Human remains found near freeway identified as a child's

Wednesday November 27, 2002

SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) A black trash bag found hidden in bushes next to a freeway contained the decomposed body of a child, police said Tuesday.

``We thought our victim might be a small-statured adult, but now we have pretty much confirmed that it is a child,'' said Officer Alan dela Pena of the Whittier Police Department, which patrols Santa Fe Springs.

The child was 6 to 8 years old and the remains were badly decomposed, suggesting the youngster had been dead for several months, he said.

The bag was discovered by California Department of Transportation Workers on Nov. 23.

The case was being investigated as a homicide.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)