Story Created:
Nov 9, 2007 at 5:38 PM CST
Story Updated:
Nov 19, 2007 at 5:50 PM CST
The stepfather of 9-year-old Rowan Ford denies any role in her death. David Spears left her alone Friday night when he went out with friends.
Law enforcement officials have said they are bothered by inconsistencies in Spears' account of that night and the following day.
Ford's body was found Friday morning near Powell, Mo., about 10 miles from her home in Stella. A McDonald County deputy, acting on a hunch, found her body in a sinkhole. Authorities said the deputy knew the area well and wanted to look in areas that had not been searched on his way to work.
Friday lawmen said very little about how Ford died or the condition of her body. They do consider her death a homicide but no one has been arrested. An autopsy in Springfield should reveal more answers.
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