FOUNTAIN HILLS — Authorities have found a woman's body in the desert northeast of Phoenix that they say is connected to a missing persons case out of Gilbert.
The medical examiner hasn't yet confirmed the identity of the body. But Gilbert police spokesman Andrew Duncan said Monday it appeared to be connected to the case of Jackie Hartman, 19, who has been missing since Jan. 28.
"We are hoping for a timely positive confirmation so that the family can bring some closure to this case," he said.
The body was found off Arizona 87 in the remote and rugged Sycamore Creek area outside Fountain Hills. Search crews had been combing the same region in search of Hartman.
Friends told police that Hartman disappeared after meeting Jonathan Ian Burns of Mesa to go to a party. The two had met just days earlier.
People are also reading…
Police later arrested Burns after finding Hartman's torn clothing with bulletlike holes in a trash bin near his home. He was indicted on first-degree murder and other charges in connection with her disappearance.
Hotel on the rise at Tucson’s Uptown project
