Kansas City, Mo. ? A man who claimed to be the father of a missing Virginia girl is not the father of Precious Doe, the girl whose beheaded body was found in Kansas City two years ago, police said Monday.

DNA tests from the man incarcerated in Virginia did not match DNA from Precious Doe, police spokesman Capt. Rich Lockhart said. The man said he was the father of Brittany Renee Williams of Richmond, Va., who was 7 years old when she was last seen in August 2000.

However, police are awaiting test results from the maternal side of Brittany’s family before saying definitively that Precious Doe and Brittany are not the same, Lockhart said. Police won’t identify the man or say why he is behind bars.

DNA tests on maternal relations are more accurate than paternal tests, but it also takes longer to get the results, Lockhart said, adding it may be several months before the tests are complete.

Tom Shumate, a spokesman for police in Henrico County, Va., said Monday’s news brought at least some relief for investigators there.

“We’re still hoping that Brittany Williams is still alive somewhere,” Shumate said.

Precious Doe is the name given to the girl whose body was discovered in April 2001 in Kansas City about five miles southeast of downtown. Police believe she was killed before she was beheaded, most likely somewhere other than where she was found.

This the 10th time since Precious Doe’s body was found that police have conducted DNA tests to try to identify her, Lockhart said.

“What’s happened is we’ve gotten ideas or leads, someone saying this may or may not be her,” he said. “Most of those haven’t gotten the media attention that this one did.”

Although police are awaiting more test results, Lockhart said he was skeptical that Brittany Williams was Precious Doe.

“From the beginning I didn’t think it was likely this was her,” he said. “There are too many physical factors that don’t seem to match. But we still have to test.”

The body of the girl found in Kansas City had a crescent-shaped birthmark on her shoulder. Two women who knew Brittany said they never saw such a birthmark on her.

Police have released a computer-generated composite of Precious Doe that shows her with a dark complexion and braids. Brittany has a lighter complexion.

Lockhart said the lack of success in identifying Precious Doe was discouraging for investigators.

“For two years, we have not been able to identify this child,” Lockhart said. “That’s a sad commentary on society.”

Brittany’s mother died of AIDS in 1996, soon after giving custody of Brittany to another woman. Brittany also is afflicted with the disease.