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Officials Dig For Remains Of Missing Student In Santa Clarita

SANTA CLARITA (CBS) — Crews Thursday will continue digging for the remains of a 20-year-old Fullerton College student who disappeared almost a decade ago.

Authorities have located what are believed to be the skeletal remains of Lynsie Ekelund in a remote area of the Santa Clarita Valley, Placentia police Det. Corinne Loomis said.

Christopher Michael McAmis, 31, has been charged with Ekelund's murder, which prosecutors say took place after an attempted rape at his Los Angeles-area apartment.

Ekelund had gone to San Diego with McAmis and two other female students on Feb. 17, 2001, authorities said. The two other female students returned safely, but Ekelund was never seen again.

McAmis, who was arrested last week by Placentia police, was always regarded as a "person of interest" in her disappearance.

McAmis admitted taking Ekelund back to his Whittier home and killing her before directing authorities to a canyon where he reportedly buried her, Loomis said.

Police from Placentia and investigators from the Los Angeles County Coroner's found skeletal remains, as well as pieces of clothing, near Bouquet Canyon and Vasquez Canyon roads while digging on Wednesday.

Investigators will use DNA, dental X-rays and other X-rays to identify the remains, Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter said.

"It will be a while, but we will try to get confirmation of as soon as possible to let the family know if in fact it is her," Winter told reporters.

Nancy Ekelund, Lynsie Ekelund's mother, said she feared this outcome, but also expected it.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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