Missing Tennessee girl 'in imminent danger'
(FoxNews.com) - The Tennessee man who allegedly kidnapped his 9-year-old niece last week bought several items including lipstick, nail polish, underwear, a nightgown and a bikini before disappearing with the girl, officials said Tuesday.
It’s been nearly a week since Gary Simpson, 57, signed Carlie Marie Trent out of her Rogersville school Wednesday under false pretenses. Simpson, Trent’s uncle by marriage, had recently lost custody of the girl. But she had been placed back into her father’s custody so recently that school officials were not yet notified of the change.
“There’s every indication that he intended to go out of sight,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh Devine said during a news conference attended by the Knoxville News Sentinel. “We believe this girl is in imminent danger.”
Security camera footage of Simpson at an area Walmart taken right before he picked up Trent showed Simpson buying several items that were previously described as “camping supplies.” The items included a plush throw blanket, men’s shirt, men’s pants, girls’ pants, girls’ underwear, two shades of lipstick, two shades of nail polish, a child’s folding camp chair, a child’s purple nightgown and a bikini, the News Sentinel reported.
The agency also released surveillance video taken later that same day at another store in Rogersville that shows Carlie Marie Trent with her uncle. In that video, the little girl and Gary Simpson are at the checkout.
TBI officials believe Simpson may have taken his niece to an isolated area like a campground or park.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.