DNA in Underwear Links John Gardner to Missing California Honor Student Chelsea King--Police Still Searching for Missing Teen

Profiling the Chelsea King Case: Who Should Do It?

John Gardner is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Chelsea King and, in fact, John Gardner was arrested for first degree murder and rape on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 in that case.

But John Gardner isn't talking. So how can police find the missing honor student and is she still alive?

One way police determine Chelsea's whereabouts and the potential that she is still alive is by profiling John Gardner. And who better to profile him--and offer interrogation recommendations--than the federal law enforcement agency known for developing the skill of profiling: the FBI.

Fortunately, the San Diego Sheriff's Office called in these skilled feds early on in the disappearance of the local teen. This speaks well for the local agency, since many law enforcement agencies attempt to 'do it on their own' and thus sometimes jeopardize a citizens chances of a safe recovery that way.

Profiling the Chelsea King Case: How John Gardner Stacks Up In Police Eyes

John Gardner is a known sex offender with a record for inappropriate sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl in the past. Another 14-year-old girl went missing a year ago and hasn't been seen since. So for the San Diego Sheriff's Office to now consider him as a suspect in the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl named Amber Dubois is wise on their part.

Sexual deviants have a 'type' that attracts them usually. So unsolved crimes that fit a recurring pattern or age should always be considered when a new crime that is similar in nature occurs.

So John Gardner definitely lines up as a potential good suspect for any unsolved attacks or disappearances of any female between 14 and 17 years of age for sure, and possibly even older ones as well.

Amber Dubois, like Gardner's prior victim, fits his 14-year-old age preference. And Amber, who went missing while walking to Escondido High School, would have been within his geographical access, according to information about his residential addresses that have since surfaced. And we now know that Gardner most definitely was within Chelsea's geographical access too: residing just a mile away, in fact.

If John Gardner's Modus Operandi (MO) is to encounter and pursue his victims via foot travel--as would have been the case with Amber Dubois and Chelsea King, as well as the jogger attacked in the park on Dec. 27th--than it also stands to reason that his disposal of the victims is relegated to the immediate area where they went missing, unless he carried them or forced them to walk to another location.

If he doesn't own a vehicle or did not have access to one, than he fits the profile, since all these females were victims traveling on foot.

Profiling the Chelsea King Case: What Citizens in San Diego Should Look For to Help Police

If John Gardner physically picked up and carried Amber Dubois during an encounter a year ago, and/or Chelsea King this year at the park, someone is likely to have seen him do it and noticed. Since no one has come forward to say they saw someone carrying either girl in public, even in the wake of such publicity about the King case, it is more likely that he forced the victims to walk to their eventual death site, or had an accomplice to aid in body removal, since Chelsea's car was still in the Park parking lot.

Anyone who saw Chelsea walking with a man on Thursday afternoon should come forward and say as much. Otherwise, police will conclude she is likely still somewhere within a mile or two of that lake; and she might not be.

Female underwear recovered at the scene of Lake Hodges has undoubtedly been confirmed by Chelsea King's parents as belonging to her; otherwise the police would not have arrested Gardner when they found his DNA on it. Therefore, finding her underwear at the Lake Hodges location would lead law enforcement to assume that the lake is the site of the attack--and possible body dump site--of Chelsea King.

The presence of his DNA on any garment of Kings solidifies Gardner more than likely raped her, but he didn't have to do it at that site. But now that Gardner has been officially tied to Chelsea King's disappearance--and Amber Dubois' body was never recovered either--both victims may eventually be found at the same place, whether that is at Lake Hodges or outside of the park.

Profiling the Chelsea King Case: Where Do the Police Go From Here?

John Gardner's silence speaks volumes: he has something to hide. An innocent man proclaims it, especially if he was arrested and served time for a previous offense that is similar in nature to the current one he is accused of by the police.

But a guilty man, especially one guilty of murder, isn't going to aid the police if doing so will lead them to a dead body. If Chelsea were still alive, Gardner would not face a murder charge, so it would be to his advantage to talk to the police now that they are charging him with first degree murder. But he isn't. Criminals don't want to go down for a murder when all they committed was a rape, but Gardner's silence is making him appear more and more guilty of both.

The prospect of finding Chelsea alive when Amber Dubois has been missing for over a year is highly unlikely, unfortunately. It would be a wonderful miracle is she is alive--and I pray that she is--but John Gardner's refusal to aid law enforcement with information about her will likely continue. At least, that is, unless he is offered some type of sentence reduction for information about her body's whereabouts.

And I don't see law enforcement offering him any such deal. So that leaves the discovery of Chelsea's body to the police and the wonderful San Diego community that keeps searching for her even today.

Let's keep praying they find her alive inspite of the odds against it.

Related Story:
Police Find Chelsea King's Body at Lake
Arrest Made in California Missing Girl Case: Honor Student Chelsea King Still Missing--Sex Offender Arrested

Source: Fox5Sandiego.com: Sex offender arrested in disappearance of Poway Teen