Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Kidnapped 13-year-old girl found dead in North Carolina pond

Episode Date: November 29, 2018

The search for 13-year-old Hania Aguilar, kidnapped from outside of her Lumberton, North Carolina, home, on the morning of November 5, ended with the discovery of her murdered body in a body of water 10 miles away. Nancy Grace updates the case with a panel of experts including Dr. Michelle Dupre, a South Carolina medical examiner and author of "Homicide Investigation Field Guide,"  former detective Steven Lampley, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan -- author of "Blood Beneath My Feet,"  North Carolina family and divorce lawyer Kathleen Murphy,  New York psychologist Caryn Stark, and Crime Stories reporter Robyn Walensky. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. No, it's not Santa. It's Nancy Grace. Are you trying to find the perfect gift for a parent or an expecting parent? Please do not give them another onesie. Don't do it.

And not another plastic toy that's going to end up in the trash bin or the garage or sent to Goodwill. This holiday season, give them something that really matters. And what matters more than protecting their child? I sat down with the smartest people in the world that I know when it comes to child safety, finding missing children, and fighting back against predators. And what I learned is so critical and the information so powerful and important. I want you to have it. I want them as parents to have it. Go to crimestopshere.com

for a five-part series with action information that you can use to change your life and protect your child. Because I have done it myself based on what they have told me. Give that as a gift, not another onesie, please. Find out how to protect your child. Out and about, at the mall, at the store, at the grocery store, in parking lots, in parking decks, at your home, in your neighborhood. Find out about protection regarding babysitters, nannies, daycare, even protection online. It's the very best gift you can give any parent. Go to crimestopshere.com and join the Justice Nation.

Crimestopopshere.com Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. This is sort of heart-wrenching. We are absolutely devastated. I wish we had a different outcome for Hanya's family or the community that she lived in and for the hundreds of law enforcement officers and searchers who put everything, everything they had in defining her and bringing her back

alive. We believe we had found the body of 13 year old Hania Aguilar. The body was found in a body of water off the Wiregrass Road in Robeson County. The state medical examiner said preliminary tests indicates the body that they found is Hanya's. But final confirmation will be done using a dental records comparison. You are hearing from Lumberton, North Carolina Police Chief Michael McNeil. The search for the little girl, Hanya Aguilar, has come to an end and not the way we wanted. Hanya's body has just been positively identified. I'm Nancy Grace.

This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Outrage. Outrage. with us outrage outrage at the thought a little girl walks out of her home trying to get into the family car seven o'clock in the morning to go to school on a school day and some perv in that short space of time grabs her forces her into the SUV, takes off with her. That car found discarded nearby about 10 miles away. And now Hanya's body has been recovered.

Straight out to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Robin Walensky. Robin, start at the beginning. Wow, what a horrendous story. This girl, 13 years old, very pretty, just a normal day going to school. She leaves the home where she lives. So it's not some isolated area. There are many other people that live there. And she walks outside just before she's about to leave for school at 7 o'clock. And there are witnesses that say that they hear her screaming, screaming, screaming, screaming. And they have told a police detective that some guy dressed in all black. And then he had this.

Who would do this? He has a yellow bandana, Nancy. I mean, talk about having, you know, a headlight, Christmas lights on your head. He has a yellow bandana across his face, and then he shoves her into this SUV. Well, I can tell you this much from what I know of this sort of crime. Joseph Scott Morgan with me, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Joe Scott, if he is not apprehended, he will strike again.

It's a freaky thing. I cannot explain it. But sex offenders, burglars, and peeping toms they can't stop that's my anecdotal experience they can't stop he has i guarantee you he has done something similar before and he will do it again and what i don't get is why this guy with this description and an SUV that was discarded, what, we can't get fingerprints for Pete's sake? What, is it because she's Hispanic? What, is her case treated differently from everybody else's?

I don't understand why this guy has not been apprehended. And how long was she kept alive and tortured before she was murdered? Think about that for a moment, Joe Scott Morgan. Yeah, I have been giving it a lot of thought, Nancy, and the one word that comes to mind with me is bold in this case. When we first started covering this case a few weeks ago, I was struck by just the boldness that this guy had to just appear at this time of the day and snatch this little girl away from her family in a very, very public location. You hear her screaming and all these sorts of things. The key here,

as you pointed out now, since she has been found all these weeks down range from this initial event, the key here is trying to determine the postmortem interval, how long after she left her family was she kept alive, and then secondly, at what point in time did she pass on. So the scene investigation itself is going to be very, very key here. I couldn't agree with you more, Joseph Scott Morgan. Also with me right now, Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner and author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Dr. Dupree, she's been underwater. What can we learn? How long has she been under there?

Can we still get a cause of death? What effect will water have on the body? Help me. Nancy, all very good questions. And the answer to all of them is yes. We can still learn the cause of death. We can still give an estimate of the time of death and how long she's been underwater. We may still be able to tell what instrument or instruments were used to cause death. The fact that she was in water sometimes

preserves the body. Sometimes it does make it a little more difficult, but regardless, we're still able to figure those things out. Joining me also in addition to Dr. Michelle Dupree and Joseph Scott Morgan, along with Robin Walensky. Karen, start with me. New York psychologist. Karen, just looking at MO and human behavior. Jackie Howard here in the studio keeps saying, holding up a little sign. Opportunity, crime of opportunity, or crime of motive like planning it ahead of time is what i think she is that what you're trying to ask yes okay to me that he's

all tricked out in a black outfit what that's just so um predictable that tells me he was all dressed and ready to sneak around the neighborhood and grab this girl. I mean, come on. You think he was just standing in her front yard at 7 a.m. for no reason? I think if you take a look, Nancy, statistically, this guy was already, he was following her. He knew who she was and he knew her routine. That would be my guess. And he knew that there were times that she would go out and start that car up so that someone could drive her to school.

So I believe, if you think about the outfit, that he was dressed and ready to go. And I reacted so quickly to be able to do this. He knew her. That often happens with predators they follow their victim they know when to attack and i have no idea what that yellow bandana was but this guy was ready to do it well probably in his mind joining me also stephen lampley uh detective you can find him at stephen david lampley.com stephen weigh in on garb, the black ninja outfit with the yellow bandana covering his face. I'm so underwhelmed.

Well, Nancy, obviously he doesn't want anybody to know who he is. There's some videos I understand, and I saw some of it. I think this video was shot on Lambeth Street, which is about right about a half a mile away from her trailer, from her mobile home. And it shows him walking down the street, and he's walking with what appears to be purpose. You know, he looks like he knows where he's going, and he's going somewhere. So I don't think this was an opportunity. You know, last moment, I think he had this planned, as she said, and he took advantage of it and snatched her.

And the yellow bandana was across his face, as I'm told, to keep his identity, I guess, even more so subdued. Well put. Robin Walensky, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. The police and FBI released a video about a few days after she went missing. Hania Aguilar, for those of you just joining us, her little body has been found in a body of water. Robin, police released a video of a guy walking along in the wee early morning hours in the area. This perp was on foot.

He left in the family car This perp was on foot. He left in the family car. That person was on foot. But I don't recall that person having on all black with a yellow bandana. Are they connected? It could be the same person, Nancy. What, he had a wardrobe change? He may have. He could have been like Cher and had multiple outfits laying in the car.

I mean, who knows with someone like this it's possible okay let me a my question to you is did the guy in the video that was just walking down the street nearby early that morning did he have on black clothes and a yellow bandana yes no Robin there was no yellow bandana at that time, but may have been in dark clothing. In the video, it looks like he's got on a light-colored T-shirt, dark pants, a different color, like a lighter, much lighter red or blue hoodie with white tennis shoes. Joining me is North Carolina family lawyer Kathleen Murphy. You've seen it all. Every scenario there is. I'm

not buying a wardrobe change. I don't think the guy walking in the neighborhood near the time of the incident is the kidnapper. Just doesn't make sense to me based on the clothing. Nancy, I think that this neighborhood itself, if you've seen pictures of the neighborhood, I know people who are from this area. It's a pretty dangerous area. And so I just think it was a crime of opportunity. And I think that the person that did this is from that area. And you are absolutely right. Why are the fingerprints not being traced to somebody that is actually in the area? So you're saying crime of opportunity, but what I'm specifically asking you is,

is the guy in the video, to me, he's not wearing all black with a yellow headband. That's not him. Well, I mean, I think it could be him. I think it could not be him. He could have had the bandana under his shirt. I mean, I just don't know. But I do think that it's very unusual to have two people, two different people, single males, walking around that early in the morning. Yeah, you know what? You're absolutely right.

Without a dog. Please continue to pray for Hanya's family and each other as the investigation continues. I just want to add something at this time. I want to ask the community and those that on social media, please quit spreading the rumors that they're spreading on the media. We're not going to discuss any of the circumstances surrounding the body or the condition of the body. And we want the media and everybody in the community to be respectful of that and do not ask us about the conditions of the body.

American examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death. This is the outcome that we all feared that was going to happen. We did not want to hear this. We wanted to bring Hanya back home and bring her back home alive to our community. It hurts. Our work is not over. We will not stop. We will not stop until we find the person or persons responsible and we bring them to justice. We will not stop until we do that. You are hearing from

Lumberton, North Carolina, Police Chief Michael McNeil. The FBI finds a body in the search for a missing little girl, Hania Aguilar. She was snatched just outside her North Carolina home about three weeks ago. It was around 7 a.m. in the morning when most people haven't even had their first cup of coffee. Who is thinking about kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a little girl at 7 a.m. in the morning well in the last hours a body has been found and identified the body is little Hania Aguilar dr. Michelle Dupree medical examiner author of homicide investigation field guide from what we are learning from that presser you're just hearing Hania's body was submerged in water not far away from where she was taken what

effect is that water going to have on determining cause of death whether she had been molested how long she had been kept how long she had been submerged how long she was dead was she kept alive for three weeks and just murdered? Is this the first time they've looked in this body of water? I find that hard to believe. But what effect will the water have on Hania's body? Again, all very good questions. Sometimes, depending on the temperature of the water, the water can actually help to preserve the body.

However, once that body is removed from the water, decomposition does begin more rapidly. One of the things that the water will do is it very well may wash away or degrade any kind of trace evidence, but not necessarily. It's actually going to depend on sort of that totality of circumstances, again, and looking at not just just the body but actually the crime scene and all of the surrounding things the body found has been positively identified as the kidnapped little girl hania agalar a lot of speculation regarding video taken in the wee morning hours in the same area just before she's taken of a male walking along in that neighborhood. Robin Walensky with me, CrimeOnline.com, investigative reporter where you can find this and all other breaking crime and justice news. What about that video, Robin? Is that the

best lead? There are 800 tips that have come in to the hotline number, Nancy, and the FBI is now involved in this case. You know, people have those ring doorbell cameras. You don't have to live in an expensive house to get a ring doorbell camera for $100 at Target or Walmart. And the FBI believes that there are other videos out there, and they are pleading with the public that if you have a business or a home and you have an outside camera to please turn it over to the authorities because this is a very wide crime scene there's a location where she was snatched and then where the body was found is approximately 10 miles away and the actual site where the body was in the water cannot be seen from the street. So to me, it feels like this man, if this is the guy who's involved, that this is someone who clearly was looking at that

house, surveilling the house, had seen this girl before. She's very attractive and also knew where this wooded area was with the water 10 miles away from the home. This is somebody who knows the area. Hania Noella Aguilar positively identified in the body of water Robin Walensky is describing. Take a listen as FBI supervising agent Andy DeLaRocha breaks down. We're all heartbroken. We believe we found Hanya, but our work is far from over. We have to find out how she died, who did this to her,

and we have to bring the person or persons responsible to justice. Please call us if you have information to help. Don't post rumors on social media. Don't share your speculation about this case. On 5 November, I stood right here before you and stated, I couldn't imagine how I would feel if this was one of my daughters. Last night, I had to stand in front of Hania's mother and explain to her what we had found, and you can all imagine what that has done

to her. Can you further imagine what is happening to her today as she hears things that are not based in fact, that are purely speculative and are rumors and falsehoods. After that, agent Andy Della Rocha, very, very distraught, but then composing himself, he goes on. Every logical lead that comes into the tip line, every phone call, every person we talk to, we follow up thoroughly by putting things out there that are blatantly false and that are not released by the Lumberton Police Department, the FBI, the SBI, the Robinson County Sheriff's Office, the North Carolina Highway Patrol are false. They're misleading. They're simply inaccurate.

I mean, how badly Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer, do rumors and innuendo hurt a case? I mean, for instance, there was an allegation, a tip, a rumor that she had been sighted in Charlotte alive and well. Well, that did hurt the investigation because people kind of quit looking for her. So how badly do you believe rumors and innuendo that the FBI agent Andy DeLaRocha is describing hurt an investigation? First and foremost, Nancy, I have to say that my heart goes out to this mother. And when the mother is learning that there are tips that are not credible and the law enforcement agency is using their time to investigate these tips while she still believed her daughter was alive. How painful was that?

And how painful is it to that investigator from Lumberton who clearly has a heart in this investigation? It stopped resources. The FBI and local law enforcement begging for your tips. There's a $30,000 reward. That tip line, 910-272-5871. Here is the FBI supervising agent, Andy De La Rocha, as he begs, encourages, pleads with people to stop spreading rumors online and hurting the investigation, but to call in with credible information. Listen.

This here isn't about us today. This is about an innocent girl. This is about Hanya and her life. We want to do everything possible to hold the person or persons accountable who committed this horrific offense. I implore you to call the tip line. Again, 910-272-5871. If you want to help us, call us directly. And please do not make things up on social media. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

No, it's not Santa. It's Nancy Grace. Are you trying to find the perfect gift for a parent or an expecting parent? Please do not give them another onesie. Don't do it. And not another plastic toy that's going to end up in the trash bin or the garage or sent to Goodwill. This holiday season, give them something that really matters. And what matters more than protecting their child? I sat down with the smartest people in the world that I know when it comes to child safety, finding missing children, and fighting back against predators. And what I learned is so critical and the information so powerful and important.

I want you to have it. I want them as parents to have it. Go to crimestopshere.com for a five-part series with action information that you can use to change your life and protect your child because I have done it myself based on what they have told me. Give that as a gift, not another onesie, please. Find out how to protect your child out and about at the mall, at the store, at the grocery store, in parking lots, in parking decks, at your home, in your neighborhood. Find out about protection regarding babysitters, nannies, daycare, even protection online. It's the very best gift you can give any parent.

Go to crimestopshere.com and join the Justice Nation. Crimestopshere.com. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. They were actually searching, asking for a surveillance video in this area. Any type of surveillance video that you may have on your home, Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. working to look into that because this has obviously been a three-week search for this young girl and it's been very taxing on not only those students but all of the community as they continue to call in tips and try to get to know more about what exactly happened. A couple weeks ago they did find the vehicle. She was, according to police, she was pushed into the vehicle that was owned by one of her family members and that that is when she was taken, and they eventually found the vehicle, but they did not find Hanya, which has been devastating for this community as they have tried to figure out why

and what's going on and who would do such a thing. That person was in all dark clothing and a yellow bandana when this happened. You are hearing from WTVD Raleigh, North Carolina, ABC 11, anchor Amber Rapinta on the scene. The police want to clarify that there is no person of interest. There has been no arrest. They need your help. Tip line 910-272-5871.

The body found in a body of water, which I'd like to point out was on private property. Guarantee the owner of that property is going to be questioned. Has been positively identified as Hania Aguilar. To Robin Walensky, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, what can you tell me about the family of Hania right now? Well, her mom wrote this heartbreaking letter, Nancy, saying how much she misses her beautiful daughter. She refers to her as her princess. And when she is taken down to the local police station, an ambulance has to be called because she is so distraught about the news that she is hearing. Clearly the mother loved her daughter and is just absolutely heartbroken. And the letter

just gives you the chills, the heartbreak that this woman is going to have to live with for the rest of her life. You know, Karen Stark, joining me, New York psychologist. When you think about it, that's really all you have is your family. And nothing matters except them. That's all that matters. And this person took her precious pearl. That's all she had was Hania. And now she's gone. You know, Karen, how many times do I let the twins run out to the car,

and then I, you know, lock the door and chase after them. They're out there two or three minutes in the mornings. I mean, who would think that someone is waiting and watching for you to for children to come out on their own karen you have a question for dr michelle dupree our medical examiner and author of homicide investigation field guide go ahead karen i'm first of all i want to address what you just said nancy because this mother as you know, will never recover from what happened. This is something that you don't. You can go on with your life, but she will never be the same, losing her daughter.

And the question that I had was, if they are using dental records to identify her, how will they be able to find out how long she was with this guy, when she was killed, what happened to her? I'm confused. That's a very good question. And actually, the dental records will be used to identify her as actually being Hanya. They will not help in determining how long she's been with this person or in her cause of death. It's simply the positive method for identification. Explain how that works, Dr. Michelle Dupree. Basically, we would take the person's dental chart that we would get from her dentist

and compare that to the teeth and the dental records of the person. They're charted on a record, and by comparison, it's almost as good as fingerprints. It is considered a positive means of identification. For instance, you can look at somebody's teeth, markings on the teeth, and tell if they ever wore braces. Only you would have certain fillings at certain points in your mouth. Isn't it true, Dr. Michelle Dupree, that on with teeth alone, teeth alone, you can tell by the jaw and the teeth, whether it's a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, and comparing it to dental records, nobody else is going to have that configuration of teeth other than you. Dental records are used throughout the world and in war combat zones for identification. So this is a time honored and reliable way of identifying a body, Dr. Dupree. Absolutely, Nancy. You're exactly right.

And not just that, but not just the fillings but the spacing of the teeth the structure of the teeth the way that they're actually aligned all of those things are very individual to a specific person. Jackie Howard here in the studio wants me to ask you Dr. Dupree do teeth disintegrate over a period of time? They do somewhat but it takes an enormous amount of time and we can still get DNA many, many, many years after the fact from teeth. You mean out of the root of the tooth? Yes. From like, what's in the inside of a tooth? Well, you have the enamel, of course, on the outside and you have dentin and you have the root of the tooth. And again, because of that enamel and because of the structure of teeth, that is well preserved even in fire and other um other means so we can still

get so you're saying it takes teeth a really long time to disintegrate how long oh years i mean we can even get teeth um oftentimes even after cremation there may not be dna in those after cremation well i can tell you this you know what i'm thinking back on of course all my comparisons kathleen mur, are anecdotal. I'm no doctor. I'm a jurist doctor, not a medical doctor. Kathleen Murphy with me, North Carolina family lawyer. I know you remember the story, the case of Teresa Hallback.

The victim may not ring a bell, but the defendant, Stephen Avery and Brendan Dassey, who have been the media darlings of Netflix in making a murder. They did it, by the way. Stephen Avery raped and murdered her, and Brendan Dassey raped and stood by and watched her being killed. But that aside, do you remember Kathleen Murphy? That all that was left of her body were little pieces of bone and her teeth. And the studs offered Daisy Fuentes blue jeans in Stephen Avery's fire pit in the backyard of his salvage company the fire that he stirred all night long according to friends and relatives her teeth were still in there Kathleen in a situation where there's fire water extreme weather those teeth will last forever and they're able to get that DNA out of that too that's how they're identifying this body. And learning from Robin Walensky that

the mom, Hania's mom, oh boy, do we need to pray for her. Poor lady was taken down to the police station. And when she learned about Hania's body being identified, was, according to Robin Walensky, taken away in an ambulance. Everyone, the tip line is 910-272-5871. Listen to our friend at WTVD Raleigh, ABC 11, Amber Rapinta. They've been trying to piece together with surveillance video what exactly happened and what happened after she was taken. Amber Rapinta. can see that there are houses along this road. This isn't exactly a completely deserted road. We've seen a lot of cars trying to get down this road as well, but police are blocking it off. This is near where she went to school, and this is also near where she was abducted. This is a kind of desolate area, but we have seen a lot of cars in the area, and there are also several homes

as well. What we know so far is that officers were searching for, were going off of tips that they had gotten in for the Hania Aguilar case. When they were searching, when they were following these leads, that's when they came across a body. They have said that they did reach out to Hania's family, though, and they are aware that this body was found. And we spoke with that family last night. We've seen the surveillance videos come out of all of this, too. The FBI has gotten several surveillance videos of a man in dark clothing. They do believe he was wearing a yellow bandana at the time of the kidnapping as well.

You're hearing from our friend, anchor and reporter Amber Rupinta at WTVD Raleigh, North Carolina, ABC 11. Police begging for help. Tip line 910-272-5871. With me, Robin Walensky, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Stephen Lampley with me, former detective. You can find him at StephenDavidLampley.com. We are learning that on the 911 call,

initial reports during the 911 call described the abductor as a black male wearing all black including long sleeves with a yellow bandana over his face that call was made at 6 54 a.m november 5 and very unusual very unusual november 8 someone calls 9-1-1 to tell police they have spotted a vehicle backed into the woods. The FBI evidence response team was brought in to process the vehicle for evidence to find Hania. So the car is ditched pretty quickly, Stephen Lampley. What does that mean to you? I'd like to know how close that body of water is to where the car was found because that would suggest to me that this

little girl was assaulted and tortured and and drowned immediately as opposed to keeping her alive for days and days what do you make of what i've just revealed steven lampley well nancy i tend to agree with you if you look at the map and the locations and I don't have the exact distances, but we're talking about maybe four miles from each. The video, excuse me, the map shows that where she lived, which is just off Elizabeth Town Road, which is Highway 41 there, her body was found approximately 10 miles away. Now, the vehicle was found about half that distance, roughly four or five miles away. And then that leads me to believe, perhaps, and again, I could be wrong,

but this is just based on what I'm looking at, that sort of leads me to believe that perhaps she was abducted, driven to this, wherever she was accosted or murdered, perhaps, and then dumped at this pond, which is a small pond, roughly 10 miles away. And then the vehicle is found half that distance. It's to me as if maybe he abducted her, took her wherever, maybe he assaulted her at the pond I don't know dumped her there and then drove at least part of the way back home that's that's my thought. Take a listen to what we were learning from the FBI supervising agent. As you recall from approximately seven to ten days ago we started specifically targeting the area along Wiregrass Road because of a number of tips that have come into the police department

through the tip line. And this is what led us to ask people along Wiregrass Road to check CCTV footage. And this is an area that we had planned to do a more thorough and deliberate search. It's a wide open area. There's a lot of wetland through there. It's a lot of wooded area.

There's also private land, which we needed to coordinate with homeowners and property owners to make access to. So it was a deliberate plan to get out there. It's a lot of wooded area. There's also private land which we needed to coordinate with homeowners and property owners to make access to. So it was a deliberate plan to get out there. After finding Hanya, we processed the scene, we secured the scene. Investigators and crime scene officials went back to Wiregrass Road at first light where we recovered additional evidence and made sure everything that was relevant was collected. We appreciate the neighbors' cooperation and ask, they call us if they saw anything suspicious in the area along Wiregrass Road since November the 5th. Days ago, we asked about surveillance cameras near Wiregrass Road, and we are asking you again,

call us if you have video that can help us determine when and how Hanya came to be laid, where our investigators found her late yesterday. Pray for Hanya. Pray for her family and each other. The area that we were last evening and today is not visible from the road. We do not have a person of interest at this time. I don't have a comment as to whether the suspect may be here or may have left the area. I don't have a comment on that. What we are learning from the FBI supervising agent is that

Hunt's body was found in a, quote, secluded area. They do not currently have a suspect. He is also revealing that they did collect evidence from the scene. Listen to this. I can tell you that there is evidence that is both at the scene. There's evidence that we've received as far as tips from the public. There's evidence that we have published as far as CCTV footage and otherwise. So to include what we have found last evening, all of it is going to help us piece together what happened to Anya.

To Dr. Michelle Dupree, medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide, Dr. Michelle Dupree, he is revealing they did get evidence from the car. Evidence, he didn't say what, was collected at the scene, also where the body was found, but they're not saying what. What do you believe it could be, Dr. Dupree? Nancy, that could be a number of things. Certainly any type of DNA. There can be trace evidence. There can be fingerprints. There could be hairs, fibers.

There can be other indications that she was, in fact, in the car. Anything like that would point to evidence that they would be concerned with collecting. Take a listen to what the FBI says about where her body was found. We don't have any information to release at this time as to whether she was killed there or elsewhere. It was not something that was obvious. It was not something obvious. And again, where she was was not visible from the road. And so I'm not going to use the term pond. It's a body of water. I don't think it's only rainwater. I would be misleading if I said it was just rainwater. It's a body of water. I don't think it's only rainwater. I would be misleading if I said it was just rainwater. It was a body of water, but it's not formally a pond. You know, Kathleen

Murphy, North Carolina family lawyer, this is private property. So we know that whoever owned the property is going to be questioned, but apparently anybody could get on it. It was a secluded area. The owner likely didn't even know somebody was there. And it was fairly, although it was fairly accessible, it was off the beaten path in that it wasn't in the middle of the city. It wasn't in the middle of any businesses. It was just basically a plot of woods, unfortunately for Hania. At the Lumberton Junior High, right now, students are filing in. They're going from class to class for the first time since finding out that Hania's body has been identified. That is their little friend.

The worst has come true. The search for Hania Aguilar, this beautiful little girl with the long black hair, has been positively identified. The case is no longer search and recovery. It is now a homicide investigation. Tip line 910-272-5871. There is a $30,000 reward. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off.

Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.