Update: Body found is "probably" Kelly Nolan
The search for a missing 22-year-old woman from Waunakee came to what may be a tragic end this morning north of the village of Oregon when police found a body that is "probably" Kelly Nolan, who has been missing since June 23.
Police are treating the case as a homicide.
Dane County Coroner John Stanley said at a news conference this afernoon that because of the need to preserve and process forensic evidence, investigators have not actually touched the body yet, but he added that it is apparent that it is female and "it is probably the missing person we're looking for."
He said there won't be full confirmation until Tuesday at the soonest.
The body was found at 8:45 this morning during a massive search for Nolan on private property off of Schneider Drive near its intersection with County MM north of Oregon. Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said at the news conference in Oregon that cell phone technology led police to that site, but he would not elaborate further.
DeSpain said he is not aware that investigators have found Nolan's cell phone, adding that no one has actually touched the body or the area immediately around it yet.
The disappearance of Nolan and her family's subsequent pleas for her safe return have prompted nationwide news coverage in the past two weeks.
DeSpain said Schneider Drive will be closed for some time as investigators and forensic teams "pull out all the stops" to try to gather evidence. The body has not yet been moved from the scene.
DeSpain said at least 100 police officers from a number of agencies, some as far away as Illinois, were called in for this morning's search, including officers from Madison, Fitchburg, the Dane County Sheriff's Office, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and the FBI. Retired officers and volunteers from the Salvation Army have been enlisted as well. Police were using both police dogs and horse patrols in the search.
Some officers had actually been in the same area looking for clues in the past eight to 10 days after receiving telephone tips, but DeSpain said it became clear only recently that an intensive search was needed.
Today's search started at about 4:30 a.m., and DeSpain said the body was found sometime around 8:45 a.m.
Members of Nolan's family were at the scene of the investigation early this morning, but left before the body was found, DeSpain said.
Sketchy details: Nolan, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student who was living in Madison for the summer, was last seen early the morning of June 23 after a night out with friends at downtown Madison bars.
A Madison cafe owner said Saturday that an employee reported seeing Nolan early that morning. The employee walked Nolan toward her home until they ran into another man who said he knew Nolan, according to Tom Paras, the owner of Amy's Cafe.
The employee left Nolan with the other man. Two days later, when he learned of Nolan's disappearance, the employee called police with the information, Paras said.
Police have released few details, saying they don't want to jeopardize the investigation. They have searched through surveillance tapes of a bar where Nolan was reportedly seen, but she wasn't on those tapes, police said.
DeSpain has said detectives don't know whether alcohol is a factor in Nolan's disappearance.
Family members have been advised not to discuss details of the case.
April Nolan, 20, has acknowledged talking to her elder sister by phone on the day Kelly disappeared, but declined to discuss details of the call, saying it's irrelevant to the search. She did say her sister told her during the call where she was.
April Nolan has said her sister was recovering after the deaths of their father in 2006 and their stepmother in May, both in Illinois. Kelly Nolan grew up in Waunakee.
The reward money was donated by the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, a California group that helps find missing persons and an anonymous corporation with ties to the family, according to Kelly's mother, Mary Jane Nolan.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
E-mail: selbow@madison.com; kczubkowski@madison.com
Mike DeVries/the Capital Times
An aerial view of the scene Monday morning in the village of Oregon where a body was found.
