Aurora – A bloodhound, an airplane and more than 60 police officers searched Tuesday in a central Aurora neighborhood where a 6-year-old girl went missing Monday afternoon after apparently getting into a dispute with her father.
Aarone Thompson was last seen at 1:30 p.m. Monday.
“This one has extremely unusual circumstances,” said Aurora interim Police Chief Terry Jones. “A 6-year-old doesn’t usually walk away and stay away for hours. What compounds this situation is the weather.”
Six hours after the girl left her home at 16551 E. Kepner Place in the Tollgate Plaza neighborhood, the temperature had dropped from 60 to 30 and it was snowing. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, the temperature was 12 degrees.
Police said they were becoming frustrated with the family for failing to fully cooperate with the search. Authorities wouldn’t comment on specifics, but say the family had provided only one photo of the girl, taken a year and a half ago. Neighbors say the dispute was over a cookie. Police would not confirm that.
“We’re trying to gather as much information as we can, and we’re not getting a lot of insight,” Jones said. “So we’re going from the origin point and scouring everything.”
The girl’s father, Aaron Thompson, asked that anyone with information call police.
“She’s talkative. She’s strong-headed. She’s my baby and I love her, and I just want her back,” he told 9News.
“She was upset, I’ll say that,” he said.
Police say seven children live at the home. The family’s landlord, Jasbir Singh, said the Thompsons have lived in the house for more than three years. Neighbors say family members keep to themselves, with the children mostly playing in the fenced-in backyard.
“It’s really bizarre,” said next-door neighbor Carol Rodriguez. “They keep a close eye on their kids. You rarely see their kids running loose. I just hope they find her.”
Some neighbors were fearful.
“If she ran away over a cookie, she would have been home by now,” said Rachael Winski, who lives across the street.
Aarone Thompson didn’t attend school, though she would be in the first grade. She was last seen in a white sweater with pink sweatsuit bottoms, a gray hooded sweat jacket and white gym shoes. Her hair was in a pony tail. She is a light-skinned black female with black hair and brown eyes. She is 4 feet tall, weighs 60 pounds and is missing her right upper canine tooth.
Police say her father told them he looked for her when she didn’t immediately return, and then he called police.
Authorities searched throughout the night, using reverse 911 calls, going door-to-door and looking in yards. A plane with infrared technology flew above.
Tuesday, officers retraced their footsteps from the night before. Television helicopters helped in the search, and a bloodhound from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was brought in. The dog picked up a scent and followed it for about a mile to a construction site, where the trail went cold.
“Because it’s a kid … that’s why you see people going at this with such a passion,” said Lt. Kevin Flynn.
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer may be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
