D.A.: New leads in Piirainen case

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Detectives are looking into new leads in the disappearance of Holly Piirainen, the 10-year-old girl who disappeared 18 years ago.

Last month, Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni announced that new forensic testing linked a deceased man from Springfield to the case, David Edmund Pouliot, who died in 2003.

Pouliot apparently hunted in the area where Piirainen's remains were found.

Now, more than a month after the announcement, Mastroianni told the 22News I-Team, a number of tips from the public have come in, enough to keep them very busy.

"We received a lot of information about the person that we wanted to get information about and we also received a lot of historical information about the case. That allowed our investigators to go back and start looking at new leads and reinvestigating areas that had already been looked at," Mastroianni said.

If you have any information on this case you want to report, you are urged to call (413) 505-5933 or text "crimes" to 274637.