Hidden girl 'had assumed new identity'

A teenage American girl who vanished a year ago and was found hidden in a room in a man's home in Connecticut assumed a new identity that made her part of his family, authorities said today, as they investigated whether he had inappropriate relationships with her and other girls.

The man, Adam Gault, 41, was arrested and charged yesterday in connection with her disappearance after police served a search warrant and found the missing 15-year-old girl locked in a hidden closet-like room in his house.