Dead ends have followed every turn in the search for Stacey Nicole English, missing more than three weeks.
"There's some strange stuff in this case," said private investigator T.J. Ward, hired by English's family to help locate the 36-year-old instructional designer.
Strangest of all: the lack of any significant leads. On Tuesday, Atlanta police, with the aid of Georgia State Patrol divers, concluded a two-day search of Lakewood Fairgrounds Lake, turning up nothing. English's Volvo was found, with the engine running, roughly one mile away from the 15-acre lake on Dec. 31, the same day family members reported her missing.
"Somebody wanted that car found," Ward said.
Police on Tuesday also announced they have completed follow-up interviews with a St. Louis man thought to be the last person to see English.
Robert Kirk, who was visiting English during the holidays, told detectives his friend began "acting peculiar" the night of Dec. 26, asking him if he was Satan. She asked Kirk to leave and he did, hailing a cab outside her Lenox Road condo, according to the incident report.
"At this time, there is no evidence linking Mr. Kirk to the disappearance of Ms. English or reason to believe he was involved in any foul play related to her disappearance," APD spokesman Carlos Campos said.
Ward said he hopes to conduct his own interview.
"We're still trying to retrace every step," he said.
The veteran investigator said he still doesn't have a sense whether English met with foul play. The Fayette County High School graduate is still considered missing by the APD, though detectives have noted "suspicious circumstances" in her case.
"There's still a lot of unknowns," said Lt. Paul Guerrucci, Atlanta police's adult missing persons commander.
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