Body of missing girl Autumn Pasquale, 12, who vanished while out riding her bike is found in recycling container
The body of a girl found in a recycling container has been preliminarily identified as that of a 12-year-old New Jersey girl missing since the weekend, police said today.
Autumn Pasquale was reported missing from her Clayton home on Saturday evening, and had been the subject of a large search over the last two days.
Beie Weisenfeld, spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, said her body was found at 10pm last night, but he did not give an exact location.
Coming together: Residents of Clayton take part in a candlelight vigil for Autumn last night, shortly before it was announced that her body had been found
Autumn's family has been notified of the discovery, which came a short time after a candlelight vigil was held for her.
An autopsy to confirm the body's identity will be conducted this moing by the Gloucester County Medical Examiner's office.
Prosecutor Sean F Dalton said: 'This is a very sad day for the Pasquale family. Our hearts go out to the family and to all the residents of Clayton who stood together in support of this young girl.'
About 200 law enforcement officials and hundreds more volunteers searched for Autumn yesterday.
Mr Dalton yesterday said that 75 people had been interviewed in connection with what-was-then a missing person case.
At that point on Monday afteoon Investigators did not have any suspects or a sure sense of whether the quiet BMX biking enthusiast had left on her own or was the victim of foul play.
With the girl's parents flanking him while holding back tears, Mr Dalton announced a $10,000 reward for information that leads authorities to the girl.
Her parents - Anthony Pasquale and Jennifer Cowell - did not speak at the news conference. Both wept during the evening vigil.
Tears: Autumn's mother Jennifer Cowell comforts her other daughter Natalie Pasquale, 11, during the vigil
Volunteer: John Reed spent yesterday handing out fliers to passers-by in case someone had seen Autumn
Search: Flanked by Autumn's mother Jennifer Cowall, Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton offers a $10,000 reward for information about her whereabouts - just hours before the girl's body was found
Autumn, whose 13th birthday would have been next Monday, was last seen around 12.30pm on Saturday pedaling her white bicycle away from the Clayton home where she lives with her father, her two siblings, her father's girlfriend and the girlfriend's children.
A friend, DeAnna Edwards-McMillen, 11, said Autumn was at her house on Friday night and they exchanged text messages on Saturday.
She said she received the last one at 1.22pm and didn't believe it was intended for her. She said it read, 'don't be like that'.
DeAnna said her friend was nice and easy to be around: 'She didn't hate people and people didn't hate her.'
DeAnna's mother, Debi McMillen, said that Autumn was often at their house and that she always went home before her 8pm curfew.
The last known communication was in a text message she sent at around 2.30pm.
Mr Dalton would not say who received the message or what it contained, but he added that there was nothing alarming or unusual about it.
It wasn't until about 9.30pm that she was reported missing - 90 minutes past her 8pm curfew, said Paul Spadofora, a family spokesman, the uncle of Autumn's father and the girl's godfather.
Schoolgirl: Autumn was reported missing from her Clayton home on Saturday evening
Residence: Autumn was last seen leaving her home (pictured) on a white BMX bicycle at 12.30pm on Saturday
Hunt: Local volunteers gather on Sunday to organise search parties for Autumn
Mr Dalton said 50 county and local law enforcement officers were on the case shortly after she was reported missing.
By Monday, the number grew fourfold as FBI and state police got involved in a search that has employed helicopters, horses, bloodhounds and computer experts.
The computer experts were charged with seeing if any information about her whereabouts shows up on Facebook or elsewhere online.
Mr Dalton said investigators accounted for all the registered sex offenders in the area, interviewed them and were searching their properties.
The weary crew of volunteers, meanwhile, was looking in area malls, handing out fliers at intersections in Clayton's tiny downtown and searching wherever they could.
Early yesterday, Mr Weisenfeld said the girl's bike had not been found. By the afteoon, Mr Dalton would not say whether it had been located.
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