Photos of Jessica Ridgeway courtesy 9News.com
ARVADA, CO - Colorado authorities are searching for a suspect they call "a predator" after DNA positively identified the dismembered body of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, who was last seen Oct. 5 heading to school.
The remains, which were found late Wednesday in the Denver suburb of Arvada, were identified over the weekend through DNA testing.
"There is predator at large in our community," Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk said a news conference this afternoon, according to the Denver Post.
Former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt said the condition of the body could indicate an experienced killer. "It's someone who's fully capable of doing something like this again," he said, NBC News reports.
In a news release, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit offered several possible clues to the killer and how he might have acted afterward.
"It could be your boss, it could be your friend, and ultimately it could be your family member," said FBI spokesman Dave Joly. "We suspect someone in the community knows this individual."
Jessica's disappearance was not immediately reported because her mother, Sarah Ridgeway, is a night-shift worker who went to sleep after seeing her daughter off to school. She awoke in the late afternoon to find a message that Jessica never made it to school, police said. Although she and her ex-husband were involved in a custody dispute, police have ruled them out as suspects.
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