Sacramento Area Local News

TRACY, Calif. (CBS13) ― Authorities grimly announced Monday evening that they have conclusively identified the remains found sealed into a suitcase that was dumped into a Tracy pond as missing eight-year-old Sandra Cantu, news that stunned the local community.

The Search For Sandra Ends

At a press conference at Tracy City Hall, Police Chief Janet Thiessen and Sgt. Tony Sheneman confirmed that the container found by farm workers in an irrigation pond contained Sandra's body, and vowed to find the little girl's killer.

"We will be determining the person or persons responsible for this reprehensible act, and we will bring them to justice," Chief Janet Thiessen said.

Sgt. Sheneman said the dark suitcase was found around 11:40 a.m. Monday while workers drained a pond near Tracy Boulevard and Bacchetti Road. Search and rescue teams had already canvassed the area, but did not see the suitcase in the dirty, murky waters.

The farm workers had heard of the search for Sandra, and the farm owner immediately called authorities. The owner said that the pond had been empty two weeks ago, and when they filled it with water, there was no suitcase in the area.

Authorities were able to quickly identify Sandra by the clothes that she was wearing, a pink "Hello Kitty" T-shirt and black leggings, when she went missing on March 27. An autopsy will be performed Tuesday to determine the girl's cause of death.

Investigators have not released any other information on the case.

Somber crowds gathered at the Orchard Estates mobile home park, where Sandra Cantu lived and was last seen before she disappeared. A weeping mother and daughter embraced in the crowd, and the mother said she didn't know how to come to grips with the tragedy.

"That was my daughter's friend," she said through tears.

Casey Goodall, associate superintendent of the Tracy Unified School District says additional counselors will be brought to Sandra's school to help classmates cope with the loss.

The Search For The Killer Begins

At around 11:40 p.m. Monday night, Tracy Police officers sealed off the mobile home park with yellow tape and said they were treating the park as a crime scene. A large number of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were seen driving into the park and were seen searching either a home or garage. Authorities were tight-lipped about the focus of their investigation. They left the park at around 3 a.m. with multiple evidence trailers.

Police were also at the Clover Road Baptist Church Monday night gathering evidence. The church, which hasn't been tied to the case until now, is located about 1/3 mile from the mobile home park. It too is surrounded by yellow crime scene tape. According to a resident at the park, a resident of the park who was questioned last night is a pastor at the church.

Authorities said earlier in the investigation that they had questioned every resident of the park multiple times, and several cars had been towed away last week, stained with fingerprinting dust.

Two residents of the mobile home park had been investigated as persons of interest, and one of them admitted to kissing Sandra on the lips two years ago, but flatly denied having anything to do with her disappearance.

Police called an end to large-scale ground operations in the search for missing eight-year-old Sandra Cantu. About 300 volunteers and law enforcement officers fanned out across an area of open fields Saturday.

Over the weekend, Sandra's mother told CBS13 that she thinks Sandra did not run away. "I think somebody took her. She wouldn't walk off. She wouldn't leave the mobile home park at all. I think somebody has her," Maria Chavez said.

Police had received more than 1,000 tips since the little girl was last seen on March 27.

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