Case of Teen Who Vanished From Theme Park Baffles Police and Family
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Updated: 6:11 PM Jul 5, 2005
Case of Teen Who Vanished From Theme Park Baffles Police and Family
The family of Leah Deltedesco is on a desperate search to find out why she vanished over the weekend from Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta.
Posted: 6:11 PM Jul 5, 2005
Reporter: Monica Buchanan
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Seventeen-year-old Leah Deltedesco was visiting Wild Adventures to see a concert by the band "Simple Plan" Saturday night with her grandmother, brother and sister.

During the concert, family members say Leah left to buy a drink and hasn't been seen since.

She's a woman on a mission, but perhaps more dangerous than that, a mother who will stop at nothing to find her little girl.

Linda Deltedesco, Leah's mom, says, "You hear it all the time on the news and your heart goes out to those people and you hear what horrible stories happen to the children and you just never think it's going to happen to you."

Sheriff's deputies and park officials say they've searched Wild Adventures several times since Saturday night, but haven't found anything yet, but the search will continue on.

Sheriff's deputies and park officials say they will continue searching the park until they find some trace of Leah's whereabouts. Right now, family and friends remain hopeful and pray for Leah's safe return.

Wanda Edwards, Lowndes County Sheriff's Detective, says, "At this point, it's a missing persons [case]. We have no reason to believe that she ran away. We have no reason to believe she was abducted."

But each day that passes adds even more urgency and desperation to the ongoing search for Leah.

Deltedesco adds, "If they could just let us know that she's alright or where she is or if anybody has seen her."

Family members say detectives are baffled by Leah's disappearance because after talking with family and friends, they still have nothing to go on at this point.

Sheriff's deputies have park-provided video of Leah entering Wild Adventures, but they say they have no video of her leaving the park. They say she might have bought a t-shirt and would then be hard to pick out of a crowd.

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