Sandra Cantu

Initially, several different men were questioned. One, who had kissed Sandra playfully on the lips was questioned and dismissed. The police questioned her father, Daniel Cantu, who had not seen the little girl for nearly a year. Two men were described as "persons of interest," their vehicles towed and searched, ultimately turning up nothing.

The police had begun to close in, but at that point no one had seriously entertained the possibility that the suspect might be a woman.