Nation in brief: Body identified as missing student
Police on Saturday identified a body found earlier in the week as that of a missing Butler Community College student.
The identification of the body of Emily Sander, 18, was confirmed by a forensic orthodontist, El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren said.
The body was released to Sander’s family after forensic examinations and an autopsy. The results of that examination and the cause of death were sealed by the county attorney’s office; police would not release details about the cause of death.
Sander’s case drew wide attention after it was revealed that she appeared on a popular adult Web site under the name Zoey Zane. In some photographs, she appears merely scantily clad in lingerie or cowgirl outfits. Other pictures, some of which require viewers to pay, are more explicit, showing her nude, fondling herself and posing with other women.
Police also said Saturday they were re-interviewing witnesses, family and associates of suspect Israel Mireles, 24, and his pregnant 16-year-old girlfriend. They said his whereabouts were still unknown, but they believed she was still with him.
Sander, 18, disappeared late Nov. 23 after leaving a bar with Mireles outside El Dorado, and police labeled Mireles a suspect in her disappearance.
The body was found Thursday about 50 miles east of El Dorado, along U.S. 54 near the Woodson County town of Toronto.
New York
Gay community backing Clinton
A new poll from Hunter College finds that 63 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual probable voters support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York as the Democratic presidential nominee, while 22 percent back Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and 7 percent are for former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina
Clinton’s lead is cushioned by wide advantages in favorability and perceptions of her support for gay rights.
Nearly twice as many gay, lesbian and bisexual probable voters say they view Clinton “very favorably” as do voters for Obama (48 percent to 26 percent).
Clinton’s margin in the primary contest among gays, lesbians and bisexuals far surpasses her support among all Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (she had 49 percent in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll) and exceeds that in even her best groups.
Just 13 percent of respondents in the Hunter College poll say they plan to vote in the Republican primary or caucus in their state, and few have positive views of GOP candidates.
None of the leading Republican candidates is viewed particularly favorably by more than 5 percent.
The poll from Hunter College of the City University of New York was conducted Nov. 15-26 by Knowledge Networks, among 768 lesbians, gays and bisexuals, including 501 likely Democratic primary voters.