jessie back."
Searching on Thursday and Friday of an area near Davis' home yielded nothing more than a marijuana patch.
About 17 square miles have been covered, and coordinators are sending searchers on Saturday to another four square miles of mostly farmland and wooded areas, said Cindy Wisdom, a spokeswoman for search organizer Texas EquuSearch.
Teams of volunteers are also looking in targeted areas around the home of Davis' boyfriend, Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr., Wisdom said.
Crews in helicopters were taking aerial photographs of the area and teams were preparing to search an unspecified body of water using sonar equipment, Wisdom said.
On Friday, a baby found three days after Davis was reported missing was ruled out as a clue to her disappearance. (Full story)
Authorities have said they're working around the clock on the case, trying to find the comforter and cell phone that vanished with Davis from her home in nearby Lake Township, and they're collecting information through a tip line.
Investigators have been mum on many details of their work, but they have released a short statement from Davis' 2-year-old-son, Blake, who may be their only eyewitness.
"Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug," the boy said.
Davis was reported missing one week ago Friday after her mother found the young woman's bedroom in disarray, the furniture overturned and Davis' young son home alone.
Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, was the last person known to have spoken to Davis, on June 13. She said she's focused on finding her daughter.
"We are not stopping and whoever's done this, I hope they don't think that we're going home," she said Friday. "No one's going home and we are not stopping until we find her and find who did this to her." (Watch Davis' mom discuss her fears )
Authorities have talked with Cutts and searched his home, but investigators have repeatedly said he is not a suspect. Cutts, 30, has said he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance.
The pastor of the church Cutts attends has been praying with him every day and said Friday that Cutts, as a police officer, understands why the boyfriend of a missing woman would be under scrutiny.
"He understands what goes with the territory," said C.A. Richmond Sr., pastor at Logos Baptist Assembly. "Of course he is anxious for a resolution and disposition of the whole matter and he is confident they will find he had nothing to do with her disappearance."


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Friday, June 22, 2007

EU leaders struggle over treaty


European Union leaders have begun a second day of tough negotiations in Brussels amid disagreements over new rules to run the 27-member bloc.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said EU leaders were doing their "level best" to reach a compromise.
Germany, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has drafted proposals to replace a planned constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.
But both the UK and Poland are threatening to veto the blueprint.
Thursday's outline document dropped a reference - at France's instigation - to one of the founding principles of the common market.
The words "undistorted competition" were replaced with talk of a social market economy and full employment, says the BBC's Alex Ritson.

It was not clear if the wording would affect EU competition policy, or whether that policy was underpinned by remaining references to free markets.
Talks between the German and Polish leaders opened proceedings on Friday, but the agenda was otherwise fairly loose, with bilateral talks likely to focus on key issues.
After two-way talks, the 27 leaders are set to gather again at lunchtime.
The Germans are at some stage expected to produce a new draft of the mandate for the future treaty.
'Absurd' statement
British Prime Minister Tony Blair - attending his final EU meeting before leaving office next week - has set out a number of "red lines" beyond which he will not compromise.
These include proposals to make the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding.


BBC News