‘Most Wanted’ backs new push to ID dead girl

America's Most Wanted is filming in New Jersey today, as part of stepped-up efforts to identify a girl whose charred skeletal remains were found in a wooded area of Monmouth County in 2005.

In Trenton, state and local police will distribute fliers with pictures of what the girl may have looked like.

This week, the images also began being displayed on a half-dozen electronic billboards in North Jersey.

The Fox crime-solving show provided the graphics and plans to get footage of at least one of the billboards today, according to Det. Stephen Urbanski of the state police.

An update on the case, dubbed "Baby Bones," is expected to air at the end of August, producer Peter Gillespie said. The show airs Saturdays at 9 p.m.

Hopes rose in March when host John Walsh came to Philadelphia to unveil a new likeness - a bust created by forensic sculptor Frank Bender.

Walsh explained that the girl was probably 5 to 8 years old, perhaps African American, Hispanic or racially mixed.

The body, seemingly malnourished and with a broken rib, was "thrown away like a pile of garbage," then set afire, Walsh said.

The child probably disappeared in 2004 or earlier, and she probably lived in an urban area with fluoridation, judging from the condition of her teeth.

Because checking records of missing children proved fruitless, perhaps her disappearance was never reported, suggesting a parent or other caregiver was responsible, Walsh said.

Investigators wonder if the girl's demise could be connected to a visit to the nearby Great Adventure amusement park.

The broadcast and accompanying publicity, however, weren't enough to crack the case, Urbanski said.

Some leads are still being pursued - including seeing if Interpol can match the DNA to a child missing from another country - but a breakthrough likely depends on getting new clues from the public, he said.

Authorities plan to distribute fliers in other cities in coming weeks, including Philadelphia, Camden, Neptune, Asbury Park, Newark and New York.

Another electronic billboard could be added soon in Bordentown. Paterson, Newark and Plainfield are among the North Jersey towns with the current billboards.

"We're really pushing this hard, because someone is going to recognize her," Urbanski said.

If you think you recognize this girl, call the America's Most Wanted hotline at 1-800-274-6388 (1-800-CRIMETV), or the tipline of the N.J. State Police, 1-866-657-7411.

For more on this case and other unsolved crimes and disappearances, visit the show's website, www.amw.com.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.