FBI eyes possible missing girl case link

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CODY, Wyo., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The FBI is considering whether a sexual assault on an 11-year-old Cody, Wyo., girl may be linked to the disappearance of a 10-year-old Westminster, Colo., girl.

Dan Joly, an FBI spokesman in Denver, said investigators were "covering all of our bases," in considering whether the two cases are connected, ABC News reported Tuesday.

The sexual assault victim in Cody -- in northwestern Wyoming, about 500 miles northwest of Westminster -- was walking with two friends Monday when a man in a white sport utility vehicle told them he was looking for a lost dog. The girl got into the SUV and was not seen for several hours when she was found walking along a road.

The Cody police report on the assault said the man ordered her at gunpoint to get into the SUV.

"The suspect then drove the victim onto Carter Mountain where he sexually assaulted her," the police report said.

Police were looking for a suspect described as a white male, 55-60 years old, weighing 185 to 200 pounds, with either short light-colored hair and a mustache or beard.

The search in Westminster for 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway now includes land, sea and air operations.

Ridgeway has not been seen since she left home Friday morning to meet friends for a three-block walk to school.