KATHERINE "Baby Kate" PHILLIPS - 4 Months (6/2011) - Ludington (NW of Grand Rapids) MI

Police in Ludington, Mich., have issued an amber alert for a 4-month-old child.
The child was last seen Wednesday afternoon at 922 E. Tinkham Road in Ludington, police said.



Police described the child, Katherine Phillips, as 2 feet 2 inches tall with
blue eyes and no hair. She was last seen wearing pink shorts with a
matching pink top with black and pink flowers.Police said Sean Phillips may have abducted the child.
Phillips was found Wednesday, but Katherine was still missing, police said.
Police said the child could be in danger.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ludington Police Department at
the Mason-Ocean Dispatch at 231-869-5858 or the department at 231-843-3425.

Compiled from various sources

An Amber Alert has been issued for a Ludington 4 month old girl. The
Ludington Police Department is investigating an incident of an
endangered missing child from 922 E. Tinkham, Ludington.

The child
(Katherine) is described as 4 months old, 2 feet long, 12 pounds and has
blue eyes, and bald. The child is believed to be in extreme danger and
was last seen wearing pink short and a matching pink tank top with black
and pink flowers. The police department says the child was allegedly
abducted by Sean Micheal Phillips, who is 21 years old, 5 feet 9 inches
tall, 180 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair. Sean has been found
and the car he was driving, but Katherine is still missing. If you can
help please call 231-843-3425 or 9-1-1.

Sean was found in Scottville in
Mason County. Police are asking for your help if you saw Sean
Phillips,or his car this evening, (an Oldsmobile with plates BUY0298).


http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=635577

AMBER ALERT: Missing infant in Ludington; police investigating scene


8:19 PM, Jun 30, 2011


LUDINGTON, Mich. (WZZM) - Police say four-month-old Katherine Phillips remains missing, and the man accused of abducting her is refusing to say where she is.

Police held a news conference Thursday afternoon, updating the media on the search for "Baby Kate," as many people are now calling her in the lakeshore community.

Investigators say Sean Phillips, 21, had an argument with Katherine's mother, Ariel Courtland, outside her Ludington home around 1 p.m. Wednesday. When Courtland went inside to get something, Sean Phillips left with Katherine.

Police arrested Sean Phillips a short time later in Scottville, but the baby was not with him.

Ludington Police issued the Amber Alert for Katherine around 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

Courtland and Phillips are parents of Katherine's older sister.

Police are not confirming whether or not Phillips is missing girl's father.

Courtland spoke to WZZM 13's Sarah Sell on Thursday afternoon. The mother of the missing girl says she's trying to stay positive. "I don't see how she could be okay, but I don't want to think like that," says Courtland. "I don't know where she's at, and as a mom it's hard. She's my baby. It's my job to protect her."

On Thursday, Mason County prosecutors charged Sean Phillips with kidnapping. He is being held on a $500,000 bond. Despite repeated questioning by police, they say he has refused to say what has happened to Katherine.

Courtland says Sean Phillips' actions are out of character. "This isn't the Sean I know," she says. "This isn't the Sean anyone knows."

Chris Merriman says he spotted Sean Phillips' car on a private road near his home on Wednesday afternoon. "I was out mowing the yard and I noticed him driving," says Merriman. "He came in, and about 45 minutes later he came out."

Police say Sean Phillips' family lives on the same road, but in the opposite direction that he was spotted on Wednesday. Michigan State Police spent much of Thursday searching the wooded area around the private road.

For now, Courtland is holding out hope Katherine will be found alive.

"I think right now, it's in God's hands - whether he wants her or whether I have her," she says.

Police have eliminated Courtland as a suspect in her daughter's disappearance.

Investigators say they are remaining positive, and hope to bring Katherine back alive. "We are any time we have circumstances where a child is missing," says Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett. "Obviously, the quicker we can find the child the better. We are very anxious to get any information we can.

"We don't have any specific information that the child is missing with intent to harm the child," says Barnett. "We just know the child is missing, and we're attempting to get her back as quickly as possible."

Sean Phillips was believed to have been seen at a Wendy's restaurant with Katherine in the Ludington area between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Katherine was last seen wearing pink shorts with a matching tank top with pink and black flowers. She's 24 in. long, about 12 lbs., and has no hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on Sean Phillips or Katherine is asked to call 911, or Ludington Police at (231) 843-3425.

Supporters of the search for Katherine have set up a Facebook page.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/170526/2/AMBER-ALERT-Baby-Kate-still-missing

I'm getting a bad vibe from this. All too familiar.

Did Amber Alert suspect kidnap baby?

Suspect charged, child remains missing, endangered

Thursday, 30 Jun 2011, 6:48 PM EDT

• By Ken Kolker
  

LUDINGTON, Mich. (WOOD) - When questioned about the timing involved in the active Amber Alert case for a 4-month-old, Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett admitted this "was something that I did not get done quickly enough," he said during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

"Could it have made a difference in the timing of the Amber Alert?" 24 Hour News 8 asked.

Said Barnett: "I don't know. I don't know. "There was some delay simply from the logistics of getting the information in the computer," he said earlier. "Could it have been more quickly? Sure. But, we got it done as fast as we could. There was not a timing issue based on the arrest of Mr. Phillips."

Katherine Phillips, 4 months, is considered missing and endangered.

She was likely taken from a Ludington home located at 922 E. Tinkham, investigators said. The infant was last seen around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Police didn't inform the media of the Amber Alert until around 10 p.m. "We're still optimistic and encouraged that she'll be found safely," the prosecutor in the case said. "The weather is encouraging for her safe return."

Sean Michael Phillips, 21, was arraigned Thursday afternoon on a charge of kidnapping-child enticement and is being held on a $500,000 bond. His preliminary exam is set for July 13. If convicted, Phillips faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

This started as a civil situation between Phillips and the baby's mother, Ariel Courtland, Barnett said. Then, officers realized it was more serious and included the abduction of Katherine, he added. Phillips was at Courtland's home, and the pair was going to run an errand together, investigators said. Prosecutors wouldn't say what the disagreement was in regards to, that caused him to allegedly abduct the child.

Katherine's older sister, 3-year-old Haley, is the biological daughter of Phillips. It's not confirmed that Phillips is Katherine's dad, as well. Phillips previously agreed to a court order to take a DNA swab test, to determine if he is the father of Katherine, born Feb. 12, 2011. It is unclear if he took that test.

Investigators aren't sure of Haley's whereabouts when Katherine was allegedly abducted. Phillips did not have permission to leave with Katherine, police said, adding that there was "a very short delay from when he left with her and when police were called. The suspect does not have any custody rights with respect to Katherine. He does have custody rights for Haley."

Investigators are operating under the assumption that the infant remains alive, they said. Police have information that Phillips and Katherine were seen in a restaurant together, Barnett said, although no further details on that incident were disclosed. Courtland has been interviewed and her statement was corroborated, police said. She has not been named as a suspect and has never been charged with child abuse. Barnett would not comment on whether Courtland had been charged with anything previously in the county.

Officials are investigating multiple scenes: The area immediately adjacent to a lake, and a home on Millerton Road, where Phillips and his vehicle were located late Wednesday afternoon. It belongs to the suspect's parents. A search warrant was issued at the house. Police dogs also responded, along with the Grand Rapids Police Department Crime Lab.

"We've had volunteers from other areas and states to come help," officials said at the news conference. "But we want to do it in a coordinated manner."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Mason-Oceana dispatch at 231.869.5858, or 911, or Silent Observer at 888.STOP-CRIME.

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/nw_mich/Did-Amber-Alert-suspect-kidnap-baby

An Amber Alert for a missing 4-month-old Michigan
girl remained active Friday, with the suspect in her kidnapping behind
bars and reportedly refusing to tell authorities where she is.
Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips was taken from her mother’s
Ludington, Michigan home around 1:15 pm on Wednesday and police say she
could be in “extreme danger.”Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips

According to CNN affiliate WZZM, 21-year-old Sean Michael Phillips is
accused of abducting Katherine after an argument with her mother, Ariel
Courtland. Phillips is the biological father of Ariel’s older daughter,
but it was unclear if he was also Katherine’s father.
Sean Phillips was arrested about 10 miles away later that afternoon,
but Katherine was not with him and he would not say what happened to
her. He was charged with kidnapping and is now being held on $500,000
bond.
The two were reportedly seen at a Ludington Wendy’s between 2:00 and
4:00 pm on Wednesday, and police were interested in speaking to anyone
who may have spotted them there. Authorities were also conducting
searches Thursday in a wooded area near the home of Sean Phillips’
parents.
Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips is described as 2 feet tall,
approximately 12 pounds, with blue eyes. She was last seen wearing pink
shorts and a matching pink tank top with black and pink flowers on it.
Anybody with information about Katherine’s whereabouts or the
activities of Sean Phillips on the afternoon of June 29 is asked to call
the Ludington Police Department at 231-843-3425
http://nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/01/authorities-search-for-missing-baby-after-kidnapping-suspect-arrested/

UPDATED-AMBER ALERT: 4-Month-Old Still Missing From Ludington
6/30/2011

The search for missing 4-month-old Katherine Phillips is still happening and police are asking anyone wanting to volunteer and help find Katherine to go to Ludington City Hall.

Ludington City Hall is located at 400 S. Harrison.

Volunteers will be given a flyer and asked to visit a local business and talk with the public about Katherine's disappearance.

Investigators are still looking for more information about what Sean Michael Phillips did on Wednesday between 1:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon.

Officials with the investigation say authorities are searching the area between US-31, Fountain Road, Amber Road and Dewey Road.

Anyone with information about Sean Michael Phillips or the whereabouts of Katherine Phillips is asked to call Mason-Oceana 911 at 231-869-5858.


9&10 News will have the very latest on the search for Katherine tonight on 9&10 News at 5:00 and 6:00.


8 a.m. FRIDAY: It's now day three of the search for a missing 4-month old Mason County baby, and the family of Katherine Phillips is fearing the worst.

Katherine's mother says it's the baby's father, Sean Phillips, who's charged with kidnapping the girl from her home in Ludington, but investigators say he's not telling them where she is.

Police spent most of Thursday searching the area of Millerton and U.S. 31 after getting a tip from a neighbor.

The thick, dense woods stretch back quite a ways and the neighbor says he saw sean phillips in the area after Katherine was last seen.



Although we saw the state police crime lab drive through, police say at this point the area is not a crime scene.

3:30 PM UPDATE: Ludington Police say Sean Phillips has been charged with kidnapping.

Sean Phillips is the father of Katherine's older sister, last night he was charged in connection with her disappearance.

Officers arrested him in the area of Millerton & US-31, near his parents home.

This afternoon police sectioned off that area.

Sean Phillips is being held in jail, he has not told police anything about where Katherine could be.

Police continue to search for Katherine who they believe is alive.

Police are asking anyone with information to call police or the Silent Observer tip line.


1:40 PM UPDATE: Ludington Police are looking for potential witnesses who were seen launching a blue and white boat at the Hackert Lake/Crystal Lake public boat launch yesterday afternoon.

Police say the potential witnesses are described as a family with children who were launching their boat from a silver colored 4-door pick-up truck.

1:20 PM UPDATE: The 9&10 crew who is covering the disappearance of 4-month-old Katherine Phillips believes they've come across a
possible crime scene.

Police have surrounded the area of W. Millerton Road, just north of Scottville.

Michigan State Police have a mobile crime lab at the scene.

9&10 News has learned that the man accused of taking Katherine is her father, Sean Phillips.

Sean Phillips is in police custody.

Police first issued an Amber Alert for Katherine yesterday after she was taken from her home in Ludington.

Police later found Sean, but Katherine is still missing.

Neighbors tell 9&10 News that Phillips recently moved out and lives with his father near Scottville.

Police tracked down Phillips and the car he was driving but are still looking for Katherine.

If you have any information please call 911 or Mason-Oceana Dispatch at (231) 869-5858.

Clothes found from missing Ludington baby

4:58 PM, Jul. 2, 2011

Ariel Courtland holds a picture of her 4-month-old daughter in
Ludington, Mich. on Thursday, June 30, 2011. Katherine Phillips has been
missing since Wednesday and an Amber Alert has been issued. /
Ludington Daily News / AP

LUDINGTON, Mich. -- Authorities say clothing has been located that a missing 4 1/2-month-old western Michigan girl was last seen wearing.

The Ludington Daily News reported Saturday that police didn’t disclose where the clothing was found. The update came from a news conference.

Police have been searching the area between the Ludington apartment where Katherine Phillips lives with her mother and the Scottville home of Sean Phillips, the child’s father. Phillips was arrested on kidnapping and child enticement charges.

Katherine Phillips last was seen Wednesday wearing pink shorts and a matching pink tank top with black and pink flowers. Ariel Courtland says her daughter was in the car when Phillips drove off Wednesday afternoon from her apartment, 80 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.

Courtland says he told her Friday that Katherine is alive.


http://www.freep.com/article/20110702/NEWS06/110702007/Authorities-continue-search-missing-baby?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

LUDINGTON, Mich., July 3 (UPI) -- Authorities in Ludington, Mich.,
are asking for volunteers to help search for a missing 4-month-old girl.
Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips was taken from her mother Ariel
Courtland's car between 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday by the baby's
father, The Muskegon Chronicle reported.
Courtland stepped out of her car only for a minute to talk with Sean
Michael Phillips in front the Birch Lake Apartments, when she lived. The
two were having an argument about parenting techniques when Courtland,
19, said Phillips, 21, abruptly took off with his daughter, and when
police caught up with him hours late, he did not have the child.
Phillips was arrested Thursday and charged with kidnapping the baby. He is being held in jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.
Law enforcement is searching the area, including Phillips' parents' home. Volunteers are handing out flyers.
"I just hope somebody has her," Courtland said Friday. "This not knowing is just killing me."
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/07/03/Police-ask-for-help-finding-missing-baby/UPI-22841309672848/#ixzz1R1nADmG6

UDINGTON, Mich. (AP) - The search continues
for a 4½-month-old western Michigan girl who's been missing for five
days. Her father is jailed on kidnapping charges.
The Ludington Daily News says friends passed
out fliers at Ludington's Fourth of July parade asking for tips on
finding Katherine Phillips. Police say they've located the clothing that
she was wearing when she was last seen Wednesday but say there's no new
information on her whereabouts Monday.
Police have been searching the area between
the Ludington apartment where Katherine lives with her mother and the
Scottville home of Sean Phillips, the child's father.
Phillips was arrested on kidnapping and child enticement charges.http://www.wnem.com/story/15023323/fliers-seek-clues-for-missing-west-michigan-baby

All the news releases say the same thing but at least it is keeping her in the news. I think this will have a bad ending.

Her infant daughter missing for seven days, a mother holds on to hope

July 06, 2011 9:50 PM

LUDINGTON, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – It's been a week and there are still no leads in the case of a missing infant.

Four-month-old Katherine Phillips went missing last Wednesday from her mother's home in Ludington. The girl's father, Sean Phillips has been charged with kidnapping, but police say he's refusing to tell them where his daughter is.

Phillips is currently being held at the Mason County Jail.

Police and volunteers have been out searching since the girl went missing, scouring riverbanks and the area between Baby Kate's mother's house and her father's house in Scottville.

“I'm getting more nervous but I'm also getting more discouraged,” said Baby Kate's mother Ariel Courtland.

Courtland, desperate for answers, says she's still holding out hope that her baby is alive.

“I'm not giving up hope,” said Courtland, “but you get discouraged as the days go by and you don't have your daughter back yet.”

If this were a normal Wednesday, Baby Kate would be playing at her grandmother's while Courtland went to work, unfortunately nothing has been normal for the family since Kate disappeared.

“It's horrible,” said Baby Kate's grandmother, April Lange, “it's a nightmare, it just doesn't seem real anymore.”

Now family, friends and an army of volunteers are frantically searching for the infant who was last spotted with her father, Phillips. After letting law enforcement handle the search for a few days, Courtland now says she's taking matters into her own hands.

“I'm not going to do that anymore,” said Courtland, “I'm going to look for my daughter.”

The Path of Life Ministries in Ludington has become home base for the search efforts, a place where people come every morning to organize the search for Baby Kate. Family members say the large wooded search area can be overwhelming.

“Not knowing where she's at is just very draining,” said Kate's aunt Paula Lange. “We think of her so often, so we're doing this, it's the only thing we can do.”

“I just pray she's with somebody and she's safe,” said April Lange, “obviously we can't give up hope or we wouldn't be here. We just need to find her.”

“There's so many people out there looking for her,” said Courtland, “we have thousands of people who are praying for Kate.”

Police also have people keeping an eye out for Courtland's cell phone.

Courtland says that when Phillips took off with Kate, they had been arguing and as she went inside to get a stroller he took off with her wallet, phone and other belongings still in the car.

That phone is a black HTC Desire with purple trim.

http://www.wwmt.com/articles/infant-1393092-seven-ludington.html

This reminds me of Gabriel Johnson.

Police Searching For Cell Phone in Case of Missing Baby
Posted On: 7/6/2011






Police
are asking for your help in finding a black and purple HTC Desire cell
phone that was left in the car of the suspect accused of abducting a
4-month-old Ludington girl.


Katherine Phillips has been missing for one week.


Katherine's mother Ariel Courtland, left the phone in the car and it could hold important information in the case.
http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=296166&cID=1

onehope wrote:This reminds me of Gabriel Johnson.

They know who took Katherine. Don't think they know anything about Gabriel. Both very sad.

I think they need to water board the truth out of her father. I'm sure he murdered her. JMO.

twinkletoes wrote:

onehope wrote:This reminds me of Gabriel Johnson.

They know who took Katherine. Don't think they know anything about Gabriel. Both very sad.

I think they need to water board the truth out of her father. I'm sure he murdered her. JMO.

Both disappeared with a parent,is the common link. I still think if someone had Gabriel they would have come forward. The same with Katherine. They could only keep her in secrecy for so long. I fear you are probably right about Katherine's fate.Odd they found her clothes. Did I read that correctly?

onehope wrote:

twinkletoes wrote:

onehope wrote:This reminds me of Gabriel Johnson.

They know who took Katherine. Don't think they know anything about Gabriel. Both very sad.

I think they need to water board the truth out of her father. I'm sure he murdered her. JMO.

Both disappeared with a parent,is the common link. I still think if someone had Gabriel they would have come forward. The same with Katherine. They could only keep her in secrecy for so long. I fear you are probably right about Katherine's fate.Odd they found her clothes. Did I read that correctly?

Yes, you did. In reference to Wed June 29th....

Police say they've located the clothing that
she was wearing when she was last seen Wednesday but say there's no new
information on her whereabouts Monday.

onehope wrote:

twinkletoes wrote:

onehope wrote:This reminds me of Gabriel Johnson.

They know who took Katherine. Don't think they know anything about Gabriel. Both very sad.

I think they need to water board the truth out of her father. I'm sure he murdered her. JMO.

Both disappeared with a parent,is the common link. I still think if someone had Gabriel they would have come forward. The same with Katherine. They could only keep her in secrecy for so long. I fear you are probably right about Katherine's fate.Odd they found her clothes. Did I read that correctly?

I didn't remember Gabriel disappearing with a parent.

I think there are so many of these devastating cases sometimes they all run together in my brain, especially when I'm up in the wee hours unable to sleep.

Yes, you read it correctly. Sadly, I think that is proof that she is dead.

Wish one of his jail mates would beat the truth out of him

Millerton search ends




Monday, July 11, 2011The search for baby Katherine Phillips continues, but no longer in the Millerton Road area. Nor are any volunteer searches planned for today,After eight days of searching the swampy land, law enforcement on Sunday
ended its Millerton Road-area search in Victory Township for the
missing girl. Mason County Sheriff Jeff Fiers said the search had
“negative resolve.”

“That entire area was covered and there was nothing there that we could find,” Fiers told the Daily News Sunday. Fiers said search and rescue personnel came from all over the state to
volunteer at the approximate 5-square-mile site west of U.S. 31 to Amber
Road north to the Lincoln River and south to Dewey Road. He said Saturday’s search at that site would be the end of the search operation there. Another area officials have been concentrating on has been the Ludington
Area Schools forest, with access off North Jebavy Drive between Johnson
Road to the south, Bryant Road to the north and Sherman Street to the
west.Search operations Friday and Saturday eliminated about three-quarters of the school forest.
http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/59210-millerton-search-ends?newsgroup_id=

Volunteers needed of search in Baby Kate case

Reward fund being established

Steve Begnoche - Managing Editor

Monday, July 11, 2011

Volunteers are being asked to help complete the search of the Ludington
Area Schools forest Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. as investigators continue to try
to find out what happened to Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips. "Baby Kate"
has been missing since June 29 when last seen in the car of Sean Michael Phillips
at Birch Run Apartments on Tinkham Road in Ludington.The infant would be five
months old Tuesday.

Ludington Police Chief Mark A. Barnett said volunteers, 18 and older
with photo id, are being asked to help assist fire and law enforcement
personnel in the search Tuesday. Volunteer searcher are asked to bring
water, wear footwear appropriate for a wooded search, brightly colored
shirt/vest and a carry walking stick to move aside vegetation. The search area
is bounded by Jebavy Drive, Bryant Road, Sherman St. and Johnson Road/Tinkham
Avenue.

A reward fund is also being established. The Ludington/Scottville Area
Chamber of Commerce has agreed to receive donated funds to establish a
reward for information related to this investigation. Any funds donated
to be used as a reward for resolution of the sbduction of Katherine
Phillips must meet the following criteria:The amount of the reward will
be based on the amount donated to Silent Observer for that purpose.

Once the reward amount is set for this case it will be paid to the
person's) supplying information resulting in the recovery of the
victim-Katherine Phillips AND the successful prosecution of the suspect.

If there is more than one source of information the reward will be split
by Silent Observer, based on information supplied by law enforcement
and on the significance of each tip.All funds are to be submitted to Lakeshore Silent Observer c/o
Ludington/Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce, and should be in check
form.

Donations in amounts exceeding $100.00 that are not paid out in the
resolution of this case may be returned to the donor if so desired.

If donations of $100.00 or more are not requested to be returned those
funds will be retained in the Silent Observer Fund for future Silent
Observer tips related to other investigations.Receipts are available upon request for donations exceeding $100.00.Donations in the amount of less than $100.00 will be retained in the
Silent Observer fund for payment of any reward related to this case, or
any other rewards related to information supplied to Silent Observer.

The search of the Millerton Road area concluded on Saturday evening. Investigators are continuing to receive, analyze and follow-up on leads that continue to come in. When other geographical areas of interest
emerge they will be searched. Investigators would still like to speak with anyone that saw Phillips
during the hours of 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29. He was reported to have been seen at the Wendy’s Restaurant and near the Birch Lake Apartments during that time.Anyone with information is asked to contact Mason-Oceana 911 at 231-869-5858.Phillips is lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $500,000 bail charged
with abduction. He has exercised his right to remain silent.

Persons wishing to provide information anonymously can call Silent Observer @ 888-STOPCRIME (888-786-7274). Anonymous information can also be provided at HYPERLINK "http://WWW.LSOTIP.COM" WWW.LSOTIP.COM or by texting “LSOTIP and your tip to 274637 (CRIMES).

Ludington's Baby Kate remains missing;
Preliminary examination for accused kidnapper, Sean Michael Phillips,
scheduled for Wednesday

Updated: Monday, July 11, 2011, 6:23 PM
Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips, 4 months

LUDINGTON — The search for missing Ludington baby Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips will continue Tuesday as authorities
regroup and continue to field tips from the public about the child's whereabouts.Authorities spent all weekend looking for the missing 4-month-old girl,
most recently in the Millerton Road area in Mason County's Victory
Township where the parents of her accused abductor, Sean Michael
Phillips, 21, live. The eight-day search of that swampy, heavily
wooded area ended Sunday, producing no new information that would help
authorities solve the case.Now the Ludington Police Department is
seeking volunteers Tuesday to help complete a search of what it terms
"the school forest," an area bounded by Jebavy Drive, Bryant Road,
Sherman Street and Johnson Road.Volunteers, who must be at least
age 18, are asked to report at 3:30 p.m. to the Leviathan disc golf
course on Jebavy north of Johnson. They are advised to bring a photo
I.D., water, footwear appropriate for a wooded search, brightly colored
shirt or vest and a walking stick to move aside vegetation.
Phillips remains lodged in the Mason County Jail, charged with kidnapping. He is being held on $500,000 bond.
A preliminary examination has been slated for 11:15 a.m. Wednesday.
Authorities
also have searched an area bordered by U.S. 31, Amber Road, the Lincoln
River and Dewey Road, and the Ludington Area Schools forest.

REWARD FUND
The Ludington/Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce has agreed to
receive donated funds for the establishment of a reward for information
leading to the recovery of Katherine Phillips and the successful
prosecution of a suspect in her abduction.

• Checks should be made out to Lakeshore Silent Observer and sent to
Ludington/Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce, 5300 W. U.S. 10,
Ludington, 49431. Only checks will be accepted.


• Donations exceeding $100 that are not paid out in the resolution of this case may be returned to the donor if so desired.

• Receipts are available upon request for donations exceeding $100.

• Donations less than $100 will be retained in the Silent Observer
fund for payment of any reward related to this case, or any other
rewards related to information supplied to Silent Observer.

Meanwhile, Phillips, who is being represented by Muskegon attorney Annette Smedley, isn't cooperating with authorities.He
has refused to reveal the whereabouts of the infant, whom Phillips
claims is not his biological child. The baby girl's mother, Ariel
Courtland, 19, insists the child is his. The couple has a 3 1/2-year-old
daughter, Haley.Courtland said she and Phillips got into an
argument in his vehicle parked outside her Ludington apartment at 922 E.
Tinkham before he drove off around 1 p.m. June 29 with the baby in the
vehicle. That was the last time she saw the infant, police said. The couple was arguing over parenting issues, Courtland said.Phillips
was arrested a few hours later at his parents' home, 280 Millerton, in
Victory Township about five miles north of Scottville, without the baby
in his care. Phillips refuses to tell anyone what happened with the
infant, but has told Courtland, when she visited him in jail, that the
baby is alive, Courtland has said.Anyone with information is asked to contact Mason-Oceana 911 at 231-869-5858.Those
wishing to provide information anonymously can call Silent Observer at
888-STOPCRIME (888-786-7274). Anonymous information can also be provided
at HYPERLINK "http://WWW.LSOTIP.COM" WWW.LSOTIP.COM or by texting “LSOTIP and your tip to 274637 (CRIMES).
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/07/post_132.html

Preliminary exam adjourned in Baby Kate abduction case
Suspect attends brief hearing at courthouse in Ludington
Jennifer Linn Hartley - Staff Writer

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A preliminary hearing for the suspected kidnapper of missing infant Katherine “Kate” Phillips was adjourned until Aug. 3.
A brief hearing was held in 79th District Court late Wednesday morning for Sean Phillips, 21, of Scottville, who has been charged with kidnapping for Kate’s disappearance.

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/59229-preliminary-exam-adjourned-in-baby-kate--abudction-case

Ground search ends in "Baby Kate" abduction case

Polce have searched all areas they had received tips about.

Steve Begnoche - Managing Editor

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Thirteen searchers led by Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett and Mason County Sheriff Jeff Fiers completed what, for now, is the final ground search in the case of the missing infant, Katherine Phillips.At about 2:30 p.m. Saturday the searchers finished searching an area near Meyers Road south of the railroad tracks south of U.S. 10.Nothing was found, Barnett said.

The site, like others searched since "Baby Kate" was reported missing more than two weeks ago after last being seen in the vehicle of Sean Michael Phillips at Birch Lake Apartments in Ludington,was one police had received a tip about, Barnett told the Ludington Daily News.

All the tips of sites for potential searches have now been checked out and answers to the whereabouts of the baby who would now be 5 months old have failed to turn up answers as to what happened to her.

The searchers, sweaty and hot, and some with soaked feet from searching in the heavily vegetated and wet area, filed onto a emergency vehicle van when the search came to an end.

"It's been a long two weeks," Fiers told the Daily News.Sean Phillips is being held in Mason County Jail on $500,000 bond on a charge of abduction.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the infant or of Sean Michael Phillips on June 29 is asked to contact Mason-Oceana 911 at 231-869-5858.

Persons wishing to provide information anonymously can call Silent Observer @ 888-STOPCRIME (888-786-7274).

Anonymous information can also be provided at WWW.LSOTIP.COM or by texting “LSOTIP and your tip to 274637 (CRIME).

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/59282-ground-search-ends-for-in-baby-kate-abduction-investigation?newsgroup_id=