The Columbus Division of Police released a statement late Friday afternoon confirming that a body found Thursday afternoon in a bean field on Smothers Road near Hoover Reservoir is that of missing twenty-year-old Julie Popovich.
The body was discovered only a couple miles from the site where an identification card that was in the possession of Popovich the night she disappeared was found last week. The body was removed early Friday afternoon and police released the statement hours later confirming the body’s identity.
Popovich was last seen leaving Ledo’s Lounge at 2608 N. High St. in the early morning hours of Aug. 11.
Franklin Country workers were mowing an area Thursday near the bean field on Smothers Road when they discovered the body. An anthropologist was brought to the scene to avoid contaminating evidence and help with the removal of the remains.
Dental records and DNA were used to identify the body. The body was decomposed and grass had been growing around the remains, indicating that it could have been in the field for an extended period of time.
The Lantern is continuing to develop this story.
