WV WV - Aliayah Lunsford, 3, Lewis Co., 24 Sep 2011 #13 *Arrest*

Saturday will mark five years since 3-year-old Aliayah Lunsford disappeared from her home in the small community of Bendale outside Weston. The Lewis County case remains unsolved.

Searchers for the toddler have included professional and volunteer groups, and there have been countless hours of investigation by law enforcement, according to Lewis County Sheriff Adam Gissy. Authorities also dragged the nearby river, he said.

“There’s not a week that goes by that we are not digging into the case or re-interviewing people,” Gissy said. “We are in contact with the FBI and State Police regularly. We just need that one break, and I believe we could really bring about some closure.

“I would encourage anyone with any information to please come forward.”

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Aliayah's extended family and members of the community remain at the forefront of the public search for the little girl but feel the investigation has gone cold.

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason this couldn't have been solved," Vickie Bowen says. Bowen is Aliayah's great aunt.

Answers are the last thing Bowen has received over the last half of a decade. She remains adamant that nothing will ever be able to convince her that Lena and Ralph have told the truth.

"I don't know how people like that can outsmart the FBI, local, state police. You know? What's going on here?" she asks.

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"I don't feel that they're devoting the time, and the effort to this that she deserves, that all children deserve. Whether they come from a poor family, or a rich family, every child is valuable," Bowen says. "It wasn't a high profile, wealthy family case. If this would have been the mayor's daughter or one of the police officer's daughters, there would have been justice in a matter of days, if not weeks. It wouldn't have went on five years."

Gissy disagreed and said his office was "weekly" working on the case. He said new interviews had recently been conducted.

"We are focusing on new individuals and old individuals. I'm not saying there's any monumental change in the status but I do believe that with one big break, I'd love to think that we could have some closure on the case," Gissy said during a phone interview. "I generally believe somebody knows what happened to that little girl. I believe that over time, I'm hoping that it could weigh on somebody's mind and those individuals or individual would come forth and let law enforcement know so we could put some closure on the case."

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MountainLover said:

Five years ago today Aliayah went missing. I know there have been many many more who have gone missing in that time period, and that there are still many other unsolved cases out there. The JonBenet Ramsey case has attracted a lot of attention (rightly so). I sometimes feel that, outside of this forum and by some of her family, Aliayah has been forgotten. Time may have passed since that day but I can not stop wondering, hoping, and even praying that this case will soon have a resolution. Since Aliayah has gone missing I have become a grandmother to a beautiful baby girl, and I cannot even imagine what it would be like to lose her. Aliayah will never be forgotten.

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pkz said:

http://www.wvalways.com/story/33624926/breaking-aliayah-lunsfords-mother-arrested-in-florida

charged with 'Death of a Child by a Parent by Child Abuse.'

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