Search for Destiny yields fresh leads

Police issued an Amber Alert late Sunday night looking for a man and a little girl believed to be Destiny Norton but rescinded the alert hours later after determining the sighting was in error.

At 8:10 p.m., a convenience store clerk saw the girl at a Conoco fuel center outside the Smith's grocery at the U.S. 89 Shepard Lane exit in Farmington.

"He sees the girl in the seat of the truck. She had on a dirty cap, but he could see green hair and silver teeth," matching the description of the missing 5-year-old, said Salt Lake City Police detective Robin Snyder.

A flier of Destiny Norton was taped to the window of the Conoco cashier booth.

"He looked at the flier and looked at her," Snyder said of the clerk.

The alert was issued about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and police received a call about 1:30 a.m. Monday from a person who had heard the alert and believed they knew where to find the truck. Police responded to a Salt Lake home where the clerk verified the truck was the same one from the station. Police were then able to determine that the girl seen in the truck was not Destiny Norton and the amber alert was cancelled.

Shortly after the initial call from the station clerk, the Davis County Search and Rescue team and Farmington police set up road blocks leading into nearby Farmington Canyon, where police said the vehicle was believed to be headed. A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter was also assisting in the search.

At the Conoco station, Salt Lake City police crime scene technicians removed a pane of window glass where the man is believed to have placed his hand. Crime scene tape surrounded part of the Conoco station early today. The FBI seized surveillance tape from the gas station and released an image of the man to the media prior to the call reporting the trucks location.

Earlier Sunday, Salt Lake City police and the FBI said they had fresh leads to follow in the mysterious disappearance of the 5-year-old. The leads come from one of the most unlikely of places — the Liberty Park drum circle.

Dozens of police officers and FBI agents swarmed the drum circle Sunday, pleading for information that could help find the missing girl. Amid tie-dyed tapestries and displays of necklaces and art, detectives stopped drum circle attendees and showed them pictures of Destiny and asked questions.

"Our focus is the same today, it's on Destiny," Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Mark Scharmann told the circle. "Any intel that we can gather to help bring her home is what we're after."