Investigators search for clues in missing Wis. college student case, try to ID body

Police searched on their hands and knees Tuesday in grassy areas near a body believed to be that of a missing college student, looking for clues that could lead to her killer.

A forensic dentist and a forensic anthropologist also worked early in the day to identify the body, which was moved later to a morgue for an autopsy. Police said Monday it was probably that of missing University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student Kelly Nolan, 22, who vanished early June 23 after a night of drinking at downtown Madison bars.

Autopsy results aren't expected from Dane County Coroner John Stanley for some time, police said. Stanley has said the body found Monday was in the wooded area "for an extended period of time."

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

Cell-phone technology led police to mount an intensive search 10 miles south of Madison with more than 100 officers and dogs trained to recognize Nolan's scent.

Experts at the scene included a forensic entomologist who was examining insects to determine how long the body had been there, DeSpain said.

Some forensic evidence has already been sent to the state crime lab for testing, which Madison police asked to be expedited, DeSpain said.

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