Missing Girl Found Dead
The coroner's office in Monterey County, California, confirmed Thursday that remains found at a nature reserve are those of Christina Marie Williams, 13, who disappeared seven months ago. CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone reports the body was identified through dental records.
Gasping for words, shuddering and clinging to each other, the parents of the girl lashed out at the unknown perpetrator.
"You know who you are," screamed Alice Williams, whose daughter, Christina Marie, took her dog for a walk on June 12 and never came back.
Hundreds of people from the Monterey area joined the search for Christina over the last few months. Her bright smile looked out from flyers across the nation.
"My daughter," Mrs. Williams said. "We've got to remember our daughter. We've got to remember how she brought this community together. We can't let her memory die."
Her words rang out Thursday through a broad cul-de-sac on the former Ft. Ord Army Base. Neighbors stayed silent behind curtained windows. Just hours before, the Monterey County coroner's office had confirmed that they had identified Christina's body with dental records.
Her bones, a few strands of hair, and some weathered clothing were found Tuesday by an ecological surveyor working on a small University of California nature reserve three miles from the Williams home.
"This family needs our support and our prayers now more than ever," FBI Special Agent in Charge Bruce Gephardt said.
Presidio of Monterey Police Chief Alex Kerekes said the area where Christina's body was found had been searched soon after she disappeared, once with dogs, once on all-terrain vehicles. Investigators were unsure why the body was missed, and said it's possible it was placed there after the search.
A cause of death has not been determined. The FBI is intensifying its hunt for two Asian men, one heavy, one slim, that a witness said she saw soon after Christina disappeared.
Just hours after receiving the devastating news of her death, Christina's parents had little question about what had happened.
"We know these bad people, they are around. They are around us, driving around, looking for innocent children like our daughter Christina. Don't be surprised when one of these days (there is) another victim," sobbed Alice Williams. The dreaded news came on her 47th birthday.
Her husband Michael, a Navy meteorologist who has become a devout Christian since his daughter's disappearance, said he's hoping to channel his anger into something positive.
Struggling for air as if he had just been punched, the lost father rested his hands on his wife's shoulders Thursday as the sun set on their long day.
"This should never, ever, ever, be allowed to happen," he said. "Never."