The parents of Isabel Mercedes Celis appeared on NBC's "Today" show Thursday pleading for the safe return of their 6-year-old daughter, and expressing frustration with the police focus on the family.
Also, police confirmed Thursday that Sergio and Becky Celis have taken polygraph tests and continue to cooperate with investigators.
A police official would not reveal the results of those tests.
Police have not identified a person of interest in the case and nobody has been ruled out as a suspect as the search for Isabel was in its 13th day. The girl was reported missing from her midtown home on April 21.
"We look at everyone to include the family. It's not that we're saying the family is responsible, but we're not saying the family is completely clear," said Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor on the "Today" show. "Everyone is a suspect until we find out otherwise."
"Whatever it takes"
During the show, the parents wore buttons with the first-grader's photo and purple ribbons pinned to their "Bring Isa Home" T-shirts. They held hands as they answered questions publicly for the first time since Isabel went missing, revealing some details about the last time she was seen.
"She had just gotten her hair done. It was just before she went to bed," Sergio Celis told "Today" host Ann Curry. "She had a baseball game early the next morning and Becky braided her hair up."
Curry asked the couple about the scrutiny they've come under throughout the investigation.
"It's necessary to do, and if it's anything close to getting Isa back home safely, then whatever it takes. It's nothing we can't handle," said Becky Celis.
Sergio Celis said: "We do feel sometimes that they're wasting time with us even though we have to be under, you know scrutiny, absolutely understandable. But my goodness. She's still out there."
When asked specifically about his reaction to speculation that he is involved in Isabel's disappearance, Sergio Celis said that he doesn't understand why Isabel was taken and made a plea to the person who took her.
"I wish I knew where to begin," he said. "We are so frustrated to try to understand why this is happening, why this had to happen, why Isabel had to be targeted. We just don't understand that."
The Celises said nobody has contacted them making any demands for ransom. However, Sergio Celis did say: "We have the reward ready."
The couple has been speaking with investigators on a daily basis but said they have received little information from authorities.
"There's only so much they can tell us. There's only so much they do tell us. They keep us at bay and all of that is frustrating," Sergio Celis said. "We understand they can't bring false hope but at the same time, you know, we're desperate. We're desperate in finding out information. We're extremely frustrated that it's taking so long."
Becky Celis asked for continued prayers from the public to help bring Isabel back home, to "her favorite place in the world." She described Isabel as her "beautiful baby girl" who "loves to come and give Mom and Dad hugs all the time."
Police following tips
Police continue to pursue leads, which number more than 500, and police continue to label the case as a "suspicious disappearance and possible abduction."
Tipsters from across the country and Mexico have contacted investigators, said Sgt. Maria Hawke, a police spokeswoman.
Sergio and Becky Celis underwent polygraph tests "within the first few days" of the investigation, Hawke said. The results of the lie-detector tests are not being made public because they are part of the investigation, she said.
Hawke addressed the parents' statements on TV about being scrutinized by police. "I understand their level of frustration," Hawke said. "The mere fact is that their daughter is not home yet. We have that same level of frustration. We would like to bring Isa home."
Tips are coming through 911, 88-CRIME and TipSoft, an online tip management application.
On StarNet: View the video and read the transcript of the Celis' interview on the "Today" show at azstarnet.com
Contact reporters Veronica Cruz at vcruz@azstarnet.com or 573-4224 or Carmen Duarte at cduarte@azstarnet.com or 573-4104.
