Missing teen's body found, parents want answers
RIVERVIEW, Fla. - Sadness and anger surround the murder of 13 year-old Janessa Shannon. Her body was found over the weekend by a hiker at Triple Creek Preserve in Southern Hillsborough County.
Investigators are asking for the public's help to find the killer.
"We need to be deliberate and methodical in our investigation. What's important to us is identifying this killer and putting him behind bars,' says Col. Donna Lusczynski, of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Lusczynki confirmed detectives interviewed the girl's father, Nahshon Shannon, who they say cooperated at first, but refused to answer more questions at the advice of counsel.
Deputies secured a search warrant for the fathers home in Riverview. Forensics teams were there for hours on Saturday. Lusczynski would not say what, if anything, was found.
Family members and friends criticized the sheriff's office for not doing more to find Janessa. She was last seen July 1. Her father reported her missing July 3, and her body was found nine days later. "It wasn't until they found her body that people, cops started knocking on the doors and asking questions," says Sabrina Remillard, the father's next door neighbor.
Sheriff's officials say Janessa's disappearance didn't meet the criterial for an Amber Alert, but Lusczynski says they "never stopped looking" for Janessa.