‘Tyler’ reunited with grandmother
Published: October 4, 2005
“Tyler” is the name the little girl gave investigators searching to find her family in the days after Hurricane Katrina.
Those investigators said Monday they now believe the girl with piercing black eyes and a quiet disposition is 2-year-old Stephanie Pierre.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a call Friday from a woman believed to be the girl’s grandmother: Stella Pierre, a New Orleans evacuee living with her son in Gonzales.
“It was too much for me,” Stella Pierre said of her missing granddaughter.
The woman sat on a couch Monday in the office of Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack with the little girl on her lap, rocking her, kissing her fingertips and soothing her with the words “Grandma’s baby.”
The search continues for Stella Pierre’s daughter, Deidre Pierre, who is believed to be the girl’s mother.
Investigators think the girl’s father is in jail, officials said.
Officials know Deidre and two other children checked into an Arkansas shelter following Katrina, but they are no longer staying there. Deidre Pierre is about 38, 5 feet 10 inches and 230 pounds.
Assumption Parish sheriff’s Sgt. Treone Larvadain said the office is doing everything possible to make sure the girl is being reunited with the right family, including DNA testing.
While everyone waits for the child’s identity to be confirmed, the possibility of a happy ending is uplifting, Larvadain said.
“She’s a little princess,” the detective said. “She makes you want to wake up in the morning and come to work.”
In the meantime, the child remains in the legal custody of the state Department of Social Services.
A DSS official said the office will continue to look for Deidre Pierre while checking out Stella Pierre’s home and visiting with the child’s father.
The information will be brought to a judge, who ultimately will decide who will receive custody.
John Reed, a Team Adam consultant with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said he is convinced they’ve found the girl’s grandmother.
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