Police suspend search for missing 4-year-old girl in Utah

SAN JUAN COUNTY — Search and rescue crews temporarily suspended their search for a 4-year-old girl missing since Thursday in rural Utah.

Navajo Police Department released a statement on Facebook about the temporary suspension of the search for Andanndine Jones:

“A decision was made to temporarily halt search efforts Saturday night. This halt will allow Public Safety to organize and secure additional resources for subsequent search efforts. Additionally, the Division of Public Safety is assessing what the impact of the Gold King Mine contamination release that occurred on Thursday will have on the search.

Community volunteers will continue organizing search teams. The Navajo Police Department will remain in the community to investigate any leads generated by the volunteers.”

Jones went missing Thursday after wandering away from her home, three miles north of the Aneth Utah Chapter House. Tracking led investigators to a nearby creek. Multiple search and rescue teams have been scouring the area on land, in boats, and in helicopters. Boat teams covered 24 miles of river between Bluff and Aneth, the Navajo Police Department said.

Police did not activate the Amber Alert system because there’s no indication that Jones was abducted, police said.

“We are thankful of the overwhelming amount of support and resources that we received throughout the search. We want to thank our local, state, federal partners, volunteers, and the donations made to helped us in covering the terrain in finding this little girl,” said Navajo Police Chief Phillip Francisco. “We extend our gratitude and appreciation to the volunteers who covered miles of ground terrain along the creek and riverbed and to the community who donated food and supplies for the volunteers.”

More information on search efforts will be posted as it’s made available.

This story was first published by KSL.com. It is used here with permission.