10:07 am- 03/29/12
Irondequoit, N.Y.— It was news that sent Karen Snipes collapsing to the ground.
Police said a female body found in a covered pool was likely her missing daughter, 17-year-old Larie Butler.
"It didn't turn out the best like I wanted it to be, but find this dude!" said Snipes as she wept uncontrollably. "Find him now! Please find him! Please find him!"
Earlier Thursday, police executed a search warrant at 174 Dorington Road in Irondequoit. The home belongs to the grandmother of the man who was the last person to see Larie alive.
During that search investigators canvassed the area and found that next door, a brick on top of tarp covering an in-ground pool had been moved. Firefighters then pumped that pool and found a body.
"Obviously the medical examiner's office has to do their work to make a positive identification, but we do have reason to believe it's probably [Larie Butler]," says Rochester Deputy Police Chief Mike Wood.
Police would not comment on who their suspect is, but Thursday night, no one was in police custody.
Larie disappeared Saturday, March 24, after she told her mom that a male friend was picking her up to take her to Marketplace Mall.
Larie never made it back home.
Larie's parents describe the friend as an 18-year-old "family friend". He told police that he and Larie went to the mall and that he dropped her off near East High School around 7:00 and 7:30 Saturday night. However, during a press conference on Wednesday, police said the friend had stopped answering questions and cooperating with authorities.
One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told 13WHAM News that he had also suggested to police to look in the pool at the home next door to 174 Dorington. Police had drained another pool on the same street as a part of the investigation earlier in the week. The neighbor said he knew the pool next door to 174 Dorington Road was seldom used or open.
Another neighbor, Susan Kazak, says the people living at 174 Dorington Road are very quiet.
"They keep their business quiet and you rarely see people there," Kazak says.
She believes she's also seen a girl matching Larie's description around Dorington Road before. The reason she could tell was because of the pink shoes the girl wore.
Larie was last seen in pink sneakers.
"It was a cold day and she had a gray sweatshirt on and her pink sneakers," Kazak says. "The pink sneakers stood out to me."