Missing Child Investigation Turns To Mother's Home

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A search for a 2-year-old girl led investigators near the back yard of the house of the toddler, her mother and the child's grandparents Thursday.

Caylee Anthony has brown hair and hazel eyes and stands about 3 feet tall. The girl has been missing for more than a month, but it was only reported Tuesday.
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Sources have told WESH 2 News that K9s and crime scene investigators are at the scene digging near the family's home in East Orlando. Neighbors led investigators to the back yard and told them that they recently saw Anthony at the home without her parents.

Investigators also removed a shovel covered with a paper bag from a neighbor's home earlier on Thursday afternoon.

The toddler's mother, Casey Anthony, 22, said she dropped off her daughter with a friend and babysitter on June 9 and hasn't heard from her since. Investigators later deduced that no one had lived in that apartment for almost five months. They also said they spoke with a Zenaida Gonzalez, the alleged babysitter, and she said she has never met Anthony or Caylee and has never baby-sat for anyone. Anthony said she did not report her daughter missing because she wanted to find the child herself to spare her parents the sadness of their grandchild being missing.

Anthony was arrested Wednesday night and has been a focus in the search and investigation in the case. She made a first appearance in court on Thursday on child neglect charges. The arrest was made after authorities said the child's grandmother called deputies to report the toddler missing.

Earlier on Thursday, investigators removed a computer hard drive from the Anthonys around the same time a judge was conducting Anthony's first court appearance. The judge scolded the young mother for her apparent lack of cooperation in the investigators' attempts to find her daughter.

"You left your child with someone who doesn't exist at an apartment you cannot identify. You lied to your parents. It appears you care so little for your child you didn't report her missing until five weeks later," Judge John Jordan said.

"All I want is to put the word out and show her picture as many places as we can," grandmother Cindy Anthony said.

Cindy Anthony said finding the girl is where the focus needs to be. She said Casey Anthony told her she was going to Tampa for a job. She said she talked to the toddler on the phone around July 11.

"As every hour passes, I get a little bit more nervous," she said.

"It's not about my daughter or what part or role she has played in any of this this, if anything. It's about bringing this little girl home," she said.

"At this point, we don't have any information that the child has been spoken to by the grandparents in some time. The child's grandparents have been very cooperative with us. They seem very concerned about their granddaughter. I think more than anybody they would like us to find that child and return the child to them," Sgt. John Allen of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Detectives said Anthony claimed she lost track of the babysitter and her own child.

"The most important step for us at this point is to try to find the missing girl. You know, is she out there with somebody? If so, where is she?" Allen said.

In an arrest report, investigators said Casey Anthony told friends repeatedly that her child was with a nanny. They said Casey Anthony has told them "repetitive lies."

While her 2-year-old is missing, detectives claimed Casey Anthony has "laughed at the situation" and failed to show any outward signs of remorse or concern. That's why they want her held without bond until the child is located.

"She's a 2-year-old child, and nobody knows where she is," Allen said.

The arrest report indicated a friend of the mother contacted authorities and told them he spent the weekend with Casey Anthony in late June, and at that time, according to the friend and the arrest report, the child was with a nanny.

In addition to confiscating Anthony's computer, investigators said they plan to scour Anthony's car for any clues on the child's whereabouts.

Anthony agreed to take detectives to Universal Studios, where she claimed to work, so they could speak to her co-workers, but while leading them to her alleged office, she stopped in the middle of a hallway and admitted to them she lied and no longer worked there.

Investigators said the best-case scenario at this point may be that the mother gave the child away or possibly even sold her. A judge ordered a mental-health evaluation for Casey Anthony on Thursday, and she is being held without bond.

Allen said the child's father has not been located, but many leads have come in.

Several Web sites through MySpace have been set up to help locate Caylee Anthony with phone numbers to call if anyone has information about her whereabouts.

Casey Anthony is being held without bond in a cell by herself and is expected to be transferred into protective custody because of the high-profile nature of the case.

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ANOTHER ONE? THE MOTHER DID IT WHETHER SHE KILLED HER, OR SOLD HER. I HOPE THE KID IS OK, BUT I DOUBT IT. THE MOM AIN'T TALKING, SO MORE THAN LIKELY THE KID IS DEAD. THE MOM NEEDS TO BE MADE TO TALK.