A “suspicious” body found inside a vehicle in Vermont early Tuesday morning is believed to belong to missing Harvard, Massachusetts, woman Mary Anderson, whose family feared she had been kidnapped when she failed to check in with relatives after leaving a friend’s house on Saturday.
Brattleboro police found the body of the woman in a vehicle on Elliot Street just before 1 a.m. Tuesday and has been “preliminarily identified” as Anderson, Vermont State Police said in a statement.
Brattleboro police located her body inside her own truck, which had been sought as part of the missing-persons investigation.
“The death appeared to be suspicious, and the Brattleboro Police Department requested assistance from the Vermont State Police,” the statement said.
Police are looking to locate and speak with Matthew Davis, 34, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who may have information relevant to this ongoing investigation. Davis is Anderson’s former boyfriend. He has connections to the area of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Davis is white, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes, police said.
Anderson was last seen leaving Hudson, New Hampshire around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday. She told friends and family she would text them when she returned safely to her Harvard home, but her messages never came.
Family members reported Anderson missing at 5 p.m. on Sunday, with Harvard and Massachusetts State Police issuing missing person’s alerts on Monday.
Anderson’s mother, Sheila Anderson, told MassLive she believed her daughter had been “abducted” and urged police to work quickly to find her missing child.
“I don’t want to think the worst, I just want her home,” Sheila Anderson said on Monday.
But the mother’s fears were confirmed just hours later when her daughter’s lifeless body was found inside a car in Vermont.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death, police said.
In Massachusetts, State and Harvard police searched Anderson’s Still River Road home on Tuesday afternoon.
Two Harvard police cruisers sat out front while state police investigated the area around a white Chevrolet SUV with metal detectors.
At least five state police cruisers were parked next door in the Saint Benedict Center driveway. Authorities appeared to be investigating a wooded area along the right side of the property
Two individuals were seen leaving the Anderson property in a white sedan.
A yellow and white Vatican City flag was placed on the family’s front door.
Anyone with information about Matthew Davis or Mary Anderson’s disappearance is asked to contact the Harvard Police Department at 978-456-1212 or Vermont State Police in Westminster at 802-722-4600.
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