ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gas cans taken from a shed in the backyard of the home of the grandparents of a missing Orlando girl were stolen by the girl's mother but were seized by detectives to check for other people's fingerprints, according to the girl's grandmother.

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IMAGES: Missing Caylee Anthony Photos
IMAGES: Photos Of Casey Anthony Surface

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Cindy Anthony on Wednesday said her daughter, Casey Anthony, 22, who remains jailed on child neglect charges in the disappearance of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, stole the gas cans because she needed them for her car.

"Plain and simple. She needed the cans because she ran out of gas. She had a faulty gas gauge. Simple as that," said Cindy Anthony.

The gas cans were stolen during the last week of June at a time when Caylee had reportedly been missing for several days.

"It's irrelevant to this case," Cindy Anthony said. "There's no reason to bring (the theft) up. Previously, (Casey) had used the gas cans. There's other people's fingerprints on them besides us, and that's what they're looking at."

In an interview with Fox News, Casey Anthony's father, George Anthony, said on the day of the theft, Casey did not want him to retrieve a tool from the trunk of her car.

"She was hesitant about letting me get in the car, and I said, 'Well, I've got an extra key, I'll just go get it.' She was adamant about that," George Anthony said.

"She didn't want him to know the gas cans were (in the trunk). She thought she could put them back and leave him a note of apology," Cindy Anthony said.

Cindy Anthony said her husband noticed nothing suspicious when he retrieved the gas cans from the trunk.

"There was no Caylee in the back of the car. There was nothing else in the back of the car except the normal stuff," Cindy Anthony said.

It is not known if there was gasoline in the gas cans when Casey Anthony's car was located at an Amscot. Her family said Casey Anthony ran out of gas and left the vehicle at the business.

Casey remains in the Orange County Jail on child neglect charges. She's expected to enter a written plea of not guilyy Aug. 21, Local 6 News reported.

Family Of Possible Father Speaks Through Attorney

Also on Wednesday, the attorney for the parents of a man who has been mentioned as the possible father of Caylee held a news conference, saying the man's parents have never heard of nor have ever seen Casey Anthony.

Internet speculation that Jesus Ortiz, who was killed in a car accident in 2007, is Caylee's father recently entered the mainstream media, prompting his parents to speak.

"This is the first they were ever told that Caylee might be a grandchild of theirs," family attorney Bryan Crews said. "They became interested in that because that's all they would have left of their son, who died at age 20. This is a real surprise to them. I think another news station broke the story to them as a 'hello, big surprise' at their front door and that was a very shocking event for them. Since that time, they've gotten unwanted media attention."

The Ortiz family said it has no reason to believe that Jesus is Caylee's father.

Family Receives Threats

Meanwhile, Cindy Anthony said she has received the threats through e-mails, letters and phone calls.

The incidents have been forwarded to the authorities for investigation, Local 6 has learned.

Charges Are 'Good Thing'

The state attorney's office filed formal charges of felony child neglect and making a false report to law enforcement authorities against Casey Anthony, 22, in connection with the disappearance of her daughter.

The false information concerned the date and location where Casey Anthony alleged that she saw Caylee.

Cindy Anthony said she was not surprised by the charges.

"Today is actually a very hopeful day," Casey's mother, Cindy, said. "I just found out that they did charge (Casey) formally today which is a good thing because look what they charged her with. To me that is actually almost a victory for the home team today because they obviously have not found anything."

Anthony said life is hard without her missing granddaughter.

"Every moment that passes, I die a little bit inside every day not having her," Cindy Anthony. "She is a part of me and without her I feel incomplete."

Anthony said her daughter has her reasons for not opening up to law enforcement about the location of her granddaughter and she understands.

"We bring Caylee and everybody is going to know and Casey is not going to be this monster that everybody has painted her out to be," Cindy Anthony said.

Baby Sitter Remains Mystery

Deputies are still trying to figure out exactly when Caylee vanished and are not ruling out that her mother, Casey, may have posed as the mystery baby sitter no one can find.

Casey Anthony maintains the last time she saw her daughter was the day she dropped her off with a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez at the Sawgrass Apartments in Orlando.

According to the original arrest report from July 15, someone by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez looked at an apartment on April 17, 2008.

Local 6 has confirmed with apartment managers that the incident didn't happen in April but on June 17.

The date is important because Caylee was last seen two days before on June 15, Local 6's Lauren Rowe said.

Sawgrass managers said on June 17, someone came to inquire about an apartment.

Investigators said the person filled-out a guest card using the name Zenaida Gonzalez and the person who wrote it had sloppy handwriting.

Someone misread the date when filing out an original arrest record, Local 6 reported.

Sources told Local 6 that when apartment managers tried to follow up with the woman after June 25, the phone number she gave was no longer valid.

And the apartment where Anthony said she left Caylee had been vacant for about six months, Local 6 has learned.

Investigators said they located a woman named Zenaida Gonzales but she said she'd never heard of Caylee or Casey.

Child's Grandmother Cancels Meeting

Tuesday, Cindy Anthony canceled a scheduled meeting with her daughter at the Orange County Jail.

"As much as I wanted to see Casey today and visit with her, I couldn't," Cindy Anthony said. "I did get to meet with her attorney and he is going to be able to speak with her in private with my thoughts and the things that I want to talk to her about."

Anthony said her granddaughter's safety may be in jeopardy if conversations between her and her daughter Casey are open to public scrutiny.

"I had all of these mixed feeling about should I go or shouldn't I go," Cindy Anthony said. "Bottom line was that I made the decision this morning that I wasn't going to go."

Cindy and her husband, George Anthony, met with investigators Monday concerning the search for Caylee.

"It was a meeting at our request just to touch base with them and see where we are all at," Cindy Anthony said.

No information was released about the private meeting but detectives continue to deny the existence of a mysterious baby sitter who Casey Anthony has claimed was last with her daughter.

Also, DNA results concerning a mysterious stain and hair samples from Casey Anthony's car are due any day this week, Local 6 has learned.

A national search for Caylee, who turns 3 years old on Saturday, continues.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.