USA TODAY International Edition
Body in North Carolina likely is missing girl
A body found in North Carolina was tentatively identified as Hania Noelia Aguilar, 13, whose abduction in broad daylight three weeks ago touched off a huge search and pleas from her family for safe return.
Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill said at a news conference that state crime lab tests indicate the body found late Tuesday is Hania. Though a final determination will be made with dental records, investigators suspect the body is hers.
“This is the outcome that we all feared,” he said. “We did not want to hear this. We wanted to bring Hania back home and bring her back home alive to our community. It hurts.”
He pledged to bring whoever is responsible to justice. Investigators said they don't have a suspect or person of interest.
The FBI said agents and Lumberton police found the body south of the city in an area where authorities searched for Hania, a student at Lumberton Junior High.
"The body is believed to be Hania, but the identity has not yet been confirmed," Robeson County schools Superintendent Shanita Wooten said in a statement. "Authorities have notified Hania's family, and they are waiting for the body to be positively identified."
Hania was abducted Nov. 5 after going outside to start an SUV for a relative who was going to drive her to the school bus. A neighbor said she heard screams, then saw a man dressed in black force Hania into the SUV and drive away.
The FBI joined local and state police in a massive search. The vehicle was found three days later in a wooded area several miles from Hania's home. Authorities followed more than 800 leads, interviewed more than 400 people, reviewed hours of surveillance footage and "followed every conceivable lead" in the search for Hania, the FBI said.
Residents of Lumberton, a city of 20,000 people 90 miles west of Wilmington, tried to stay positive throughout the ordeal. A frequent refrain from authorities was that they had no evidence to indicate Hania wasn't alive.
Wooten said support personnel would be made available to students and staff at Hania's school.
"This is an unfortunate end to an extensive search, and we are committed to supporting all students and staff as they cope with the heartbreaking tragedy," the school district statement said. "This is a difficult time for our entire district, and we are mourning this loss and are still processing this terrible tragedy.
"We are keeping Hania in our thoughts and will continue to pray for her family and each other as the investigation continues.”
The chief said the body was found in water in Robeson County about 10 miles south of the mobile home park where she was kidnapped.
Authorities wouldn't elaborate on whether the body was concealed but said it was not visible from the road or obvious to people passing by. Investigators spent Wednesday combing the area in daylight after finding the body the previous night.
The cause of death wasn't released, pending an autopsy. Investigators would not describe the condition of the body. An FBI official said he did not have any information as to whether Hania was killed where she was found or elsewhere.