|
| Arvada Police spokeswoman Jill McGranahan, left, and Westminster Police spokesman Trevor Materasso, right, address the media regarding a body found lat Wednesday in Parttridge Park in Arvada during a press conference at the Westminister Police Department Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 in Westminister, Colo. The search missing 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway will continue, police said Thursday. |
WESTMINSTER,
Colo. (AP) -- Authorities looking for a missing 10-year-old Colorado
girl are asking the public for help finding a suspect, a day after
finding a body in a park.
Police have yet to
link the body found 7 miles from Jessica Ridgeway's home to her Oct. 5
disappearance, or even say if it belongs to a child. Jessica disappeared
after leaving home to meet friends at a park for her walk to school.
On
Thursday, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit released a list of changes
that a person committing a crime against a child would exhibit. Among
them: sudden differences in appearance, missed appointments, being
absent from work, or leaving town with no explanation.
An FBI spokesman says the suspect could "be your boss, your friend" or a family member. Police have ruled out Jessica's parents.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Colorado
police looking for a 10-year-old girl who disappeared on her walk to
school have found a body in a park, but are not saying whether it is
linked to the case and noted Thursday that officers are still searching
for her.
The discovery of the body is the
latest turn in the disappearance of Jessica Ridgeway that has seen
police look for clues in a reported sighting in a car with Colorado
plates in Maine and a Wyoming abduction. The
FBI said Thursday that
abduction was unrelated.
Police spokesman
Trevor Materasso said the body "is not intact," and that has slowed the
work of identification. Materasso said no other information would be
released until Friday, and he left a brief midday news conference
without answering any questions.
Police earlier declined to say whether the body was that of a child.
The
body was found late Wednesday at Pattridge Park in park in the Denver
suburb of Arvada, about seven miles from where Jessica disappeared in
the nearby suburb of Westminster on Oct. 5.
Materasso
said investigators were processing evidence from the park and that no
additional information was available. He left without answering
questions.
In tweets, Westminster police said
investigators had worked overnight to identify the body. Officers
searched more of the park Thursday as well as areas closer to Jessica's
home. Police said photo radar vans - normally used to detect and
photograph speeding vehicles - were being used to monitor some streets
around the girl's house.
Police have ruled out
her parents - Sarah Ridgeway, who lives Colorado, and Jeremiah Bryant,
who lives in Missouri. Authorities believe Jessica was kidnapped by an
"unknown suspect."
Jessica's mother last saw
her daughter walking to school. The girl never arrived, setting off a
frantic search by hundreds of law enforcement officials and residents.
Aurelio
Florez, who has lived in Jessica's neighborhood for six years, said it
was shocking that Jessica could have vanished during a two-block walk to
a park where she usually met friends before continuing on to school.
"You can see the park from her front door," he said.
Fliers
about the fifth-grader were posted on nearly every house in her
neighborhood of modest, two-story homes with single-car garages. Purple
ribbons, a symbol of hope for her return, were tied around trees.
It
was a lively area where children played outdoors, said another
neighbor, Luis Pena, but since Jessica disappeared, parents are keeping
their children inside and people look at each other with suspicion.
"Nobody trusts anybody anymore," he said.
The
only real clue police have revealed in Jessica's disappearance is the
discovery over the weekend of a backpack and water bottle that she had
with her when she disappeared. Police won't discuss what was found in
the bag or test results on it.
The items were
found in the town of Superior, some six miles from her home. The spot
where the possessions were found is about 7 miles from the park.
Police
initially said the public didn't need to fear a kidnapper, then that
they were investigating whether the case might be related to that of
another girl who was abducted for several hours Monday in Wyoming.
In
that case, a man lured the girl into a sport utility vehicle, saying he
needed help finding his puppy. The girl was discovered by hunters. The
FBI said it does not believe the cases are related. Police are searching
for a suspect.
Adding to the mystery was a
reported sighting more than 2,000 miles away in Maine - one of hundreds
of leads being investigating from at least five states.
Westminster
police repeatedly have urged the public to study the details of
Jessica's face in a photo - a small, gap-toothed grin, a slight bruise
on her nose - and a short home video, hoping someone may have seen
something.
Additional police were sent to
Jessica's school, said Lynn Setzer, spokeswoman for Jeffco Public
Schools.
The district has its own security officers at other middle
schools and high schools.
Steve Saunders, a
spokesman for nearby Adams County schools, said the district is trying
to strike a balance between reassuring students and their parents that
they are safe, while encouraging them to be vigilant.
Saunders
said the district has security officers at all middle schools and high
schools, but not elementary schools. He said the district will seek more
help if authorities believe it is warranted.
