Missing Delaware girl Nola Dinkins case now MD homicide investigation
The mother who reported that her daughter was kidnapped lied to police and the case involving Nola Dinkins is a homicide investigation, police said.
A 3-year-old girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert issued the night of June 10 is still missing, though police no longer believe she was abducted, as her mother initially claimed.
The alert for the child, Nola Dinkins, has been canceled, police said.
In a brief news conference held on June 11, New Castle County Police said this was not an abduction and this is being treated as a homicide investigation by Maryland State Police.
The FBI is also investigating.
What happened to Nola Dinkins?
County police issued an Amber Alert shortly after 10 p.m. on June 10, which said the girl’s mother contacted police to say her daughter had been abducted at gunpoint by an unknown white man.
The mom claimed it happened in the 500 block of Gender Road, a mostly wooded area in Ogletown, about 7:15 p.m. She said she was driving and Dinkins was upset, so she stopped the car to calm the girl down.
The mom told police that’s when her daughter was taken. She also claimed that an “unknown white female” was driving a car that the man was in.
Detectives and the FBI launched an “intensive investigation that continued through the night,” said New Castle County Police Sgt. Andrea Botterbusch. She said detectives ultimately determined the mother’s account was false.
“The Amber alert is now canceled and there’s no danger to the public,” Botterbusch said. “Sadly, this incident is now being treated as a homicide investigation.”
One of the few residents who lives near Gender Road said she didn’t hear anything until police knocked on her door about 9 p.m. on June 10.
About 12 hours later, on June 11, two unmarked police SUVs were parked along Gender Road. By 10 a.m., one of the SUVs had left.
The area where police were told the abduction occurred is mostly wooded, with almost no shoulder to safely park a car. There are a few long streets leading to a development and corporate compound tucked away off the road.
What prompts an Amber Alert?
An Amber Alert is issued when a child has been abducted and is at risk of serious injury or death.Law enforcement agencies send descriptions of the missing children, their abductors or other information to broadcasters.
The alerts also show up on electronic highway signs. Drivers can expect to see this notification on highway signs across the state.
While AMBER is really short for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, it was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and killed in Texas in 1996. The slaying remains unsolved.
This is a developing story. Return to delawareonline.com for updates.
