TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A 22-month search for 12-year-old Lori Paige ends with her father now facing charges in her death.
- Lori Paige was reported missing in June of 2023.
- Paige's remains were found in Thomas County, Georgia, on April 5th.
- Her father, Andrew Wiley, is charged with second-degree murder.
- For nearly two years, community groups led searches for her, putting up billboards and street signs, hoping to bring her back home.
- Watch the video to hear a community leader's message on the importance of protecting children.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It’s been a 22-month-long search by communities and agencies across Florida and Georgia to find 12-year-old Lori Paige.
Friday, the Tallahassee Police Department announced that her father, Andrew Wiley, has been arrested in relation to her death.
"That was news that we needed, however, it wasn’t the welcome news that we wanted," said Griffin Heights Pastor, Rudy Ferguson. "It wasn’t one of hope, but certainly one of closure, and certainly that puts us on the path of, what do we do now?"
TPD shared this timeline of the search that led to Paige’s remains being found.
June 3, 2023, Paige’s father Andrew Wiley reported her missing, telling police she packed a backpack and left overnight while he was a work.
After some inconsistencies with his story, police eventually shifted their focus to Wiley.
In February 2024, investigators took a phone taken from Wiley's. They said it showed questionable internet searches about remote bodies of water in Georgia and Alabama.
Not long afterwards, police said they also had digital evidence that led them to a remote area of Thomas County. Search crews scoured that area for Lori, but found nothing.
April 5, investigators returned to that area after a prescribed burn cleared away the brush. That search turned up Paige’s remains.
I spoke with Pastor Rudy Ferguson Friday. He led some of the efforts to find Paige.
"It’s our loss, her life being taken was a part of us as well," said Ferguson.
Ferguson said Friday’s news will be felt deeply in this community.
"Every little girl could be a little Lori, and every little boy could be in the same situation as little Lori, so it’s important to understand that," said Ferguson.
He is urging the community to safeguard our children.
"We must start protecting our children, we must pay attention to the signs that they are in trauma situation, we must begin to look to our neighbors, love one another, make sure that the children next door are safe and secure," said Ferguson.
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