By Mike Martinez, Kari Hulac, Michelle Maitre and Aaron Swarts
San Joaquin Herald
Posted: 04/06/2009 01:56:27 PM PDT
Updated: 04/06/2009 09:46:40 PM PDTTRACY Police confirmed tonight that the body of a missing Tracy girl was found inside a large black container discovered in a farm pond just 2 miles away from where the child was last seen 10 days ago.
Sandra Cantu, 8, was last seen in a surveillance video that captured her skipping near her home in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park on West Clover Road on March 27.
"We will be determining the person responsible for this reprehensive act, and we will bring them to justice," said Tracy Police Chief Janet Thiessen said at a Monday night press conference, reading from a prepared statement.
A cause of death will be determined after an autopsy, which is scheduled to take place "first thing" Tuesday morning, said Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman. He said she was identified by the clothing she was last seen wearing, a Hello Kitty T-shirt and striped dress.Farm workers draining the pond in preparation to irrigate a nearby field made the discovery Monday morning. After police and FBI agents spent the day at the site taking photos of footprints and tire tracks and looking for other evidence, a coroner's van arrived at about 3 p.m.
Sandra's body was found inside a black rolling suitcase. The case didn't have any identifying marks that "would lead us to a particular individual," Sheneman said. Officials said the area nearby had been extensively searched; however, the "very large collection pond" which had been full for two weeks hadn't been dredged. more at link:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_12083949