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Investigators returned Sunday to the home and property of a Texas grandmother who disappeared two weeks ago, leaving behind apparent blood stains in her home on Horseshoe Lake.
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said it would be in the area all day on Sunday with cadaver dogs on land and sonar on the water “in hopes of a resolution,” according to KPRC.
Family members said they last spoke with Sheryl Siddall, 57, on September 11 and asked deputies for a welfare check a week later. At Siddall’s home, the deputy was met by 52-year-old Donald Lee Hassler, who told him he’d known Siddall for two years, was buying her home, and that she had left to visit a sister in Oklahoma.
According to KHOU, Hassler “gave permission” for the deputy to look inside the home, but when he found what “what appeared to be blood stains on the floor in the kitchen, some on the cabinet and possibly a few on the ceiling,” the deputy backed out of the house and called investigators, Captain David Meyers said.
Siddall’s family told investigators they didn’t know Hassler and had no knowledge of his relationship with Siddall. They also said she doesn’t have a sister in Oklahoma, although her daughter lives there.
Deputies said all of Siddall’s belongings were still at her home, and her cell phone last pinged on a nearby tower, KPRK reported.
“Mr. Hassler is on parole, and I believe the parole is for burglary or habitation. He has several burglary charges on his record, and we confiscated or seized numerous weapons that he states belong to him,” Meyers said.
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Meyers also said that deputies found a butcher knife at the scene that appeared to have blood on it.
Hassler was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of firearms as well as a parole violation. He’s being held without bond.
Deputies also said that Siddall’s backyard showed evidence that something — possibly a boat — had been dragged from the house to the lake.
“The water is more shallow than normal, so it’s more of a drop-off. It’s not just a push-off. It is about a five-foot drop-off down to the water,” Meyers said. “At this point in time, we’re treating this as a missing person, with a possible foul play, and it could turn into murder.”
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[Featured image: Sheryl Siddall/handout]
