Second Set of Remains Found at Ore. Man's Home, First Set ID'd

OREGON CITY, Ore. – Investigators found a second set of human remains on the grounds of an Oregon man's home on Sunday, and the FBI also said a body found Saturday are the remains of Miranda Gaddis.

The remains were found behind the house rented by Ward Weaver -- the two teenage girls originally vanished from an apartment complex across the road from Weaver's home. Officials for the first time Sunday named Weaver as a suspect in the investigation.

After two days of searching, the second set of remains were found in a barrel beneath a cement slab that Weaver, 39, had poured after the disappearances this winter of Miranda and Ashley Pond, said Oregon City Police Chief Gordon Huiras.

No charges had been filed in the case, said Charles Mathews, the FBI's special agent in charge in Oregon.

"Obviously, this is a very sad conclusion to this investigation," Mathews said. "On the other hand, I think the case has been resolved."

Dental records matched the remains found in the shed to Miranda, Mathews said. FBI agents were with her family on Sunday after the match was confirmed, he said.

Mathews said an official cause of death for Miranda won't be determined until further investigation by the medical examiner.

Mathews would not comment on any other material police may have found this weekend. But he did say investigators are continuing to search the grounds for any other evidence or possible remains.

Huiras said more than one barrel was found at the site, but the others "contained just dirt and gravel."

Agents used shovels and a pickaxe on Sunday to dig several shallow holes about 50 feet away from the shed after specialists went over the property with a thermal-imaging device.

Other investigators worked inside a large white tent that had been erected over the concrete slab by authorities. A white SUV, its back door open, was backed up to the white tent. Later on, a gurney was taken out of the tent. An object was placed inside and the SUV drove off.

Weaver weeks ago said he was a suspect in the FBI investigation, but denied any involvement.

Weaver agreed to the search because he wanted to "bring closure to the families," his attorney, Timothy Lyons, told The Oregonian. Lyons did not elaborate.

Weaver has been jailed since Aug. 13 when he was charged with raping his 19-year-old son's girlfriend. His distraught son then told emergency dispatchers that his father had killed Ashley and Miranda.

When residents found out about the son's allegations, they urged authorities to remove the concrete slab that Weaver had poured shortly after Miranda's disappearance. Ashley's former stepmother taped a sign to the slab reading "Dig Me Up".

Miranda's mother, Michelle Duffey, said through her lawyer that she didn't share other people's frustration with the pace of the investigation.

"She understands that if things are done outside of the law, then potential evidence could be thrown out, and that would be a real shame," attorney Linda Beloof said.

Weaver's own father is on death row in California for killing two people and burying one of them, a woman, in his yard.

Last summer Ashley had accused Weaver of molesting her, but he denied the allegations and was never charged.

Weaver said Ashley was a friend of his daughter who frequently stayed overnight at their house. He said Ashley lived in the house for several months when her father was being investigated for sexually abusing her.

Ashley's mother Lori Pond recently told the Portland Tribune that Weaver's account of the relationship is a lie.

Her family last saw her on Jan. 9 eating breakfast with her younger sister before school. On March 8, Ashley's friend Miranda also disappeared from the same low-income apartment complex south of Portland.

Weaver told The Associated Press in an interview last month that he treated Ashley as a daughter when she visited.

On Sunday, a large crowd -- kept away from the scene by a chain-link fence erected by police but turned into a makeshift memorial, with candles, flowers and teddy bears -- had gathered on the sidewalk and even in the road to watch investigators search the grounds of Weaver's rented home.

Friends of Miranda Gaddis gasped and sobbed when Mathews said the body found Saturday was hers.

Kayla DeMacon, 13, a friend of Miranda's, hugged another of her friends and cried.

"It never should have come to this," DeMacon said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.