Reachelle Smith Case Continues on KMOT-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader

Reachelle Smith Case Continues | Video

11/25/2009

From dive teams to squads of all terrain vehicles.

From helicopters to search dogs.

Law enforcement officials pulled out all the stops to search for Reachelle Smith in the days, weeks, and months after the Minot girl disappeared nearly four years ago.

And the effort continues today.

"If it were me," Sgt. Jason Sundbakken of the Minot PD said. "I`d expect people to keep looking until they found her. And that`s what I intend to do."

Only this time the search has moved high tech...with this new age-enhanced photograph of Reachelle that depicts her at her current age of seven years old.

The Minot Police Department worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to make the new image possible.

"I obtained photos from the biological mother and father at the same age that Reachelle would be today. They are able to take those photos, put them into some sort of a computer program, and age-enhance Reachelle`s photo to show what she would look like today," Sundbakken said.

Police say the new pictures could prove incredibly helpful because of how quickly young children change as they age.

They say people tend to remember the last images they saw when looking for missing children.

"We still receive tips that say, `I saw a girl exactly like the girl in the picture.` The picture was taken four years ago so she`s changed a lot since then," Sundbakken said.

Updated photos have proved helpful in past Amber Alert cases.

Because they redirect people`s thoughts to what children like Reachelle would look like today.

"When they`ve found the child it`s been remarkably accurate," Sundbakken said. "So we`re hoping that`s the case with this drawing as well."

Because the fate of one little girl may count on it.

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