My son almost married her mother about 1 and 1/2 years ago. At first we thought she was our granddaughter and I was prepared to be her Nana. Even when we found out that he wasn't the father, we still would have accepted her. For one year of her life, I was her "Nana", when they broke up, I missed Caylee so much. She was a joy. Please pray and if you have any information or see this angel, please call.



Updated: 24 minutes ago
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Where is Caylee Marie?
Police conduct grim search for 2-year-old girl

Walter Pacheco and Bianca Prieto | Sentinel Staff Writers
9:03 AM EDT, July 18, 2008

Crime-scene technicians are digging through Cindy Anthony's backyard this morning, looking for clues into the disappearance of her 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee Marie Anthony.

Capt. Angelo Nieves of the Orange County Sheriff's Office did not give details on the investigation, but said the property was the focus of the probe.

Cadaver dogs roamed the Hopespring Drive property Thursday after a neighbor told investigators that 22-year-old Casey Anthony had borrowed a shovel about a month ago. Detectives recovered that shovel as evidence.

While investigators probed the backyard, residents in the south Orange County neighborhood woke up to news crews and media trucks parked along their streets.

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Neighbor Diana Centeno, whose children have played with Caylee in the past, said the whole investigation is "just scary" and hopes Casey Anthony - the child's mother - did not have anything to do with the disappearance.

"This is tedious work, and we're going very slow," said sheriff's Sgt. John Allen, who heads the child-abuse and missing-persons squad. At one point, investigators shifted a playhouse from its spot in the yard and looked at the ground beneath it.

Investigators' work has been more difficult, they say, because of a web of lies Casey Anthony has told about her daughter's disappearance nearly five weeks ago.

"As we continue to investigate this, we find more inconsistencies in the mother's story, so we continue to look for witnesses," Allen said Thursday. But one investigator put it more bluntly in Anthony's arrest affidavit:

"Based on the repetitive lies that the defendant has told, we do not know with whom the child is or even if the child is alive," wrote Cpl. Yuri Melich of the missing-persons unit. "It should be noted that at no time during any of the above interviews did the defendant show any obvious emotion as to the loss of her child."

Casey Anthony reported Caylee missing Wednesday -- after Cindy Anthony urged her to contact authorities.

Casey Anthony told officials she dropped her daughter off with a baby sitter she identified as Zenaida Gonzalez on June 9 but that the child was gone when she returned to pick her up. Investigators have questioned a Zenaida Gonzalez who said she had never met Anthony or Caylee. Detectives are looking for others with the same name.

The Sheriff's Office arrested Anthony late Wednesday on charges of child neglect, providing false official statements and obstructing a criminal investigation.

Detectives spent Thursday talking with possible witnesses and following up leads, including seizing electronic equipment from the Anthony home. Crime-scene investigators carried a large item out of a house next door on Hopespring Drive. Casey Anthony and her daughter had lived with her parents at their Lee Vista home until June 9.

While deputies searched for Caylee, Casey Anthony remained locked up at the Orange County Jail. Investigators did not question her further Thursday.

Orange County Judge John Jordan denied Casey Anthony bail Thursday, chastising her behavior.

"You left your 2-year-old child with a person who does not exist at an apartment you cannot identify, and you lied to your parents about your child's whereabouts," Jordan said. "You cared so little about your child."

Casey Anthony, who has no criminal record, nodded as Jordan spoke. The judge ordered a mental-health evaluation.

Casey Anthony, investigators say, created a trail of lies that has left them with little information.

"At this point, there is no indication that [Caylee] is deceased," Capt. Angelo Nieves said. "We don't know where she is. Our concern is for the child and to locate her."

Authorities have not issued an Amber Alert for the girl because the information they have does not meet the criteria, Nieves said. Detectives say they are challenged because so much time has passed since she was last seen.

"If we had been called the day she disappeared . . . it would have been much easier to find the child," Allen said.

Cindy Anthony can't explain the lies her daughter told.

In early June, Casey Anthony told her mother she was being sent to Tampa for work and would be back in a few days. Later, she said she was going on a "mini-vacation" with friends and taking Caylee with her. Cindy Anthony never thought much of it.

Casey Anthony told detectives she worked at Universal Studios and identified people who could vouch for her -- another lie. The apartment Casey Anthony identified as the place she left her child with Gonzalez in June has been vacant for five months.

"I had no reason to believe they weren't where they were supposed to be," Cindy Anthony said. "I don't know why she fabricated this."

Now, Cindy Anthony finds solace in her missing granddaughter's bedroom -- a place where she goes to hold on to the girl's favorite teddy bear and pray.

"I've found a lot of peace here the last few days," Cindy Anthony said. "There's an emptiness in my heart because she's not here."

Anyone with information about Caylee can call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.

Sarah Lundy, Susan Jacobson and Amy L. Edwards of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Walter Pacheco can be reached at 407-420-6262 or wpacheco@orlandosentinel.com. Bianca Prieto can be reached at bprieto@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5620.

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