KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mother of missing 10-month-old Lisa Irwin said police informed her she failed a lie detector test earlier this week. But Deborah Bradley says that’s impossible because she doesn’t know where her daughter is.
Retired FBI Agent Jeff Lanza said failing a polygraph test doesn’t mean someone is guilty.
“If you’ve registered some deception, that’s an indicator that you’re not telling the truth,” Lanza said. “However, it doesn’t mean you’re guilty. It’s just an indication that you’re deceptive about a particular question or questions on the polygraph exam.”
Lisa’s father, Jeremy Irwin, has taken a lie detector test, but FOX 4 learned he’s told police that if they want him to he would.
FOX 4 learned the parents made a ‘deal’ with national media and will no longer be speaking with local news stations.
On Thursday evening, the case took on a new twist when Kansas City, Missouri police held a press conference and announced that Lisa’s parents no longer wish to cooperate with the investigation, a claim that family members deny.
Lanza said the parents’ definition of cooperation is probably different than police’s.
“Police’s definition of cooperation is to answer any questions that we post to you even if it focuses on you,” Lanza said. “The couple’s definition is, ‘well, we’ll cooperate, but not if it’s focused on us.”
At a hastily-called press conference Thursday evening, Capt. Steve Young did not elaborate on what led the parents to stop cooperating, and it remains unclear as to what this means for the direction of the police investigation.
FOX 4 visited the Northland home where the parents are staying on Thursday night following the press conference. An unidentified man answered the door and only said “Thank you” when asked what the family had to say to the people helping to search for Lisa.
The family of Lisa Irwin’s parents in Independence told FOX 4 the family has done all they can to help police in the search for their child, and that they don’t blame them for not wanting to talk any more to police.
In a statement to the media earlier in the day, Jeremy Irwin’s sister disputed the police claim that the couple had stopped cooperating with detectives.
“We want the public to know we have never stopped cooperating with police,” she said in a prepared statement. She said that the parents plan on releasing their own statement on Friday.
The news comes after police were able to find no new clues into her disappearance, despite word that the girl’s parents told police that three cell phones were missing from the home.
On Thursday, between 50 and 100 officers walked shoulder-to-shoulder through a wooded area near the Northland home where the girl was allegedly abducted on Monday night. The search led to some frantic moments from the girl’s parents who rushed to the Kansas City Police Department command post thinking there was a break in the case.
The parents were seen having an animated discussion with the detectives working on the case.
Police say that the search of the woods yielded no new clues in the effort to determine what happened to the child. Authorities also say that the parents claimed that three cell phones were also taken from the home.
“I can confirm that the family told us that there are three cellphones missing from the home. They told us that that morning. What the detectives have done with that I don’t know,” said Capt. Young earlier on Thursday. “Clearly it hasn’t led to a big break in the case or I’d probably be able to talk about it. I can’t get into details of what we’re doing but it’s safe to say we’re leaving no stone unturned.”
Police say that the child was allegedly taken from her crib in her Northland home at in the 3600 block of North Lister sometime between the hours of 10:30 p.m. Monday night and 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. The baby’s father called police around 4 a.m. Tuesday when he came home from work and discovered her missing.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the parents say that searched their home for any sign of their daughter, but only found that the front door was unlocked and a window was open.
Also on Thursday, detectives reportedly developed a list of names, and authorities say that one of the names on the list jogged the parent’s memory as someone who should be investigated. When asked by reporters, Capt. Young says that the list of names has yet to lead to any solid leads.
“As time goes by I would imagine they are jogging their brain for every bit that it’s worth to think of any person they may not have told us about. It makes sense,” said Capt. Young. “We will check out any lead we get. unfortunately, nothing has panned out yet.”
Police also searched storm drains and lifted manhole covers to search the sewer system, saying that it’s just another lead and that all leads are being investigated.
Lisa Irwin is described as white, with blond hair and blue eyes, about 30 inches tall and weighing 26-30 pounds. Her family says that she has two bottom teeth, a small bug bite under her left ear, a beauty mark on her right outer thigh and currently has a cold with a cough.
The family says that she was last seen wearing purple shorts and a purple shirt with white kittens on it.
If you have any information on the girl’s whereabouts call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
