Missing baby Lisa Irwin: Parents hope fraudulent debit card charge leads to break in case

Missing baby Lisa Irwin parents Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley appeared on the Today Show to speak out on the investigation to find their daughter.
Photographer: Courtesy NBCactionnews.com

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Posted: 05/21/2012

More than seven months after the disappearance of then-10-month-old Lisa Irwin, her parents have revealed new information they hope can lead to a break in the case.

Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley tell NBC News Jeremy’s debit card was stolen about a month after Lisa disappeared, and according to Jeremy, a fraudulent charge made on the account was to an overseas company that changes baby’s names for a small fee.

Kansas City Police tell NBC News they are investigating the $69.04 charge, but it appears to be nothing more than stolen card numbers.

Lisa Irwin was reported missing from her north Kansas City home in the early-morning hours of Oct. 4, 2011, when Jeremy returned home from an overnight shift at work.

Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley say their door was unlocked, the lights were on in the house and Lisa’s crib was empty.

Searches for Lisa - highly-publicized in the days and weeks immediately after her disappearance, but which have since become few and far between – have focused on neighborhoods near the Irwin home, nearby woods and have even led to a landfill across the state line in Johnson County, Kansas.

Sitting alongside their attorney, Joe Tacopina, Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley appeared Monday live on NBC’s “Today” show to talk about the latest could-be development in the case.

“I am a mess,” Deborah Bradley told Ann Curry. “I am frustrated. It has been almost 8 months and we’re not getting any answers.”

Bradley said while she understands the police and FBI have jobs to do, the answers she has received about her daughter are unacceptable.

“We need answers,” she said. “ We need Lisa.”

Jeremy Irwin says they first came across the fraudulent charge on his debit card in December, but it hasn’t led to any significant leads in the case.

During the interview, Ann Curry said an NBC producer looked at the charges on Jeremy Irwin’s credit card, and they appear to lead to a website for a stationery paper company.

“I don’t know why it takes you there now,” Jeremy Irwin responded, “but when we first found out about this in December, that’s where it used to go was the website where you can change someone’s name online.”