Man Angry About Missing Oregon Girls Probe

July 9, 2002 -- A neighbor of two missing Oregon City, Ore., girls said today that he is the FBI's prime suspect in the case and he is angry about the way the investigation is being carried out.

Ward Weaver, 39, told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America that the FBI and the Oregon City police leaked his name to the media and told his neighbors that he is their prime suspect, even though they have not officially called him a suspect.

"They have come around, searched, brought the dogs in. I have willingly let them do that. They asked for a polygraph. I did that. The problem isn't coming with me or what they are doing with me personally. The problems are coming with what they are doing as far as questions that are being asked of my family," Weaver said.

He said his children have been questioned without his permission, and the parents of one of his daughter's friends were warned not to let their child spend the night at Weaver's home or she might "be next."

"So they have a job to do, but they have boundaries they are not allowed to step over," he said.

Weaver lives near the apartment complex where Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis, the two 13-year-olds who have been missing for months, both live. Weaver's daughter, Mallori, was also friends with both Ashley and Miranda, he said.

The two girls were last seen early in the morning before they left for school, and investigators have said that they believe the same person or persons are likely responsible for both disappearances.

Weaver admitted that investigators have reasons to look at him as a potential suspect, aside from the fact that he knew both girls and lived nearby.

His father is on death row in California and Weaver himself was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 1986. He was also one of a number of men a little girl once accused of molesting her.

"They are looking at me and I have no problem with them looking at me," he said.

There is also the fact, Weaver said, that he failed a polygraph test — but he said he didn't just fail the questions about the two girls' disappearance, he also failed personal questions such as where he was born.

He said that five weeks ago investigators told him they wanted him to take the test again with a different person administering it, but he had heard nothing since then.

The portrayal of the two missing girls as close friends is off the mark, he said, and he claimed that Ashley had problems at home. The girl lived with his family for five months straight last year, and had periodically stayed in his home before that, Weaver said.

"The problem is her mother dumped her on the doorstep, said 'Here, I don't want her,' told me to keep her," Weaver said.

FBI: We Want Girls Home

A spokeswoman for the FBI in Portland would not comment on Weaver's claims, but said the bureau would continue to aggressively investigate the case until the two girls were found.

"We have a pool of people we're looking at, both known and unknown to the girls," FBI spokeswoman Beth Ann Steele told ABCNEWS.com. "We've interviewed thousands of people, mainly within the state of Oregon, and we'll continue to interview people until we bring the girls home. That's our only goal."

Ashley Pond disappeared on Jan. 9, and was last seen by her mother as she left for school. Miranda Gaddis vanished two months later, and like her friend, Gaddis was last seen in the morning before school.

There have been no ransom demands for either girl, and investigators have not speculated on a possible motive if the girls were kidnapped — though police have said they believe both were abducted.

Investigators have said they believe both girls were probably kidnapped by the same person or people.

Girls’ Mothers Asked for Polygraphs

Meanwhile, the FBI is conducting polygraph tests on other neighbors of the missing girls' and has also asked the girls' mothers to submit to lie detector tests, ABC affiliate KATU in Portland reported.

Michael O'Donnell, who also lives in Newell Creek Apartment complex where Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis lived with their mothers, told KATU that agents asked him to take a polygraph test two weeks ago because he didn't have clear alibis for the mornings the girls disappeared.

"I was living in Portland … I wasn't stealing any girls," O'Donnell said.

Lori Pond, Ashley's mother, said she didn't mind taking a lie detector test.

"I have nothing to do with my daughter's disappearance and I felt it was routine," she said.

ABC affiliate KATU-TV and ABCNEWS.com's Dean Schabner contributed to this report.