LOGAN, Utah • DNA has provided further evidence that the 21-year-old uncle of a missing 5-year-old girl in Utah is behind her disappearance, police said Tuesday.

Evidence also indicates the girl, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Shelley, is hurt, authorities said, though they did not elaborate. She was reported missing Saturday morning by her family after they woke up.

“We would never dash the hope that we would find her alive,” Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen said at a news conference. “But it’s certainly a concern for us at this point; Lizzy’s safety.”

Jensen said police have “strong evidence,” including the DNA, linking Alex Whipple to the disappearance of Shelley.

He was denied bail Tuesday during a court hearing in Logan in which he appeared via video in a dark blue jail uniform. He slumped back slightly in his chair, eyes cast downward.

His attorney, Shannon Demler, had argued that Whipple should get bail because he has not been charged in connection with the disappearance.

The girl was last seen before family members went to bed about 2 a.m., Jensen said. The uncle was staying at the house that night but doesn’t live there.

The search is concentrated on a one-half mile area around the family’s home in Logan, in a picturesque mountain valley near the Idaho border about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Teams searched a number of locations, including an empty field near downtown Logan, where about nine police officers spread out in a line, eyes scanning the ground.

Nancy Buttars, 63, said crews searched Monday along a river behind her house, walking up and down the banks and through underbrush, as well as along railroad tracks.

She said she had searched her property herself after hearing alerts about the missing girl.

For many people, the case has disturbed the close-knit sense of tranquility that comes with living in a small community.

“I just hope they find her and put an end to it,” Buttars said.

Betty Balls, 55, a hotel housekeeper in nearby Wellsville, came to the courthouse for Whipple’s hearing to show support for the family, though she doesn’t know them personally.

“Please, wherever she is, bring her home to her family,” Balls said through tears.

“This is a safe environment. The kids play outside, and you know they’re out there. Nothing like this should happen at all.”

Searchers look for signs of Elizabeth Shelley on Monday in Logan, Utah. She was reported missing from her home on Saturday morning.

the associated press