Body ID'd As Slain Wisconsin Student

A decomposed body found in a densely wooded area is that of a college student who vanished last month, a coroner confirmed late Tuesday.

The body found Monday morning was identified as Kelly K. Nolan, a 22-year-old University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student, Dane County Coroner John Stanley said in a statement.

Additional forensics tests were expected to continue for several weeks. Stanley said no ruling will be made on the cause of death until all tests have been completed and reported.

Officials have said previously they were treating the case as a possible homicide.

Nolan vanished early June 23 after a night of drinking at bars in downtown Madison, where she was living for the summer. She separated from her friends and was seen at several bars after midnight before she vanished.

Her remains were found in a rural area about ten miles south of the capital. Stanley said the body had been there "for an extended period of time."

Police said cell-phone technology led them to mount a massive search Monday with more than 100 officers and canines trained to recognize Nolan's scent.

The discovery of the body on private property transformed the case from a missing-person search to a hunt for who murdered her. Police have no suspects so far.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain had declined to describe the condition of the body, but said it was obvious to detectives that Nolan had been slain.

Investigators included a forensics entomologist who was trying to determine how long the body had been there by studying insects on it.

While the forensic experts worked, a team of police officers were on their hands and knees searching the grassy areas near the body for evidence, DeSpain said.

"Hopefully this forensic information coupled together with the tips that are coming in will lead us to a suspect," DeSpain said.

Nolan's family, including her mother and two sisters, asked the media Tuesday to refrain from contacting them. The family had pleaded with the public for information on Nolan's whereabouts and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return.