Police believe they've found body of abducted Missouri girl

Police believe they have found the body of abducted 10-year-old Missouri girl Hailey Owens and a local school district employee is in custody. Springfield Police said the suspect, identified as Craig Michael Wood, who works at a local middle school, was found inside his vehicle at his home in Springfield, the News-Leader reported Wednesday. Hailey, a fourth-grade student, was snatched just a few blocks from her home, said mother Stacey Owens. A witness told the News-Leader he saw the then-unidentified man lure Hailey to his pickup truck then pulled her inside the vehicle and drove away. Carlos Edwards told the News-Leader he and his wife were in the garage of their home Tuesday night about 8 p.m. when they saw Hailey taken. He said he chased after the truck, a gold 2008 Ford Ranger, while his wife jotted down the license plate number before calling police. A truck matching that description sat in Wood's driveway Wednesday, the door still swung open. Records show Wood is a teacher's aide in the Springfield school district, assigned to overseeing in-school suspension at Pleasant View Elementary and Middle School. Hailey did not attend that school and police said they do not believe Wood knew the girl. The school district said Wood has been suspended pending the outcome of the case. Amber Alerts were issued in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. They have since been canceled. Police also searched a local laundromat where a clerk said she thought Wood had come to clean some of his clothes after the abduction. Wood is being held at Greene County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder though formal charges have not been filed, the newspaper said.