Missing 11-year-old New Hampshire girl found dead in river

2011-08-02 16:07:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

STEWARTSTOWN, NEW HAMPSHIRE (BNO NEWS) -- Police searching for a missing 11-year-old girl from New Hampshire on Monday morning found her body in a nearby river, officials said.

A massive search operation for missing Celina Cass had been ongoing since she went missing between late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning last week. Her family previously told police that they last saw Celina at around 9 p.m. local time on Monday evening when she sat at her computer. When the family woke up in the morning, Celina was missing.

Although investigators had no immediate leads on what had happened to the young girl, the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team (CARD) was called in to assist the New Hampshire State Police in its search. The team consisted of four to six investigators who have in-depth experience in child abduction cases.

On Monday morning, at around 10.30 a.m. local time, a dive team which was conducting a routine search for Celina found the body of an unidentified female in the waters near the Canaan Hydro-Dam, which is less than 0.5 mile (0.8 kilometer) from Celina's home. It was later determined to be Celina's body.

"It is with sadness that I report, earlier today, we discovered the body of Celina Cass in the Connecticut River in Stewartstown. I would like to extend my sincere condolences on behalf of the State Police, the FBI, and the Attorney General's office, to the friends and family of Celina Cass, as well as this community who loved her and cherished her," said New Hampshire Assistant Attorney Gen. Jane Young during a news conference.

Young said Celina's death is being investigated as a suspicious death pending an autopsy which should reveal the cause of her death. "Until we determine the cause and manner of her death, we are just going forward as a suspicious death, but we are treating it as a criminal investigation based on what we know at this juncture," the official said, adding that the autopsy is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. local time at the Medical Examiner's Office.

"We are continuing to investigate this case, we are talking to witnesses, we are looking at areas where we knew she was last seen. And we will continue that as this investigation remains ongoing," Young added. Searches were again being carried out at Celina's home after her body was recovered.

The FBI previously offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the location of Celina and the arrest and prosecution of a suspect. Another $5,000 reward was later added by an anonymous citizen.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-02

Saw her at 9pm infront of the computer and not notice anything before next morning? Wait...what?

Saw her at 9pm infront of the computer and not notice anything before next morning? Wait...what?

The family went to bed at 9 pm when she was at her computer.