Fatal Stabbing Of Calaveras County Girl Prompts Manhunt
VALLEY SPRINGS (CBS/AP) -- Residents of rural Calaveras County were told Sunday to keep their doors locked as authorities continued the search for the killer of an 8-year-old girl.
The county coroner identified the girl as Leila Fowler. Initially she was reported as being 9 years old, but Coroner Kevin Raggio said Sunday she would have turned 9 in June.
Calaveras County deputies and law enforcement officials from nearby agencies were looking for a suspect after the girl was found stabbed in her Valley Springs home around noon Saturday.
The girl was found by her brother after he encountered an intruder in the home. When the intruder ran away, the boy found his sister stabbed. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital, officials said.
Authorities spent Saturday night and Sunday morning in a door-to-door sweep of the area, including searching attics and checking storage sheds.
"It is a difficult area to search, it's rural, remote," sheriff's Capt. Jim Macedo said.
Investigators were interviewing several people, but no suspects have been identified. Investigators were asking area residents to call authorities if they knew of anyone who may have unexplained injuries, or may have left the area unexpectedly after the girl was killed.
Valley Springs is a community of about 2,500 people in an unincorporated area of Calaveras County, about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento.
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