Amber Dubois’ remains found

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Authorities gathered Sunday night at the site of the discovery of Amber Dubois’ remains, about three miles north of the Pala Mission. — Sean M. Haffey / Union-Tribune

(Sean M. Haffey)

Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher was joined by Amber Dubois’ parents, Carrie McGonigle and Moe Dubois, at a news conference Sunday where officials announced the remains of the teen, who had been missing 13 months, were found. — Eduardo Contreras / Union-Tribune

(Eduardo Contreras)

Scott Pfaucht (right) was among the volunteers who gathered in May to search for missing 14-year-old Amber Dubois in an area north of Escondido. Amber had vanished a few months earlier. — John Gastaldo / Union-Tribune

(John Gastaldo)

The 13-month mystery about Amber Dubois ended Sunday in the worst way imaginable, with police announcing they had found human skeletal remains and positively identified them as those of the missing 14-year-old.

At an afternoon news conference inside Escondido police headquarters, Police Chief Jim Maher told a room filled with reporters and city officials that information developed in the past few days led investigators to a remote corner of the county north of the tiny community of Pala.

Bones discovered Saturday morning were confirmed to be Amber’s through a check of dental records that afternoon, Maher said. Her parents were notified within hours.

The remains were found west of Pala Temecula Road, about three miles north of the historic Pala Mission — the same area where the remains of 7-year-old Leticia Hernandez were discovered 15 months after she disappeared from her Oceanside home in 1989.

Maher declined to take or answer any questions during the brief news conference.

“This is an ongoing investigation and any details — no matter how slight — would be inappropriate at this time,” he said.

Amber, a student at Escondido High School, was last seen Feb. 13, 2009, as she walked toward the campus an hour before class. The disappearance prompted a massive search by police and community volunteers.

Barely three weeks ago, on the anniversary of Amber’s disappearance, the community hosted a walk-a-thon to raise money to keep the search going. A flier advertising the event was hanging in the room where police made the announcement yesterday.

Amber’s mother, Carrie McGonigle, appeared disconsolate and did not speak to reporters at the news conference. McGonigle had granted dozens of interviews since her daughter went missing in the hope of generating clues by keeping the case in the limelight.

Moe Dubois, the girl’s father, tearfully thanked investigators and the many volunteers who helped in the yearlong search for his daughter.

“They are the most dedicated people we could have imagined,” said Dubois, who turned away from news cameras to dab at his eyes during his remarks. “That’s all we wanted to say.”

There was no mention during the news conference of John Albert Gardner III, 30, the convicted sex offender charged last week in the rape and killing of 17-year-old Chelsea King of Poway.

Chelsea disappeared on the afternoon of Feb. 25 while heading for a jog at Rancho Bernardo Community Park. Similar to Amber’s abduction, Chelsea’s case made national headlines.Chelsea’s body was discovered Tuesday in a tributary to Lake Hodges.

In the Amber case Sunday night, Escondido police had perimeter tape set up west of Pala Temecula Road.

Pala Creek runs to the east of it.

Investigators have openly questioned whether Gardner might be responsible in Amber’s disappearance. Bill Garcia, a private investigator hired by Amber’s family shortly after she disappeared, said he was told by a person with firsthand knowledge of the case that the tip about the location of the remains did not come from Gardner.

“The entire Chelsea King event emotionally pulled at somebody who had this information,” Garcia said. “They’ve seen the community in a lot of pain. Someone who had been afraid to say something finally came forward.”

Garcia said he has long suspected the remains might be in the Pala area, because any abductor would have wanted to get away from high-traffic areas quickly, and many of the back roads out of Escondido lead into the Pauma Valley area.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in the past year, working that canyon,” Garcia said. “It’s no mystery to me that’s where she was found.”

The only positive thing to come from the discovery “is that Moe and Carrie finally have some answers,” he said. “Not knowing — that destroys families.”

San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has consistently refused to discuss the case against Gardner since he was arrested Feb. 28. Dumanis’ spokesman declined to comment Sunday on any possible connection between Amber and Gardner.

Legal experts say it would not be out of the question for a defendant facing the death penalty to cooperate with prosecutors and divulge key information in exchange for a life sentence. But those deals usually take longer than a few days to work out.

“It’s possible but it’s not likely,” said San Diego defense attorney Kerry Steigerwalt, who has followed both cases but is not involved in either one. “There are so many variables that would have had to come together in a short period of time.”

In the hours immediately following Gardner’s arrest at Hernandez Hide-A-Way in Del Dios, authorities said the suspect was refusing to cooperate with interrogators.

At the time Amber went missing, Gardner was living about two miles away from where she was last seen. If Gardner is not responsible for Amber’s death, that means another killer could be on the loose.

As recently as four weeks ago, Escondido police admitted the search for Amber had grown cold.

“We know no more today than we did on Feb. 13” of 2009, Sgt. John Russo said in an interview just before the anniversary of Amber’s disappearance. “We’ve done a lot of work, thousands of hours in trying to solve that, but the reality is in most cases we’ve moved on from 7:09 a.m. at the school. And we’re still stuck there.”

A handful of Escondido officials were present at the news conference. Afterward, they expressed their concerns for Amber’s family. Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said the entire city grieves with them.

“This community has been looking for Amber for over a year. She has weighed heavy on our hearts,” Pfeiler said. “Hundreds of volunteers have looked for her, they have never given up on looking for her, so today is very, very sad.”

Under a gloomy sky late Sunday afternoon, where a poster hung on an Escondido High School fence asks for information about Amber, Joann Warren fastened two fabric flowers to the sign. Then she hung a note inside a plastic bag to protect it from rain.

“Dear Amber,” the note read. “You’re in a much better place now. May you rest in peace. You will be missed by everyone.”

Last night, the woodsy site where the body was found was guarded by a lone Escondido police officer who declined to comment.

Jeff McDonald: (619) 542-4585; jeff.mcdonald@uniontrib.com.

Staff writers J. Harry Jones and Adrian Vore contributed to this report.

AMBER DUBOIS TIMELINE

Feb. 13, 2009: Amber Dubois, 14, goes missing while walking to Escondido High School.

Feb. 19: Amber’s family hires private investigator Bill Garcia to help with the search.

February: Investigators and volunteers search for Amber. Volunteers continue the search every weekend for several months.

March 4: Reward money totaling $60,000 is offered for information in connection with Amber’s disappearance.

Aug. 17: Specialized dog teams from Maine renew the search for Amber.

Sept. 17: Reward is increased to $100,000 when the office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger adds $40,000.

Oct. 2: The parents of Amber appear on national TV — “The Steve Wilkos Show” and “The Tyra Banks Show.”

November: People magazine features stories about six young people, including Amber, who vanished in 2009. A photo of Amber appears on the cover.

Feb. 13, 2010: Family, friends and volunteers host a walk-a-thon and raffle to raise money for the yearlong search for Amber.

Thursday: Police receive a tip from the parents of three girls who said they found a bag with hair at Kit Carson Park in Escondido the previous May.

Friday and Saturday: Investigators and divers from five agencies search a murky pond at the Tree Lake Picnic Area in Kit Carson Park.

Saturday: Amber’s remains are found near Pala.

CHELSEA KING TIMELINE

Feb. 25, 2010: Chelsea King, 17, disappears while jogging in Rancho Bernardo Community Park. Searchers comb the area.

Feb. 25-March 2: More than 6,000 volunteers search for Chelsea.

Feb. 28: John Albert Gardner III, 30, a registered sex offender from Lake Elsinore, is arrested on suspicion of rape and murder in Chelsea’s disappearance.

March 1: The investigation widens as authorities link Gardner to a December assault and probe whether he had a role in the 2009 disappearance of Amber Dubois.

Tuesday: Authorities find Chelsea’s body in a shallow grave near Lake Hodges.

Wednesday: Gardner pleads not guilty to murder during a rape or attempted rape of Chelsea King.

— Compiled by senior research librarian Michelle Gilchrist from Union-Tribune archives.