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Nov 3, 2009 5:24 pm US/Eastern
Possible Break In Missing Child Cold Case
Pilar Rodriguez, 3, Disappeared In 1999
She Was Last Seen With Her Babysitter
No Charges Have Ever Been Filed
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Pilar's photo is shown age-progressed to 11 years. She was last seen in the company of a female babysitter who took her to Punta Gorda on vacation in Jan. 1999 and the child was never seen again.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
There could be a break in the case of a young South Florida girl who disappeared in 1999 while visiting Punta Gorda in Charlotte County with her babysitter.
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday that crews are searching a property in Charlotte County related to missing 3-year-old Pilar Rodriguez. Rodriguez, from Hollywood, was last seen in early 1999 when her babysitter, Melissa Cooper, brought her to Punta Gorda for vacation.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron says deputies began searching an 8-acre area in Punta Gorda Tuesday morning for any evidence in the case, including remains of a body. "Is the confidence level high?" asked a reporter.
"It's hopeful," Sheriff Cameron responded. "I wouldn't call it high, it's hopeful."
"What happened to Pilar Rodriguez?" asks Dinorah Perry of Missing Children International Ministries in Pembroke Pines. She's been following the case for year. "Hopefully, by today or tomorrow the whole world will know what happened to that child."
The original persons of interest in this case, babysitter Melissa Cooper and her boyfriend Keith Wilson, continue to be a focus of the investigation, according to the sheriff's office, although they are no longer in the area.
THE HISTORY
In 1999, Pilar's father, Marco Rodriguez allowed the babysitter to take his daughter on vacation for two weeks. Melissa Cooper took Pilar to the Trail Apartments in Punta Gorda. Cooper's boyfriend, Keith Wilson, was with them.
Pilar was never seen again.
Cooper claimed Wilson beat the child and buried her body. Wilson denied the accusations and claimed Cooper was responsible for the girl's death. Cooper also denied the accusations.
In March 1999, deputies searched a wooded area for Pilar after a tip came in. Eight months later, deputies drained Preacher's Lake near the Charlotte County Airport inhabited by alligators. They found some unspecified biological matter which was believed to be a trace of Pilar's remains. After the discovery, they announced they were investigating her case as a homicide.
Divers also found several child size T-shirts in the lake including one with a picture of Winnie the Pooh. Her father says Pilar had a t-shirt like that with her when she left with Cooper. Nothing else was ever found in the lake.
There have been no arrests or charges in the case. Even though her body has never been found, Keith Wilson was sued for wrongful death by Pilar's father. The suit was later dismissed.
CBS4's Lisa Cilli contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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