Handyman's yard searched for clues in dungeon case
Retiree charged with abusing girl in underground bunker
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John Jamelske has been charged with kidnapping, rape, sodomy and sexual abuse.
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SYRACUSE, New York (CNN/AP) -- Authorities are digging up the yard of retired handyman John Jamelske, who has been charged with holding a teenage girl captive for seven months in an underground bunker and sexually abusing her.
Police are using a backhoe and radar to find any evidence that might have been buried in the yard, CNN affiliate WIXT reported. The digging began Thursday afternoon, the station said.
Jamelske is charged with kidnapping, rape, sodomy and sexual abuse, all stemming from incidents involving the 16-year-old. Other girls and women have come forward with similar accusations, Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh said. Jamelske has not been charged in connection with any of those incidents.
In two of the other cases, Jamelske has been accused of kidnapping and abusing two teenagers -- one allegedly held for a year and the other for almost two years.
Other suspected victims include a woman in her mid-50s who said Jamelske "raped and tortured [her] in his dungeon -- her phrase -- and that occurred about five years ago," Walsh said.
The woman said that after Jamelske kidnapped her, she was bound, gagged, blindfolded and driven to an underground bunker where she remained for nearly 10 months, he said.
"We believe that there may be other victims out there," the sheriff said. "We also believe Jamelske may have attempted to lure others and failed."
The Onondaga County District Attorney's Office refused to comment on the search of Jamelske's yard, saying only that a grand jury has been convened in the case.
