ESCONDIDO - The skeletal remains of missing Escondido teenager Amber Dubois have been found more than a year after she vanished while walking to school one morning, authorities announced Sunday.

“The discovery was made in the early morning hours Saturday in a very rugged and remote area of Pala,” said Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher. “Escondido police and sheriff’s homicide detectives were following a lead in the case when they made the discovery.”

The remains, found north of the Pala reservation, were positively identified through dental records Saturday afternoon.

Maher, flanked by Sheriff Bill Gore and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Keith Slotter, declined to answer any questions at the 5-minute news conference at the Escondido Police Department.

The discovery comes just days after the body of 17-year-old Chelsea King was found buried in a shallow grave along the shores of Lake Hodges.

Investigators have been working to determine if John Albert Gardner III, a 30-year-old registered sex offender from Lake Elsinore who was arrested in Chelsea’s slaying, may have also been connected to Amber’s disappearance. Gardner was earlier living about two miles away from the area where Amber vanished. (Source: San Diego Union Tribune)

Story Date: March 9, 2010