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Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2009

Search for Raley-McCluskey ends at the grave

Police say body may be woman missing 8 years; Modestan held

After eight years of searching, Modesto police say they believe they have found the body of Dena Raley-McCluskey and the man responsible for her death.

Information and evidence gathered in the past several weeks led detectives Wednesday to human remains in a shallow grave in a secluded area of Tuolumne County near Groveland.

Sgt. Craig Gundlach, a Modesto police spokesman, said investigators believe the remains are those of Raley-McCluskey, 36, who was last seen Oct. 10, 1999.

Detectives on Thursday arrested Russell Jones, 47, of Modesto on suspicion of murder, he said. Jones was being held at Stanislaus County Jail without bail Friday night.

Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager said Jones is expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon.

"It was enough evidence that was discovered to satisfy us that we're in the position to file charges," Fladager said.

Raley-McCluskey's stepmother, Donna Raley of Modesto, said she believes Jones did not work alone and there are others responsible for her daughter's murder.

The remains have not been positively identified, but investigators are confident it is Raley-McCluskey's body, Gundlach said, adding that it could take weeks, possibly months for forensics experts to positively identify the body.

"If it is her, (the body) might have been there eight years," he said.

Raley-McCluskey was last seen when she stopped to visit an aunt. Three days later, her boyfriend reported her missing. The next day, police found her 1987 Nissan Stanza on Oakdale Road in northeast Modesto.

Raley-McCluskey's keys and purse were not in the unlocked car.

Not knowing took a toll

Raley said their family is relieved to know an arrest had been made and her body apparently had been found.

"Everybody is really happy that we finally found Dena and are able to bring her home," said Raley during a news conference at Modesto police headquarters.

She said there were times her family grew very frustrated with the lack of leads and arrests in the investigation. Not knowing where her daughter was took a heavy toll on the family.

Raley thanked investigators who worked the case throughout the years and the detectives who found her daughter.

"Dena was a very important part of our family; we missed her," Raley said. "And now that we can bring her home, have a Christian burial and a place to go is worth more than anything that any of us could ever know."

On Friday, a small team of Modesto police investigators remained at the grave in Tuolumne County, collecting evidence.

With the help of a backhoe operator, investigators found the body on property, records show, owned by Jones' parents, Robert David and Betty Jean Jones. The secluded 4.9-acre parcel off Whites Gulch Road is about a mile east of Groveland. It's a hilly, thickly wooded area covered with pines, pine needles, oak trees, manzanita and poison oak.

Jones' father declined to comment.

"We don't want to talk about it right now," said Robert David Jones, as he stood behind a black security door at his northwest Modesto home.

Modesto police officials were tight-lipped about the evidence that led detectives to the body and the arrest of Jones, who has worked as a mechanic and as of a year ago was disabled. Officials said they fear releasing the information would jeopardize the investigation.

"There's a lot of work left to do in this case," Gundlach said. "The investigators are working right now as we speak."

Gundlach would not rule out the possibility of finding other suspects, but he said investigators believe Jones played a key role in Raley-McCluskey's disappearance and death.