Remains, possibly that of missing Florida tot, Caylee Anthony, found

Tweet

Did anyone have any doubt the Casey Anthony had murdered her daughter? This body was found less than a mile from where she and her daughter, Caylee, lived with her parents. http://www.wftv.com/news/18253901/detail.html ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The remains of a young child were located in east Orange County Thursday morning, less than a half-mile from Casey Anthony's parents' home, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. An Orange County water meter reader, who had gone to relieve himself, discovered a bag in the area of Chickasaw Trail and Suburban Drive, around three-tenths of a mile from the Anthonys' home. According to information obtained by Eyewitness News, when the meter reader picked up the bag a skull fell out. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has confirmed to Eyewitness News that the body is a young child. "We are assuming they are the remains of a victim," said Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Solomons. It is not clear at this point whether the body was that of Caylee Anthony. "We know we have a recent discovery. We have investigators on the scene. We need to determine what we have," said Solomons. Deputies set up a perimeter near a small retention pond. Heavy rain pounded the scene, making the investigation more difficult. FBI agents and agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were also on the scene. Eyewitness News report Kathi Belich said sources told her they were taking this very seriously and would expedite DNA test to determine if the remains were indeed Caylee's. Investigators told her they were "very optimistic" they had found the missing girl. Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, has been charged with murder in connection with the case. She is currently in the Orange County jail. A jail spokesman said he did not know if Casey was aware of the morning's discovery. During a previous search, a counselor was brought in to talk with Casey. DEPUTIES SECURE HOUSE Orange County deputies also moved to secure the Anthony home. The home had been the site of many protests and on-looker gatherings throughout the course of investigation into Caylee's disappearance. Neighbors and others began showing up at the house about 11:00 a.m. "I think it's tremendous, I think it's due," said one of the discovery of the remains. "We've been searching for this little for months. America is listening and wants this little girl found." The house was also a possible crime scene. Investigators could possibly search for more evidence based on what they found with the remains. EXPERTS REACT Dr. Michael Baden, a forensics expert, said DNA tests would likely confirm what other evidence at the scene would tell investigators (watch Baden interview). For example, detectives say there was duct tape on the bag and skull that were found. Baden said detectives would be able to match that tape and bag to other tape and bags they had previously gathered from the trunk of Casey Anthony's car. "They can tell the age and height of the child. They'll have a good sense of if it's Caylee. The DNA will just confirm the evidence," said Baden. Tim Miller, founder of the Texas-based search group Equusearch, said he had been called by law enforcement officials and told they believed they had found Caylee Anthony (watch Miller interview). "The words were, 'Tim, it looks like we got her,'" said Miller. "I'm surprised. It was one of them cases I thought would have never been found… I thought the best thing that would ever happen is that one day we could go to a funeral and say good-bye to this little girl… and it looks like that will happen." "I'm just overcome with emotion and grief right now," said bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who has been a major part of search efforts to find Caylee's body (watch Padilla interview). This is developing and WFTV.com will have new details posted immediately. Please click REFRESH. MURDER TRIAL POSTPONED During Thursday morning's pre-trial hearing in the case against Casey Anthony, the judge postponed the trial until sometime in March per attorney Jose Baez's request.