Police Reopen Chandra Levy Search Site

By Stephen M. Silverman

Friday May 31, 2002 08:48 AM EDT

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The hilly area of wooded park in Washington, D.C., where police discovered the remains of former federal intern Chandra Levy on May 22, has been reopened to the public, reports The Washington Post. Police had kept the section sealed off while investigators carefully combed it in search of clues to explain how, when and who might have killed Levy, 24, who had been missing for 13 months before her scattered bones were stumbled upon by a man walking his dog. The last bits of evidence were found on May 24, says The Post, though the investigation of the area continued, in hopes of finding further clues. Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer told the paper that the last search was completed this past Wednesday, but that authorities decided to keep the site closed an extra day in order to allow the FBI's crime lab to examine items that had been recovered. This included some of Levy's clothing, reports The Post. Gainer said the National Park Service "tried to restore (the area) as if we had never been there before. Or, more importantly, as if she had not been laid to rest there." Authorities are considering the possibility that Levy was sexually assaulted and restrained with her spandex leggings, which were knotted, reports The Post.