ESCONDIDO, Calif. (AP) - More than 1,000 mourners gathered to remember a 14-year-old girl whose remains were found over the weekend in a remote area north of San Diego.
Maurice Dubois and Carrie McGonigle spoke on a chilly Monday night before the somber crowd at Escondido High School, near the spot where their daughter Amber Dubois vanished on Feb. 13, 2009, on her way to school. They called for laws to better protect children from predators.
Maurice Dubois evoked his daughter's favorite animal, the wolf. He said wolves hunt together to catch their prey and that parents must band together to protect their children. McGonigle said she worries every time she sees a child walking alone.
Escondido police said Monday that 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III remains a suspect after Amber's bones were found near Pala. The discovery came Saturday, more than a year after Amber disappeared near her school. Police did not elaborate in a statement.
Gardner pleaded not guilty last week to murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King of nearby Poway and attempting to rape another woman in December.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
