Police: Nearly 100 officers searching for missing Carthage boy
Carthage police Chief Greg Dagnan, in a press conference this afternoon, told members of the media that the abduction of a Carthage boy does not appear to be a custody issue of any sort and officials are treating it as an abduction by a stranger.
As many as 100 officers, including those from the FBI, members of the Missouri Highway Patrol and numerous local officers, are continuing their search this afternoon for Eddie Salazar, an eight-month old Carthage child who was reportedly abducted from his home at 227 E. Mound St. in Carthage late Thursday night.
“We are working very hard and doing everything we can to find this child,” said Carthage Police Chief Greg Dagnan.
Dagnan, during the press conference, said the names of the parents are not being released yet.
“They are clearly upset right now, going through a lot,” he said.
Dagnan said the initial call came in at 11:04 p.m. Thursday and an Amber Alert was issued within an hour or so.
A Highway Patrol spokesman said the child was dressed only in a blue “onesy” and there is extreme concern about the child’s exposure to the weather conditions today.
Dagnan said information provided by the father indicates that one or two males in dark clothing and ski-type masks forced their way into the front door and a struggle ensued in which the father was knocked unconscious briefly. The father was the only adult home at the time; the other was working.
Dagnan earlier had said at least one weapon, a knife, was displayed.
“We are investigating any connections friends or family members may have that might explain what happened,” Dagnan said at the press conference.
Law enforcement already has searched a 20-block area around the home as well as Spring River and Kellogg Lake in Carthage.
“Searches are still continuing in logical areas where the child might have been left,” he said.
Anyone with information should contact the Carthage Police Department at 237-7200.
