Two bound over in missing child case
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“He knew where they were but wouldn’t tell us,” testified McMinnville Police Investigator Marty Cantrell of his request the grandfather, C.R. Deboe, reveal the whereabouts of his daughter, Star Lee and her daughter, Angel Drewer, after they disappeared last month. “His number came up on my caller ID when he put a person on the phone he said was Star on the line to talk to me.”
The search for Lee and her daughter began after the pair disappeared without a trace July 12. Lee maintained in an interview with the Southern Standard she fled with her daughter because she had been the victim of domestic abuse.
It was during the search for the missing pair Deboe was charged with being an accessory after the fact and Lee with custodial interference since her disappearance deprived the child’s father his court ordered visitation. Lee turned herself in after hearing of the warrants against her but kept the child in a secret location until, facing contempt of court charges, she surrendered the girl a few days later on July 24. The child reportedly believed she had “been on vacation” the entire time.
In his defense, Deboe maintained Cantrell had asked he put him in touch with the missing mother, something Deboe pointed out he did, but was still charged with a crime. Cantrell countered he is unsure if it was really Lee he talked to on the phone, noting she was evasive about the whereabouts of the little girl during his conversation.
Cantrell believes Deboe set up a conference call, thereby showing his number on caller ID, and that Lee could have been on the phone many miles away. Lee claimed in the interview with the Standard her father never knew her whereabouts.
General Sessions Judge Larry Ross found probable cause to send the case before the grand jury. Both are free on bond. Lee is fighting to get back custody and visitation with her daughter.