STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. — An autopsy conducted on the body of an 11-year-old girl who went missing for a week before being found dead in a river was unable to determine how she died, authorities said Tuesday.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said the autopsy was conducted Tuesday but didn’t determine the cause or manner of Celina Cass’ death and further study is required.
Celina’s death has been deemed suspicious, based on what divers found, and investigators were treating the case as a criminal investigation.
Celina, who lived with her older sister, mother and stepfather a mile from Canada, was last seen at her home computer around 9 p.m. on July 25 and was gone the next morning, authorities said. Police said there was no sign of a struggle and there was no indication she ran away or someone took her.
Investigators on Tuesday combed the area along the river, which divides Vermont and New Hampshire, above where Celina’s body was found.
Celina’s stepfather, Wendell Noyes, who reportedly was hospitalized hours before her body was recovered, returned to the community Tuesday.
