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Print This StoryConnecticut Girl Falls Prey To Internet Predator
FBI, Two Police Departments Involved In Case
POSTED: 2:12 p.m. EDT May 20, 2002
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- The body of a 13-year-old Danbury, Conn., girl, who disappeared from a shopping mall, was found Monday after investigators with the Greenwich (Conn.) and Danbury police joined forces with agents of the FBI.
According to a representative from the Danbury Police Department, the body of Christina Long was discovered adjacent to a roadway off King Street in Greenwich just after midnight.
Greenwich police were originally notified about the girl's disappearance Friday.
The Danbury Police Department informed them at that time that they were investigating a case which involved the girl. According to police, a preliminary investigation by the Danbury police led them to the belief that the girl may have become involved with an adult male from Greenwich.
Further investigation convinced investigators that the girl had been killed in Danbury and that her body had been left in the Greenwich area.
Detectives from the Greenwich Police Department assisted Danbury detectives in identifying and locating the male suspect, Saul Dos Reis, in the case. At the request of Danbury police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation and subsequently arrested Dos Reis Sunday on Internet-related charges.
Dos Reis, 25, provided information to investigators which identified the location of Christina's body.
U.S. Attorney John Danaher, along with FBI agents and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton spoke at a news conference on the case Monday morning.
According to information given at the news conference, Dos Reis is an undocumented immigrant who came to the United States when he was about 10 years old and has lived in the United States since that time.
The investigators would not comment on any evidence in the case, including a cause of death. However, investigators said that Long and Dos Reis had communicated previously over the Internet. Asked whether they had previously met in person, Danbury police chief Robert Paquette said, "We're aware of other contact, yes."
During the meeting, Boughton said that parents needed to be more involved when their children access the Internet.
"The message is that parents have got to be careful and have got to monitor what their children are doing on the Internet," he said.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to a representative from the Danbury Police Department, the body of Christina Long was discovered adjacent to a roadway off King Street in Greenwich just after midnight.
Greenwich police were originally notified about the girl's disappearance Friday.
The Danbury Police Department informed them at that time that they were investigating a case which involved the girl. According to police, a preliminary investigation by the Danbury police led them to the belief that the girl may have become involved with an adult male from Greenwich.
Further investigation convinced investigators that the girl had been killed in Danbury and that her body had been left in the Greenwich area.
Detectives from the Greenwich Police Department assisted Danbury detectives in identifying and locating the male suspect, Saul Dos Reis, in the case. At the request of Danbury police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation and subsequently arrested Dos Reis Sunday on Internet-related charges.
Dos Reis, 25, provided information to investigators which identified the location of Christina's body.
U.S. Attorney John Danaher, along with FBI agents and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton spoke at a news conference on the case Monday morning.
According to information given at the news conference, Dos Reis is an undocumented immigrant who came to the United States when he was about 10 years old and has lived in the United States since that time.
The investigators would not comment on any evidence in the case, including a cause of death. However, investigators said that Long and Dos Reis had communicated previously over the Internet. Asked whether they had previously met in person, Danbury police chief Robert Paquette said, "We're aware of other contact, yes."
During the meeting, Boughton said that parents needed to be more involved when their children access the Internet.
"The message is that parents have got to be careful and have got to monitor what their children are doing on the Internet," he said.
The investigation is ongoing.Copyright 2002 by Channel3000.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
