By Staff
Melissa Cason
Franklin County Times
Rumors have spread like wildfire across the county that after 14 years, Andrea Gonzalez has been found in Belgreen and that DNA testing is pending to prove the child's true identity.
These rumors have been sweeping the county for the past week or so, and Franklin County Sheriff Larry Plott said that there is nothing to substantiate them.
"No one in my department has been contacted regarding the possible sighting of Andrea," Plott said yesterday afternoon.
According to the rumors, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will conduct DNA tests on the girl suspected to Andrea in the coming days.
However, Plott contacted FBI Agent Patrick Stokes about the matter yesterday, and Stokes said that he had no knowledge of any DNA testing regarding a teen in Franklin County.
The rumors come months after the Sheriff's Department and the Franklin County Domestic Violence Response Coalition announced plans to place a memorial in Gonzalez' memory at the Mike Green Detention Center.
The Coalition plans to place bricks and benches around a black marble stone in memory of Gonzalez and other victims of child abuse.
Gonzalez was reported missing by her father, Paul, and stepmother, Kim, in November 1993, and not been seen since. In 1995, the couple confessed that their daughter died after being scalded in the bathtub. The couple said they panicked when they found her dead, and disposed of her body in Upper Bear Creek Lake. Her body was never found.
Later, Paul Gonzalez pled guilty to manslaughter in 1995, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He served only two years.
Kim was found guilty of child abuse and found not guilty of murder. She was released in 2001.