Search For Calif. Teen Continues
Authorities say a decomposed body found Wednesday is not that of Christina Williams, a 13-year-old girl who disappeared almost two weeks ago after taking her dog for a walk.
Teen-agers came upon a partially decomposed body Wednesday afternoon in the rural hills of San Benito County. Soon FBI agents swarmed the remote site, 30 miles from where Christina was last seen. Dental records proved this was not the dark-haired girl displayed on missing posters, but that of another dark-haired girl or woman.
"We strongly believe, based on the evidence we have with the dental chart...that this is not Christina. This is a homicide for San Benito County," Curtis Hall of the San Benito County Sheriff's Department told CBS News Correspondent Bill Whitaker.
"It is a mixed blessing here. We don't know the circumstances of this particular homicide, but we are going to continue business as usual on this investigation looking for Christina," said George Grotz, an FBI official.
 Police sketch of suspects. |
Christina's family prayed when they heard the body might be her. When they learned it was not, it seemed at least one of their prayers was answered.
"Obviously, this is good news for us to remain hopeful...that Christina will be found safe and be home with us soon," said Michael Williams, Christina's father. "But obviously the body is someone's daughter, so of course there are some parents out there who are having a very difficult time."
Police are searching for two men seen cruising Christina's neighborhood in a gray Ford sedan the night she vanished while walking her dog. They are questioning gang members, parolees, and registered sex offenders.
A woman jogger said the men cursed her as they drove by. Another woman said she saw the little girl pictured on the poster in the car with the two men, looking frightened.
"Right here in Monterey County, we have 527 registered sex offenders and close to 1,000 parolees, so that is the segment of the population we're looking at," said Monterey Chief of Police Alexander Kerekes.
The case has painful similarities to the Polly Klaas abduction five years ago. Like Klaas' hometown, Seaside is a close-knit community where residents don't expect things like this to happen. After an intensive nationwide search, Klaas' body was discovered, and her killer arrested.
Hundreds of police, FBI agents, military, and civilian volunteers are scouring the wild terrain at de-commissioned Ft. Ord nearby.
"We have a lot of empty buildings and a lot of rural landscape out there. We're probably talking close to 10,000 acres we have to search," said Lt. Bill Freeman of the Monterey Co. Sheriff's Department said Wednesday.