'We won't find Rose in the river'

For three weeks now police officers and divers have been searching for four-year-old Rose, whose grandfather is suspected of having dumped her body in the Yarkon River after having murdered her.

But police are growing increasingly pessimistic about their chances of finding the little girl's body in the murky river waters. "We don't believe that Rose is in the Yarkon, and even if her body was dumped there – it's doubtful that we'll be able to find her," a police source told Ynet on Monday.

"There are animals in the Yarkon that will eat anything. There are doubts about whether she was ever really thrown in there, and if she was, there are doubts about whether she can be found."

Search continues in the Yarkon (Photo: Yaron Brener)

But regardless of the prevalent disbelief, police intend to continue their painstaking search on Tuesday. The search will be expanded to include the waysides along Highway 2 (The Coastal Highway – Kvish Hahof), from Netanya to Tel Aviv.

'Grandfather will use info to extort'

A police official said investigators are wary of subjecting Rose's grandfather, Ronny Ron, to a lie-detector test for fear that it may have a negative impact on the evidence currently in their possession.

"Right now we have Ronny's confession and reconstruction, which details how he bludgeoned Rose, put her in a suitcase and dumped her into the Yarkon," said the source.

"If he was asked to confirm that story in a polygraph test – and it would show he was lying – we would have a problem. Lie-detector tests may not be admissible evidence, but that sort of result could gnaw away at the evidence we do have."

Another source involved in the investigation said Ron did not seem to be telling the truth regarding the location of Rose's body. He was likely withholding that information in the hopes of using it as a bargaining chip later on, the source predicted.

"He probably knows that we would do anything to recover her body and give her a proper burial, and when the time comes, he'll demand a more lenient sentence or indictment in exchange for the information.

"The problem is that if we don't find the body, and he does indeed use her remains as leverage, he may very well get his way."

Avi Cohen contributed to this report