ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 1, 1996 TAG: 9611010051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MANASSAS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A body found Thursday in the Occoquan River was tentatively identified as 2- year-old Karynne Sheldon, who disappeared from a front yard 10 days ago.
Prince William County police said clothing found with the body matched the description of clothing the toddler was wearing when she disappeared Oct. 21. Police Chief Charlie Deane said the child apparently drowned the day she was reported missing.
There were no obvious signs of trauma to the body, but Deane said the investigation would continue.
The body was taken to the medical examiner's office in Fairfax, where dental records will be used to make positive identification. Autopsy results are expected today.
Police spokeswoman Kim Chinn said the body was spotted by a boater about a mile downstream from the house where Karynne disappeared. The house is about one-quarter mile from the river. The debris-clogged section of the river was blocked off Thursday as police searched for clues, Chinn said.
The FBI, police and military searchers scoured a wooded area and a pond last week near the home, and divers probed the Occoquan shoreline. Chinn did not know whether the area of the river where the body was found had been searched by divers, but it had been searched by helicopter.
Late last week, Deane said it seemed likely the child had been abducted because no trace of her had been found in six days of searching. The search was suspended over the weekend.
Karynne's parents, Danielle and Scott, offered a $25,000 reward for her safe return.
The child disappeared while Danielle Sheldon was inside the house, where she works as an office manager for a home-based construction company. She said the child was alone for about three minutes.
More than 700 people helped search for the girl, and more than 250,000 fliers with her picture were distributed in the area.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Karynne Sheldon color KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB