Body found, believed to be that of missing Virginia woman

July 25, 2021

Local News

LURAY, Va. (AP) — A body believed to be that of a missing Virginia woman has been found in the Shenandoah National Park, officials said Saturday.

Based on the preliminary identification of the remains, the search for Julia Christine Devlin has been suspended.

Devlin, a 55-year-old University of Virginia economics department lecturer, was last seen in Charlottesville on July 14, news outlets reported.

Security footage showed Devlin’s car entering the park late that Wednesday. Her sedan was found wrecked and abandoned July 17 on Skyline Drive in the southern part of the park.

Canine teams and officials with the FBI, Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia Department of Emergency Management assisted in the search effort, along with many search-and-rescue groups, according to Saturday’s news release.

The body was found around 10 a.m. in “extremely steep and rough terrain in the southernmost part of the park,” the news release said. It was being transported to a medical examiner, who will confirm the identity and determine the cause of death.

Authorities didn’t say whether foul play was suspected in the death or where exactly the body was found in relation to the wrecked vehicle.