A man arrested in the abduction, rape and death of a 15-year-old newspaper carrier lived just a block from the girl, authorities said.

Jeffrey A. Hessler, 24, of Gering was arrested Wednesday on
suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping, first-degree sexual
assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony, the Scotts Bluff
County Attorney's Office said.

News of the arrest came shortly after authorities confirmed that
a girl's body found in an abandoned house at Lake Minatare was that
of Heather Guerrero. She disappeared early Tuesday while she
delivered Scottsbluff Star-Herald newspapers in her southwest
Gering neighborhood near the Scotts Bluff National Monument.

Hessler was being held in the Scotts Bluff County Jail in
Gering.

Deputy County Attorney Doug Warner said that Hessler is believed
to be the driver of a 1994 Nissan Altima seen by a neighbor leaving
the scene of the abduction. Hessler was questioned on Tuesday, when
he denied any connection to the abduction, Warner said.

A Nebraska State Patrol investigator and Scottsbluff police
detective made the arrest about 5:30 p.m. MST and recovered a gun.

Guerrero's body was found about 10 a.m. earlier in the day by
her uncle and another family member in the basement of the house.
The results of an autopsy were expected to be released Thursday,
authorities said.

An FBI forensics team combed the house for evidence as a
helicopter was used to look for clothing belonging to the girl,
including black bib snow pants, a light blue hooded jacket, gray
sweat pants with a maroon stripe and gloves.

Lake Minatare is an irrigation reservoir and popular
recreational area with cabins on its west and north sides. It is
about 12 miles from where the girl disappeared.

Guerrero, who celebrated her 15th birthday Saturday, was last
seen before 6 a.m. MST Tuesday while on her newspaper route.

Police had used a thermal imaging equipment, an airplane and
helicopter to search for the girl as officers and volunteers combed
fields, irrigation ditches and canyons in the area.

Gering Police Chief Mel Griggs said witnesses saw a car speeding
from Guerrero's neighborhood at the time she disappeared. Hessler
was later questioned and released after police searched his car.

Jim Vance, a newspaper subscriber along Guerrero's route, said
he was walking his golden retriever when he heard a scream early
Tuesday only about 100 feet away around the corner of a house that
blocked his view. About 10 seconds later, a gray Nissan Altima with
dark tinted windows sped by with its lights off, Vance said.

Vance said he walked to where the scream originated but saw no
sign of foul play. He said he wondered if there had been a domestic
dispute of some kind and didn't worry about it until about an hour
later when police began slowly patrolling the area.

"We'd cross paths, say 'hi,"' Vance said about regularly
meeting Guerrero when he walked his dog each morning.

"Most of the time her father was with her," Vance said. "This
was one of those times that, for whatever reason, he wasn't."

Vance estimated Guerrero was about two doors down from her home
when she disappeared.

Last August, another 15-year-old girl who delivered papers for
the Star-Herald was sexually assaulted while at work in the
pre-dawn hours, police said. In that case, which remains unsolved,
the victim was grabbed from behind as she delivered newspapers in
the early morning hours.

Police did not issue an Amber Alert in Guerrero's disappearance,
because they did not have enough information to do so, but did
contact police departments throughout Nebraska, Colorado and
Wyoming to try to find the girl.

A crisis team was brought into the school Tuesday and Wednesday
to counsel Guerrero's classmates.