Body found in Washington may be missing girl, 6

Investigators searching for a missing 6-year-old in Washington state recovered the body of a child in the town where the girl disappeared, the FBI said Thursday.

Jenise Wright of East Bremerton disappeared Sunday from her family’s home in the Steele Creek Mobile Home Park, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

Her disappearance sparked a response from local authorities and the FBI’s Seattle field office, but while the Sheriff’s Office said there were possible sightings of the girl, she had not been found by Wednesday night.

On Thursday, FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich told The Times that a body had been discovered, but could not confirm the identity of the child and did not disclose the cause of death. The victim’s identity may be released at a 4:30 p.m. news conference, pending tests by the Kitsap County medical examiner’s office, Dietrich said.

In a separate news release, the Sheriff’s Office said the body was found in a forested area near the mobile home park where Jenise disappeared. While police are awaiting an autopsy to confirm the child’s identity, sheriff’s officials said “it appears that the body is that of Jenise.”

The autopsy will be conducted Friday, according to the sheriff’s department.

Jenise was reported missing about 10 p.m. Sunday and was last seen in her bed at her family’s home, where she lives with her parents and six siblings, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

She had left home on “previous occasions and wandered around the neighborhood together with siblings or friends” but normally checked in every few hours, authorities said.

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