FBI find two bodies in hunt for missing girls

AN FBI agent said the mystery of two Oregon girls who disappeared from their apartment complex appeared to be solved after officials searching a neighbour's home identified the body of one girl and found a set of remains.

Police said the unidentified second body was found in a barrel beneath a cement slab Ward Weaver poured after the disappearance of Miranda Gaddis and Ashley Pond, both 13.

"Obviously, this is a very sad conclusion to this investigation," said Charles Mathews, the FBI's special agent in charge in Oregon. "On the other hand, I think the case has been resolved."

Weaver has not been charged, but Mathews said on Sunday that he is a suspect in the case. It was the first time any law enforcement official has identified him a suspect.

Weaver, 39, told reporters months ago that he was a subject in the investigation but denied any involvement in the disappearance. Agents discovered remains on Saturday of one body stashed in a shed behind the house and on Sunday said they belonged to Miranda. They did not identify the remains found on Sunday.

Weaver agreed to the search because he wanted to "bring closure to the families," attorney Timothy Lyons said. Authorities have not said why Weaver needed to consent to the search since he already had been evicted from the house.

Weaver has been jailed since August 13 charged with raping his 19-year-old son's girlfriend. The distraught son told 911 dispatchers on the night of the alleged rape that his father had confessed to killing Ashley and Miranda.

Weaver said Ashley was a friend of his daughter who frequently stayed overnight at their house. He said she had even lived at the home for several months last year while her own father was in jail on charges of abusing her.

Ashley's mother, Lori Pond, recently told to the Portland Tribune that Weaver's account of the relationship is a lie and that her daughter never ran away from home.

Her family last saw her on January 9 eating breakfast with her younger sister before school. Miranda, a friend of Ashley's, disappeared March 8 from the same low-income neighbourhood in the woods south of Portland.

Investigators interviewed residents, went on national television with appeals for information and passed out fliers with pictures of the missing girls. They received thousands of tips, but were unable to single out a suspect until Weaver's son called.

When residents found out about the son's allegations, they urged authorities to remove the concrete slab that Weaver had poured shortly after Miranda's disappearance. Ashley's former stepmother taped a sign to the slab reading "Dig Me Up".

Agents used shovels and a pickaxe on Sunday to dig several shallow holes about 50 feet away from the shed after specialists went over the property with a thermal-imaging device.

Other investigators worked inside a large white tent that had been erected over the concrete slab by authorities. A white SUV, its back door open, was backed up to the white tent. Later on a gurney was taken out of the tent. An object was placed inside and the SUV drove off.

A large crowd kept away from the scene by a chain-link fence erected by police had gathered to watch the search. The fence was turned into a makeshift memorial with candles, flowers and teddy bears.