Killer of Calif. Girl May Strike Again, Police Say
Updated 2:30 PM ET July 17, 2002



By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Investigators issued a chilling warning on Wednesday that the sexual predator who brazenly assaulted and murdered a 5-year-old southern California girl was on the loose and may strike again soon.

Samantha Runnion's nude body was found late on Tuesday dumped beside a rural road about 75 miles from her home in Stanton in Orange County.

Investigators said Samantha, who was snatched in a frightening daylight abduction outside her home on Monday, had been sexually assaulted and there was some trauma to her body.

But her killer, who lured her by claiming he had lost a puppy, was at large and investigators appealed for the public's help in tracking him down before he kills again.

"The way the body was found, the fact that it was not buried, not hidden, was almost like a calling card, a challenge, as if this person was saying 'I'm going to strike again'," FBI agent Richard Garcia told a news conference.

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said there was a "tremendous amount" of forensic evidence on the body and at the scene of the crime that investigators were following up.

He declined to say exactly how Samantha was killed but warned parents and children to be on the alert until the man is caught.

"We believe he is a serial rapist and a serial killer. We believe that, based on the profile of this person, he may react within the next 24 hours," Carona said.

ELIZABETH SMART AND DANIELLE VAN DAM

The kidnapper was described as a Latino man with a thin mustache between the ages of 25 and 40 with slicked-back hair, wearing a blue shirt and driving a light green Honda or Acura sedan.

The explicit warnings sent a chill through southern California, where parents were already traumatized by the daylight abduction of the angelic curly-haired Samantha.

Samantha's kidnapping followed the recent high-profile abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City home, and 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, snatched from her bed in her San Diego home and later found murdered.

Smart has not yet been found.

Samantha's body was found by two men on the side of a quiet two-lane road running through the Cleveland National Forest -- a remote area used primarily by hikers and hang gliders.

The discovery came less than 24 hours after she was dragged kicking and screaming into a car outside her home, where she had been playing with a friend.

Samantha's kidnapping was witnessed by her 5-year-old friend, Sara. "A guy said: 'Did you see a little Chihuahua?' But he was lying. Then he stole my friend and drove really fast," Sara told reporters.

"She screamed, 'Help me! Tell my grandmother!"' Sara said. "I was so scared and ran back and told my mom."

Carona asked the public to look among friends and neighbors for any unusual or agitated behavior, or a person taking unusual interest in Samantha Runnion's case.

"We coming after you. The best thing you can do is to turn yourself in," Carona said, in a direct address to Samantha's killer.

"We want this individual quickly, so no one else is hurt," he added.

This is very very sad here in Calif.

I was praying that Samantha would be ok. It's awful that a someone could be as sick as to do something like this. It's horrible. I hope they find the guy soon.

THIS IS SAD FOR ANY PART OF THE COUNTRY.... SO MANY OF OUR CHILDREN ARE A RISK EVERY DAY.... WHEN MY KIDS GREW UP I DID NOT EVER EVEN LOCK A DOOR. THEY WERE ABLE TO PLAY ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH OTHER CHILDREN... NOW, THAT IS NOT THE CASE.... WILL WE HAVE TO PUT THEM ALL INSIDE?


DONNA

THIS IS SO, SO SAD

it is sad it hits home really hard for me. I have a missing cousin and it just makes me sick every time i read about a child rapist and killer.. :(

My heart breaks for that child and her family. One thing is for sure she has become a beautiful angel! It's scary to think about what this world is comming to :(

This happened about 5 min. from my house. The whole neighborhood has been on alert.

They got this fool this morning, & he is now in Orange County Jail one of the most violent jails in Calif. Even in PC this guys going to get his world rocked, & rocked hard. They have an elevator they use to transport all PC & high security prisoners, & Orange County Sheriffs are famous for their elevator rides.

It almost makes me wish I was inside. -------Ken

Yea, I wish some one would have striped him and left him in the middle of the apt. complex where he got Samantha and had the Coroner pick him up later. Although this would be too good for him.

Yeah, he should be punished. It's awful that this guy had to do that to a beautiful little girl. It makes me sick and angry. :argh

Ken, fair enough, I hope if he is the guy he gets all that is coming to him and more, both in this world and the next. But what if he isn't? I mean, the publicity on this case was sky high, the cops must've been under the gun to get someone for it, and we all know mistakes are made all the time. Is it definately him?

CWQ,

Yes, from everything we hear here is that they have all kinds of DNA evidence against this guy. Orange County has it's own DNA lab, in fact you can see it looking out the jail windows. It's known as one of the best in the state. So when the sheriff put a priority on the DNA analysis, they could do it immediatly, they don't have to send it off somewhere & wait for the reults. But, if by some wierd circumstace this guy is innocent, & he gets his world rocked, it wouldn't be the first time, nor would it be the last. Thats just the way it is inside. The rules, morals, & standards that people use in the outside world don't apply inside. It's a shame, but it's reality.----Ken

It breaks my heart everytime a child is kidnapped and killed,but it hurts me also,only cuz my Kris is a convicted molester of children. I am just as angry here as everyone else is, but i am not mad at the killer of that little Angel as I am of the jury and the judge who let him get it away with it the times before. That is what made this guy so dangerous. He had 5 felony charges on 3 other little girls and he was aquitted, plus he had an allegation of another molestation, but no charges ever filed. He thought he could get away with it again and probably is still thinking that he will be let go again. I hope someone inside hurts him, and that really bothers me to think like that but he does deserve to die. Kris was very saddended by what happen to her, and he knows that it only makes people hate him even more. I guess that is why I haven't been here lately. I pray everyday that her parents and grandmother find peace.