Acacia Patience Bishop
.
It was Sunday evening on May 25th, 2003 and Acacia was 19 months old.
She was being watched by her great-grandparents in Salt Lake County, Utah, while her parents attended a wedding rehearsal dinner.
Her grandmother, 38 year old Kelley Jean Lodmell, stopped by the home around 6:00 p.m.
The Salt Lake Count Sheriff's Office delayed issuing the amber alert for nearly 12 hours following Acacia's disappearance.
The girl disappeared when the great-grandmother briefly turned her attention to something else and left the room for a moment.
Lodmell drove to The Red Lion Hotel in Idaho, Falls along the Snake River.
Acacia and Lodmell were last seen together in Idaho Falls, Idaho on May 26, close to the Broadway overpass and green belt, next to the Snake River.
That same day, Lodmell was soaking wet when she ran to a nearby hydroelectric plant near the overpass and told employees there that she had dropped Acacia into the river while they were dangling their feet off the bridge.
The plant was immediately shut down so Acacia would not get sucked into its turbines.
Divers searched the murky river for several days, but Acacia was never found.
However, a pair of baby shoes and a doll were found on the riverbank.
One of Lodmell's shoes was also found on the bank and the other one was in the water.
The Lodmell later admitted she drowned the baby in the Snake River in a failed suicide/homicide attempt and was charged with kidnapping and murdering.
Lodmell has a criminal record, a history of substance abuse, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
A year before she took Acacia for a half-hour before relatives found them.
Police were not called at that time until after the two were found.
She had wanted the girl for herself.
She has occasionally lived on the streets or in her car, and she took her medication only when she could afford to pay for it.
She was not taking it at the time she abducted Acacia.
A report was filed with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and no charges were pressed against Kelley Lodmell.
However, during a recent stay in the Salt Lake County Jail, Kelley Lodmell indicated she would take the girl again, given the chance.
Acacia's parents hope that Lodmell is lying about her granddaughter's death in an effort to conceal her from the rest of the family.They characterize Lodmell as a habitual liar..
Lodmell sent the parents a letter from jail, writing that Acacia was alive and being cared for by others.
She never referred to Acacia in the past tense in her letters.
They also point out that Lodmell purchased diapers and milk for Acacia shortly before the baby allegedly drowned, which would not make sense if she had been planning to murder her.
There was a man who was allegedly seen checking Lodmell and Acacia out of the Red Lion Hotel on May 26.
He was described as being in his late forties or early fifties with rough, weathered tan skin, graying sunbleached hair, hazel eyes, large hands with carrot-shaped fingers, and a small build.
He was about 5'6 tall and smoked Basics cigarettes.
At the time of Acacia's disappearance she was 2'6" tall, 35 lbs, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Acacia was last seen wearing a pink sundress with white sunflowers.
Both of her ears are pierced and she has a tennis ball-sized birthmark on her lower left abdomen.
