Police say the search for missing baby Ember Graham is now suspended after her suspect father was shot dead this week while fleeing an arrest.
The child is presumed dead herself, although how she died and where her remains are is a mystery that Matthew Graham has clearly taken to his grave.
Graham was labeled a Person of Interest from the instant he reported his 6-month-old girl “taken” from her crib on July 2d, but the repeat-offender was immediately jailed on other charges, including possession and parole violations.
Days ago though, a judge erred in releasing him without a monitoring bracelet and, predictably, Graham stole a car, gun and cash from his family, then fled jurisdiction.
Monday, police caught up with the 24-year-old suspect in nearby Siskiyou County where he had been in hiding, and he was subsequently killed during a shootout.
Investigators concede that the death of Matthew Graham likely means they’ll never find his still-missing infant, who they speculate died from complications related to a seizure disorder that her now-deceased parent neglected.
Searchers had been scouring a grassy wasteland not far from the late Graham’s residence where they felt sure he had disposed of Baby Ember’s corpse prior to bogusly reporting she had vanished. However, apart from a pacifier, nothing else was found there.
The infant’s been gone without a trace for approximately two weeks and obviously cannot fend for herself; but, while her missing-person case will remain open, police have given up an active investigation into her whereabouts.
"Mr. Matthew Graham was the person who had that information,” said Sheriff Tom Bosenko. “He did not share that information with us, and, unless this investigation finds a note or some documentation that he left behind, we may not be able to ever find her."
