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The body is not recognizable and has not yet been identified, a Virginia Beach police spokesperson tells PEOPLE, so it’s not clear if it belonged to Denise Martin, a Longwood University graduate.
The Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene and is working to determine the body’s identity and cause of death.
The night before her disappearance, Martin’s boyfriend Jordan Stroud spoke to her on the phone.
“It was just a conversation that we normally would have. She gave no indication of wanting todisappear or run away,”Stroud told theVirginian-Pilot.
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Martin’s friends and family say she would never leave without telling someone.
Virginia Beach police say they have no indication foul play was involved.
After her disappearance, police were notified of several unconfirmed sightings of her, the police spokesperson says. It was while investigating one of those alleged sightings that the body was found.
Police are handling the body’s discovery as a separate death investigation.
Martin’s family could not be reached for comment Thursday.
“It’s a very stressful situation. We all feel very helpless right now — it’s the most helpless we’ve ever felt,” Henry Smalle, a friend of Martin’s, told thePilot.“It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever had to deal with, and we’re just all trying to get through it together.”
Martin is 5 feet 3 inches, 150-160 lbs. with blue eyes, medium-length dark brown hair and has a tattoo of a sun on her left clavicle. She is most likely wearing black oval prescription glasses.
Anyone with information pertaining to Martin’s case is urged to call the Virginia Beach Police Department at 757-385-4141.
source: people.com
