Law agencies still searching 33 years later for missing Tupelo teen
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Federal and state agencies are searching a ditch in a Tupelo neighborhood where a 13-year-old girl disappeared more than 30 years ago.
Agents with the FBI, MBI, and other law enforcement agencies were searching a ditch next to the house on Honey Locust Drive, where Leigh Occhi was last seen in August of 1992.
It was August 27th, 1992 when Occhi’s mother left for work. When she returned home about an hour later, she found her daughter missing, and blood in the house.
Occhi has not been heard from since then, and there have been no arrests in the case, which has been the subject of numerous cold case podcasts.
During today’s search, a backhoe was removing rocks in the drainage ditch. Crews from Tupelo Public Works were also helping in the search.
A spokesman for MBI confirmed their Cold Case Unit was involved in the search. Also, students from MSU’s anthropology department, along with representatives from the Mississippi Missing Person Repository are also taking part.
Late last year, Occhi was declared legally dead by Lee County Chancery Court, after her parents petitioned the court making that request.
