Police 'Somewhat Confident' Child's Remains Are Caylee Anthony

Medical examiner says evidence links remains found Thursday to Anthony home.

ByABC News
December 11, 2008, 1:25 PM

Dec. 12, 2008 — -- Police are "somewhat confident" that a child's remains found Thursday near the home of Caylee Anthony's grandparents belong to the missing toddler, Carlos Padilla of the Orange County Sheriff's Office told ABC News today.

The remains of a young child, including a skull, were discovered in a nearby wooded area less than half a mile from the Anthony home in Orlando, Fla., prompting authorities to execute a search warrant on the home.

While police have been tight-lipped about what was found with the skull, Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary told The Associated Press that "some clues that came out of the remains ... linked it to the [Anthony] house."

Padilla told ABC News, "It had to be pretty good to be able to get a search warrant. There was enough probable cause."

A Florida judge denied a request by Jose Baez, attorney for Caylee's mother Casey Anthony who is currently being held on murder charges, to inspect the child's remains.

Police were seen this morning taking boxes and bags of evidence from the home.

"A lot of items were taken into our custody for review," Beary told "Good Morning America" today.

The area around the remains was swarmed by more than two dozen officials including FBI agents Thursday. The area had been searched by police but the spot where the skull was found had been flooded at the time of the search.

The skull fell from a bag that was found at 9:30 a.m. by an Orlando utility worker. The worker then reported it to authorities. Click here to hear the 911 call.

FBI labs capable of DNA testing are considering any incoming evidence a "top-priority case," Beary said, but results of testing could take up to two weeks.

"It's very much a forensic investigation at the time," said Jim Solomons, a spokesman for for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "We never put a time clock on any of this. ... It will be a very long process."

Caylee Anthony disappeared in mid-June when she was 2 years old, but she was not reported missing by her mother, Casey Anthony, 22, until a month later. The toddler would now be 3. Anthony was arrested the next day on charges including child neglect. But she became a person of interest in the little girl's disappearance after police found traces of chloroform and strands of hair similar to those of the Caylee's in a car last driven by Anthony.

Casey was officially charged for first-degree murder Oct. 14. She has pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from first-degree murder to lying to investigators. She faces life in prison if convicted.