Profile: From small town to big city

Chandra was looking forward to a federal career

Chandra Levy, an ambitious 24-year-old from suburban California, came to Washington in September 2000.

She got an internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which she hoped would launch her on a bright government career.

In late April 2001 her internship ended, and she decided to return home for her graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California (USC).

She packed her bags, cancelled her health-club membership, and e-mailed her mother that she had bought her plane ticket - but she never made it back from Washington.

High hopes

Chandra came from Modesto, a sunny spot at the northern end of California's Central Valley, and a mixture of middle-class suburbs, shopping malls and vineyards and farms.

Her parents were devastated

The Levys were a happy, well-to-do family. Her father, a cancer specialist, and mother, a sculptor, own a large suburban home with stables for horses.

But Chandra soon decided that aptly-named Modesto was too small for her.

She was fascinated with politics. After graduating from UCLA she got an internship with California Governor Gray Davis.

However, she aimed higher, and was toying with the idea of becoming an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Speculation

Like many bright young things interested in government, she made her way to Washington and became an intern.

Her position as an intern partly explains why her subsequent disappearance attracted so much publicity.

Most Washington interns work for Congress

Ever since the scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski, any story involving a Washington intern was bound to make the headlines.

Experts estimate that up to 50,000 interns come to Washington in any given year. Most are happy being paid little or nothing, in exchange for a chance to work for a powerful agency or a leading politician.

Typically, interns perform administrative chores, occasionally write research projects and give tours of the Capitol to visiting constituents.

Chandra was apparently thrilled with her budding career in the federal government.

She also reportedly bragged to friends that she was having an affair with an older man - which later led to speculation about her relationship with Gary Condit, the Congressman who represented her home district.

However, her career was dealt a blow when she was turned down for a permanent job.

Her life, it seems, came to a similarly abrupt halt a few days later.