Remains are suspected to be missing toddler’s

A meter reader may have solved a heartbreaking five-month mystery Thursday when he stumbled across a plastic bag containing what investigators suspect are the remains of Caylee Marie Anthony.

The worker walked into a patch of woods less than half a mile from where the missing toddler lived and saw the bag on the ground. When he picked it up, a child’s skull rolled out.

The area had been underwater when volunteers and officials searched for signs of the girl, who was reported missing in July.

Within hours, dozens of reporters, police and onlookers had gathered in the rain. One man set up a flower-covered cross. Another openly sobbed. A nearby elementary school released students through a back exit, steering them away from the frantic scene.

Nothing immediately indicated that the remains were Caylee’s. But Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said his investigators and the FBI would work around the clock to identify the child.

“Now the investigation continues,” Beary said. “There is a lot of lab work to do. There is a lot of DNA work to do. There is a lot of crime scene work to do.”

On Thursday night, authorities returned to the home where Caylee and her mother lived to look for more clues.

Caylee was 2 when she was reported missing July 15. Her third birthday would have been Aug. 9.

Her mother, Casey Anthony, 22, has maintained that she left Caylee with a baby sitter in June. But she didn’t report the child missing until after her own mother called police to say that she hadn’t seen her grandchild in a month and that her daughter’s car smelled like death.

Police immediately interviewed Casey Anthony and said later that everything she told them about her daughter’s whereabouts was false. The baby sitter was nonexistent, and the apartment where Anthony said she had last seen Caylee had been empty for months. Anthony also lied about where she worked.

Anthony was indicted in October on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child; four counts of providing false information to law enforcement; and a slew of check-fraud charges. She is being held without bail at the Orange County Jail.

On Thursday, she was told about the discovery and placed under psychological observation -- not suicide watch. Her attorney, Jose Baez, visited her but did not return calls seeking comment.

For months, Anthony, Baez and her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, have said that Caylee is alive.

George and Cindy Anthony were flying from California, where they appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” on Wednesday, as Thursday’s events unfolded. After they landed at Orlando International Airport, police rushed them off the plane and away from the media. Orlando attorney Brad Conway, who said he represented George and Cindy Anthony, told reporters his clients were “obviously shocked.”

“It’s the worst possible news they could get,” Conway said, referring to the body found near their home.

Hours after the remains were discovered, Baez filed an emergency motion in court, requesting the defense be present for all forensic testing.

A hearing is set for today. Deborah Smith, an independent search volunteer, said she believed the remains belonged to Caylee.

“I’m glad she was found before Christmas so they can give her a proper burial,” Smith said.

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The Orlando Sentinel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.