Arrest made over JonBenet Ramsey murder

Arrest made: Six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her home. [File photo] (AFP)

An unidentified man has been arrested in Thailand in connection with the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey, a child beauty queen whose grisly death triggered a US media frenzy.

Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy says the suspect, who has not not identified by authorities, "was arrested following several months of a focused and complex investigation".

Ms Lacy says both the girl's father, John, and late mother, Patsy, have been consulted during the course of the investigation.

Mrs Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in June.

Prosecutors have declined to release further details about the case or the suspect.

However, CNN has identified him as a 41-year-old American school teacher who was visiting Thailand.

The suspect is expected to be returned in the coming days to Boulder, Colorado, where JonBenet, six, lived with her family at the time of her murder on December 26, 1996.

The United States has an extradition treaty with Thailand.

The girl's body was found in the basement of the family home and on a staircase a note was left saying that she had been kidnapped by a "small foreign faction" and demanding $US118,000 in ransom.

Local KUSA-TV in Denver reports the suspect has confessed to elements of the crime that are unknown to the general public.

Parents consulted

Mr Ramsey has confirmed in a written statement that both he and his late wife have been consulted in the arrest.

"So Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder," he said.

Mr Ramsey told KUSA that to the best of his knowledge he is not acquainted with the suspect.

No charges have been filed in the 10 years since JonBenet was found beaten and strangled.

Her parents came under the Boulder police "umbrella of suspicion" but a grand jury issued no indictments.

The killing drew intense media coverage focusing on JonBenet's success in youth beauty pageants, the family's affluence and mysterious elements of the case, including the note that first led police to believe the girl had been kidnapped.

- Reuters