MA State Police Launch Text-a-Tip to Help Solve Deer Island Girl Mystery
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
“Based on what we believe her age to be, this little girl should be enjoying the innocent childhood pursuits of summer, and, in a few weeks, perhaps, preparing to start school – perhaps the first day of school ever in her life,” Colonel McKeon said. “Instead, she lies unnamed in the Medical Examiner’s office. Someone knows her. To that person, we know that for whatever reason, you have not come forward yet. But surely you know the right thing to do. Examine your conscience, and look into your heart, and do the right thing for this little child. Call us or text us so that we may speak for her.”
Tipsters should text the word GIRL followed by their tip to the number 67283. The text-a-tip line was provided by State Police but is operated by a third party vendor and does not provide authorities with any identifying information about the tipster. Tips will go directly to the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit, which is investigating the little girl’s death.
State Police also announced on Wednesday that they have consolidated prior tip lines – which went to Suffolk SPDU, State Police headquarters, and Winthrop Police – into one dedicated phone line that goes straight to investigators. Overnight callers may leave a voice mail with their tips. That number is 617-396-5655.
“For all the advances in technology and crime scene investigation, we believe our best chance at identifying this little girl will come from someone who knew her,” District Attorney Conley said. “It might be a relative. It might be a family friend who, for whatever reason, is afraid to step forward or contact authorities. I want to put those fears to rest right now. The anonymous text line can’t be used to identify you. It’s 100% anonymous. And if for some other reason you’re afraid or reluctant to come forward, there’s a wide variety of programs, services, and protections for people who cooperate with law enforcement. We can help. All we want to do right now is identify this child, and someone out there can do it with one phone call or text message.”
“This little girl has touched the hearts of people right here in Winthrop and as far away as Europe,” Chief Delehanty said. “Today we want to reach one person: the friend or family member who knows this innocent child’s name and will share it with investigators. That one person can guarantee her the dignity of a burial under her true name, and we urge you to step forward.”
The girl is believed to have been about 4 years old, had brown eyes and brown hair, weighed about 30 pounds, and stood about 3½ feet tall. She was wearing a distinctive pair of white leggings with black-and-white polka dots and was found with a zebra-print fleece blanket that investigators believe may have been special to her.
A composite image depicting the girl as she may have appeared in life was created by forensic artists at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and has been viewed online more than 50 million times. Investigators have acted on hundreds of leads and coordinated dozens of well-being checks on children locally, nationally, and internationally. To date, however, none has led to the child’s identification.
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