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'Remains appear to be Caylee Anthony', says searcher
An Orange County utility worker may have found what dozens of investigators and search crews have been looking for during the last five months -- the bones of missing toddler Caylee Marie Anthony.A meter reader this morning walked into a patch of woods near Hopespring and Suburban drives and discovered a plastic bag on the ground. When he lifted the bag, a child's skull rolled out. The location of the remains is less than one-quarter mile from where Caylee lived with her mother, Casey Anthony, and her grandparents. Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary confirmed the bones belong to a child, but would not verify if they are the remains of the toddler. However, Tim Miller, founder and leader of Texas EquuSearch -- the group that has been helping detectives search for the missing girl -- said a sheriff's investigator in the case thinks the remains are Caylee's. The bones "appear to be Caylee, but with any case, we have to wait until a positive ID is made," Miller said. "It looks like finally it's over with." The medical examiner's office collected the remains Thursday and Beary said the discovery is a top priority for the forensic investigators at the FBI. "We are trying to put it all together," Beary said. The fastest the bones can be tested for DNA identification is a couple of days, if the case is given priority, according to Dr. Marcella Fierro, former chief medical examiner of Virginia. It will be virtually impossible to determine if the skeleton is male or female without DNA, she said. "Until you really have the bones showing the effect of hormones or adolescent development, it would be tough to gender them," said Fierro. Caylee was 2 when she was reported missing July 15. Anthony, 22, was indicted in October for first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, four counts of providing false information to law enforcement and a slew of check fraud charges. She is being held without bail at the Orange County Jail. Anthony, her parents George and Cindy Anthony; and her defense attorney, José Baez, have insisted that Caylee is alive. George and Cindy Anthony were flying from California, where they appeared on CNN's Larry King Live on Wednesday, while today's events unfolded. After their flight landed at Orlando International Airport on Thursday afternoon, law-enforcement officers rushed them off the plane and away from the media. Posted by: Fred 2008-12-12 |
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