Criminal probe into death of U.S. aid worker

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MANILA, Philippines -- A U.S. aid worker who went hiking Easter Sunday was found dead Wednesday in the northern Philippines, the Peace Corps announced.

A criminal investigation into the death of Julia Campbell was launched by police. Her body was identified by authorities after being discovered in a shallow grave in the vicinity of Batad village.

"This is no longer an accident," Ifugao provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir said in a report from The Associated Press.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said the body was confirmed to be Campbell's at the site of the discovery, according to the AP. Torres said she was wearing the same clothes as when she was last seen.

No cause of death was immediately available. Campbell's body was being flown Thursday to the national police headquarters in Manila where forensics experts were set to examine it.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack expressed condolences to Campbell's family and colleagues.

"I know there's an ongoing investigation," McCormack said at a new briefing in Washington in a report from the AP. "We're working very well with the Philippine authorities ... and we are going to work with them until we are able to get to the bottom of this and get all of those answers for Julia's family."

The director of the U.S. Peace Corps had arrived in the Philippines earlier this week to observe the search for Campbell. In a statement on the organization's Web site, he said the aid group was in mourning over Campbell's death.

"Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served," Peace Corps director Ron Tschetter said. "The U.S. Peace Corps is saddened by the loss of such a dedicated and vibrant volunteer, who so loved this country. Our hearts go out to her family and friends in the United States."

There are currently 137 Peace Corps Volunteers serving in the Philippines, according to the U.S. Embassy in that country. More than 8,000 volunteers have served in the Philippines since 1961 -- the second oldest Peace Corps program in the world, according to the embassy statement.

'She was doing what she wanted to do'

Authorities had been searching for Campbell since April 11, when she was declared missing.

Campbell was last seen on April 8 in the town of Banaue in Ifugao province on the northern Philippine island of Luzon, said Matthew Lussenhop, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Campbell had planned to hike alone in a hilly region near Batad, Lussenhop said.

The area, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Manila, is famed for its mountain rice terraces and pine forests.

Dozens of police, soldiers and volunteers had searched for Campbell in the rugged area, supported by helicopters and tracking dogs. During the search speculation on the cause of Campbell's disappearance ranged from her falling off a cliff to being kidnapped.

The communist New People's Army have reportedly operated in the region, U.S. Embassy spokesman Lussenhop said. Earlier this week, however, the chief of the Philippines National Police ruled out a role by the NPA. (Full story)

Campbell had been teaching English at the Divine Word College in Albay province's Legazpi city, southeast of Manila, since October 2006.

She previously taught at a public school in Donsol in nearby Sorsogon province, said Nora Gallano, assistant dean of Divine Word's College of Liberal Arts.

Campbell formerly was a journalist who had worked for a variety of media including The New York Times, CourtTV.com and People magazine.

"She just felt not fulfilled in New York, and shocked us when she said she was joining the Peace Corps," said her aunt, Ann Knight, of Pensacola, Florida, in a report from the AP. "She was doing what she wanted to do."

Knight described her niece as "a very adventuresome, very interesting, loving, giving person who loved a good story."

"It's horrible," said Michael Cooper, a New York Times political reporter who had worked with Campbell at the newspaper when they covered New York City police.

"She was a very dogged, very hardworking reporter," Cooper said in a report by the AP. "She put in long hours. When doing street reporting, she was always sure to ring the 10th doorbell, not just leave after a few."

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