Wednesday Update:Rowan Ford Search

More than 200 turn out for vigil

http://tinyurl.com/2oj2xa



STELLA, Mo. - Bundled in winter coats and gloves, more than 200 supporters
carried candles up and down Stella's hilly streets Tuesday night, singing
hymns and praying for 9-year-old Rowan Ford, who was been missing since late
Friday or early Saturday.

"This town needs that little girl back," said Neosho resident Connie Moser,
the vigil's organizer. "She could be cold and hungry. We all need to pray
for her."

Rowan, a Triway Elementary School fourth-grader who was last seen at her
home at 10:45 p.m. Friday, was reported missing at 6:50 p.m. Saturday by her
mother, Colleen Spears.

Flanked by two friends and clutching a fuzzy, brown teddy bear, Spears
sobbed as she climbed the hill toward her house at 777 Grove St.

Candles carried by friends, residents and Rowan's classmates lit up the
night behind Spears. Many attendees pushed baby strollers up the rocky
drive. Two supporters were in wheelchairs.

The procession started at Stella Baptist Church, which Rowan attended, and
ended at her home, where her blue Blossom Quest bicycle waits in the yard.

Many supporters, including Moser, did not know Rowan or her family
personally.

"I am a mother," Moser said. "If this were my child missing, I would want
everybody in the world out looking for her."

Bill Spiva, of Neosho, said he also does not know Rowan's family, but he
feels close to the people of Stella and loves children.

"My heart breaks for her family," Spiva said.

Rowan lived with her mother and stepfather, David Spears, at the top of a
hill overlooking the town. Colleen Spears, who has four other children up to
age 25, has been married to David Spears for three years, officials have
said.

Those who spoke at the vigil described Rowan as "happy" and "always willing
to help."

A tall man wearing a "Vietnam Vet" hat wiped tears from his face as Rowan's
friends begged for her to come home safely.

Todd Holt, Rowan's homeroom teacher, hugged two of his pupils as he
tearfully spoke of the attachment he and the other teachers develop toward
their pupils.


"They literally become our children," Holt said.

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said Tuesday that no arrests have been
made in the case, and that investigators are still searching for Rowan,
interviewing witnesses and going through evidence.

Copeland said the longer a child is missing, the less likely the outcome
will be favorable. He added that authorities "have hope we will find her."

FBI agents on Monday began assisting Newton County authorities. Special
Agent Jeff Lanza, with the FBI in Kansas City, said the agency was called in
to assist because it has high-tech equipment not available to the county.

Lanza also said a truck and several items were taken from the home to be
analyzed.

Copeland said Connie Spears reported that a pink sheet is missing from Rowan's
bed. He also said Connie Spears did not call to report her daughter missing
until Saturday night because her husband said Rowan might have gone to a
friend's house.

A call was made to the dispatch center earlier, Copeland said, but Rowan was
not officially reported as missing until 6:50 p.m. Saturday.

Copeland said David Spears asked to help investigators search for Rowan, but
that request was denied because of his earlier "lack of cooperation."

Copeland said David Spears also did not give a "justifiable explanation" for
his 5 1/2-hour lapse of time, when he said he borrowed his mother's car
while Rowan was asleep in bed.

David Spears told the Globe in an interview Monday: "I want people to know
that I am innocent. I did not harm my daughter. I do not know where she is,
and I pray that she is brought home safely."

The hardest part of the investigation is talking with Rowan's mother because
of her grief, Copeland said.

"To see the terror in her eyes that she doesn't know where her child is,
that's hard," he said.

We need her back'

Stella Baptist Church pastor Glenn Ennis said he often arrived at church on
Sunday mornings to make coffee and would find Rowan Ford sitting on the
steps waiting, "just in case someone needed help."

"She'd always be there," deacon Jack Shadwick said. "We need her back. She
is a part of this community."


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Wednesday Update:Rowan Ford Search
    ... STELLA, Mo. ... Rowan, a Triway Elementary School fourth-grader who was last seen at her ... Flanked by two friends and clutching a fuzzy, brown teddy bear, Spears ... Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said Tuesday that no arrests have been ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: Men arraigned in Rowan Ford Case
    ... Public defender Brian Smith spoke on behalf of David Spears, Rowan ... They will plead 'not guilty' by reason of insanity, ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: Sheriffs timeline in Rowan Ford investigation(Stella,MO)
    ... It was here that Colleen Spears sometimes waited for word that her ... slope to tell her Rowan was all right. ... Newton County authorities on Monday received additional resources to help ... timeline of David Spears' activities late Friday night and early Saturday. ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: Sheriffs timeline in Rowan Ford investigation(Stella,MO)
    ... slope to tell her Rowan was all right. ... The view of Stella from outside Spears' home offers a view of much of Rowan's ... Newton County authorities on Monday received additional resources to help ... Copeland has said David Spears, Rowan's stepfather, had been "less than ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: Sheriffs timeline in Rowan Ford investigation(Stella,MO)
    ... STELLA - Stella and the surrounding area came together to search for Rowan ... Becca Hance goes to Stella Baptist Church with Rowan. ... Going to church on Sunday morning, Ada Clymer heard about Rowan missing. ...
    (alt.true-crime)