Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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Cops search TX landfill for missing baby

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio's police chief says officers are searching a landfill for evidence in the disappearance of an 8-month-old boy.

Chief William McManus said Tuesday that authorities "remain hopeful that Baby Gabriel is alive."

Gabriel Johnson was last seen with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson, in San Antonio on Dec. 26. The Arizona woman was arrested Dec. 30 in Florida and charged with kidnapping, child abuse and custodial interference.

Police turned to the landfill after the mother allegedly sent a text message to the father, saying their baby was dead. She later recanted.

McManus says police are excavating a section of the landfill believed to contain trash from a motel where Johnson was last seen with her baby.

McManus said Saturday the case was being treated as a homicide.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)