LAKE STEVENS, Wash. - The babysitter of a 4-year-old girl who vanished more than a decade ago in Florida has been arrested in Lake Stevens.
Melissa Harding Jones, 33, was captured thanks to the efforts of a group of retired investigators who took on the cold case. She's now charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child in the presumed death of Pilar Rodriguez. The girl's body has never been found.
Jones was arrested Monday evening by Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies and FBI agents.
In the quiet family oriented Lake Stevens neighborhood, residents say they saw police in unmarked cars come for Melissa Cooper, last night. Cooper is the name they knew her by.
When I showed neighbor Mike Johnson her mug shot, he said, "It just really blows my mind. Two houses down. That's just crazy. But that's her."
Police and neighbors say Melissa Jones aka "Cooper" was married, and the mother of two young kids.
Neighbor Melanie Copeland says she thinks Melissa Jones moved into the neighbor about four years ago, but she says she really had no direct contact with her.
"They kind of keep to themselves," said Copeland.
When asked whether she was surprised to be arrested, Charlotte County Florida Sheriff Bill Cameron said, "I don't think so, but I wasn't there."
According to the St. Petersburg Times, Jones and her then-boyfriend have denied being involved in Pilar's disappearance.
If convicted, Jones could spend up to 30 years in prison.
