May 2, 2008 9:56 pm US/Central
Expert: Photo Is Girl Missing Since 2001
Forensic Artist Says Picture Found On Social Networking Site Is Tionda Bradley, As Aunt Has Believed For Some Time
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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A forensic expert says this photo found on a MySpace page is Tionda Bradley, who vanished with her sister in 2001.
MySpace.com
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Tionda and her sister Diamond vanished in 2001.
CBS
A mysterious photo of a girl that surfaced on the Internet last year is missing Chicago girl Tionda Bradley, who vanished with her sister Diamond in 2001, an expert says.
According to a high-profile forensic artist who analyzed photos of a young Tionda -- 10 when she disappeared; her sister was 3 -- next to photos of a girl whose picture was part of a profile for a social networking Web site, the photos match.
"I took a hard look at them [the photos] for the first time [this week], and I do not say this lightly, but it's her," said Lois Gibson, a forensic artist with the Houston Police Department.
Gibson has been called on to assist authorities around the country, including DuPage County, where she drew a picture of a little boy found dead in 2005. He remains unidentified.
Gibson says the photos of a young Tionda compared with the photos of the older girl, with long hair, a dark top and shy smile, show they have the same nose, the same nostrils, even the same lips.
Family said Thursday they have been assured the newer photos haven't been doctored or otherwise enhanced.
Chicago Police have "no substantive leads, but detectives are aware of this enhanced image," said police News Affairs Director Monique Bond.
The photograph surfaced last year, as part of a MySpace page by someone named "Angelique."
The photo trail ended with a teenager who found the picture on the Internet and posted it on MySpace. That teenager reportedly does not remember where she or he found the picture.
In August 2007, six years after the girls first went missing, their aunt told CBS 2 it could well be a picture of Tionda.
"That's my niece. I'm telling you that's my niece. And if it's not my niece, only DNA can prove me different," said Shelia Bradley-Smith.
A West Side pastor who has been counseling the family said last year he thought Bradley-Smith may be right.
"It looks like a very close resemblance," said Rev. Paul Jakes.
Bradley-Smith said she sought Gibson after seeing stories about her on CNN.com.
"Now that we've been assured it's Tionda, everybody's going to have to stop up," Bradley-Smith said. "They're [law enforcement is] going to have to get computers, they're going to have to use the Patriot Act, they're going to have to find her now."
But not everyone's so certain it's Tionda.
"This is Chicago's most mysterious case," said private investigator James Miller. "You had two little children who went missing in broad daylight, in front of everybody, on a hot summer day..."
Miller has spent months probing the baffling disappearance of the Bradley sisters.
But he's not sure whether a mysterious Internet photo represents new hope or a dead end.
"I am pleased with the coverage it's getting because it brings awareness," Miller said.
In other words, it's a dead end, at least for now.
Still, the forensic artist's opinion is raising the hopes of the Bradley family that the sisters are still alive, and also reminding the public that it's help is still needed to solve a horrific crime.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley and Roseanne Tellez and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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