THORNTOWN, Ind. -- Thorntown's marshal said Thursday he was sorry for not telling the family of a long-missing person about a possible lead involving an Ohio prison inmate.

Marshall Jeff Woodard said he understands why the family of Shannon Sherrill -- who was 6 when she disappeared from the Thorntown area in 1986 -- is upset with him. Instead of telling the family that he received in December a letter from an inmate who referenced Sherrill's disappearance, Woodard told a private investigator, knowing the investigator would inform the family.

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Video: Family Upset About Handling Of Missing-Person Lead

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Woodard said he regrets the move.

"I'll take full responsibility for not calling them personally, and that is something I guarantee will not happen again," Woodard told 6News' Linda Allen.

Woodard said the letter doesn't contain details about Sherrill's disappearance, but the inmate posed a question that made him curious.

Sherrill's father, Mike Sherrill, told 6News that police have kept him in the dark about his daughter's case since the beginning. He criticized police, saying they have done little to determine the letter's significance.

Asked if he felt police were doing nothing with the letter, he responded, "That's the way it seems."

Woodard said he met with state police detectives Thursday to discuss the letter. He said he and state police will work together to determine who will go to Ohio to meet the inmate and see what they can learn.

Woodard said he has been cautious about sharing leads with the public and Shannon Sherrill's family since a Kansas woman falsely claimed to police and the family in 2003 that she was Shannon.