Pilar Rodriguez, went missing in Charlotte County in 1999

[Bailey]

Investigators with the FBI and the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office set up tents during a search of the property at 5052 Duncan Road in the Cleveland area of Punta Gorda on Tuesday. Detectives are looking for evidence in a 1999 cold case involving the disappearance of 4-year-old Pilar Rodriguez.


Pilar Rodriguez, 4, went missing in Charlotte County in 1999.


Break comes in 1999 Charlotte case of missing girl

By John Davis

Published: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 11:34 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 11:34 a.m.


The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office announced a major development in the cold case of a 4-year-old Hollywood, Fla., girl, Pilar Rodriguez, who disappeared in 1999 while visiting Punta Gorda.

This morning deputies began searching an eight-acre area in the 5000 block of Duncan Road east of Punta Gorda in the Cleveland area. According to Sheriff Bill Cameron they are searching for any evidence in the case, including remains of a body. Deputies using cadaver dogs from Marion County and private company's sonar equipment.

There have been no arrests or charges in the case and the Sheriff's Office would not elaborate on the source of the new information in the case that led search, citing the open investigation.

The orgininal people of interest in the 1999 case, babysitter Melissa Cooper, and her boyfriend Keith Wilson, continue to be a focus. Camerson said they are not in the area anymore.

Pilar vanished in 1999 while visiting Punta Gorda with her babysitter.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...f-missing-girl

[Bailey]

Pilar Rodriguez

Posted: Nov 03, 2009 9:35 AM CST Updated: Nov 03, 2009 5:09 PM CST

CHARLOTTE COUNTY: The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office announced they are searching a property in Punta Gorda related to missing 4-year-old Pilar Rodriguez, who was last seen in early 1999.

Sheriff Bill Cameron says new information leads them to believe evidence related to the crime may be located at 5052 Duncan Road. The current residents and owners are not the subject of the search.

Reporters on scene say officers are on the property using ground penetrating radar to search the property. It's commonly used to find burial sites.

The sheriff's office plans to end the search for the night at 5 p.m. and begin again Wednesday morning.

They have found nothing so far, but say this is the best tip they've received in ten years.

"It would make none of us happier to bring Pillar home to her family for a proper burial,"said Sheriff Bill Cameron.

Pilar Rodriguez was last seen in January 1999 when her babysitter, Melissa Cooper, brought her to Florida for vacation. Pilar was last reported to be alive at the Trail Apartments outside Punta Gorda where they were staying with Cooper's boyfriend, Keith Wilson.

"You have to remember Charlotte County in 1999, this was a very emotional, high profile case, and it remains that way today," said Cameron.

The apartments were searched February 22nd, 1999.

In March 1999, deputies searched a wooded area for Pilar after a tip came in. Eight months later, deputies began draining Preacher's Lake near the Charlotte County Airport.

Divers found a blanket and a Winnie the Pooh book that reportedly belonged to the little girl, but her body never surfaced.

Even though her body has never been found, Wilson was sued for wrongful death by Pilar's father.

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=11433647

[Bailey]

Pilar Rodriguez
(ABC News)

4 Year Old Was Last Seen in 1999 in Punta Gorda, Fla.

By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Nov. 4, 2009



Florida authorities are using cadaver dogs and ground penetration radar in a grim search they hope - or fear - could solve the 10-year-old disappearance of little Pilar Rodriguez.

The 4-year-old girl disappeared in 1999 during a two-week long visit to Punta Gorda with her babysitter Melissa Cooper. They went to the family home of Cooper's boyfriend, Keith Allen Wilson.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office began combing an eight acre property in Punta Gorda today that belongs to Wilson's grandmother.

The decade old cold case heated up with a tip, Sheriff Bill Cameron told ABCNews.com. He would not discuss or characterize the tip.

"This is active and ongoing but so far we have had no positive results," l Cameron said.


"I'm very hopeful but I wish I could say I was extremely optimistic," said Cameron. "Hopefully this ends up being a good lead."

With the help of anthropologists, ground penetration radar devices and cadaver dogs, Cameron said authorities are tackling a "tedious" job.

"We're not solely looking for a body, we're looking for anything related to this case," he said. "It could be her body but it could also be other evidence buried on the property."

He said the grandmother is not a subject of the investigation.

The missing girl's father, Marco Rodriguez, is not a suspect in the case but has been in contact with police, said Cameron.

The telephone number listed at the residence authorities have been searching has been disconnected, as has the one for Keith Wilson's home in Kentucky.

Authorities have not reached out to Wilson, said Cameron, but have been in touch with Cooper. Cameron declined to specify where Cooper is currently located.

According to local press reports, Cooper told reporters in 1999 that she believed her boyfriend was responsible for the girl's disappearance.

"When he gets angry, he gets angry, and he doesn't handle it in the best of ways and it got out of hand this time. It really got out of hand," Cooper told WPLG.

Police Asking Public for More Leads in Cold Case Disappearance of Pilar Rodriguez

Cameron said he hopes the renewed public interest in the case could prompt more leads.

"A long time has passed and along the nearly 11 years people who were involved in this crime could have talked to people," said Cameron. "And if that's the case, we want to know about it."

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/florida-cop...ory?id=8997302

[Bailey]

Search for remains of 4-year-old could go on for days

By JASON WITZ
Correspondent

Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 8:04 p.m.

PUNTA GORDA - Investigators sifted through the sand for hours Wednesday, carefully examining every inch for answers that could solve the 1999 disappearance of 4-year-old Pilar Rodriguez.

Local and federal law enforcement agencies continued their search of an 8-acre property east of Punta Gorda, in the unincorporated community of Cleveland, after receiving a tip in the cold case.

Forensic teams excavated buckets of soil from the backyard of a home at 5052 Duncan Road, where the grandmother of one of the primary suspects still lives. Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron said the search could take days, as teams must remove sand samples by layers. Officials believe Pilar's body could be buried on the property.

"It's no different than excavating an archaeological site," Cameron said. "You have to be very careful."

Authorities began the search Tuesday, using dogs trained to find cadavers and a Colorado-based nonprofit that specializes in locating hidden graves.

Sheriff's officials are not disclosing details about the tip that led to the Duncan Road address, although Cameron said it is the strongest lead in the case in years.

Pilar disappeared in January 1999 while on a trip with her baby sitter, Melissa Cooper, who had left Hollywood, Fla., to live with her truck driver boyfriend in Punta Gorda.

When the two did not return after several weeks, Marco reported his daughter missing.

Cooper and her boyfriend, Keith Wilson, came under scrutiny from investigators when friends and relatives characterized Cooper, now 33, as desperate for a family and Wilson, now 38, as abusive toward Pilar.

Wilson and Cooper have never been charged with a crime and have denied being involved in Pilar's disappearance.

County records show the property was purchased last year by Rick Treworgy, owner of Muscle Car City museum in Punta Gorda. The grandmother of Keith Wilson resides at the home facing U.S. 17. Cameron said neither Treworgy nor the grandmother are suspects.

Investigators set up a grid system in the backyard of the home on Tuesday, marking each area -- no more than 8 feet by 8 feet -- with wooden stakes.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Bob Carpenter said each grid was examined by a total of four people, who used small trowels to gently scrape the sand into buckets.

Those buckets were then taken to a sifting station nearby, where FBI agents sifted the sand into cardboard boxes.

Investigators are expected to continue excavating other sites today.

"It's an extremely tedious process," Cameron said. "But there's no other way to do this."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...ilar-Rodriguez

[Bailey]

Staff report

Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12:28 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12:28 p.m.

Investigators have concluded a search at an eight-acre site for evidence in the 1999 disappearance of Pilar Rodriguez, and are now calling the cold case an active homicide investigation.

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron said this morning that authorities have more leads in the case as a result of the two-day operation at 5052 Duncan Road initiated after authorities received a tip.

"The search was very successful," he said, declining to be more specific.

Pilar disappeared in January 1999, while on a trip with her babysitter, Melissa Cooper, who had left Hollywood, Fla., to live with her truck driver boyfriend in Punta Gorda.

Pilar’s father, Marco, allowed Cooper to take the child, as he was short of money and working a new job. When the two did not return later that month, Marco reported his daughter missing to Hollywood Police.

Cooper and her boyfriend, Keith Wilson, came under scrutiny from investigators when friends and relatives characterized Cooper, now 33, as desperate for a family and Wilson, now 38, as abusive toward Pilar.

Wilson and Cooper have never been charged with a crime and have denied being involved in Pilar’s disappearance.

The two remain primary suspects in the case, according to Cameron.

Sheriff's Office deputies, the FBI concentrated their search on Wednesday to the backyard of the home on the property, where forensic teams removed soil samples. Cameron said the search yielded some new evidence in the case, although he would not elaborate.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...9980/2055/NEWS