Remains suspected to be those of Placentia woman missing for a decade examined

Forensic specialists in the Los Angeles coroner's office hope this week to positively identify skeletal remains suspected to be those of Lynsie Ekelund, a Placentia college student missing for a decade.

Ekelund was 20 when she vanished in 2001 after an outing with Christopher McAmis, a student at Fullerton College. McAmis, now 30, confessed earlier this month to strangling Ekelund and burying her body on a hillside in Bouquet Canyon.

The remains will be examined by an anthropologist and a pathologist, and possibly other specialists, said Capt. John Kades of the coroner's office. The anthropologist will examine the bones to determine height, weight, race, age, sex and other identifying factors, Kades said.

A cause of death, if one can be determined, will be made by pathologists. The skeleton's DNA will also be analyzed to see if they match up with Ekelund's.

McAmis was a primary suspect immediately after the young woman's disappearance. But police were unable to connect him with the alleged crime until he confessed, authorities said. McAmis showed detectives where to find the body.

-- Catherine Saillant