Teen, 15, Arrested In Connection with Murder Of Santa Cruz Girl, 8

Detectives have sealed off a residence at the Tannery Arts Center complex in Santa Cruz and are in the process of obtaining a search warrant for the apartment, following the discovery of a body in a dumpster at the complex, police announced Monday night.

Detectives believe the body is that of missing 8-year-old Madyson Middleton, who was last seen at the Tannery Arts Center, located at 1030 River St. on Sunday just after 5 p.m., police said. Officers found the body around 7:55 p.m. Monday in a dumpster behind the complex, police said.

Officers arrested a 15-year-old suspect on suspicion of homicide.

Detectives are questioning the teen, according to police. The teen lives at the Tannery Arts Center and was present at approximately the same time as the body was discovered, police said. The suspect’s relationship to the victim is not currently known, according to police.

The Department of Justice is assisting in the investigation and police are planning to release more information sometime Tuesday morning, according to police.

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Updated Monday, July 28,at 10 p.m.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel confirmed at a news conference Monday night that a young girl found dead in a Dumpster at the Tannery Complex is most likely an 8-year-old child reported missing over the weekend.

Vogel called the news “extraordinarily heartbreaking.”

While no positive identification has been made, Vogel told reporters he feels fairly confident the remains are those of 8-year-old Maddy Middleton.

A 15-year-old boy who lives at the complex was taken into custody and was being questioned by police late Monday.

The California Highway Patrol sent out the following message on Twitter.

The sole suspect in the case was near the scene at about the same time as the dead child was found, Vogel said, but his relationship to the victim is not currently known.

When reporters asked if the clothing on the victim matched the clothing Madyson was wearing when last seen Sunday evening, Vogel stated that it’s too soon to be certain.

“The way the body is situated in the dumpster where she was located, it’s difficult to tell what the clothing looks like from our vantage point right now,” Vogel said.

He added that investigators are in a “holding pattern” while they prepare to process the crime scene.

The Department of Justice is assisting in the investigation, according to Vogel, and police are planning to release more information sometime Tuesday morning. Madyson “Maddy” Middleton was last seen near her home shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, riding on her scooter and playing with friends before she went missing, according to police.

Original Story:

The FBI is assisting Santa Cruz police in looking for an 8-year-old girl missing since Sunday evening, a police spokeswoman said today.

Madyson “Maddy” Middleton was reported missing at 6:08 p.m. Sunday from the Tannery Arts Center at 1030 River St. Witnesses saw Maddy shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday when she was outside riding her scooter and playing with friends before she went missing, police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said during a news conference at police headquarters this morning.

She is described as a white girl standing 4 feet tall and weighing 48 pounds, according to police. Maddy was riding a white scooter while wearing a purple knee-high dress with black leggings, a black helmet and long hair pulled to the side in a braid, police said.

Officers have searched the arts center, which they will check again today, and the surrounding woodland area, parks and the San Lorenzo River levee, Blaschke said.

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The search area has been expanded and police have added air and watercraft patrols to look for Maddy, according to Blaschke. Investigators are following up on hundreds of tips they have received on the missing girl, Blaschke said.

The Santa Cruz County sheriff’s search and rescue team and K-9 units from the state Office of Emergency Services are also helping police in their search, Blaschke said. A specialized K-9 unit followed Maddy’s scent from the arts center to a beach area, according to Blaschke.

The girl was in her mother’s custody at the time she went missing and her parents are being cooperative with investigators, the spokeswoman said. There have been no persons of interest or signs of foul play identified in the case, Blaschke said.

“At this point we’re looking at all possibilities and the family has been extremely cooperative. They’re helping us and we want to help them find their daughter,” Blaschke said.

The California Highway Patrol has issued an endangered missing person advisory for Maddy in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Mateo, Alameda, San Francisco and San Benito counties.

The CHP has not issued an Amber Alert for the girl because police have not received information that Maddy was taken away in a car, Blaschke said. Anyone with information on Maddy’s whereabouts is asked to call 911.

According to a Facebook post for those who wish to help: Flyers available for pickup and distribution at 1111 Ocean St. (large quantity of flyers), FedEx Kinkos on Clare’s Street in Capitola, Staples on 17th in Live Oak, and PrintSmith in Aptos. Please post them on your car windows and distribute widely.

--Bay City News contributed to this report