Apr 6, 2009 8:29 pm US/Pacific
Pond Container May Be Linked To Missing Tracy Girl
TRACY (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP) ―
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Sandra Cantu, an 8-year-old from Tracy who is missing.
Authorities searching for a missing 8-year-old Tracy girl turned their attention Monday to a sealed container found in a pond and said it was possible the "suspicious item" could be linked to the case.
The black container was discovered by farm workers around 11:40 a.m. in a San Joaquin County irrigation pond near Tracy Blvd. and Bacchetti Rd., just a few miles from where Sandra Cantu disappeared.
The workers spotted the container while they were emptying the pond to irrigate a nearby field.
Tracy Police Sgt. Tony Sheneman said there was "no indication" that anyone was inside the container, which was moved to an undisclosed location as police completed their investigation of the area around the pond.
Forensic analysts were gathering evidence but had not yet opened the container by late Monday.
The item was found about 2 miles from the mobile home park where the girl was last seen on March 27.
Local, state and federal investigators searching for her were called to the pond scene, which authorities said had previously been searched.
The farmer who owns the land where the container was found said the pond was empty two weeks ago, and there was no container there at the time.
Monday's possible development came as police called an end to large-scale ground operations in the search for the girl. After about 300 volunteers and law enforcement officers fanned out across an area of open fields over the weekend, investigators said they would now focus on leads that came in since Sandra disappeared.
Police said they had received more than 1,000 tips since the girl was last seen on March 27.
Over the weekend, police also released video surveillance footage showing her skipping along a neighborhood street the same day she disappeared.
Sandra's mother, Maria Chavez, said 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," she said.
The reward money for information leading to Sandra's whereabouts is now close to $30,000, officials said.
(Editor's note: Two tiplines have been set up - Tracy Police Department at (209) 831-6847 or the Nat'l Center for Missing Children at (800) 843-5678.)
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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