The woman arrested last week in connection with the 1999 disappearance of 4-year-old Pilar Rodriguez has returned to Charlotte County to face charges.

Melissa Harding Jones -- formerly Melissa Cooper -- arrived at the Charlotte County jail late Friday following her extradition from Everett, Wash., on the charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Pilar disappeared in January 1999 while on a trip with Jones, who had left Hollywood, Fla., to live with her truck driver boyfriend in Punta Gorda.

Pilar's father, Marco Rodriguez, had allowed Jones to take the child but when Jones, now 33, and Pilar did not return, he reported the child missing.

The case touched off an unprecedented investigation in Charlotte County.

Jones and her boyfriend, Keith Wilson, came under scrutiny from investigators and reportedly told detectives conflicting stories.

A break in the case came last fall when local and federal forensic teams, acting on a tip, searched a site behind the home of Wilson's grandmother.

Detectives collected unspecified new evidence and the cold case was considered an active homicide investigation.

Jones has a hearing scheduled for Oct. 18. She is being held with no set bail.

I think the sheriff is planning on reuniting former lovebirds Cooper and Wilson. Kind of like being a relationship doctor when you think of it, really. He's picking up the thread of their former romance and once they're under the same roof they can begin to weave it into something strong, sturdy, and useful.

Duane in a hotel room on the road
aka Still life with guitar and Sear's painting.
Wail on, Skydog!