Trenton Duckett sighting

Article published Dec 19, 2006

Sighting of Trenton in Texas turns up empty
Woman said she saw toddler at family park.
BY AUSTIN L. MILLERSTAR-BANNER

OCALA - Marion County sheriff's detectives working on the case of missing 2-year-old Trenton Duckett followed up on a tip about the toddler over the weekend. But the tip never panned out, officials said.
Detective Rhonda Stroup said they received a call from members of Team Duckett on Sunday, informing them the team had received a tip about a woman reportedly seeing Trenton with a young man in a family park in Fort Worth, Texas. The tipster gave Team Trenton a description of the vehicle the man was driving and the tag number. Stroup said they informed authorities in Fort Worth and asked them to verify the information.
Texas officials tracked down the man, believed to be in his 20s. At the home, the man was able to confirm that the child was not Trenton through a birth certificate and family photographs."It's encouraging to know that people are calling. Law enforcement is reacting to these calls," said Maj. Chris Blair of the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Trenton has been missing from his mother's Leesburg apartment since Aug. 27. Melinda Duckett, Trenton's mother, committed suicide on Sept. 8.
Since the formation of a task force made up of several law enforcement agencies, Blair said Team Trenton has turned over roughly 20 tips.
Authorities said they have extended the time frame of the task force. Originally scheduled for 30 days, the task force won't conclude until all relevant telephone numbers from Melinda Duckett's cell phone have been analyzed, and people connected to those numbers have been interviewed.
"We won't stop until all the numbers of interest have been checked," said Blair.Neither Blair nor Maj. Steve Rockefeller of the Leesburg Police Department would say if Chai-Wen Chen, an assistant manager at a Belleview Rent-A-Center, has taken a polygraph test.
Authorities said Melinda Duckett called Chen Aug. 27 and the conversation lasted only a few minutes. Officials said Chen works across the street from where two Wendy's employees claimed to have seen Trenton on Aug. 27. A Rent-A-Center employee told the Star-Banner that Chen took a polygraph.
When Chen's name surfaced last month, Rockefeller said he was on a list to be polygraphed."We've had conversations," said Blair, who declined to say what they talked about.

Austin L. Miller may be reached at
austin.miller@starbanner.com .

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