Authorities have positively identified a body found in an Arkansas forest over the weekend as a police dispatcher who has been missing since December 21. Police have ruled the death of Dawna Natzke as a homicide although the cause of death has not yet been determined.Natzke was last seen leaving a pre-Christmas party with her boyfriend.
Searchers found the body in a wooded area about five miles from Netzke's home in Hot Springs Village and about five miles from where her burned-out 1997 Ford Escort, was found in Ouachita National Forest on Christmas Day.
'We Knew It Was Dawna'
Although it took authorities two days to officially identify the body as Natzke, family members were already convinced the remains belonged to her.
"It was a formality anyway," her sister Vicki Hegyi said. "We knew it was Dawna."
Natzke, a 46-year-old mother of three, was recently separated from her husband. She was at the Christmas party with her boyfriend, Kevin Duck, 28, who told police that he last saw her watching television around 11 p.m. before he went to bed.
Case Ruled a Homicide
When he woke up the next day, she was gone, he said. She wasn't reported missing until two days later, however, when she failed to show up for work.
Although investigators would not release any information about the condition in which her body was when it was found, police are now treating the case as a homicide.
"Our missing person's case has evolved into a homicide," said Hot Springs Village Police Chief Laroy Cornett. The case is now being investigated by the Garland County Sheriff's Office.
See Also:
Body Found in Ark. Forest Identified as Police Dispatcher
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Photo: Family Photo
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