Amber DuBois' Family Disagrees on Who Killed Her

March 8, 2010— -- The family of Amber DuBois, the missing California teenager whose body was found over the weekend, are divided as to whether she was killed by the same sex offender recently charged with the rape and murder of Chelsea King.

DuBois disppeared more than a year ago and her skeletal remains were discovered Sunday, less than a week after registered sex offender John Albert Gardner III, 30, was arrested for the rape and murder of 17-year-old King.

In the aftermath of King's disappearance on Feb. 25, police linked Gardner to several near abductions in the area and speculated he may have played a role in DuBois' disappearance last year.

At a press conference immediately following Gardner's arraignment on March 4, Maurice DuBois said "there are enough similarities" between the two cases that he was confident Dubois and King were both killed by Gardner.

DuBois' grandmother and the private eye the family initially hired to find Amber, however, believe someone other than Gardner else is responsible for killing the Escondido High School student who vanished Feb. 13, 2009.

"The M.O. [modus operandi] for Gardner doesn't fit," said Michelle Bart, spokeswoman Dubois' grandmother Sheila Welch. "He stalks his prey and waited for girls in secluded areas where he could take advantage of them. Amber was walking outside in plain sight with other kids on her way to school. She was excited to get to school that day. She had Valentines and wanted to buy a lamb."

The lamb was part of DuBois' project as a member of the Future Farmers of America.

"Someone had to get her attention, and it is likely it was somebody she knew or trusted," Bart said.

San Diego County sheriffs have said Gardner has not cooperated with police since his arrest, diminishing the chances that he told investigators where to find DuBois' remains.

Authorities said Sunday they were given a tip that led them to find Dubois' body, but would not comment on the details of who led them to the girl's remains, or if she was buried in a shallow grave similar to the one in which King was found.