Sheriff doubts 2-year-old was in the woods entire time she was missing

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Neighbor finds Bullitt County girl on porch Wayne Brown says he found the missing Bullitt County girl, Charlee Nichole Campbell, on the porch of his home.

The Bullitt County sheriff said Monday he believes there's more to the story about 2-year-old Charlee Campbell's disappearance.

Charlee was found by a neighbor Saturday evening in the area that volunteer crews and officials had been searching since she went missing from her home in Lebanon Junction on Thursday morning.

Bullitt County Sheriff Donnie Tinnell said Monday she's now in the care of Child Protective Services.

"I don't believe she could have been in the woods for 36 hours," Tinnell said during a press conference. "She could have, but I don't believe she would have survived."

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Tinnell has called on investigators to look into her well-being. Tinnell said Charlee could not keep down any water they gave her Saturday and that she was spitting up bile. He said a search warrant has been filed for the family's phone records.

He thinks the girl may have been in someone's home during the search.

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When she was found, Charlee was covered in ticks and had some scrapes and mud on her. The family's pit bull that was also missing was found around the same time Friday. It had returned to the family's house, Tinnell said.

Tinnell said he thought it was strange that the dog returned relatively clean and that Charlee had mud and dirt on her.

During the conference, Tinnell got choked up and said it was rare to see five FBI agents help with a missing person case.

"I think when they saw the age of the victim," Tinnell said holding back tears," they knew how important it was."

Thomas Novelly can be reached at 502-582-4465 or by email at tnovelly@courier-journal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/tomn.