Body of Missing Fla. Girl Believed Found


RUSKIN, Fla. - Police said Saturday they believe they have found the body of a missing 13-year-old girl, who disappeared from her home around the time a registered sex offender unexpectedly paid a visit.








The body was discovered partially submerged in an abandoned fish pond about a half mile from Sarah Michelle Lunde's home, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said. Sarah was last seen on April 9, shortly after she returned home from a church trip.


Gee has said that David Onstott, a registered sex offender the girl's mother once dated, has drawn investigators' attention, but he has not been named a suspect.


Sarah, who had a history of running away, was reported missing Monday when her mother learned she wasn't at a friend's house. Her brother said Onstott made an unexpected pre-dawn appearance at their home hours after the girl was last seen.


Onstott, 36, was being held after he was arrested Tuesday for allegedly threatening a man with a screwdriver at a bar. He spent 5 1/2 years in prison after being convicted in 1995 of sexual battery with physical force.


About 200 volunteers joined detectives Saturday in a search for Sarah, some hugging and crying as helicopters buzzed overhead. A day earlier, detectives told volunteers to point out any bottles of Budweiser or Bud Light they found. Sarah's brother said Onstott took a half-empty beer bottle during his visit.


On Saturday, Gee said many beer bottles had been found and were being checked to determine if any DNA evidence is on them.


The fathers of two previously slain girls have been involved in the search for Sarah: Mark Lunsford, whose 9-year-old daughter, Jessica, was found dead last month after disappearing from her Citrus County home, and Roy Brown, whose 7-year-old daughter, Amanda, was killed by a convicted child molester in 1997.


Roy Brown said he was concerned about Sarah's mother.


"I just wanted the mom to know I'm here. Because things change, once the media and the searchers go, once it's all over, she still needs people," he said.