BREAKING: Arrest Made in Case of Missing Placentia Woman

After nine years of investigation and fears the case had been forgotten, an arrest has been made in the disappearance of Placentia resident and Fullerton College student Lynsie Ekelund. Chris McAmis, 31, of Fullerton was arrested at his home on Oct. 27, on suspicion of one count of homicide, according to Det. Corrine Loomis of the Placentia Police Department.

According to Loomis, following his arrest Wednesday, McAmis admitted to taking Ekelund to his Whittier apartment that evening where, he said, a struggle ensued and she was killed. Loomis added that investigators believe Ekelund's body was buried in an isolated area in Los Angeles County where an exhumation is planned for Wednesday.

When asked if his office had been contacted, Chief Craig Harvey of the Los Angeles Department of Coroner said, “We've been talking with the Orange County District Attorney's office, and they're going to be letting us know if anything is going to happen… We are here to help them with whatever they need.”

UPDATE 4:07 p.m.10-29: According to Orange County Sheriff's spokesman John McDonald, McAmis was released from the custody of the OC Jail this afternoon. 

McAmis was  transferred to the Superior Courthouse in Whittier where an arraignment date was set for Nov. 30. McAmis is currently in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

UPDATE 8:45 p.m., 10-29: Today's OC District Attorney's Office press release on the case is below.

MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES 2001 COLD CASE MURDER OF 20-YEAR-OLD FEMALE FRIEND

LOS ANGELES – A man will be arraigned for the special circumstances cold
case murder of 20-year-old female friend during the attempted rape of
the victim at his Los Angeles apartment. Christopher Michael McAmis, 31,
Fullerton, is charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
(LADA) with one felony count of special circumstances murder for
committing murder during the commission of a rape. He faces a minimum
sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The defendant is
being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov.
30, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 1 of the Los Angeles Superior Court
in Whittier.  

The case was jointly investigated by the Orange County District
Attorney's Office (OCDA) Task Force Review aimed at catching Killers,
Rapist, and Sexual offenders Unit (TracKRS) and Placentia Police
Department (PPD). The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (LADA)
filed murder charges today due to the fact that the murder was committed
in Los Angeles County.

Beginning in 2000, McAmis is accused of befriending 20-year-old Lynsie
Leigh Ekelund, 20, Placentia. In the early evening of Feb. 16, 2001,
McAmis is accused of picking up Ekelund at her family's home in
Placentia, picking up two additional female friends, and driving to a
San Diego nightclub.

Early in the morning on Feb. 17, 2001, McAmis is accused of taking
Ekelund's friends home, first dropping one off in Carona and the second
in Anaheim. McAmis is accused of taking Ekelund back to his apartment
and attempting to rape her. McAmis is then accused of murdering her and
disposing of her body.

On Feb. 19, 2001, Ekelund's mother reported the victim missing to PPD.
Police investigated the case but it went cold. In 2008, the OCDA TracKRS
Unit was asked by PPD to review the case and began jointly
investigating the case with PPD.

Upon further investigation, McAmis was arrested on Oct. 27, 2010, by PPD officers at his Fullerton home.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is
encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Helen
Moreno at (714) 347-8492 or Placentia Police Homicide Detective Brice
Angel at (714) 993-8187.

Los Angeles Deputy-in-Charge Jennifer McDonald of the Whittier office
filed the case. The assigned prosecutor is Deputy District Attorney
Michael Michelena.