Police search for clues in Logansport girl's rape

LOGANSPORT, Ind. (WLFI) - A 4-year-old Cass County girl is recovering from a brutal rape that has Logansport police on a manhunt.

When we arrived we found detectives combing through what can only be described as a brutal rape scene that stunned even the chief of police.

“It’s hard to believe somebody in this community would do something like this to a small child!” said A.J. Rozzi, chief of the Logansport Police Dapartment.

The chief told 24-Hour News 8’s Mike Corbin that sometime between 3:00 and 6:30 Sunday morning, the 4-year-old girl vanished from the Plum Street home of her mom’s boyfriend where they were staying. At 6:30, a witness found the girl here about a block away, in a nightgown, carrying a blanket, covered in dirt and crying.

Police believe the girl was attacked in a garage; she was raped, beaten, strangled and left for dead.

Miraculously, the girl made it out of the garage which police say looked intentionally covered in dog waste.

The chief says they had been questioning a registered sex offender who cooperated and is no longer a person of interest. Meanwhile, neighbors we spoke with are concerned about their own kids.

“I’m shocked! I’m shocked by all this!" said Brandy Girton, "I have nieces and kids around here!”

“I let my 8-year-old go around the block. I always have!" said Jessica Risher. "And now, they’re not allowed to go more than a couple of doors down! And they’re not allowed to go around the corner anymore, of course, so I can’t see them, We have a privacy, fenced in yard. I always though it always thought it would be safe, but not now!“

Chief Rozzi says they’re still searching for suspects. Right now, there’s no indication the girl knew her attacker. However, police are still investigating.

The girl has been treated and released form the hospital.