Police: Body of Missing Vermont Girl Found
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"The death is clearly suspicious. It appears to be foul play," said Col. James Baker, state police director, at a press conference. "The painful discovery of Brooke's body today is tragic and heartbreaking."
"With the discovery of Brooke, our investigation is now narrowed and focused."
Baker admitted that the information provided was vague but asked for patience because the investigation is still in "a crucial stage." More information would be forthcoming in the morning, he said.
The body was found on Crocker Road in Randolph in an area where dirt had been disturbed; police excavated the area today.
Media reports state that a 14-year-old interviewed in relation to sexual assault charges against her uncle Michael Jacques of Randolph said she had been used to lure Brooke to Jacques' home as part of an alleged sex ring.
The information was taken from an affidavit in the sexual assault case against Jacques.
The 14-year-old said she and her boyfriend left Brooke at Jacques' home the day she disappeared.
Brooke's stepfather, Ray A. Gagnon, has been charged with destruction of evidence related to Brooke's disappearance. The nature of the evidence has not been revealed.
Brooke disappeared last Wednesday morning after Jacques dropped her off at a convenience store. Her presumed abduction had triggered the state's first AMBER Alert.
A vigil for Brooke was to be held tonight in Randolph at 8.
Update: July 1, 2008, at 7:26 p.m.
ROYALTON, Vt. — Police have arrested Brooke Bennett's stepfather, Ray A. Gagnon, 40, in relation to an investigation into sexual assault charges against her uncle, Michael Jacques.
Vermont State Police issued a press release earlier Tuesday saying the arrest of Gagnon is not the result of his sexually assaulting Brooke, but for an alleged assault on another minor in the Royalton area during the summer of 2007. He is being held on $250,000 bail on a charge of aggravated sexual assault on a minor. The charge carries a 10-year sentence.
Gagnon, of San Antonio, who is believed to have separated from Brooke's mother some years ago, is being held in federal custody in relation to destruction of evidence in the Bennett case.
Police and FBI declined to expand on what evidence was, saying the case was "at a crucial stage."
"It is absolutely critical that we don't comment on evidence. We are at a very crucial stage in this investigation and for us to comment on evidence could endanger our ability to close this case out," said Col. James Baker, director of the state police, a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "Our efforts right now, our unfettered efforts, are to locate Brooke and bring her back to her family."
Police said an interview with a minor resulted in Jacques', and now Gagnon's, arrests. Baker declined to comment on whether Brooke had had communication with Gagnon through MySpace. The 12-year-old was believed to have planned to meet someone she communicated with through the social networking site.
The press conference on the Brooke Bennett case was held at 4 p.m. The video is available here.
Posted June 30, 2008
ROYALTON, Vt. — State police on Monday said the investigation in the disappearance of Brooke Bennett now includes the uncle who dropped her off at a convenience store last week.
State police searched his Randolph home on Monday.
Michael Jacques, 42, was arraigned in Vermont District Court on Monday on a sexual assault charge unrelated to Brooke's disappearance last week. The Rutland Herald reported he pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault and is being held on $250,000 bail.
Jacques, who according to reports has a prior sexual assault conviction dating from 1993, was arrested Sunday after police said he had sexually assaulted a minor who was being interviewed in the disappearance.
"As a result of that, Michael Jacques became a person of interest into the disappearance of Brooke," Col. James Baker, state police director, said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "This is not the only avenue we continue to pursue and we continue to explore other investigative leads."
Baker also reconfirmed his statement that "this case is about social networking on the Internet."
Police believe Brooke, of Braintree, had been planning to meet with someone she encountered online through MySpace.
The 12-year-old was dropped off by Jacques (the husband of her mother's sister) and a cousin on Wednesday morning. She had purportedly told family members she was meeting a friend to go with her to visit a relative in a New Hampshire Hospital.
Police said surveillance tapes at the Cumberland Farms store show Jacques and Brooke heading in different directions.
She was reported missing about 12 hours later; an AMBER Alert, the state's first, was issued shortly before 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Items related to Brooke were found over the weekend on Route 65; police have not identifed what the items are. An extensive ground and air search occurred over the weekend and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation. Brooke's computer is also being analyzed.
Anyone who may have seen Brooke or has any information pertaining to her disappearance, is asked to notify the Vermont State Police at 1-802-234-9933.
Original posting, dated June 29, 2008
ROYALTON, Vt. — Vermont initiated its first-ever AMBER Alert on Thursday after 12-year-old Brooke Bennett of Braintree went missing and is believed to have been abducted.
Brooke was last seen at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 25, at the Cumberland Farms in Randolph. According to reports, Brooke was dropped off by her uncle and had told her family she was going with a girl friend to visit the friend's relative in a New Hampshire hospital.
Police believe Brooke was actually planning to meet someone she'd meet online, possibly through MySpace. Video from the convenience store show Brooke walking toward the village of Randolph alone.
The Vermont State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation are working jointly to investigate Brooke's disappearance. Some evidence of kidnapping is required for an America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response to be activated; as yet, police have released no descriptions of the kidnapper or of a vehicle.
Police said investigators are following up on more than 150 leads that have been generated through the investigation and from information received since the alert was posted Thursday evening.
An extended ground search was conducted early on Saturday in the area in which items that were believed to be linked to Brooke were found. The state Forensic Laboratory is analyzing the items and forensics analysis is also being conducted on her computer. In addition, footage from video cameras located in the area of Brooke's disappearance and elsewhere is being reviewed.
Because the analyses take time, police said no additional information is available at this time. At least two press conferences have been held to update the media.
Brooke was last seen wearing blue jeans, a pink sweater and white sneakers with pink lettering. She stands 5-foot-3 and weighs 98 pounds, with brown hair with purple highlights and blue eyes. She has a 3-inch-long scar on one calf, both ears are pierced at bottom and top and a birthmark on her upper left arm.
Anyone who may have seen Brooke or has any information pertaining to her disappearance, is asked to notify the Vermont State Police at 1-802-234-9933.
