Fugitive Father in Girl’s Disappearance Spotted in Northern California, Report Says
ONO, Calif., July 12 (UPI) — The father of a Northern California girl who disappeared nine days ago was spotted near a gas station Sunday afternoon, as authorities continue their manhunt.
His family told investigators this weekend Matthew Graham, 23, had gone missing. Police believe he left to escape the cloud of suspicion that was beginning to form around him in his daughter’s disappearance.
Graham reported the 6-month-old girl missing on July 2, telling police she was abducted from her crib during the early morning hours. However, police began to zero in on Graham when he provided investigators with inconsistent information.
“At this time we have not found any credible evidence supporting Matthew Graham’s account that Ember was abducted by a stranger or by anyone else,” the sheriff’s office said last week.
A sighting of Graham was reported Sunday — at a gas station in Shasta Lake. A woman told police a man she recognized as Graham fiddled with cigarettes and nearly ran into her.
The woman told police she almost asked the man if he was Matthew Graham, but thought better of it. Authorities are now focusing a search in this area.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said Graham should be considered armed and dangerous.
Earlier this weekend, dozens of officers and K-9 units cordoned off a location in the town of Ono, about 225 miles north of San Francisco, and police maintained an overnight watch in the area.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said at a news conference Saturday that investigators had found a baby’s pacifier on the side of an area highway that could have belonged to Ember. Forensic experts are now performing DNA tests on the pacifier.
A no-bail arrest warrant was then issued, alleging charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and felony probation violation. Officials said Graham stole his mother’s handgun before he fled.
Authorities previously stated that they have viewed surveillance video showing Matthew and Ember Graham at a local convenience store hours before the girl’s disappearance.
The video could be a critical piece of evidence in a case that so far lacks any. Graham told investigators that he and the girl drove straight home after leaving the convenience store. However, they say, the video shows the pair drive off in the opposite direction of their home. About an hour later, Graham’s truck again appears in the video — this time heading toward his home, officials said.
