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Missing Morgantown woman, Melanie Gardner, found dead in remote location

November 5, 2023 / 8:26 AM EST / CBS Pittsburgh

Missing West Virginia woman found dead

MORGANTOWN (KDKA) - A Morgantown woman who has been missing since about a month ago was found dead.

According to the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office, 32-year-old Melanie Gardner was last seen on October 3 while driving a Jeep Patriot in the Morgantown area.

Photo of missing woman, Melanie Gardner, of Morgantown Monongalia County Sheriff's Office/Facebook

Then, on Saturday, several law enforcement agencies conducted a search and rescue operation for Gardner.

An investigation by the Monongalia County Detective Division led them to Preston County. During the search, they found Gardner's Jeep in a remote location off of Casteel Road in Hazelton, West Virginia.

The medical examiner positively identified Gardner.

An investigation is now underway into Gardner's death.

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Patrick Damp

Patrick Damp is a web producer for CBS Pittsburgh. A Pittsburgh native who grew up watching KDKA-TV, Patrick studied journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After half a decade in sports communication, Patrick decided to pursue his dream of working in journalism in his hometown and joined the CBS Pittsburgh team in 2019.