Sunday, September 13, 2009

Police: Body found inside Yale lab building

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Police in Connecticut say they found what they believe is the body of a Yale University graduate student hidden inside the wall of a building where she was last seen five days ago.

New Haven Assistant Police Chief Peter Reichard says the body has not been identified as doctoral student Annie Le, who has been the focus of a massive police search since she vanished in the building on Tuesday.

Le swiped her identification card to enter the university building that morning, but there was no record of her leaving, despite some 75 surveillance cameras that cover the complex. Investigators pored over blueprints and surveillance video footage while searching for her.

Le was from Placerville, Calif. She was set to get married Sunday in Syosset, N.Y., on Long Island's north shore.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Police in Connecticut on Sunday said they found what they believe is the body of a Yale University graduate student and bride-to-be hidden inside the wall of a university building where she was last seen five days before.

New Haven Assistant Police Chief Peter Reichard said officials presumed the body was that of doctoral student Annie Le, although they had not yet positively identified it. Le has been the focus of a massive police search since Tuesday.

Le, 24, of Placerville, Calif., was to be married Sunday in Syosset, N.Y., on Long Island's north shore. New Haven police said they have contacted her family and have assumed control of the investigation, which is now being treated as a homicide.

State police found the body at around 5 p.m. Sunday in an area of the building that houses utility cables that run between floors.

Le was last seen Tuesday morning in the building. Surveillance video shows her arriving around 10 a.m., but police had been baffled since the investigation began because there was no video of Le leaving, despite some 75 surveillance cameras operating around the complex. Her ID, money, credit cards and purse were found in her office.

More than 100 local, state and federal police had been searching the building for days, using blueprints to uncover any place where evidence or Le's body could be hidden.

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