MONROE, Mich. — A body discovered along a Michigan river appears to be a female roughly the same age as a 5-year-old girl who disappeared nearly two weeks ago, authorities said Friday.
MONROE, Mich. — A body discovered along a Michigan river appears to be a female roughly the same age as a 5-year-old girl who disappeared nearly two weeks ago, authorities said Friday. Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said the body appears to be the same size as Nevaeh (nuh-VAY’-uh) Buchanan. A shirt was found similar to the one she was wearing when she vanished May 24, he said. "We have reasonable suspicion that this is the body of Nevaeh," Crutchfield said at a news conference. The body was found Thursday under cement along the banks of the River Raisin in Monroe County, about seven miles from Nevaeh’s home. Investigators hope autopsy and toxicology test results will confirm a cause of death. There were no obvious signs of violence to the body, Crutchfield said. The body appeared to be buried in a shallow grave, said Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit office. Investigators were returning to the river’s edge Friday to look for more evidence. The discovery of the body suspected to be Nevaeh should allow investigators to focus on finding the person responsible, Crutchfield said. That person "to our knowledge is still out there in the community," he said. When the girl’s mother, Jennifer Buchanan, was told about the body, "she broke down and broke down hard," said Michael Buchanan, her brother. "She couldn’t believe her daughter had to go through this," he said, adding that if it is Nevaeh’s body, it provides "some type of closure, even if it is for the worst." At the apartment complex where Nevaeh lived with her mother and grandmother, about 100 people showed up Thursday night. A makeshift shrine included a large sign with a drawing of Nevaeh’s face encircled by a heart: "Nevaeh, we will find you." Another read: "We miss you. Please come home." The body was discovered by two men out fishing. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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