— The intense search for a
ended Tuesday when authorities unearthed a body in a shallow grave near
the lakeside park where the popular teenager had gone running last week.
There is a “strong likelihood” that the body is that
of
positive identification had yet to be made, said
Sheriff
The teenager’s family is devastated, he said at a
news conference, adding, “They were holding out hope as we all were that
we would find Chelsea alive.”
A dive team found the body on a tributary of
Hodges
extensive search since Saturday, after a shoe was found in the area. A
diver working his way up the tributary saw debris about 10 feet from the
water, which led to the grave, Gore said.
The site is about one-half mile from the parking lot
at
left her car before heading out on the trail.
News of the discovery quickly spread in the upscale
where thousands of volunteers — students, senior citizens, friends, and
family — had joined hundreds of law enforcement officials hiking for
miles in rough terrain to help find the missing teenager.
“Everybody is asking the same question: Why?” said
Bunn
Center who consoled several of King’s distraught friends. They were
still wearing “Bring Chelsea Home” sweatshirts.
The suspect in the case,
III
charged at an arraignment hearing scheduled Wednesday, according to the
district attorney’s office.
Authorities have expanded the investigation in recent
days after linking Gardner to an attack in December on another young
female jogger in the same park. They are also probing whether he had
anything to do with the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl last year in
nearby
In the December incident, a 22-year-old woman was
approached by a man who tackled her and demanded money. She escaped
after hitting him in the face, bloodying her elbow.
did not disclose how they linked Gardner to the attack.
Some residents and people posting comments on the
Chelsea King Facebook page have criticized law enforcement authorities
for not erecting warning signs in the park after the December attack.
Gore declined to comment at the afternoon news conference.
The search began Thursday night, after the teenager, a
straight-A student and member of the San Diego Youth Symphony, failed
to return home after her run.
locked car in the parking lot.
“Fear gripped me and I took off running, searching
for my daughter, calling her name at the top of my lungs,” he said in an
interview with KUSI News in
Gardner was arrested Sunday afternoon outside a
restaurant near the lake after unspecified evidence linked him to the
crime, authorities said. The 230-pound Gardner is a registered as a sex
offender with a residence in
visiting his mother in
In 2000, Gardner pleaded guilty to molestation
charges involving a 13-year-old girl. He served five years of a six-year
prison term, and wore a global positioning system tracking device until
2008, when his parole term ended.
—
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