A year later, Missouri mother convinced missing baby alive

Lisa Irwin, a 10-month-old girl feared kidnapped from her home in Kansas City, Missouri, is seen in this undated handout picture released to Reuters October 4, 2011 by the Kansas City police.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Nearly a year after infant Lisa Irwin vanished from her Kansas City home, her mother remains convinced the girl will be found alive.

"Absolutely," Deborah Bradley said Thursday outside her single-story house, in response to a reporter's question on the matter.

The home has a large sign in the picture window with the words "kidnapped" above Lisa Irwin's image. The girl's disappearance drew national media coverage for weeks.

Lisa, then 10 months old, was not in her crib when her father Jeremy Irwin, returned from work at 4 a.m. on October 3, 2011. Bradley had put the baby to bed and went to sleep in another room, she said. Bradley admitted to getting drunk that night.

Police questioned Bradley and Irwin extensively in the hours after the baby's disappearance but then said the couple stopped cooperating. The couple mostly confined media interviews to national television shows, where they said police were too accusatory.

Bradley said Thursday the couple doesn't intend to do network television shows next week to talk about the case.

"We are on the investigation side right now," Bradley said. She declined further comment, but said reporters are invited to attend a candlelight vigil outside the family's house on October 3 to mark the anniversary of Lisa's disappearance.

Captain Steve Young, spokesman for Kansas City police, declined to discuss the level of cooperation investigators are getting from Bradley and Irwin but said that will be part of a statement on the case released Friday.

John Picerno, a Kansas City lawyer for Bradley and Irwin, said Thursday they are now giving "100 percent and complete" cooperation to police. He said police "are doing what they can" to find Lisa.

"There is no question she was kidnapped," Picerno said. "If there was any foul play involving Deborah or Jeremy we would heard about it by now."

Picerno said tips about Irwin's sightings are called in often and forwarded to police. While the girl's looks would be a lot different a year later, he said she has distinctive blue eyes.

Young said police are still getting tips in the case.

"They come and go," he said.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Andrew Hay)