Police start new search to tie kidnapper to other crimes

Sep 15, 2009, 19:14 GMT

San Francisco - Police on Tuesday issued a new search warrant on the property of convicted sex offender Philip Garrido, saying there was possible evidence linking him with the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl in 1989.

Television pictures showed dozens of officers searching the sprawling compound inch-by-inch, with several specially trained dogs also on site.

Garrido is being held on a 30-million-dollar bail on charges of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard in 1991 and holding her for 18 years on his property, during which time he fathered two daughters with her. Together with his wife Nancy, 54, he has denied all 29 charges.

Investigators said that Garrido was not yet a suspect in the unsolved kidnapping of Ilene Misheloff in 1989 and of Michaela Gerecht, who was snatched at age 9 in 1988. Both abductions occurred relatively close to Garrido's home in Antioch, California, and police said they were unable to rule him out as a suspect in either case.

In the Misheloff case witnesses reported seeing the girl get into a car that matched a vehicle found on Garrido's property. Police have also found a bone there that appears to be human.