Behl task force investigates body in Mathews County 70 miles east of Richmond, VA
Breaking news in the Taylor Behl case. The remains of a body have been found 70-75 miles east of Richmond, VA. There has been no official confirmation as to the identity of the body.
(Richmond Times Dispatch) Body found 70 miles east of Richmond Updated: 6:34 p.m.
The Richmond police task force investigating the disappearance of Virginia Commonwealth University student Taylor Marie Behl has discovered the remains of a body in rural Mathews County. Sources close to the investigation said the body has not been identified. It was discovered in a shallow grave behind a barn on an isolated piece of private property just west of Diggs, a community along the Chesapeake Bay just south of Rigby Island. The area is about 70 miles east of Richmond.
“At this time, we do not, I repeat, we do not know who the remains belong to,“ Monroe said at a news conference outside the Mathews County sheriff’s office.
UPDATE: NBC4; Officials Investigating Missing Va. Teen Find Remains
Monroe said investigators from VCU discovered the location of the body, FBI investigators were collecting evidence from a large crime scene and state police would investigate the discovery of the remains. The remains were discovered in a shallow grave in a heavily wooded area on private property in the county, about 75 miles east of Richmond. According to police, their investigation included several searches, and in one of those searches, some pictures were seized, including a picture of the general area where the human remains were found. Police said one of the witnesses they spoke to recognized the area in the photograph.
Monroe said investigators from VCU discovered the location of the body, FBI investigators were collecting evidence from a large crime scene and state police would investigate the discovery of the remains.
Recording of interview from Sheriff Press Conference
Update: ABC News 7, Police Confirm Human Remains Found In Mathews County
Police said the remains were discovered in a grave in a heavily wooded area on private property in the county, about 75 miles east of Richmond.
Police crime scene tape blocked access to a dirt path that led off a rural road to part of the crime scene, where investigators worked Wednesday evening underneath a green tent surrounded by orange cones, two vans and a truck.
“During the past week, we have gone into a mode of searching locations that we knew Taylor to have visited based on statements, based on photographs, based on a host of other things,” Monroe said. “That is what led us to this particular location.”
Police would not say if the body was female, and said it would take several days for identification. It was not clear how long the body had been there, Monroe said.
“We will not know who or what evidence those remains present until we have an opportunity for the medical examiner’s office to make that determination,” Monroe said.
Behl’s mother, Janet Pelasara, was contacted by police about the body as a courtesy, Monroe said.
A family friend who answered the phone at Pelasara’s home Wednesday night said Pelasara would not be making any statement until the body has been identified.
UPDATE: Fox News; Body in Woods May Be Missing Va. Student
Task force investigating the disappearance of a college freshman unearthed a body from a wooded area Wednesday, but refused to say whether they believe they had found Taylor Marie Behl.