DAYTON, Ohio — The mother of a 9-year-old girl who vanished in 1999 while walking her dog lashed out Thursday after hearing that a public defender has refused to answer questions from a grand jury investigating the case.

        “Our family is heartbroken and horrified by the fact that any moral person could be withholding information about a missing child whose very life is at stake,” Misty Baker of Kettering said at a news conference, her voice choking with emotion.

        The Dayton Daily News said Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Michael Hall found federal public defender Beth Lewis in contempt on Wednesday for refusing to disclose communications she had with a client who died in December. Judge Hall agreed to a five-week stay of his order while Ms. Lewis appeals that finding.

        The contempt charge centers on a section of Ohio law that provides an exception to attorney-client privilege: When the client dies, the surviving spouse can consent to disclosure. Prosecutors think the client, Jan Marie Franks, may have known what happened to Erica. Her husband waived his late wife's attorney-client privilege with Ms. Lewis.

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