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Missing N.C. Child May Have Been Lured Away By Sex Offender
POSTED: 6:14 am EDT August 30, 2005
UPDATED: 6:43 am EDT August 30, 2005
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A 12-year-old girl is missing in North Carolina and police say they're concerned she may be with a convicted sex offender.
Jodie Collie was last seen at her home in Rocky Mount, N.C., Thursday night. There was no sign of a struggle, and relatives said she left a note saying goodbye.
But, authorities in Alabama said Jodie may be in "extreme danger" and are seeking the public's help. Police think she was lured away by 27-year-old sex offender Phillip Daniel Denkler, who served a prison sentence for taking indecent liberties with a child. The two apparently had talked by telephone for months.
The girl's mother says she knew of Denkler, but no one in the family was aware of his criminal record or that he had been in touch with Jodie.
A felony kidnapping warrant was issued for Denkler on Aug. 26.
Jodie is a 5-foot-4, 114 pound white girl with blonde hair and green eyes. Denkler was described as a 6-foot-1, 150 pound white man with short black hair and brown eyes. A police photograph released as part of an Amber Alert showed him wearing glasses and a light mustache.
A police alert said the pair may be in a 2005 beige Hyundai Sonata with North Carolina license plates NWN2630 or PSA2000.
Anyone with information can contact the Rocky Mount police at 252-972-1411, the FBI in Charlotte, N.C., at 704-377-9200, or the Alabama Department of Public Safety at 334-242-4128.