KINGMAN, Ariz., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A suspect in the disappearance of an 8-year-old Arizona girl faces charges of kidnapping and murder, police said Thursday.
The body of 8-year-old Isabella Grogan-Canella was positively identified Thursday, a day after it was found a mile from her home in Bullhead City. A spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff's Department said Justin James Rector, 26, was booked into the county jail on charges that include kidnapping and murder.
Isabella, nicknamed Bela, was reported missing Tuesday, setting off a massive search of the area around her home. A tracking team found a body Wednesday about a mile away, Bullhead City Police Chief Brian Williamson said.
Rector, who had been questioned about the disappearance, was brought to the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Ariz., shortly before 5 a.m. by Bullhead City police. A spokeswoman for the sheriff's department said he was booked on a kidnapping charge.
Emily Fromelt, a Bullhead City police spokeswoman, said her family discovered Bela was missing at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a few hours after she had gone to bed Monday night.
Rector was arrested Tuesday on a shoplifting charge, Fromelt said.
Bela's family posted an online farewell Thursday morning before police confirmed her death..
"May you live on forever in our hearts little one. You will always be remembered," the family said on Facebook.
