Body Found In Arvada Confirmed to be Jessica Ridgeway of Westminster, Colo

Westminster Police announced this afternoon (Friday, October 12th) the body found in the Arvada, Colo. park on Wednesday is that of 10-year-old missing girl Jessica Ridgeway from Westminster, Colo. Jessica had been missing since October 5th, after she failed to arrive at school about one mile from her home. Read more of the tragic details.

Workers picking up trash found a body in Pattridge Park Open Space in Arvada Wednesday afternoon. The body was identified as that of Jessica Ridgeway using DNA tests.

Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk stated; 'Our focus has changed from a search for Jessica to a mission of justice for Jessica'. 'You can’t begin to comprehend the grief that (the family) is going through. I want the family to know that me and every single person involved in this case… that our thoughts and prayers go out to them and they’ve been in our hearts from the beginning."

“This is an unthinkable end to an unthinkable crime in our community,” Governor John Hickenlooper said in a statement following the news conference.

Thursday, the FBI asked for the public’s help in finding the suspect who kidnapped Jessica.

Investigators believe someone in the community knows the kidnapper, and they assume the suspect is male.

“It could be your boss, it could be your friend and ultimately it could be your family member,” says FBI media coordinator Dave Joly. “So we’re asking people to bring this information to law enforcement, and let us (bring) that to a close.”

“We have hundreds of leads coming in and great resources here to act on those leads, but we need the public’s help.” Joly says with some emphasis.

On Thursday, the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit released a profile of who they think committed the crime.

If you have any information regarding the investigation, Westminster police are asking you to call the tip line at 303-658-4336.

[ABC News] [KDVR]