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Police say missing 15-year-old girl had assumed a new identity

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 8, 2007

HARTFORD, Conn. - A girl who vanished a year ago and was found hidden in a room in a man's home assumed a new identity that made her part of his family, authorities said Thursday, as they investigated whether the man had inappropriate relationships with her and other girls.

The man, Adam Gault, 41, was arrested and charged Wednesday in her disappearance after police served a search warrant and found the missing 15-year-old girl locked in a hidden closetlike room in his house. The girl, who had a history of running away from home, vanished a year ago.

Gault, a dog trainer, was arrested with two women who lived in the house, 40-year-old Ann Murphy and Kimberly Cray, 26.

Since Gault's arrest, the department has received multiple calls from people inside and outside the state who say Gault abused them, Bloomfield police Capt. Jeffrey Blatter said.

"We are looking into all of those now, " Blatter said.

Cray's attorney, Michael Georgetti, said the girl lived in Gault's house for a year, attended school and owned a cell phone. He said that she was hiding from police Wednesday but was otherwise free to come and go.

West Hartford police Capt. Lori Coppinger, however, said the girl was not attending school and disputed Georgetti's claim that the teen had been offered sanctuary.

"Every parent's nightmare was mine, " the girl's mother told reporters Thursday. "I can never describe the horror of losing a child and having to maintain a family at the same time and having to go on."

Neighbor's tip led to murder suspect

OLATHE, Kan. - The next-door neighbor of a man charged with kidnapping a young woman from a store parking lot and killing her contacted police when he saw the man's pickup in a surveillance video, he said.

Cameron Migues, 30, said when the video of the truck was released "we put two and two together."

Hall, 26, was charged with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of Kelsey Smith, 18. Bail was set at $5-million.

Shortly after Smith's body was found Wednesday in a woods in Missouri, detectives were talking with Hall. They said a tip led them to Hall, who has been living with his wife and 4-year-old son in Olathe.

Smith had been missing since Saturday night.

[Last modified June 8, 2007, 01:38:02]