Body Found is Likely Missing Kansas Student Emily Sander

By Anastacia Mott Austin

El Dorado, Kansas police chief Tom Boren told reporters at a news briefing that a body matching the description of a missing woman has been found along a stretch of Highway 54 between El Dorado and Toronto.

Butler Community College freshman Emily Sander, 18, has been missing since November 25th, when she was last seen leaving the El Dorado bar the Retreat with Israel Mireles, 24. Witnesses say it was unclear whether Sander left the bar willingly with Mireles.

When Mireles failed to show up for work, the restaurant manager at his job went to the El Dorado Motel, where Mireles had been staying. Joe Terziu, the restaurant manager, and the motel manager called police when they discovered the room covered in blood. Mireles is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt. He is believed to be on his way to the Mexican border with his 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend. His rental car was discovered abandoned in Vernon, Texas this week.

Police have interviewed relatives of Mireles, and say they believe his family may know where he is. "We feel they know where he is at, but they haven’t shared that with us," said Boren to reporters.

The case drew national attention when it was discovered that Emily Sander had posed nude on an adult website under the name Zoey Zane. Members of Sander’s family confirmed that the woman on the website was indeed Emily. Her profile on the site read, in part, that she was "a spunky teen with a super sexy side."

A friend of Sander’s from Butler Community College, Nikki Watson told the press that Sander had wanted to be in movies, and recording herself for the website gave her extra money.

The Kansas bureau of the FBI and experts on online crime have been working on the case since the teen’s alternate life was revealed.

Police chief Boren becomes irritated when it is suggested that Sander’s alter ego had something to do with her disappearance. Though investigators are following every lead, including those connected with her double life, he says that the majority of tips that came in after it was revealed have been false, and a waste of the department’s time.

"The issue of the Internet and the spin-off of that has been literally crippling our investigation," Boren said to the press, adding that in all likelihood the crime is unconnected to Sander’s Internet identity.

Her family was shocked to find out that Emily was living a double life. Her grandfather, Clement Sander, said that Emily "was a sweet girl." Clement Sander said he had not been told what evidence had been found in the hotel room.

"I don’t think I want to know," said Clement to reporters. "We are trying to remember her as we last [saw] her."