03-02-2011, 09:52 PM
Palm Beach Post
DELRAY BEACH — The body of a second child was found today stuffed into a suitcase and apparently tossed into a canal on the city's south side, hours after police discovered a dead little girl shrouded in a duffle bag floating in the water.
City police said they had yet to identify the children this evening but are investigating the cases as related.
Delray Beach Police say that a resident near Avocet Road and Carl Bolter Drive reported a bag floating in the C-15 canal, which divides Boca Raton and Delray Beach, around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
When the department's dive team recovered the bag, they found that a young black girl was packed inside.
Since finding the girl, police said investigators have checked national missing children's notifications and found none that match the girl's description.
Even the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is now involved in the investigation, which is ongoing, said Sgt. Nicole Guerriero, spokeswoman for the Delray Beach Police Department.
The body of the girl appears to be in the 6- to 12-year age range, weighing 70-90 pounds and about 4 to 4 1/2-feet tall, Guerriero said.
She added that the girl was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, dark pants and blue Polo brand sneakers.
Also, Guerriero said the girl's hair was braided with 8-10 clear and white beads in every strand.
Although she could not say whether the girl was injured in any way, she confirmed that the child's body was not dismembered.
The girl's body was sent to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office to determine the time and cause of death.
Jeff Strohsahl, a nearby resident who listened to the police debriefing, called the news "terrible" and "heartbreaking."
"Seems to be the trend of things happening now," Strohsahl said. "People being found dead."
But Strohsahl wasn't too concerned that anyone in his neighborhood could have anything to do with the incident, stating that anyone along the canal could've been the culprit.
The C-15 canal runs from as far west as U..S. 441 all the way into the Intracoastal Waterway. And since the canal's current runs east or west, depending on the tide, the girl's body could have been dropped anywhere, Guerriero said.
"We don't have reason to believe that anybody else is in danger," Guerriero added.
The discovery is being treated as a homicide, and police ask that anyone with information about the girl call Delray Beach Police Homicide Det. Peter Sosa at (561) 243-7828.
DELRAY BEACH — The body of a second child was found today stuffed into a suitcase and apparently tossed into a canal on the city's south side, hours after police discovered a dead little girl shrouded in a duffle bag floating in the water.
City police said they had yet to identify the children this evening but are investigating the cases as related.
Delray Beach Police say that a resident near Avocet Road and Carl Bolter Drive reported a bag floating in the C-15 canal, which divides Boca Raton and Delray Beach, around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
When the department's dive team recovered the bag, they found that a young black girl was packed inside.
Since finding the girl, police said investigators have checked national missing children's notifications and found none that match the girl's description.
Even the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is now involved in the investigation, which is ongoing, said Sgt. Nicole Guerriero, spokeswoman for the Delray Beach Police Department.
The body of the girl appears to be in the 6- to 12-year age range, weighing 70-90 pounds and about 4 to 4 1/2-feet tall, Guerriero said.
She added that the girl was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, dark pants and blue Polo brand sneakers.
Also, Guerriero said the girl's hair was braided with 8-10 clear and white beads in every strand.
Although she could not say whether the girl was injured in any way, she confirmed that the child's body was not dismembered.
The girl's body was sent to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office to determine the time and cause of death.
Jeff Strohsahl, a nearby resident who listened to the police debriefing, called the news "terrible" and "heartbreaking."
"Seems to be the trend of things happening now," Strohsahl said. "People being found dead."
But Strohsahl wasn't too concerned that anyone in his neighborhood could have anything to do with the incident, stating that anyone along the canal could've been the culprit.
The C-15 canal runs from as far west as U..S. 441 all the way into the Intracoastal Waterway. And since the canal's current runs east or west, depending on the tide, the girl's body could have been dropped anywhere, Guerriero said.
"We don't have reason to believe that anybody else is in danger," Guerriero added.
The discovery is being treated as a homicide, and police ask that anyone with information about the girl call Delray Beach Police Homicide Det. Peter Sosa at (561) 243-7828.