. >> reporter: gene miller was a patrol officer, then. tacoma police. >> it's a special kind of horror or dread that goes with a little girl going missing like that. >> any time a child goes missing, it's -- it's a scary thing. >> reporter: where was michela? the police looked, of course. but as the hours ticked by, my god. there's nothing. >> there's an emptiness there you just -- time kind of stands still. >> yeah. >> and then -- then, it's, all of a sudden, it's gone. i mean, so, it was dark. they said we're going to call in search and rescue because we haven't found her. >> reporter: it was late when they took search dogs into a nearby, overgrown gulch. and then. >> i was in one of the police cars, and they told me that -- that they'd found her body. and, you know, when you say you found a body, it's not the person. it's terrible. sorry. >> reporter: they found her near a makeshift fire pit. she had been beaten and sexually assaulted. her throat, cut. >> it's this sickening feeling that just overtakes you. and life is never going to b