Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski delivered a media briefing on Monday afternoon, when he elaborated on an earlier announcement that police were no longer asking for the help of volunteers in Clinton County, Iowa, in the search for missing Breasia Terrell.
Breasia has not been seen since the early morning hours of July 10, after she reportedly went with her younger half-brother to visit his father, Henry Earl Dinkins, in Davenport. The 10-year-old girl, who lives in Davenport herself, was last seen in the 2700 block of 53rd street. The same day she went missing, police arrested Dinkins on a sex offender registry violation.
Dinkins, who was convicted in 1990 of sexually abusing a female victim age 13 or under, remains in custody in Scott County. Police have since named him a person of interest in the investigation, though he has not been charged with any crimes directly connected to Breasia’s disappearance. At Monday’s press conference, Sikorski confirmed that no further arrests had been made.
The police chief also said that investigators from multiple agencies, including the FBI, had done extensive, repeated searches in Clinton County. Authorities announced on Thursday that investigative information prompted them to expand the search for Breasia beyond Davenport and Scott County to neighboring Clinton County.
“We believe we have covered the areas up there and we need to move our efforts back on to the investigative portion,” the police chief said Monday about the Clinton County search, while noting that volunteers were welcome to continue independent searches in the area. He also said that the focus of the investigation remains in Scott County and Clinton County.
Asked if police believe Breasia is still alive, Sikorski said, “We really don’t know … we all want to find her alive.”
Watch a video of the news conference at WHBF-TV.
Anyone with information about Breasia Terrell or Henry Earl Dinkins is urged to call 563-326-6125.
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