A year ago today, 19-month-old Acacia Patience Bishop was allegedly kidnapped by her grandmother from her Murray home, taken to Idaho Falls and drowned.
Evidence collected at the scene suggested Acacia's body was somewhere in the Snake River. But the toddler's parents, Adam Bishop and Casey Lodmell, believed their daughter was still alive.
The couple stayed in Idaho Falls through the summer searching, posting fliers all around town and flying red and yellow balloons to remind others their daughter was still lost.
Although Bishop and Lodmell eventually returned to Utah in the fall, they haven't given up.
"They're not going to accept that Kelley drowned that baby," said Acacia's great-grandmother Linda Lodmell. "They still believe she's alive somewhere."
A $500,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to Acacia's safe return and the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Acacia Bishop disappeared the evening of May 25. Her grandmother, Kelley Jean Lodmell, allegedly took the girl from her home and drove to Idaho Falls. An AMBER Alert for Acacia wasn't issued until 6 a.m. May 26.
Lodmell and Acacia stayed that night at the Red Lion Hotel in Idaho Falls. The next day, Lodmell took the toddler to a man-made pond used by a power plant that connected with the Snake River just off the main road through town. She walked out on a ledge and jumped in with Acacia, according to police.
Investigators later found Acacia's shoes, pacifier and doll, along with one adult-sized shoe and two stockings, on the bank of the pond where they allegedly jumped in and were swept into the river. A worker at the power plant saw Lodmell in the water and pulled her out, but there was no sign of Acacia.
Lodmell, 39, was originally charged with murder and kidnapping in Idaho's 7th District Court. Working against prosecutors, however, was the fact no body had been recovered.
A month after those charges were filed, federal kidnapping charges were filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. That put the state charges on hold.
Family members say Kelley Lodmell has been diagnosed as bipolar and may also be paranoid schizophrenic. A mental competency evaluation last year determined Lodmell was competent to stand trial but a second evaluation was ordered by the court.
Because they say she has lied in the past and is mentally unstable, Lodmell's relatives believe she may have given Acacia to someone else while in Idaho and never actually jumped into the water with her.
Idaho Falls police Sgt. Steve Hunt said the Acacia Bishop case has never been closed. But he conceded, "There hasn't been any activity on it for quite some time."
It's been months since there have been any new leads or tips to follow, Hunt said.
Investigators have heard all of the theories of Acacia being alive and with a friend of Lodmell's and have followed up on all of them. One rumor even had Acacia being sold on the black market.
But Hunt said there isn't any evidence to support any of those theories.
"The evidence we have is Kelley jumped into the water with Acacia and Kelley swam out and Acacia stayed in," he said.
Detectives have gone through Kelley Lodmell's phone records and interviewed friends and acquaintances in Utah, Idaho and Montana, Hunt said.
In the majority of other drowning cases the body eventually resurfaces, Hunt said.
"The fact the body has not surfaced, that is troublesome, especially for the family. It's hard for the parents to let go when the body of their child has not been recovered and that's understandable."
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com