Authorities shift focus in missing Colo. girl case, seek apparent kidnapper

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) — Authorities have shifted their focus from searching for a missing 10-year-old girl to appealing for help in tracking down her apparent kidnapper, as concern mounts in a Denver suburb where the girl disappeared a week ago and a body was found.

Police today expect to positively identify a body found in a park seven miles from where Jessica Ridgeway went missing Oct. 5. Police have not linked the body to Jessica or even revealed if it belongs to a child. The body found at Pattridge Park in Arvada was "not intact," which has delayed identification, police said.

Notably missing Thursday were more appeals by authorities to spread word of Jessica's disappearance via social media. Instead, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit released a list of changes that a person committing a crime against a child would exhibit. Among them: sudden differences in appearance, missed appointments, being absent from work, or leaving town with no explanation.

"It could be your boss, it could be your friend, and ultimately it could be your family member," FBI spokesman Dave Joly said. "Bring this information to law enforcement and let us vet that to a close. If that person is not the suspect, 'Thank you for your call.' Next lead."

Joly said agents are searching for a man, based on statistics for this type of crime.