The 11-year-old Salisbury girl believed to have been kidnapped from her bedroom on Tuesday night has been found dead in a brushy woods less than a mile from the home where she lived, the Wicomico sheriff reports.
The cause of death is not yet known. The spot where she was found is being treated as a crime scene. The case is described as a murder investigation.
Thousands of searchers fanned out Christmas Day over snowy fields, probing icy ponds and ditches and briar-choked woods for some sign of the 11-year-old Salisbury girl last seen as she went to bed Tuesday night wearing fuzzy red Christmas-tree pajamas. One team found the child about 4 p.m. It’s estimated that searchers covered 500 square miles before she was discovered dead.
An estimated 3,000 volunteers, including lawmen and fire fighters from across the state, came to help local police and neighbors search for Sarah Haley Foxwell, described as 4-foot-8, 78 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair, and a smile to break hearts.
Meantime, officers continued questioning a registered sex offender charged with kidnapping and burglary in the little girl’s disappearance.
Sheriff Mike Lewis identified the accused man as Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 30, of Salisbury, a former boyfriend of Sarah’s aunt and guardian, with whom the child and her siblings live. Leggs is listed as a sex offender on both the Maryland and Delaware registries.
Investigators said Leggs and Sarah’s aunt had ended a relationship about a month ago. According to court documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun, Leggs knew that the family kept a spare key hidden on the porch.
The Maryland listing described Leggs as a child sex offender. Delaware records showed he was convicted of rape for having sex with a victim who was 16. That registry described him as a high risk and noted he was unemployed.
The charging document said Leggs is the last person seen with Sarah. She went to bed Tuesday night and was discovered missing when the family awoke Wednesday morning. The document states that a “juvenile witness” awoke during the night and saw Sarah leaving the bedroom with “Tommy.” This child described the man as wearing blue jeans, an orange jacket and white sneakers.
Sarah’s aunt, Amy Fothergill, told officers she noticed Sarah’s green toothbrush was missing from the home. Officers reported finding a green toothbrush and a lollipop in a truck that Leggs said he had been driving. When arrested, Leggs was wearing bluejeans and white sneakers.
Leggs was described as being uncooperative and “of no assistance” to investigators.
Sheriff Lewis put out a plea for hunters familiar with the terrain to start their own searches beginning 7 a.m. on Christmas day. Dogs and helicopters were brought in to help searchers. Dive teams explored local ponds.
While the search went on, Leggs was being held without bail. Court records stated Leggs has been convicted several times of assault and is awaiting trial in Ocean City on burglary and destruction of property charges. A protective order against Leggs was granted in 2006 to his wife, who divorced him last April and took a new last name for herself and their child.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.