KANSAS CITY — The family of missing 11-month-old Lisa Irwin is now being represented by a high-profile New York defense attorney. Joe Tacopina, a former New York City prosecutor, said at a news conference Monday afternoon that his clients were innocent and would cooperate with authorities. The family has allowed the FBI to bring tracking dogs into their home as investigators seek any lead they can find. But Tacopina said he is disappointed by what he called some investigators’ “insensitive” comments. “Do your investigation,” Tacopina said of investigators. “And start right here. Start right here. It’s absolutely normal for them to start right here. But don’t come to a conclusion before you have evidence and then try to look for the evidence.” Tacopina isn’t saying who is paying for his services but ABC Radio reports that it’s not baby Lisa’s parents. It’s apparently the same benefactor who has offered the $100,000 reward to find the baby, ABC reported. Tacopina is regarded as New York’s fiercest defense attorney. His list of clients includes Joran van der Ssloot, the primary suspect in Natalie Holloway’s 2005 disappearance in Aruba. Monday, Deborah Bradley, Lisa’s mother, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she was drunk when she put Lisa to bed on the night she disapppeared. The Kansas City Star reported that in the meantime, a team of police officers and dogs searched an area along a creek close to the Chouteau Elementary School in northern Kansas City. They used earthmoving equipment to divert the creek while the search was under way. There were no major leads.
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 9 a.m.
