Body found in Shenandoah National Park is believed to be University of Virginia economics professor, 55, who disappeared on July 14
A body believed to be that of a missing Virginia university professor has been found in the Shenandoah National Park, officials said on Saturday.
Julia Christine Devlin, a 55-year-old economics professor at the University of Virginia, was last seen in Charlottesville on July 14.
On Saturday a body was found and, based on the preliminary identification of the remains, the search was suspended, the park said in a news release.
Security footage showed Devlin's car entering the park late that on July 14, park officials have said.
Julie Devlin was last seen driving into Shenandoah National Park on July 14. Three days later the wreck of her car was found, and two weeks after she was last spotted a body was discovered
Devlin's car was seen driving in to the park on July 14, and found wrecked on July 17
The park runs along the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With 500 miles of hiking trails, including sections of the Appalachian Trail, it is only 75 miles from Washington DC.
Her white Lexus sedan was found wrecked and abandoned July 17 on Skyline Drive in the southern part of the park.
A friend of Devlin's told WHSV3 that her disappearance was 'heartbreaking' and unusual.
Devlin had been teaching at the University of Virginia - where she studied for her undergraduate degree - for almost 10 years
She said Devlin would never just vanish, and would not go this long without contacting her mother or her sister.
Devlin has worked at the University of Virginia - where she studied for her undergraduate degree - for almost a decade, according to her LinkedIn.
She was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute before joining the university, and spent 14 years working at the World Banks.
Fluent in Arabic, French and German, she lectured at Harvard and at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Brian Coy, a spokesman for the University of Virginia, said they were hoping for her safe return.
Canine teams and officials with the FBI, Albemarle County Sheriff's Office and Virginia Department of Emergency Management assisted in the search effort, along with many search-and-rescue groups, according to Saturday's news release.
The body was found around 10am in 'extremely steep and rough terrain in the southernmost part of the park,' the news release said.
It was being transported to a medical examiner, who will confirm the identity and determine the cause of death.
Authorities did not say whether foul play was suspected in the death or where exactly the body was found in relation to the wrecked vehicle.