Missing Teen Amber Dubois' Bones Found

Escondido - The bones of a 14-year-old Southern California girl who vanished more than a year ago while walking to school were discovered in a rugged, remote area, authorities said Sunday, less than a week after a registered sex offender was charged with murdering another Southern California girl, 17-year-old Chelsea King.

The search for Amber Dubois had produced few leads until King disappeared Feb. 25, last seen wearing running clothes in a park about 10 miles south of where Amber was last seen walking with a man. A body presumed to be Chelsea's was found in a shallow, lakeside grave five days after Chelsea disappeared.

Searchers found Amber's skeletal remains early Saturday on the Pala Indian Reservation, north of San Diego, and the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed later in the day they were hers through dental records, said Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher.

Maher declined to answer questions during a news conference Sunday because he said the discovery was part of an ongoing murder investigation. He said a "lead" brought investigators to the reservation, but he did not elaborate.

"I certainly had hoped that when the day came to do a press conference on Amber it would be under much different circumstances, but that was not to be," he said.

Amber's parents, Maurice Dubois and Carrie McGonigle, appeared distraught at his side. Maurice Dubois briefly thanked everyone who searched for Amber since her Feb. 13, 2009, disappearance near Escondido High School, particularly volunteers.

"They were the most dedicated people you could ever imagine," he said. "Without them, we couldn't have done anything."

The search for Amber produced few leads until 17-year-old Chelsea King disappeared Feb. 25, last seen wearing running clothes in a park about 10 miles south of where Amber was last seen walking with a man near school. A body presumed to be Chelsea's was found five days after Chelsea disappeared in a shallow, lakeside grave.

John Albert Gardner III, 30, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murdering Chelsea and raping or attempting to rape her and attempting to rape another woman in December, a potential death penalty case.

Gardner was registered as a sex offender in Escondido, a north San Diego suburb, from January 2008 to January 2010, with some gaps, police say.

He served five years of a six-year prison term for molesting a 13-year-old neighbor in San Diego in 2000; he saw her at a bus stop and lured her to his home to watch movies, authorities said. He completed parole in September 2008.