Mother of dead California teen is grateful for closure after 13-month search ends with grief

Mother of dead Calif. girl is grateful for closure

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The mother of a 14-year-old girl whose bones were discovered in a rugged area north of San Diego says she’s grateful for the sense of closure after a 13-month search.

Carrie McGonigle said Monday the last year has been a roller coaster, but she finally has answers, unlike parents of many other missing children.

McGonigle declined in a brief interview to discuss what led investigators to the remains of her daughter Amber Dubois on Saturday near the Pala Indian Reservation.

Escondido police have refused to comment on the murder investigation.

They have not said if the discovery of the remains is linked to John Gardner, who pleaded not guilty last week to murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King of nearby Poway. Her body was found March 2.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ESCONDIDO, Calif. (AP) — The parents of Chelsea King, a missing girl now presumed dead, shared their grief with the family of 14-year-old Amber Dubois after the skeletal remains of Dubois were discovered over the weekend in a remote area of a Southern California Indian reservation.

The presumed body of King, 17, was found March 2 in a shallow lakeside grave.

“We have spoken with the Dubois family and our hearts go out to them in this time of deep sadness,” Kelly and Brent King said Monday in a statement. “We share their indescribable grief for the loss of Amber’s precious young life.”

John Albert Gardner III, a convicted sex offender, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of King in the potential death penalty case.

Investigators were trying to determine if Gardner also was linked to the death of Dubois, whose remains were discovered Saturday on the Pala Indian Reservation.

She vanished while walking to Escondido High School on Feb. 13, 2009, about 10 miles from the site where Chelsea King, of Poway, was last seen in running clothes at a wilderness park.

Amber’s father, Maurice Dubois, joined thousands of volunteers who had searched for Chelsea.

A candlelight vigil for Amber was planned Monday evening at Escondido High School, where extra counselors were provided to help students stunned by the discovery of her bones.

“She was just one of the sweetest people I knew,” sophomore Hailey Kosinski told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Flowers, cards and candles were left outside the school gates, near a banner that had called for Amber’s safe return.

“We were always hoping it was going to end in good news,” ninth-grader Renee Harter told the newspaper.

The county medical examiner’s office confirmed the remains were Amber’s through dental records.

Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher said a tip led officials to the site, but he didn’t elaborate or answer questions.

Gardner was registered as a sex offender in Escondido, a north San Diego suburb, from January 2008 to January 2010, with some gaps, police said.