Police collected several items as evidence throughout Tucson in the days that followed the reported April 21 abduction of 6-year-old Isabel Celis from her midtown home.
Evidence including stuffed animals, clothes and a broken headlight lens was collected from Isabel's home and neighborhood, washes, roadways, vehicles and desert areas around the city based on leads collected after Isabel was reported missing, recently released Tucson police reports show.
"The problem is without knowing specifically what we're dealing with, we always want to err on the side of caution and collect something that could be of evidentiary value," said Sgt. Maria Hawke, a Tucson police spokeswoman.
She said it's easier to collect something that could be connected to a case than to immediately dismiss it and have to recover later.
More than a month into the investigation, police have not identified a suspect in Isabel's abduction or a motive and have not ruled out any possibilities.
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"There is such a large amount of potential evidence until we have the best idea of what exactly we're looking at, since all possible avenues of investigation have been open since day one," Hawke said.
Among the evidence found was "apparent blood on the floor" in Isabel's bedroom. The stain was tested for blood, but the results were redacted from the report.
Isabel's room was also checked for semen using a "forensic light source," which had negative results.
A white hat and a green vinyl shower curtain with "dark red-brown or brown stains" were found in a 1988 Acura parked on the Celis property, reports show.
The shower curtain stain was tested for blood, but those results were redacted in the report released Thursday night.
Police did not immediately search for other stains on the shower curtain.
"It was decided to keep the item close to its original condition and allow crime lab personnel to screen the shower curtain for possible evidence, if deemed necessary," the report says.
On StarNet: A collection of the articles, photos and videos related to the search for Isabel is at azstarnet.com/isabel
Some items collected as evidence
• Dog-unit officers found an empty bottle of KY jelly and a black box cutter in an alley near South Essex Lane and East 14th Street.
• A bedsheet, bed skirt and a plastic bag that appears to have contained clothing were found in a wash near Downing Lane and Wilshire Drive.
• DNA swabs from Isabel's parents and brothers.
• Blood collected from Sergio and Rebecca Celis.
• Isabel's hairbrush and toothbrush.
• A pink tie-dyed shirt found in an alley near Broadway and Craycroft Road.
• Bedding from throughout the Celis residence.
• A towel and pocketknife found behind the driver's seat of a truck belonging to a relative of Isabel. The towel gave a false positive result for blood when tested with luminol.
• Pieces of a vehicle lens found lying next to a neighbor's mailbox.
• Photos of text messages and a cellphone.
• Photos of blue, child-size shorts, apparent animal bones, apparent human hair and a small purse with a photo of unidentified women found at the Los Reales Landfill.
• A pale pink, twin-size blanket found hanging in Pantano Wash.
• A Timex watch with a green nylon wristband found in a desert area near St. Joseph's Hospital.
• A plastic bag of clothes that appeared to be for donation on North Swan Road.
• A dark blue, child-size "Star Wars" T-shirt found in the roadway near Broadway and Rosemont Boulevard.
• A small white stuffed bear with purple spots found on South Tampico Avenue.
• A pair of sunglasses, a granola bar and three shirts found near South Wilmot Road and East 14th Street.
• A Blackberry belonging to Rebecca Celis' brother and photos of text messages, call logs and contact information.
• Purple Crocs sandals found at Highland Park.
• 40 miscellaneous CDs found in a storage unit on South Wilmot Road while police executed a search warrant.
• A small rug with dried fluid on it and photographs of shoe prints near the rug, found near Oak and 17th Streets.
Contact reporter Veronica Cruz at vcruz@azstarnet.com or 573-4224
