Police search for suspect in Jessica Ridgeway case

>> hour with a colorado community on edge as police search for 10-year-old jessica ridgeway's killer. nbc's miguel almaguer is in westminster, colorado, this morning. miguel , good morning to you.

>> reporter: savannah, good morning. over the weekend, thousands gathered to remember little jess camp vigils and memorials popped up all across this city as police are now focused on finding their suspect. collective heartbreak for a little girl abducted on her way to school. jessica ridgeway, the 10-year-old who loved to dance, vanished 11 days ago.

>> my heart's broken. i don't know how to deal with it.

>> reporter: her body discovered seven miles from her home in a rural open field described by police as not intact. investigators positively identified her remains late friday afternoon.

>> our focus has changed in a search for jessica to a mission of justice for jessica .

>> reporter: with state, local and federal agents working jessica 's murder, police have scoured her neighborhood and the community for clues. more than 1,500 tips have poured n.500 homes searched. a manhunt under way for a killer still on the street. former fbi profiler clint van zandt .

>> this is just a whole other type of predator. number one, to commit a horrible act and kidnap a child, but, number two, to dispose of a bod they way puts this guy in a breed almost by himself.

>> reporter: last seen by her mother walking to school, the fifth grader never made it to a nearby park to meet classmates. jessica 's backpack was discovered the day after she vanished, one of the few clues investigators have publicly released.

>> if he should feel he can't be identified, he could very easily start looking for another victim.

>> reporter: with no suspects today an entire community is on edge.

>> it's unthinkable. it's unthinkable that this happened right here this close and such an awful, awful manner.

>> reporter: an innocent young life plucked off a quiet street. this morning there are no answers in a neighborhood where grief is only matched by a cry for justice.

>> why would you kill a child or hurt a child or steal a child from their family?

>> reporter: jessica 's parents who last week were cleared of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance have not spoken publicly since announcement of the discovery of the body. police are following several leads but are not releasing any details as to not compromise their investigation. savannah.

>> all right. miguel almaguer in westminster, colorado, thank you.