Missing 14-year-old girl’s phone activity stopped after last sighting, police say

TROY — Troy police and other search crews wrapped up their third day of looking for a missing 14-year-old girl.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Missing 14-year-old girl’s backpack found after screaming heard; large search underway

Ellie Carder was last seen during the evening hours of Jan. 31 in the area of E. Staunton Rd. and Michigan Ave. heading toward the Great Miami River.

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, search crews spent hours searching for Carder along the river from Troy to Tipp City Thursday.

Police found Carder’s backpack just down the stream from the State Route 41 bridge in the middle of an island in the river.

>> PHOTOS: Large search underway for missing 14-year-old girl

Day three of investigators’ search for Carder involved drones, dogs, and crews searching on foot and by boat.

News Center 7 spokes to Troy police right after they finished covering a seven-mile stretch of the river.

“Now what we’re going to do is regroup north in Troy again and try to kind of prioritize a certain area. Not that there’s been any new developments. We just want to really go through, you know, third, fourth time to see if there’s been any changes,” said Captain Dominic Burnside.

>> RELATED: Backpack of missing 14-year-old Troy girl located; workers nearby say they heard yelling

Six days before Carder’s backpack was found, employees at the nearby Conagra plant told police they heard a woman yelling outside near the river. That same night, police had their last confirmed sighting of Carder. She had just left a friend’s house in Troy.

Police said they have surveillance video showing Carder right after that, around 6:30 p.m., heading toward the river.

Burnside said there’s been no activity on Carder’s phone since then. She didn’t go to school the next two days, and that’s when her dad reported her missing last Friday.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 14-year-old girl missing; Troy police ask public to be on lookout

“I ask Ellie that if she does get this, if she receives this, you know, to reach out to a loved one, reach out to a friend, or reach out to the police department to let somebody know that you’re okay. We just want to get you home. We want to get you safe. We want to get you back to your family,” Burnside said.

Burnside said with no new developments, they will search one more day on Friday. They plan to cover a less than five-mile stretch of the river on boats and using drones.

If they don’t find anything Friday, Burnside said that is when it becomes time to make a decision about what they do next.

If you have any information on Carder’s whereabouts contact Detective Compton at (937) 339-7525 ext. 1410.

If you know her current location, call 911 or (937) 440-9911.

News Center 7 will continue providing updates as more details become available.

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