Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 14, 1994 TAG: 9405160161
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: AXTON LENGTH: Medium
"We're not going to give up," Axton Lifesaving Crew Capt. Frank Wilson said. Ten years ago in Pittsylvania County, he pointed out, search teams found an elderly man alive after four days alone. Mild weather increased Jesse Haislip's chances of survival, he said.
Because no concrete clues turned up in the search, Henry County Sheriff's Department Investigator P.G. Puckett said they believe Haislip was driven away in a car or truck "voluntarily or involuntarily."
Throughout the investigation, the only real clue was a human scent picked up by tracking dogs early in the search before the ground crews went out. Puckett said the dogs will pick up any human scent and it may not have been Haislip's scent.
On Thursday, more than 450 people looked for Haislip, who was last seen walking along a road a few miles from her Axton home.
Investigators will speak again with the witnesses who last saw her. Puckett said two investigators already are on the case and more staff members may be assigned.
Henry County Sheriff's Lt. J.L. Hairston said she may have been walking to a niece's home and taken a logging road in the hope of finding a shorter way there.
Several neighbors said they regularly keep an eye out for Haislip, an avid walker who has become disoriented in the past.
Neighbor Era Viars tried to stop her from wandering away. "She wouldn't sit down and said, `No, I've got to go on.'''
Haislip was clutching a brown paper bag as she walked along and wasn't quite sure of where she was.
While the official search has been suspended, Wilson said his rescue squad will continue to look for Haislip as long as volunteers and experienced search personnel are willing.
by CNB