Renewed search in debris-strewn area for missing woman

SIGNAL HILL, Calif. (AP) An oil-field area cluttered with debris that has piled up for decades was searched a second time Thursday by investigators seeking the body of a former state senator's daughter.

``We just believe that it's in this area,'' Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Ray Peavy said of the widened search for the body of Jana Carpenter-Koklich on the junk-covered property adjacent to oil wells and a cemetery.

``Every one of our investigators, and everyone we have talked with, has indicated this would be the perfect place to dispose of a body,'' Peavy said.

The 41-year-old daughter of the late state Sen. Paul Carpenter was reported missing Aug. 20, 2001, by her husband, who was arrested in January and charged with her murder. Bruce Koklich, 43, of Lakewood has pleaded innocent and is free on $1 million bond awaiting trial.

Carpenter-Koklich was last seen on Aug. 18, 2001, when a friend dropped her off at her Lakewood home after a concert. Her bloodstained Nissan Pathfinder was found nine days later a few miles away in a garage in a deserted area of Signal Hill.

Investigators have said they found a small trace of Carpenter-Koklich's blood in the couple's bedroom.

No sign of the woman was found during earlier searches of the area being examined Thursday with the aid of dogs, officers on horses and about 20 volunteers looking under plastic bags and the remains of corrugated buildings. Divers may also be used to search a reservoir on the property.

``The body could have potentially been taken miles from here,'' Peavy said as the search proceeded Thursday. ``We're going to totally satisfy our curiosity, if you will, by doing this extensive search to make sure that it's not in this area.''

Koklich, a real estate executive, was arrested at his Long Beach office one week after Carpenter-Koklich's father died of cancer. Carpenter had said he knew his daughter wanted a divorce and speculated his son-in-law killed her because he did not want to split their assets.

Koklich's attorney, Henry Salcido, has said the case against his client is built only on circumstantial evidence without witnesses or confession.

Shortly after his wife vanished, Koklich offered a $100,000 reward for information on her whereabouts.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)