Search for missing 10-year-old girl from West Philadelphia expands to suburbs

The search for a missing 10-year-old girl from West Philadelphia has expanded into the suburbs.

Investigators searched the backyard dumpster of a home Tuesday night on Ardmore Avenue in Lower Merion Township in connection with the disappearance of Jalayshia Alford, sources told CBS News Philadelphia.

The homeowner said investigators removed evidence from the dumpster, which was being used for construction debris because the house is undergoing renovations. It remains unclear what evidence investigators took.

One Lower Merion resident said the search for Jalayshia hits close to home.

"That breaks my heart," the woman told CBS News Philadelphia. "I work with children. So I really hope that girl is found safely."

Alford was last seen on North Simpson Street in West Philadelphia on Oct. 26, according to police.

Family members said Alford's foster mother told relatives the girl had gone to her biological mother's home. But family members said the biological mother did not have visitation rights and Jalayshia was not at her home.

The FBI went to the foster mother's home on North Simpson Street Tuesday night with a search warrant. After no one answered the door, agents forced their way inside.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said his office is lending its support.

"The D.A.'s office is involved because there are certain legal obstacles that have to be met in order to continue an investigation of this nature," Krasner told CBS News Philadelphia.

Krasner declined to elaborate on what those legal obstacles are.

On Wednesday, plainclothes officers canvassed Ardmore Avenue in search of surveillance video. Law enforcement knocked on residents' doors the night before, asking questions about the dumpster, according to people who live on the block.

Anyone with information about Jalayshia's whereabouts is asked to contact police.