JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) - Charleston Police have released a sketch of a person of interest in the case of Heidi Todd, a 4-year-old girl missing from Johns Island in Charleston County, S.C.
Police say the man may have seen or may have information on a suspect in Todd's disappearance.
The person is Hispanic, with a flame tattoo on his left cheek, and a lightning bolt tattoo on his right cheek. Police say he is between 30-40 years old, standing between 5-feet-10 and 6-feet tall.
The sketch is based off the description a neighbor provided for a person seen in the Johns Island neighborhood where Todd, according to Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.
The sketch is based off the description a neighbor provided for a person seen in the Johns Island neighborhood where Todd, according to Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.
Police say Todd has been missing since sometime Tuesday afternoon, after an unidentified person brutally beat her mother, Brittany Todd, as she was walking into her home on Sweetleaf Lane in Johns Island.
Police say they are unsure when the attack took place. She was discovered shortly before 6 p.m. inside the home. Police say Brittany Todd described being attacked by a skinny Hispanic male, 25-30 years old, with short hair and dressed in all gray.
No other identifying features have been provided by police.
Mrs. Todd has been taken to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries. Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said Wednesday she is in fair condition.
Brittany Todd is the mother of four other children, two of whom were in the home at the time, according to Tecklenburg. The other children were unhurt, police say.
A school attended by two of the children contacted police when Brittany Todd didn't show up to pick them up from classes, according to Taylor.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has issued a statewide BOLO for Heidi Todd. Police say the child has sandy brown hair and was last seen wearing a hot pink top and blue pants.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Heidi Todd's recovery. A private citizen is offering another $10,000 reward, according to police.
Police have set up a 24-hour tip line for citizens to report any information in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 843-619-6123.
Tecklenburg says the child's father was away from home for Coast Guard training at the time the incident occurred Tuesday. The father is now back in South Carolina.
An Amber Alert has not been issued for Heidi not enough information is available to meet criteri necessary to send one, according to Mayor Tecklenburg.
For SLED to activate an AMBER Alert, police, among other things, must first:
- Believe the child has been abducted;
- Believe the child is in immediate danger;
- Exclude all other possibilities for the victim's disappearance; and
- Have sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the victim, suspect, or vehicle used in the abduction.
Police first were dispatched to Sweetleaf Lane in the Whitney Lake townhomes community on Johns Island at 5:50 p.m. Tuesday.
A resident in the Whitney Lake neighborhood says Charleston Police came around at the time telling them to look out for a 4-year-old girl named Heidi.
Public safety personnel resumed a full-scale search for the child at daybreak Wednesday, after scaling down their efforts in the early morning hours.
Divers focused their search primarily on a lake within the community, but said Wednesday afternoon they do not believe the child to be in the water. Police have set up a command post in one of the model homes in the neighborhood.
The St. Johns Fire Department, Charleston County Sheriff's Office, SLED and FBI are assisting the Charleston Police Department with the search.
Sources shared with WCIV videos of helicopters searching a lake in the Johns Island neighborhood Tuesday night.
Neighbors were seen late Tuesday using flashlights to help police and firefighters search the neighborhood.