Family, Friends of Celina Cass Await Autopsy for Answers

With a criminal investigation pending autopsy results, NH town waits
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 2, 2011 9:24 AM CDT
Celina Cass, Missing New Hampshire Girl: Autopsy on Recovered Body Could Offer Explanation
This 2010 photo provided by the New Hampshire State Police shows Celina Cass of West Stewartstown, N.H., in a basketball team uniform in Canann, Vt.   (Don Whipple)

Investigators hope an autopsy set for today on an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl will shed light on her disappearance and death. After nearly a week of massive searches and volunteers handing out fliers with photos of missing fifth-grader Celina Cass, residents in this small New Hampshire town are absorbing the bitter news that there will be no happy ending after divers recovered Celina's body from the Connecticut River yesterday. Residents in the tightly-knit community are still reeling from the shock and disbelief of the story's tragic twist.

Celina's stepfather, Wendell Noyes, was taken to a hospital yesterday after lying down in the family's driveway and rolling around, and video showed him dropping to his knees and then lying with his head resting on his hands, MSNBC reported. Celina's death is also tough for law enforcement. State police and FBI agents from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia turned the local school into a bustling command post. "We have brought Celina home, obviously not the way we wanted to bring her home," said Attorney General Jane Young, her voice breaking with emotion. (More Celina Cass stories.)

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