Dad: I’m here waiting for Celina’s return

The father of Celina Cass pleaded for his little girl’s safe return yesterday as investigators searched by air, land and water for the 11-year-old missing for one week.

“We are all wondering where my daughter is and hoping the best for her safety,” Adam Laro told reporters

yesterday. “I’d appreciate it if we get her back very soon.”

Laro said he had recently been hospitalized but did not say why.

“If she hears me now, tell her Daddy’s OK now,” said Laro. “I’m doing much better, and whenever you’re ready to come home, Celina, daddy will be here waiting for you.”

Authorities have investigated more than 400 leads, but the grim possibility has begun to sink in that Cass may not be found alive.

“Ain’t nobody hopeful,” said Robbie Kimball, the owner of Wayne’s Lanes and Jo’s Grill. “The only hope we have is that she’s going somewhere and maybe will get in touch with us.”

Divers scoured Back Pond in tiny Stewartstown, N.H. — population 800 — for any sign of the missing fifth-grader, said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young.

“We’re searching for Celina Cass as a missing person,” she said. “We have no evidence to categorize this any other way.”

The small pond is less than a mile from Cass’ home. She was last seen playing on her computer last Monday night and had vanished by the next morning.

“She’s a very good friend, and she never lets anybody down,” said 11-year-old Makayla Riendeau, one of Cass’ best friends, who said she wouldn’t run away.

The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information in the case, and a community member has added $5,000.

Bachmann Says She Is Not A 'Flake'

Chris Wallace pushes Michele Bachmann on how she'll make the transition from cable news flamethrower to presidential candidate:
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann says a new poll showing her near the top of the GOP presidential pack in Iowa is proof that voters see her as a serious candidate.
“I am very serious about what I want to do,” Bachmann said on “Fox News Sunday,” saying that voters were

impressed with her recent New Hampshire debate appearance. “People recognize that I’m serious.”
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But host Chris Wallace pushed Bachmann on her history of making controversial statements and asked whether she was ready to be a national candidate.
“Are you a flake?” Wallace asked
“That would be insulting to say something like that,” responded Bachmann, pointing to her legislative and professional record. “Of course a person has to be careful with what their words are. And now I will have an opportunity to speak fully.”
This doesn't really get at the issue of Bachmann's zero major legislative accomplishments, but it does offer at least a hint of how she'll parry some of the more obviously skeptical, process-oriented questions about her preparedness for the campaign.
And if you close your eyes and imagine Chris Wallace is Charlie Gibson, and Michele Bachmann sounds a little less Minnesotan and a little more interested in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline ...
UPDATE: Shots have been fired, via Alex Isenstadt:
Bachmann said she was “disappointed” that Romney had yet to sign a pro-life pledge that the conservative group Susan B. Anthony List had asked 2012 contenders to sign.
“Gov. Romney has a history of changing his position” on abortion, she said.
Asked what Romney’s position on abortion was, Bachmann responded: “It’s up to Mitt Romney to say what he is.”