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Pond Yields No Clues To Missing Mom

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 20, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - About noon Monday, members of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office dive team plunged into a small pond near the entrance to Colony Lakes Estates, off State Road 52.

Their mission was to find clues to a young mother's disappearance and to rule out that her body could be submerged in the water.

A little more than an hour later, the team's skiff was pulled ashore and the divers emerged without any clues to the disappearance of Stefanie Francique, last seen Nov. 5.

"At this point we have no evidence to suggest she was in this body of water," said sheriff's office spokesman Doug Tobin, who rode on the boat with deputies.

On Saturday, dozens of family, friends and strangers searched the woods near the family's home at 11910 Old Tuscany Place, covering about a 10-mile radius.

The search team found a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, T-shirts, sunglasses and latex gloves. So far the cigarettes are the only link to Francique: They are her brand, Tobin said.

But it was the fresh tire tracks leading to the pond on Saturday that grabbed deputies' attention and led to Monday's dive.

"We want to rule out this pond," Tobin said shortly before boarding the skiff.

The pond reached depths of only 5 feet and was shallow enough at points for divers to walk as they searched. The sonar on the boat detected nothing of significance in the water, Tobin said.

The pond was larger than expected as it turned from its opening and continued for about a half mile. Fishing lines were found and spider webs along the banks appeared untouched.

About a half hour into the search, Francique's father, Ardell Mears, and stepmother, Janet Mears, arrived after hearing television news helicopters hovering above their subdivision. They didn't know about the search, Janet Mears said, but they were glad it was happening.

"They've been persistent since Day One," Ardell Mears said of deputies' efforts.

Francique is classified by the sheriff's office as a missing person. There is still no evidence of a crime, Tobin said.

"It really is a mystery as to what happened to her," he said.

Francique was last seen about 11 p.m. Nov. 5 when her stepmother went to bed. As was her usual routine, Francique was talking on the phone and smoking in front of the home she shares with her parents and 4-year-old daughter. She wasn't allowed to smoke inside.

When Janet Mears awoke Nov. 6, she noticed Francique's car in the driveway and her daughter, Alyanna, still in bed. Francique, 24, was gone along with her car keys and cell phone. Her identification, credit cards, make-up and several other items she normally would take with her when she went out remained.

Family and friends say Francique would never leave her daughter. Her daughter has been staying with Francique's estranged husband in Brandon but visited the Mearses on Friday.

"She hasn't really been asking questions but I know she knows there's a problem," Janet Mears said.

The Mearses were relieved after learning their daughter's body wasn't found in the pond. They're still looking for clues.

"We just have to turn over every stone that we can and see what we can," Janet Mears said. "We're still holding out hope that maybe she's somewhere and she'll see the efforts that are being made to find her."
Mears said she hopes to open the search wider, at least statewide, if not nationally.

The sheriff's office, meanwhile, continues investigating but the tips are few, Tobin said.

Francique is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 200 pounds and has long, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes and a white tiger tattooed on her upper right arm.

Anyone with information may call Detective Kevin Macomber at 1-800-854-2862, Ext. 7462.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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