The decomposing body of a young woman was discovered approximately 200 feet from a remote construction site, in the woods of Pownal, Maine. A hiker reported the women’s body to 911. The hiker indicated he was following the Razorback Trail, through the state park, when he noticed a small tan dog that looked like it had gotten away from its owner. The hiker followed the dog slightly off the trail and came across the body. The woman was partially clothed with no obvious wounds. She had no identification on her. There was evidence of a small campfire and beer cans nearby. A seemingly inoperable cell phone was found between the construction site and the body. Two waffled pattern shoe prints were found within 5 feet of the cell phone. Police contacted the construction foreman. Over the phone, the foreman advised law enforcement that the construction workers had been at that site for almost a month. However, they had not been back to the site for the last 5 days, because they were waiting for approval from the county inspector. The foreman said they had not noticed anything unusual besides a small white dog that started lingering around the construction site sometime after the start of the project. A few times, one of the workers fed the dog his leftover lunch. The only other structures nearby are two vacation cabins and a boat dock. They are just across a dirt road and approximately 600 ft away. What happened? Who is this woman? When did it happen?
As a responding officer, how you plan to secure, process, investigate and analyze the scene.
Responding officer – Initial response to the scene, securing the scene, identifying evidence, interviewing witnesses.
