Danielle Jelinek Update: Body of missing Minn. woman found near ex-boyfriend's home
(CBS) CHISAGO LAKE TOWNSHIP, Minn. - The body of Danielle Jelinek, a Minnesota woman who had been missing for months, has been found, The Anoka County Medical Examiner confirmed in a press release Friday, according to CBS Minnesota.
A spokesperson for the Jelinek family believes Jelinek's remains were found about 300 yards from her ex-boyfriend's home in Chisago Lake Township, the station reports.
The 27-year-old Jelinek, of Chisago, disappeared on Dec. 8, 2012, after reportedly spending time with her ex-boyfriend, Aaron Schnagl.
Schnagl has since been arrested on drug-related charges and remains in jail.
According to Chisago County Sheriff Rick Duncan, the area surrounding Schnagl's home had been searched nearly a dozen times over the winter when there was 18 inches of snow on the ground.
Around 3 p.m. Friday, a State Patrol helicopter on a routine search spotted a body.
An airboat was then used to recover the body, the station says. The body was identified as that of Jelinek later in the day.
"The family is pretty shook-up. They kind of knew this was coming all along," Duncan said.
Duncan said Schnagl has not been cooperating with their investigation into the disappearance and death of Jelinek, but authorities reportedly are hopeful that new developments will help answer a lot of questions surrounding the case.
Jelinek was one of three women from the Minneapolis-area who were reported missing in the last six months. The body of Kira Trevino, one of the missing women, was discovered last week. Trevino's husband is in jail on charges of second-degree murder in her death. Mandy Matula, the remaining missing woman, remains unaccounted for. Matula's boyfriend fatally shot himself in a police station parking lot before he could be questioned as a person of interest in her disappearance.