Private eyes find leg bone in Rock Creek Park

Chandra Levy

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Twisted wire and what appeared to be a human leg bone were found in Rock Creek Park Thursday near the location where remains of former federal intern Chandra Levy were found last month, police said.

"It is unacceptable that these items were not located" in earlier searches, Police Chief Charles Ramsey said in a statement. "I have directed that this matter be thoroughly reviewed to determine why these items were not originally found."

Two private investigators working for the Levy family discovered the items near a fallen tree about 25 yards from where the other remains were located.

Police have re-established a crime scene abandoned about a week ago, said Cmdr. Christopher LoJacono, head of the police forensic science division.

The bone was sent to a lab for testing to see whether it might be Levy's, LoJacono said. The wire was "consistent" with the type of wire the National Park Service uses to hold up trees in the park, he said.

Police used 16 cadaver dogs in earlier searches of about 400 acres of the park.

"We thoroughly searched the area," LoJacono said. "We're going to re-secure the scene, and go back and retrace our steps in an effort to see if we can find any additional remains or other evidence."

Levy, 24, was remembered as "every father's daughter" at a memorial service last month in her hometown of Modesto, California.

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The service, attended by more than 1,000 people, followed the announcement by the District of Columbia medical examiner that her death was classified a homicide.

Her remains were found a week earlier by a man walking his dog in a remote area of the 1,755-acre park. Police searched the park last July, but they missed that spot.

Her remains -- along with some clothing including a sweatshirt and sneakers -- were discovered in a remote area of the park, thick with underbrush. Police said a Sony Walkman also was found at the base of a steep cliff.

Police released a photograph last month of a pinkie ring belonging to Levy. The ring has not been recovered, and police want people to know what it looks like in case they come across it in the park.

The 14-karat gold ring has the initials "CL" and two diamonds.

The search for Levy and massive publicity that accompanied it was largely a result of her connection to Rep. Gary Condit, D-California.

Her family and police sources said the two had an affair, but the lawmaker publicly acknowledged only a friendship and refused to describe it further. Police sources said he confirmed a romantic relationship with Levy during an interview with investigators.

Neither Condit nor anyone else has been named as a suspect in Levy's disappearance.