Search Resumes For Idaho Toddler

Mentally Ill Grandmother Charged With Murder In Suicide Attempt

(CBS)  Divers scoured the cold, inky Snake River but failed to find a toddler who authorities say was swept into the river by her mentally ill grandmother in a murder-suicide attempt.

A probable cause statement charges that Kelly Jean Lodmell had a plan to commit suicide by jumping from a bridge that spans the Snake River, reports Mark Giauque of CBS Radio affiliate KSL Salt Lake City. The statement, paraphrasing a detective, says she thought too many people were there, so she moved to a different area. The document also claims that Lodmell held the child tight to her, underneath the water, for a time after she jumped in, then eventually let go.

Kelley Jean Lodmell, 38, described by police as paranoid schizophrenic, was charged with murder Tuesday. She was ordered held without bond until a June 10 hearing and was appointed an attorney.

"We have reason to believe she intentionally jumped into the river in an attempt to commit suicide and kill the baby," Sgt. Steve Hunt said. "We don't believe the baby going into the water was an accident."

Lodmell told police she and the child, 19-month-old Acacia Patience Bishop, fell from a platform where they were dangling their feet in the water Monday.

Divers planned to resume searching for the child Wednesday morning. Dogs and rescue workers patrolled the banks Tuesday trying to pick up the child's tracks while boats searched downriver.

Poor visibility in the murky water hampered divers' efforts.

"Visibility is between two feet and sometimes zero. What they're doing is hand work. It's difficult and time-consuming," Bonneville County sheriff's Capt. Paul Wilde said.

Police say Lodmell took Acacia from the girl's great-grandparents' home in Salt Lake County, Utah, on Sunday. The great-grandparents were baby-sitting for the girl. A national Amber Alert was issued Monday.

A combination of interviews and physical evidence in Lodmell's hotel room in Idaho Falls and her car led to the murder charge, Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkins Jr. said. He refused to discuss specifics.

Lodmell had stopped taking medication for her illness, according to her daughter Casey Lodmell, who is Acacia's mother. The daughter said her mother had wanted the little girl for herself.

Last year, Kelley Lodmell took Acacia for half an hour before relatives found them, Salt Lake County sheriff's spokeswoman Peggy Faulkner said. No charges were filed. Since then, Acacia had only had supervised visits with her grandmother, she said.