TALLAHASSEE (MN) — The 2023 case of a 12-year-old girl who reportedly walked away from home in the middle of the night has taken a dramatic turn, with her dad now considered a suspect in her death, according to investigators in Florida.
Andrew Wiley, 36, was arrested after human remains found April 5 in Georgia were positively identified as his missing daughter, Lori Paige, the Tallahassee Police Department reported in an April 11 news release.
Investigators have not released a motive but say the charges are linked to “new information about his relationship with Lori.”
Andrew Wiley, 36, was arrested after remains found April 5 in Georgia were positively identified as those of his daughter, 12-year-old Lori Paige (above), the Tallahassee Police Department reported in an April 11 news release. (Photo courtesy of the FBI)
“This case has deeply impacted our community for nearly two years,” Police Chief Lawrence Revell said in the release. “Lori deserved a safe home and a full life. While (the) arrest will never bring her back, it does bring us one step closer to justice.”
Wiley reported Lori missing June 3, 2023, and investigators say they became suspicious early on when his story began “to show inconsistencies.”
“At the time, he claimed she left home with her backpack sometime overnight while he was at work,” police said.
“As more inconsistencies in Wiley’s statements are identified and new information about his relationship with Lori emerges, detectives shift their focus more heavily toward Wiley.”
A forensic analysis of Wiley’s phone revealed “questionable internet searches about remote areas with bodies of water in Alabama and Georgia among other things,” police said.
“Digital evidence” led detectives to search “a remote, brush-covered area of Thomas County, Georgia.” The area, known as “the Plantation,” is about a 30-mile drive northeast from Tallahassee.
Initial searches uncovered no evidence of a body. But a prescribed burn on April 5 “cleared heavy brush in the area,” leading to the discovery of human remains, officials said.
“The remains are processed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and positively identified as those of Lori Paige,” police said.
Wiley was arrested April 11 and charged with second-degree murder, jail records show.
By MARK PRICE/McClatchy News
