Body Found in Freezer May Be Woman Missing Since 1983

LEWISTON, Maine – The body of a Maine woman missing for nearly 30 years is believed to have been found in the freezer of the now deceased man who originally reported her missing, The Bangor Daily News reported.

Kitty Wardwell was reported missing by her on-again, off-again boyfriend Frank Julian in July 1983 and was never seen again, the newspaper reported.

Julian died earlier this month, aged 80. Relatives were clearing out his storage unit when they came across human remains in a freezer Friday, authorities said.

"Remains have been found, but we don't know whose body this is definitively at this time," said Stephen McCausland, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman, adding that Julian had been renting the storage unit since 1992.

"We have put both families in the loop about the discovery and we have interviewed a number of members of both families, but the final determination will be made by the medical examiner."

Julian, a novelty salesman, reported Wardwell missing to Salem, N.H., police on July 11, 1983.

He told police he dropped the then 29-year-old woman off at a Salem motel after a fight and had traveled back to Maine without her, The Daily News reported.