Wichita ? Police on Saturday identified the body they found Thursday as that of missing Butler County college student Emily Sander.

Police found the body Thursday and said at the time that it appeared to match Sander’s description. Saturday’s identification by a forensic orthodontist confirmed that, said El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren.

The body was released to Sander’s family after forensic examinations and an autopsy, Boren said. The results of that examination and the cause of death were sealed by the county attorney’s office, and police would not release details about the cause of death.

Investigation continues

Police also said Saturday they were re-interviewing witnesses, family and associates of suspect Israel Mireles, 24 and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Victoria Martens. They said his whereabouts were still unknown, but they believed Martens was still with him.

If Mireles fled to Mexico, it would pose special legal challenges for efforts to prosecute him, officials said.

Sander, 18, disappeared late Nov. 23 after leaving a bar with Mireles outside El Dorado. A body matching Sander’s description was found Thursday. Police now say Mireles is a suspect in Sander’s disappearance.

If Mireles went to Mexico, where he was born and has relatives, local authorities would have to compile especially detailed warrants and translate them into Spanish, Boren said.

Mireles, who had been in the United States legally, moved to El Dorado from Hays.

El Dorado officials would have to use the foreign extradition process to bring back Israel Mireles, said Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield, whose office would prosecute him.

‘Lot more complicated’

“It’s a whole lot more complicated” than a case totally within a U.S. jurisdiction, Satterfield said.

If the crime qualifies for the state’s death penalty and Mireles is charged that way, authorities could be legally blocked by Mexico, Boren said.

Mexico would require that authorities submit the most serious charges that Mireles would face, and Mexico would not allow someone born there to be extradited to face capital charges, Boren said.

“They would have to be assured that the death penalty won’t be sought.”

No homicide charges had been filed as of Friday night, Satterfield said.

Boren said his understanding is that U.S. marshals could go into Mexico to pursue Mireles only at the invitation of Mexican authorities.

If U.S. authorities don’t follow the protocols, they risk creating an international incident, Boren and Satterfield said.

“And, of course, that would jeopardize any possible prosecution,” Boren said.

On Friday, an autopsy was conducted on the body found Thursday about 50 miles east of El Dorado.

Close to the body, along U.S. 54 near the Woodson County town of Toronto, investigators found the bedspread that had been missing from Mireles’ El Dorado motel room, Boren said. Investigators found a large amount of blood in the room.

Final identification awaited

Although authorities and Sander’s family members have concluded that it is her body, no official identification can be made until dental records from out of state arrive, Boren said Friday in an e-mailed statement.

Sander had previously lived in Texas and has relatives there.

A positive identification could happen Monday, Boren said.

Sander’s grandfather, Clem Sander of El Dorado, said Friday afternoon that relatives have begun preparing funeral arrangements, but details weren’t settled.

Meanwhile, authorities remain concerned that Mireles hasn’t been found and that his 16-year-old girlfriend apparently is with him. The 16-year-old is seven months pregnant.

Investigators think the girlfriend remains with Mireles “on her own volition, but investigators fear for her continued welfare, as well as that of her unborn child,” Boren’s statement said.