SYCAMORE – Authorities have exhumed the body of a 7-year-old Sycamore girl who was kidnapped and killed more than 50 years ago, and the man accused of killing her is on his way to Illinois to face charges.

Monique Bond, spokeswoman for Illinois State Police, said Wednesday morning while in Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore that the DeKalb County State's Attorney's Office has a court order to exhume the remains of Maria Ridulph. The girl was abducted from a Sycamore street Dec. 3, 1957, and her remains were found nearly five months later in Jo Daviess County. She is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

DeKalb County State's Attorney Clay Campbell said his office had the blessing of the Ridulph family to exhume her remains. The process began early Wednesday morning, he said. His office, along with ISP, Sycamore Police and the FBI assisted, as did the owners of Elmwood Cemetery and the coroner's office.

"We are investigating the murder of a 7-year-old child," he said. "Suffice it to say, we'll leave no stone unturned."

He said he could not comment on the contents of the court order, which he said he got Friday, or where the remains were being taken. Campbell has scheduled a press conference for 11:30 a.m. to discuss the case.

The exhumation is the latest development in the 53-plus year old case. Authorities began looking into the cold case again in 2008 after receiving a new lead; they have declined to say what that lead was.

The man accused of kidnapping and killing Ridulph, Jack McCullough of Seattle, is on his way to Illinois. He has been held in the King County Jail in Seattle on a fugitive from justice charge since his July 1 arrest. Last week he waived his right to an extradition hearing. According to a jail inmate lookup service on the King County website, McCullough was released from their custody Wednesday at 6:08 a.m.

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott confirmed shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday that McCullough is in the process of being transferred to DeKalb County by law enforcement officers. He would not discuss any details, citing safety issues. Scott said he does not anticipate McCullough being in DeKalb County for several hours.

In 1957 McCullough was known as John Tessier and lived in Sycamore. He matched a description given by Ridulph's friend, Kathy Sigman, who was then 8 years old and was with Ridulph when a man calling himself Johnny approached them as they played Dec. 3, 1957, near the intersection of Center Cross Street and Archie Place in Sycamore near their homes. Sigman went home briefly, and when she returned both her friend and the man were gone. That prompted a search that ended on April 26, 1958, when a couple looking for mushrooms found Ridulph's badly decomposed remains in rural Jo Daviess County.

Bond said a number of law enforcement agencies were at the cemetery to assist with the exhumation process, which had been completed by 8:30 a.m. Vehicles from Sycamore Police and the Illinois State Police were visible. There were areas of the cemetery that were blocked off or had a tent over it, as well as several trucks.

Sycamore Police Chief Don Thomas said the Ridulph family was not at the exhumation Wednesday morning, but that they had been consulted and were supportive of the procedure. He declined to comment further on the case.

A black curtain was hung in front of the grave site during the exhumation Wednesday morning. Cemetery workers began to fill the grave about 8:30 a.m., dumping dirt from a truck into the empty hole. Maria Ridulph was buried next to her parents beneath a large tree.

Lenny Reynolds Sr., manager of Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore, said many people have stopped by the grave since McCullough's arrest.

"People that grew up at the same time bring flowers, little teddy bears," he said.

Reynolds arrived at the cemetery at 5 a.m. He said he did not expect anyone to disrupt the grave site Wednesday.

He said Maria's body would be returned to the grave but didn't know when – at this point, police wouldn't even be sure because it would depend on the length of the process, he said.

"Whenever they call me, we'll get ready for her again," Reynolds said.