Test Indicates Bones Are Laura Bradbury’s

Bone fragments found near the desert campsite where Laura Bradbury was last seen more than four years ago apparently are the remains of the missing Huntington Beach child, authorities said for the first time Wednesday.

Acknowledging that a sophisticated DNA analysis, known as “genetic fingerprinting,” had been performed on the skull fragments, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said that the genetic composition of the fragments was “consistent with Laura Bradbury.”

Although the statement added that the test results “are not conclusive,” a source familiar with the case said “there’s little doubt it’s Laura.”

A second DNA analysis is being conducted, the department said. If those results uphold the first analysis, authorities apparently would declare the nationwide hunt for the missing toddler over.

And although Laura’s father, Mike Bradbury, has steadfastly maintained that his daughter is alive, he conceded Wednesday that reports of the DNA findings indicate otherwise.

“I have a sinking feeling” that the tests may be proving the child’s remains were found, Bradbury said in an interview at his Costa Mesa furniture repair shop.

Laura was 3 when she vanished in 1984 while on a family camping trip to Joshua Tree National Monument. Her disappearance developed into one of the more widely reported missing child cases in the nation.

An extensive search was conducted of the surrounding region, and it was unclear Wednesday how the search could have failed to turn up her body, if indeed it had been in the area since her disappearance.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael D. Stodelle said it is “extremely conceivable that we may have missed her,” because of the rugged terrain. “That area is known as the ‘Wonderland of Rocks,’ and we’ve had climbers fall and it has taken weeks to find their bodies,” he said. “Considering we were searching for a small child, it’s very possible we missed her.”

Skullcap Found

In March, 1986, the skullcap and other bone fragments of a young child were found about a mile from the Bradbury family’s campsite.

The DNA analysis was performed by a private East Coast laboratory in July. To verify the findings, the Sheriff’ Department commissioned a second analysis by a Northern California firm.

Authorities would not confirm the identity of either lab.

But Ed Blake, a renowned forensic expert and owner of Forensic Science Associates in Richmond, said his company is currently analyzing the bone fragments. He said results will not be known for “several weeks at the earliest.”

No matter the outcome of the sheriff’s tests, Mike Bradbury said he will seek a third independent DNA test on the remains. However, he acknowledged Blake’s reputation and said, “I can’t deny the accuracy of the testing.”

Results from the first round of DNA tests support the findings of a Cal State Fullerton anthropologist who determined that the fragments found in 1986 belonged to a child between 2 and 5 and that the child could not have been dead for more than two years.

The Bradbury case, Stodelle said, will not end even if the second DNA analysis links the bone samples to the missing girl. At that point, Stodelle said, investigators “would have to determine how she died and how those bones got to that location.”