PITTSFIELD — Workers at a car dealership in Pittsfield made a gruesome discovery Friday afternoon when a young woman’s body was found in the trunk of a locked car that had been towed to the business.
The car, which initially was found parked at the nearby Walmart in Palmyra, was towed to the Varney Chevrolet dealership on Somerset Avenue to be unlocked, leading to the discovery of the body, said Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.
Authorities do not yet know the woman’s identity, and investigators will research missing-persons cases to try to identify her, he said. The body will be taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta, where the cause of death will be determined.
The car, a Chevrolet Malibu registered in Maine and from the local area, was removed from the dealership Friday night and will be examined.
McCausland would say only that state police are investigating.
The state police Major Crimes Unit and Pittsfield police worked at the scene on Friday.
McCausland also would not say who discovered the body, though the car was near the dealership’s service area.
“At this point it is a death under investigation,” he said, adding that police will not know anything more until the medical examiner conducts an autopsy. Once police can identify the body, McCausland said, the next step would be contacting family members.
The general manager of the car dealership came out while police were investigating but declined to comment. The dealership remained open for business while police were at the scene.
Colin Ellis — 861-9253
cellis@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @colinoellis
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