Is Trenton Duckett alive?

From the Orlando Sentinel-

The Marion County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday it will launch its own investigation into the disappearance of toddler Trenton Duckett, this time "the focus being that little Trenton is alive."

The Sheriff's Office will have a news conference at 11 a.m. today to provide details about an eyewitness at a Marion County Wendy's restaurant and cell-phone records that link Trenton's mother, Melinda Duckett, to the area around the time her son went missing.

The new information prompted Marion County sheriff's officials to review investigative work by the Leesburg Police Department, the FBI and other agencies.

"We just want to go at it with the outlook that Trenton Duckett is still alive," said Marion sheriff's spokesman Capt. James Pogue. "There are a lot of people out there that assume because we spent days and weeks searching the Ocala National Forest that he is dead."

The 2-year-old was reported missing Aug. 27, after his mother told police he had been abducted from her Windemere Villas apartment through a bedroom window.

TFM has blogged on the Trenton and Melinda Duckett story previously. Check my posts, here, here and here.

I pray that Trenton is alive. That said, I wouldn't jump to conclusions based on these news reports. Details are very sketchy at this moment.

One thing I will re-iterate- If Trenton is found alive, Knucklehead Nancy Grace should be fired by CNN and blacklisted from ever working on television again. Her actions helping to push Melinda Duckett over the edge. That is IF Trenton is found alive.

I'll update this post after the news conference.

1230 Update- The news conference was held.

THE VILLAGES -- Marion County Sheriff's Office officials said today they are conducting an investigation into Trenton Duckett's disappearance in late August working under the premise that the 2-year-old is still alive.

Marion Capt. James Pogue said statements from a new witness who said she saw Trenton and his mother Melinda in Belleview early in the day on Aug. 27 -- the day he was reported missing -- have led investigators to believe the child may have been handed off to someone. Pogue and other sheriff's officials also cited cell phone records from the area to support their working theory.

Calling Melinda Duckett a "very creative person," Pogue said, "We believe there was a conspiracy with someone else to keep Trenton away from his father."

"He [Trenton] could be anywhere in the nation," Pogue said. "Anything is possible."

Melinda reported Trenton missing from her apartment in Windemere Villas in Leesburg the evening of Aug 27. She said he had been abducted through his bedroom window. But Leesburg police doubted her story from early on in the investigation.

Duckett, 21, shot and killed herself Sept. 8. She was later named the prime suspect in her son's disappearance. Melinda and her estranged husband Josh Duckett had a stormy relationship and an ongoing legal battle over custody of the child, according to court records.

Pogue and other officials said a drive-thru worker at a Wendy's restaurant in Belleview remembered seeing Melinda and Trenton between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that Sunday. About 20 minutes after the first sighting, the Wendy's worker saw Melinda come through the drive-thru again. This time, Tenton was not in the car. The Wendy's worker was interviewed and passed a polygraph test, officials said.

Marion Sheriff's officials also said they intend to conduct more polygraph tests, but they would not disclose who those witnesses are.

The officials said they have no evidence or information indicating Trenton is dead.

I could add that the police don't proof Trenton is alive either. This boy's photo has been in the news constantly. Wouldn't someone have seen him if Trenton was alive.

I do pray the police are right. If you think the Duckett story hasn't taken enough twists, go read this. Melinda Duckett was making porn videos.

Linked to- Third World County, Jo's Cafe, Bullwinkle Blog, Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Bright & Early, Cao's Blog, Outside the Beltway, Pursuing Holiness, Random Yak, Right Wing Nation,