Two weeks into the case, an official searching the woods where the burned-out car was found discovered a body about three-quarters of a mile from the vehicle. “The body was face down,” said Porter, adding that a crime scene technician removed a wallet from the victim’s jeans. Credit cards and cash were found in the wallet, along with a driver’s license belonging to Douglas Gissendaner.
The crime scene and the woods around it were processed in search of additional evidence but the efforts failed to produce fresh leads. Since the cash remained, “we ruled out any kind of a robbery,” said Porter.