Navajo Police Department puts halt on search for missing 4-year-old

ANETH, Utah (AP) - Authorities on the Navajo Nation have put a halt on the search for a missing 4-year-old. Community volunteers will continue organizing teams to try and find Anndine Jones, who went missing Thursday.

The Navajo Police Department said its officers and personnel from the San Juan County Sheriff's Office and Montezuma Creek Fire and Rescue began searching late-night on March 14 for Jones. Police say the 4-year-old reportedly walked away from her home.

Statements issued by the Police Department and the Navajo Nation Council said the search continued into Thursday night and that over 100 volunteers joined the effort Friday.

Circumstances of the girl's disappearance weren't immediately clear but council spokesman Carl Slater Slater said reports from the scene indicated that searchers focused initial efforts along a runoff-swollen creek where dogs were observed barking toward the water.

Search crews have covered nearly 25 miles of the river by boat and another eight miles on foot.