14 DAY TRIAL // Starbucks barista Whitney Heichel disappeared from her home in Clackamas County, Oregon, on Tuesday. This Saturday, police have revealed that they have found the woman's body on Larch Mountain. She was found dead by police and volunteers.
The 21-year-old woman's SUV, which was found in a Walmart parking lot, was believed to have been driven to a remote forest in Gresham, on Larch mountain. Whitney vanished during a 2-minute ride from work to the Starbucks where she worked.
According to ABC News, the police have 24-year-old Jonathan Holt in custody, Heichel's neighbor. The man was not a stranger, he lived in the same apartment complex as the victim, in Gresham.
As officers searched the area, they found Whitney Heichel's personal belongings in nearby dumpsters. Her license plate was found on Larch mountain, before her body was found.
The suspect has been charged for aggravated murder, after police found many inconsistencies in his statement. They have stated in a press conference that further print and DNA analysis led to the same conclusion. They are still looking for a motive for the gruesome act.
Heichel was reported missing by husband Clinton at 10 a.m., on Tuesday, after the woman failed to show up for work. He had tried to reach his wife several times before declaring her missing.
"I texted her several times and then actually at about 9:30ish, her phone got to the point where you would call and it went straight to voicemail," Clinton had said.
Whitney's phone was found in some bushes on Thursday, by local children. It was one of the first moments when Whitney's fate started to become obvious.
As her car was used to buy gas twice, 8 minutes apart, the day she disappeared, police looked for surveillance footage from the gas stations. They discovered that, at the second station, right before 9:30 a.m., her car was being driven by a man.