Miami ? Investigators hope DNA samples from the mother of a girl missing from the custody of Florida’s child-welfare agency for 15 months will help solve the mystery of her disappearance.

Two Miami-Dade County police detectives went to East Cleveland, Ohio, to collect DNA from Gloria Wilson to help determine if a little girl found beheaded in Kansas City, Mo., in April 2001 is 5-year-old Rilya Wilson, Detective Ed Munn said.

The unidentified girl, who somewhat resembles Rilya, has been nicknamed Precious Doe.

Miami-Dade police relayed a handprint from Rilya, and authorities said Wednesday it didn’t match that of Precious Doe. DNA testing could rule out any connection.

“I feel like we’re back to square one,” said Annette Johnson, co-chair of the Precious Doe Committee, formed to help police crack the case.

Munn said it could take a week to 10 days to process the samples and compare the results with DNA from Precious Doe.

Meanwhile, Wilson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her home in East Cleveland, Ohio, that the woman who was caring for her daughter, Geralyn Graham, wasn’t related to Rilya, who disappeared from Graham’s custody.

“She was the godmother,” said Wilson, who lost custody of the girl because of a drug addiction. Wilson said she met Graham after she got to know the woman’s daughter when she and the daughter were in a drug abuse program.

Graham, however, told The Miami Herald in Thursday’s editions that her son, Kenneth Epson, is Rilya’s father.

LaNedra Carroll, director of communications for the Florida Department of Children and Families, said paperwork shows Graham is the paternal grandmother. Carroll said she could not immediately find a reference to Epson in case documents stating he is the father.

Carroll said Graham was listed in case files as a relative and was receiving monthly checks from the state under a program for people who are related to the children in their care. Graham would have had to show proof that she was a relative.

No one answered a knock on Graham’s door Thursday, and she did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Munn said the case continues to be classified as a missing person investigation, not a criminal matter.

“Our goal is to find the little girl. We’re not going to get caught up with semantics,” he said. “We’re not going to take a different course if it turns out she’s the godmother.”

Wilson also said that neither she nor her own mother, who also lives in Ohio, has had any contact during the past year with anyone claiming to have the child.

Graham had said earlier that she was given care of the girl in early 2000. Graham said Rilya had behavior problems and may have been mistreated, and was taken away for evaluation in January 2001 by someone Graham thought was a DCF worker.

Graham said she asked caseworker Deborah Muskelly several times when the girl would return to her home.

“She said, ‘Oh, we’re working on it,”‘ Graham said. “I believe Muskelly knew were Rilya was.” She said Muskelly later told her the girl would be coming back, but she never did.

Muskelly has an unlisted phone number and could be reached for comment on Graham’s account. Carroll said she could not comment on anything Muskelly or Graham have said because it is part of the investigation.

Earlier, Muskelly had denied any wrongdoing and said the case was sent to the adoption unit because the mother’s parental rights were terminated. She resigned March 20 after an internal audit found she was not making the required monthly visits to some of the children assigned to her.

Department officials said they learned Rilya was missing April 25. Graham was shown photos of the caseworker and other department employees, but did not recognize the person who she said picked up the girl.

In Tallahassee, Gov. Jeb Bush said state officials are reviewing the handling of Rilya’s case to try to prevent it from happening again. But he said the government can only go so far.

“Until we recognize that the biggest issue here is the lack of wholesome love and family life in our state, to expect that the government can fill that void in a perfect fashion is impossible,” he said.