by Seamus McGraw

(Continued)  

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Among those leads, Gattis said, were two reports from witnesses describing a similar pickup truck which Gattis and others suspect may shed some light on Tara 's disappearance. According to Gattis, a witness told police that she spotted the truck parked outside Tara 's house about 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, Oct. 23. A second witness told investigators that a similar truck was spotted on one of the large plots of land near Marcus Harper's home.

Sheriff Donnie Youghn

Gattis contends that Youghn was notified about the truck, but failed to pass that information along to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Gattis also contends that Youghn, who was responsible for directing the physical searches for evidence in Tara 's case, neglected to scour the 100 acres in the area where the truck was reportedly spotted.

Harper's lawyer accuses searchers of stalking

Last weekend, acting on an invitation from one of the property owners, a team of volunteer searchers fanned out, but according to Gattis, when the searchers focused on an area close to Harper's home, Youghn, who spent the day parked on Harper's property, attempted to block their search. In one instance, the sheriff threatened to arrest a volunteer, Gattis said. The sheriff later relented, after lengthy negotiations, Gattis said.

Gattis said he was baffled by what he saw as the sheriff's recalcitrance.

"In my mind, I thought, is he camping out there in order to prevent a confrontation?" Gattis said. "I think in that casehe would have been hanging around with us and helping in the search but he parked in Marcus' yard and pretty much stayed there all day yesterday [Sunday]."

But Pujadas, said he believes that the sheriff and his men acted appropriately.

"The way it was described to me, not by Marcus but by his motherand I asked to speak to a deputy therewhat they were doing is misdemeanor stalking."

Pujadas said his client has no plans to file any charges, however. "Our position is that we don't want to stir the waters," he said. "I don't have a problem if they want to searchand all they (the Harper family) want is a law enforcement officer, an on-duty law enforcement officer to be involved in any search."

Dr. Maurice Godwin

Gattis said the search, joined by noted criminologist Maurice Godwin, yielded some clues. He declined to elaborate, but said that the family and Godwin met Monday with GBI investigators and shared their concerns and the clues.

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