Salt Lake City police question housemates

As about 600 people searched Wednesday for any sign of 5-year-old Destiny Norton, Salt Lake City police detectives quietly picked up her housemates and brought them to headquarters — to be interrogated.

"They ask you questions like, 'Did you do it?' 'Were you involved?' 'Do you know who did it?' " said Zach Willner, who lives in the home with Destiny's family.

All day Wednesday, people were retrieved from the church where the volunteer search effort is being conducted and taken down to the police station. Each one was questioned for about an hour and then taken back to the church.

Destiny's parents, Ricky and Rachael Norton, were also questioned again by investigators. Rachael Norton has said they were asked to provide DNA samples and passed polygraph tests.

Neighbors, friends and family members held a candlelight vigil for Destiny on Wednesday night.

They gathered at a neighborhood church and marched four blocks to the Norton home. The parents were at the church but said they were too upset to participate.

One of the marchers, Alex Alleman, who goes to the same church as Destiny's father, said, "His faith is strong, his resolve is great. We hug and cry every time we see each other."

Three adult couples, including the Nortons, live in the Central City house near 700 South and 500 East. Four children also live there. Some of the people lived on the streets for a brief time and are sharing rent to bring themselves up in the world, family friend Jeannie Hill said.

"We're a family," she said. "We help each other out."

Everyone in the house had been questioned by detectives two or three times since Destiny disappeared about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

During each interview, investigators looked each person in the eyes and asked several times during the course of the interview, "Did you do it?" Willner said.

"They're treating us like suspects. But that's what they have to do . . . make sure of everything," he said. "It's cool. I'll answer any question to help move things along."

Other family friends told the Deseret Morning News they were asked by FBI agents to fill out "personality profiles" about Destiny. All said they were willing to cooperate.

"We're OK with that. We have nothing to hide," Hill said. "We want our little girl found."