FBI Says Slain Girl’s Abductor Sent Message: ‘Come Find Me’

The killer of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion posed her nude body in a mountainous ravine as a “calling card,” according to investigators who described the assailant Wednesday as a sexual predator who could strike again soon.

“We feel he was challenging us,” said Richard T. Garcia, head of the FBI’s criminal division in Los Angeles, confirming that a child’s body found late Tuesday in plain view near Lake Elsinore was Samantha’s.

The girl was grabbed from outside her Stanton condominium in northern Orange County on Monday evening, and authorities believe the kidnapper spent several hours with Samantha, sexually assaulting and eventually asphyxiating her sometime Tuesday. Officials suggested the girl fought back, scratching her attacker’s face and arms.

Detectives said they’ve gathered physical evidence from around where Samantha’s body was found, including DNA samples and tire tracks. Using this evidence and assumptions FBI agents gathered from other cases, investigators developed a detailed profile of the killer. They urged the public to be on the lookout for anyone who matches a broad set of characteristics, from drinking excessively to being unusually moody.

Authorities asked the public to report anyone who suffered bruises or scratches, missed worked Monday or Tuesday, paid unusual attention to media coverage of the case or recently changed hairstyles.

Although profiling has produced a mixed record in past cases, officials asked people to call police even if there is a seemingly plausible explanation for the behavior. The warnings sparked alarm among some parents, who said they were watching their children with extra vigilance and, in some cases, forbidding them from playing outside without adult supervision until a suspect is arrested.

“I’m overwhelmed and scared,” said Stanton mother Lydia Petrey, 44. “It doesn’t take long. I can be watching [my son], turn around for a moment, and then he could be gone.”

While detectives believe they understand the killer’s motivation, they have no specific suspects.

The profile is based in part on the way Samantha’s body was posed, though officials would not elaborate.

“The killer knows the position of the body, so we don’t want to make that public. It was posed to indicate this person would do it again,” Garcia said. He added the killer was sending a message: “Here I am, come find me.”

Authorities promised they will.

“Don’t sleep, don’t eat, because we’re coming after you,” Sheriff Michael Carona warned the killer at a news conference outside Samantha’s home during which his voice cracked with emotion.

Law enforcement agencies received thousands of calls from the public offering tips. The suspect is described as an “Americanized Hispanic” male with slicked-back black hair and a mustache who was driving a green car, possibly a Honda or Acura. Officers have pulled over many cars matching the description since Monday.

“Somebody knows this guy,” FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin said. “And because he was driving a car when this kidnapping took place, it stands to reason he had to work somewhere.

“So if not people at work, then people who may know him as friends need to contact us.”

Samantha and a friend, Sarah, were playing about 150 feet from the Runnion home Monday when the kidnapping occurred. The friend said a man drove up after making a U-turn, got out and asked whether they had seen his “little chihuahua.” He then grabbed Samantha and carried the girl back to his car as she fought back.

Criminal behavior analysts developed a checklist of so-called “artifacts” that could identify the man from injuries on his hands, arms or face, to changes in work habits or sleeping patterns. The FBI said it doesn’t believe the suspect has killed before, but its profilers have painted a portrait of a man with a history of kidnapping and sexually assaulting children.

“This may be the first time it ended in death. That’s what leaves us to believe he may do it again,” Garcia said. “The person has a short fuse.”

Because of that, the public was asked to report any recent attempted kidnappings or assaults.

“We need to hear from parents if they or their children have been approached,” Garcia said.

Officials acknowledged that their unusually direct public pleas were alarming but said the evidence warranted it.

“This is not a time to let your kids out of your sight,” Carona said. “That doesn’t mean you need to keep them in the house.”

On Wednesday, as a memorial grew by Samantha’s doorstep, the only children around were those being interviewed by reporters --and they were being closely watched by parents.

“It’s not going to be the same around here for a long time for a lot of people, especially her friends,” said Joey Garcia, 11, who put up signs with Samantha’s name on trees throughout the complex.

Samantha’s mother, Erin Runnion, who pleaded on television for her daughter’s return after the kidnapping, was in seclusion Wednesday but sent an e-mail to friends thanking them for their support. Sheriff’s deputies were stationed outside the house of Samantha’s playmate, the only known witness to the abduction.

“Yeah, I’m scared,” said Zia Ezzat, an 8-year-old friend of Samantha. “If I play around here or out on the street, someone might come up to me and ask the same question as they asked Samantha.”

The case is the latest in a series of disappearances of young girls in recent months nationwide, including the abduction and killing of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam from her San Diego area home. Danielle’s mother said Wednesday she had spoken to Erin Runnion.

“We had a conversation--mother to mother--about our daughters, our pain and also our hope that Danielle and Samantha are dancing together in heaven,” Brenda van Dam said in a statement. “These outrageous crimes being committed against our young, innocent children must be severely punished.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at (714) 890-4280.

Times staff writers Mike Anton, Jack Leonard, Mai Tran, Tony Perry and H.G. Reza contributed to this report.