BREAKING NEWS!

Remains Positively Identified As Emily Rimel's

Madison Township Girl Last
Seen In December 2004

POSTED: 10:37 am EDT May 26, 2006
UPDATED: 6:11 pm EDT May 26, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A child's skull found Tuesday is that of a missing Madison Township girl, sources told NBC 4.
Emily Rimel was last seen in December 2004 inside her home. The 5-year-old girl disappeared from the home while a family friend was visiting.The friend, Lindsay Bruce, was later convicted of kidnapping Rimel. On Tuesday, a child's skull was found by a woman who was fishing with her son along Big Walnut Creek in southern Franklin County, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
DNA was taken from three of the five teeth in the skull. At the state's crime laboratory, the DNA was matched with the girl's DNA, along with the DNA from her mother and father, Burton reported.
"We were concerned about the sample due to the exposure to the water and the length of time that it had been missing," said Lynn Bolen, BCI lab director.
Police obtained Rimel's DNA from a winter coat, Burton reported.
"We knew that this day was going to come," said Madison Township Police Chief Greg Ryan. "We were hoping it was the other way around, and we could walk her through the front door of her mom's house and give her to her."
Jane Rimel, the girl's mother, said earlier this week that she was holding out hope that Emily would be found alive.
"I had a beautiful granddaughter, who was very exuberant, loving and caring, and I no longer have her," said Mary Schimpf, Emily Rimel's grandmother.
Detectives believed the girl died, but Bruce was not charged with her murder. Bruce was accused of raping her after Rimel's DNA was allegedly found on his genitalia, NBC 4 reported. A jury later found Bruce not guilty on the rape charge.
Bruce was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence possible for the kidnapping charge, NBC 4 reported.
Last year, detectives said they were confident that Bruce knew the location of Rimel's body.
The judge in the rape trial agreed, saying in court that Bruce was the only one who knew where Rimel was.
Police said they will begin searching again for more skeletal remains. Meanwhile, the prosecutor said he is preparing to file additional criminal charges against Bruce.
"We now can establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Emily Rimel is, in fact, dead," said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien.
That means that O'Brien will pursue aggravated murder charges against Bruce, which is punishable by death, Burton reported. "(We are) considering it as aggravated murder based on kidnapping, aggravated murder based on rape and aggravated murder based on the age of the victim," O'Brien said.
Officials said the case is likely to be presented to a grand jury in about two weeks.
http://www.nbc4i.com/news/9279482/detail.html