Hunkered down in her trailer in the Texas Panhandle, a grandmother who had a vision that sparked a media circus and police search for alleged mass graves in Liberty County said she is being wronged and fears for children who may never be found.

"This is bad for people who call in a tip for something," she told the Houston Chronicle by phone Wednesday evening. "They think they have done a good deed, and it turns around on them."

The 48-year-old woman, who asked to only be identified by her nickname of Angel, said she never wanted any attention and fears the worldwide interest in the case will destroy her life if her identity is known publicly.

"I also have children and grandchildren," said the woman who agreed to be interviewed only on the condition she remain anonymous. "I'll be bombarded with media and all that. I do not like the spotlight."

Angel described herself as a reverend for a ministry that helps the poor and the homeless, and said that while she is based in Texas, she spends much of her time traveling to do God's work.

Sources close to an ongoing investigation confirmed Angel was truthful about her identity as well as that she'd previously shared information with law enforcement agencies in Texas.

Angel said she has had visions her entire life and after confiding with two friends who were having similar visions that three children could be in trouble, she contacted the Liberty County Sheriff's Office Monday.

Children were 'alive'

She strongly denied telling officers that they needed to search for bodies or that anyone was dead.

"They did not act on what I told them," she said. "My biggest concern is definitely the children," she added. "I think they are hungry and thirsty. They are still alive."

The Liberty County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on Angel's accusations late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the sheriff's office said earlier in the day that it has not been able to verify any of the details provided by the tipster, including her name, location, or occupation, spokesman Rex Evans said.

And the tip she provided was false, he said.

Still, Evans said, "everything went by the book," even though officials did not know how the tipster had come to learn about the allegedly buried bodies.

"She did not specifically go into that," Evans said. "Not to my knowledge. I do not recall any specific details that she said she saw this or she felt this or she heard this."

Officials were searching for the tipster, but had made no progress, he said. The woman could face a minimum charge of filing a false report or making false statements, a misdemeanor, Evans said.

The tip that led to the media frenzy, which drew attention from around the globe amid rumors that a mass grave containing up to 30 dismembered bodies had been discovered, initially came on Monday, when the tipster called the Liberty County Sheriff's Office and reported that there were several bodies of children buried on a property in Hardin.

Deputies went to the property and found nothing, but in a subsequent call Tuesday the tipster redirected officials and offered more details that led them to a home with blood on the porch and the foul odor of rotting flesh in the air.

It was not clear how many times officials had spoken with the woman in total, but they did not know after their first conversation with her that she claimed to be a psychic, Evans said.

The blood was from an injury at the residence a few weeks earlier when an AWOL soldier tried to kill himself, and the odor was from a malfunctioning deep freeze full of pork products and maggots, officials have said.

'Got to look into it'

Officials did not discount her information when she told them she was a psychic, he said, and they followed the tip like they would any other.

Upon discovering the blood and odor at the property, deputies coordinated with the Liberty County District Attorney's office to request a search warrant for the home. They did not inform prosecutors that their information came from a woman who claimed to be a psychic, but did note the tip and the suspicious environment at the home, Liberty County District Attorney Michael Little said.

Although Liberty County officials have drawn criticism for their response to the tip, they said the factors at the home warranted a search.

"The question is when you have information of a serious nature like that people just can't sit on it," Little said. You've got to look into it. You've got to try to see if a crime had been committed or not."

Despite the tip's source, it had to be followed up on like any other that the county receives, Evans said. The search would likely have passed unnoticed had initial media reports not erroneously reported that dozens of bodies had been discovered at the site, sparking intense interest in the investigation, he said.

"I just wish that people would understand that, as a law enforcement agency, we're obligated to investigate things, and yesterday was simply us conducting an investigation to find out factual information," Evans said. "There was nothing more."

zain.shauk@chron.com