Body Is Likely That of Girl, 13

RUSKIN, Fla. — Authorities said Saturday they were “almost positive” they had found the body of a missing 13-year-old girl after recovering a corpse from a pond that appeared to match her description down to her green arm cast.

Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said the body was found in an abandoned fish camp about half a mile from Sarah Michelle Lunde’s home. Gee said the cast was apparent when the body was found; Sarah had a bright green half-cast from a left wrist injury.

About 200 volunteers had joined detectives Saturday in a search for the teenager, some hugging and crying as helicopters buzzed overhead.

“We’re almost positive it’s her,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. “Everything matches the description.”

Authorities said they hoped to determine a positive identification and cause of death during an autopsy.

“The family is very distraught,” Gee said. “It’s a tough time for them.”

Sarah was last seen April 9, shortly after she returned home from a church trip and around the time a registered sex offender unexpectedly paid a visit to her family’s home.

The teen was reported missing two days later when her mother learned she wasn’t at a friend’s home.

Gee has said that David Onstott, who once dated the girl’s mother, has drawn investigators’ attention, but he has not been named a suspect.

Onstott, 36, was being held after he was arrested Tuesday for allegedly threatening a man with a screwdriver at a bar. He spent 5 1/2 years in prison after being convicted in 1995 of sexual battery with physical force.

Gee said he believed the body had been in the pond since shortly after Sarah disappeared. He also said investigators would test beer bottles found by volunteers on Saturday for DNA evidence after Sarah’s brother told detectives that Onstott took a half-empty bottle of Budweiser or Bud Light during his predawn visit to the home.