Hailey Owens
Craig Michael Wood
Craig Michael Wood (March 22, 2024)
Football coach charged in Missouri girl's death
By The Associated Press
Missouri police say they are confident they have found the body of a 10-year-old girl abducted a day earlier from in front of a neighbor's home, and a local elementary school coach is being held on suspicion of murder in the case.
Springfield police said they suspect 45-year-old Craig Michael Wood forced Hailey Owens into his vehicle as she was walking home around 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Wood, an athletics coach at Pleasant View K-8 School, is jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder in the girl's disappearance.
Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams announced Wednesday that "a young female body" was found inside the suspect's home.
"While she has not been positively identified, we have a high degree of confidence that it is our victim, Hailey Owens," Williams told reporters, adding that a cause of death has not yet been determined.
Wood, whom Williams described as uncooperative, has a criminal record of drug charges. Williams noted that Wood has no known violent past, saying, "Nothing related to something like this at all."
"It's tragic, it's horrific," Williams said. "It can happen to anyone, anywhere, in a blink of any eye."
Wood was arrested late Tuesday inside a vehicle parked outside his home, Williams said. Formal charges have not been filed.
Witnesses told police that Hailey was taken by a man in a pickup truck Tuesday evening. The abduction triggered Amber Alerts in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Wood works as an athletics coach at Pleasant View K-8 School, Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Norm Ridder said in a statement Wednesday. Wood has been employed by the school district since 1998. His employment has been suspended, "until this matter is resolved," Ridder said.
It is not known whether Hailey, a student at Westport Elementary School, knew Wood or had any previous contact with him.
"I offer my support to Hailey's family and to our SPS community," Ridder said. "Students and staff at three of our schools are coping with this situation. To support these school communities directly impacted by this tragedy, I have assigned additional counseling staff and school police officers to be on hand until further notice.
"We are fully cooperating with law enforcement officials as their investigation continues," he said.
Witnesses say a man grabbed Hailey from in front of a neighbor’s home and drove away in a gold 2008 Ford Ranger Tuesday afternoon. The suspect drove down the street several times before approaching Hailey and pulling her into his truck around 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to witnesses.
Dozens of officers conducted an extensive search that continued throughout the night, the Springfield News-Leader reported, citing a police news release.
Wood was arrested at a home a little more than 5 miles from where Hailey was kidnapped.
Hailey is 5 foot, 2 inches tall, about 90 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing jean shorts and purple sandals.
Hailey's mother, Stacey Owens, told the Springfield News-Leader that the fourth-grader was returning home from visiting a friend when she was abducted a couple of blocks from her home.
The girl's aunt, Erin Petersen, said she wanted to do anything she could to help find her niece.
“She’s a very lively, bubbly, sweet little girl. She’s spontaneous, very innocent,” she told the newspaper. “I’m in shock right now. I feel like I need to be productive to find my niece.”
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/19...pect-arrested/
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