AP 
 
 This undated photo provided by the Santa Cruz Police Department shows Madyson "Maddy" Middleton from Santa Cruz, Calif. (Photo: Courtesy Santa Cruz Police Department via AP) 
 
 An 8-year-old Northern California girl was lured into the apartment of a 15-year-old neighbor before she was killed and her body dumped in a recycling bin at their complex, Santa Cruz police said Tuesday. Vogel said the 15-year-old suspect was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of Maddy’s homicide. "I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him," he said. "I don’t think she was taken against her will.” 
 
 A Tannery resident described the suspect as "the nicest kid you can imagine," the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported. Maddy, who was expected to enter the fourth grade in the fall in Santa Cruz, was “lured to the suspect’s apartment willingly and murdered in the suspect’s apartment and transported to the recycling bin,” Vogel said. "It's my belief she was killed before we ever got the phone call" an hour later that she was missing, Vogel said at a news conference. He described them as acquaintances. “Based on what we know at this point, there do appear to be charges that can be filed as an adult,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosell. As time passed we realized we needed to shift to recovery and that we may not find Maddy alive,” Vogel said. Volunteers had opened the recycling bin before, volunteer leaders said, but police said the body was hidden so “if you just opened the bin, you wouldn’t have seen the body,” said Vogel. A 43-year-old Santa Cruz resident who asked not to be identified described the teenage suspect as “the nicest kid you can imagine.” 
 
 “Everyone has got to be in shock over this,” he said. Mayor Don Lane called Tuesday "a day to honor Madyson and to offer our support.” 
 
 “Our hearts and our thoughts and our prayers go out to those close to Madyson who have been devastated by the loss of this very precious life,” he said at the news conference outside police headquarters. “Today is a day to honor Madyson and to offer our support.” 
 
 According to Maddy’s mother, Maddy was last seen on a surveillance camera at 5:07 p.m. Sunday riding her scooter at the base of her apartment complex at 1040 River St.. 
 
 She was reported missing to police about an hour later, and dozens of people joined a search through the night along the San Lorenzo River, which is in a wooded area near the center. Jordan told the Sentinel on Monday that her daughter was waiting for a friend to finish a board game so they could play together, and rode her scooter under her friend's window. When Jordan realized her daughter was missing, she said her first thought was “What the hell happened? The boy had reportedly helped look for her.
– She trusted him. Police say an 8-year-old girl murdered in Santa Cruz, California, willingly went to the apartment of her teenage killer, reports USA Today. The unidentified 15-year-old suspect lives in the same complex and even helped in the search for Maddy Middleton. He was standing nearby when detectives found her body in a recycling bin, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “She knew him," says police chief Kevin Vogel. "She was 8 years old. I think she had a reasonable amount of trust in him. I don’t think she was taken against her will." Maddy was last seen on surveillance video riding her scooter about 5pm Sunday at the Tannery Arts Center, described as a housing complex for local artists. She lived there with her mom. About an hour later, she was reported missing to police. "It's my belief she was killed before we ever got the phone call," says Vogel, who provided no details on how she was killed. Autopsy results were pending, and the suspect may be charged as an adult.