Leads, but no suspects in girl's death

Monday, September 18, 2006

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North Port police are looking for the person responsible for the death of a 6-year-old North Port girl.

Coralrose Fullwood was last seen by her father at 2 a.m. Sunday. By 7 a.m. she was gone, along with her flower-print comforter. Her body was found Sunday at about noon near a construction site in North Port on Linda Drive, two blocks from her home on Calabash Lane.

Police spent most of Monday on foot, knocking on doors, especially those of sexual offenders. There are seven who live within a mile of the victim's home.

"I suspect offenders, predators in the area will not only be seen once, they'll be seen twice, perhaps three times," said North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis.

Since there's new construction in the area, police are also talking to construction workers. They say they have 20 leads, though no one specifically is being targeted yet.

Lewis said the autopsy is being performed in Sarasota, but he's not sure when the results will be back. He can't speculate on the cause of death, and even though it is being classified as suspicious, he says they're treating it like a murder.

Coralrose had six brothers and sisters. The family moved to North Port about two months ago. North Port is about 30 miles southeast of

Police have been talking to sex offenders and construction workers.

Sarasota.

Meanwhile, Coralrose's classmates at Toledo Blade Elementary School are meeting with crisis counselors. Since the person responsible for her death has not been found, the school in in a modified lockdown mode, meaning there's limited access to the campus.

"This is not a situation that any of us wish to have to deal with," said Toledo Blade Elementary Principal Chris Renouf.

Anyone with any information about the case is asked to call the North Port Police Department at (941) 426-3111.

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