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Show HERALD DAILY Sunday, February 17. 2008 B3 Missing Reno student's body found Police say serial rapist killed Brianna uenusun ana ai least two otners Martin Griffith THE ASSOCIATED Denison was abducted by a suspected rapist that police have linked by DNA to a string of attacks near the Reno campus. A student at Santa Barbara City College in California, she was visiting her hometown over winter break and was last seen sleeping on a couch at a friend's rental house just off PfcESS A RENO, Nev, college student missing since she was abducted nearly a month ago was strangled by a serial rapist who has attacked at least two other women and may strike again, Reno police . . said Saturday. An autopsy confirmed that a dead woman found Friday in a d field near a business park was Brianna Denison and that she died of strangulation, Reno Deputy Po- campus. DNA evidence links Deni-son- 's "Somewhere in our community there is a wife, a mom, a girlfriend, a sister who recognizes this suspect. Likely he looks like somebody you would least suspect, but that is the person who is responsible for this crime," he said. Publicity of the manhunt may cause the rapist to stop attacking, but "our absolute fear is he may Johns said. Denison's disappearance generated an outpouring of support from the community. Hundreds of volunteers aided in daily searches in and around Reno, and electronic casino marquees featured her photo- kidnapping to two other attacks on women near the university late last year, police said, and an earlier campus attack also could be related. In that earlier incident, the graph. One of the "Bring Bri Back" attacker brazenly raped a woman at gunpoint in a garage fliers with her photo and in where campus police park their cruisers. Based on partial descriptions from previous victims, police have described the suspect as a white male between ages 28 and 40 and at least 5 feet 6, with a long face and brown hair. He was believed to have no accent or regional dialect. The killer's familiarity with the city suggests he likely lives in Reno, Johns said, adding that he believes the "chances are very good" they will catch brush-covere- lice Chief Jim Johns said. Her body had been in the field for more than a week about 8 miles from the house where she last was seen early Jan. 20 at the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno, he said. "I would say this is a serial rapist," Johns said at a news conference. "We have two, probably three (cases) linked through DNA." "The totality of the information in this case leads us to believe it is a sexually motivated crime," he said. "I'm worried this guy is still out there, and I'm worried somebody else is going to get hurt." Campus officers will do all they canto support investigators "in hunting this animal , down and bringing him to justice," said university Police Chief Adam Garcia. Heavy snowfall over the past few weeks may have delayed the discovery of her body, police said. was found. him. "It could be tomorrow, next month, next year. We are going to find this suspect," he told :. reporters. The killer probably lives near the campus just north of the downtown casino district or on the city's nearby northwest side, Johns said, and he may work closer to the city's southeast side, where the body T formation about a suspect and suspect vehicle was tacked to a telephone pole on the corner of the field where her body was found about noon on Friday. Bridgette Denison, Brianna's mother, issued a statement on behalf of the family Saturday thanking police and the community for their help in the search for her daughter. "On March 29; 1988, Bridgette and Jeffrey Denison were given the incredible gift of their, daughter Brianna. On January 20, 2008, she became the daughter of our entire community," she said in the state- Photos ment. Bridgette Denison asked that every woman in the community "be diligent about their own safety." V by KEVIN CLIFFORD Associated Press sign with a photograph above showing Brianna Denison, a college student missing since she was abducted nearly a month ago, is seen on Friday near the field where Denison's body was found in Reno. Nev. Washoe County coroner personnel below remove Denison's body on Iriday in Reno. A worker found the body in a field on the city's south side near a light industrial area, suul Reno police. A brush-covere- ' d 4 4 . tt r 0 7 Judge: Wellsville couple can keep adopted girl for now t and Mary Frances Kirkpat-ricgave the girl back to the Bankses under a temporary guardianship arrangement. The Kirkpatricks said they were having difficulty adjusting to the birth of twins and . Mary Frances Kirkpatrick was suffering postpartum depres- LOGAN A judge has awarded temporary custody of an adopted Chinese girl to a Wellsville couple, despite a federal indictment al- -' leging their involvement in an adoption agency scam. Scott and Karen Banks, ran the adoption agency Focus on Children and helped an Over135-cou- sion. Both families want to adopt the girl, now 3. Each family uses a different name for the land Park, Kan., couple adopt the girl in December 2005. But after six months, Curry girl. The Kirkpatricks call her Ameyla," and the Bankses call her "Amanda." After a four-da. trial, 1st District Judge Stanton Tay- - . lor declined an adoption, but granted the Bankses guardianship, saying the Kirkpatricks had abandoned her. Taylor " y terminated the Kirkpatrick's parental rights. "The court finds first of and convincing all by clear ' evidence that there was abandonment," Taylor said, noting the Kansas couple made no attempt to communicate with the child for six months after surrendering the girl to the Bankses. "I don't often lose sleep over cases, but I've been losing sleep over this one," Taylor said. An attorney for the Kirkpatricks tried repeatedly to re mind Taylor that the Bankses are under federal indictment for allegedly duping Samoan parents into giving up their children with the promise that they would return at age 18 after getting an American education. The children were adopted into American families. The Bankses have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include conspiracy, bringing illegal aliens into the and money laundering. Taylor said he would only allow an adoption if the federal charges are dropped or if the Bankses are acquitted. If The Bankses are convicted of misdemeanors or felonies, or-- if only one of t hem were to go to prison, then Taylor said he would hold a hearing to determine what is "in the best interests" oi the child. U.S., fraud . Townhomes In Salem 'Ar, I J. Starting At H; $179,000 iodic llUCl DENTAL Family Dentistry Dr. Nick Groneman DMD 186 South 1100 East American Fork, UT 84003 J, IS After Hours & WJT -. 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