Caleigh Harrison Update: Pants washed up on Mass. beach could belong to missing toddler, police say

(CBS/AP) GLOUCESTER, Mass. - Authorities are investigating whether a pair of toddler pants that washed up on a Massachusetts beach on Friday could have belonged to 2-year-old Caleigh Harrison, who is believed to have drowned last spring.

State police spokesman David Procopio said the pink capris were found on Good Harbor Beach, about a mile south of the Rockport beach where Caleigh Harrison was last seen on April 19 with her mother and sister.

Rockport Police Chief John McCarthy told the Gloucester Daily Times on Monday that the pants, which were torn and entangled in lobster gear, are "very, very similar" to those Caleigh was wearing. McCarthy said the girl's mother, Allison Hammond, has seen the pants but hasn't been able to confirm they were Caleigh's.

Caleigh disappeared after her mother left her children briefly to retrieve a ball that bounced over a wall. Investigators believe Caleigh was swept out to sea.

More on Crimesider
July 18, 2012 - Caleigh Harrison Disappearance: Dad concedes toddler likely swept out to sea
May 4, 2012 - Caleigh Harrison Disappearance: Sister saw strange man on beach, dad says