Catahoula Parish, La., and federal investigators said they are receiving calls from across the country as they continue their search for a man with McComb ties who is wanted for questioning in the shooting death of a 12-year-old girl.
The search for Thomas Steven Sanders has led authorities to Pike County, where they have spoken with his mother, Catahoula Parish Sheriff James Kelly said Tuesday.
Sanders, who was declared legally dead in 1994, is wanted for questioning in the death of Lexis Kaye Roberts of Las Vegas, whose body was found Oct. 8 by hunters in a wooded area of Catahoula Parish. Deputies said Roberts was shot several times.
Sanders’ name surfaced after he was reportedly seen at tourist sites in Arizona with Lexis and her mother, Suellen Roberts.
Suellen Roberts, who is also missing, is not considered a suspect in the case, authorities said.
Kelly said authorities are not sure if Lexis was killed in Catahoula Parish or killed somewhere else and then left where she was found. He would not comment on the weapon used to kill her.
Although an FBI spokeswoman in New Orleans would not discuss who authorities have contacted, Kelly said authorities have talked with Sanders’ mother, Mary B. Sanders, who he said lives in the McComb area.
FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said Sanders grew up splitting his time between Mississippi and Louisiana. She said the search for Sanders is nationwide.
“We’re talking to people in Mississippi and Louisiana,” Kelly said. “We’re getting calls from all over the country on the FBI hotline, including two leads we’re checking in the parish. We have no reason to suspect at this time that he is in the McComb area.”
A decree of presumption of death declaring Sanders legally dead was signed in Pike County Chancery Court on Sept. 16, 1994.
According to court records, Sanders’ mother, his father Edward K. Sanders, Bryce A. Sanders and ex-wife Candice filed a petition for presumption of death with the court in July 1994.
According to the petition, the family said they had no contact with Sanders since 1987 and no knowledge of anyone else having contact with him.
“Your petitioners would further show ... that they have made (a) diligent search and inquiry as to the whereabouts and current status of the said Thomas Steven Sanders and all efforts have proven futile in that regard,” according to the petition.
