Duncan excluded in missing girl case

CHISHOLM, Minn. – Investigators have ruled out convicted sex offender Joseph E. Duncan III as a suspect in the disappearance more than two years ago of a 5-year-old Chisholm girl, police said Wednesday.

Police Chief Scott Erickson issued a statement saying that “based on investigative results pertaining to where (Duncan) was on the day (Leanna Warner) disappeared, it has been determined that he is not a viable suspect in our case.”

Leanna, nicknamed “Beaner,” was last seen on June 14, 2003, walking alone about a block away from her home in Chisholm.

Her father, Chris Warner, in the midst of a renewed three-day search north of this Iron Range town, said the announcement came as both a relief and disappointment.

“It’s a relief to know that an animal like that probably wasn’t involved in her disappearance,” he said. “But on the flip side, it kind of puts us back to square one.”

Warner said his family won’t completely let go of the idea that Duncan could have been involved until they hear authorities’ reasons for ruling him out.

Warner said the chief told him he was passing on information from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and didn’t know specifically why Duncan was being discounted. Warner said he was promised a meeting with a BCA agent today.