COLUMBIANA COUNTY Detective doubts body is that of missing woman
Authorities know of no connection between Tracy Hill and Ross County, where an unidentified body was found.
LISBON -- Chances are slim that a woman's body found near Columbus is that of a Middleton Township woman last seen June 7, a Columbiana County Sheriff's Department detective says.
A woman wrapped in plastic, her body badly burned, died from a head injury, Ross County authorities said Friday.
The body was discovered Thursday near Clarksburg, south of Columbus, by a farmer on his tractor.
Ross County Sheriff Ron Nichols said a coroner's report showed the woman died two to six weeks ago from a massive skull fracture on the right side of her head.
Dental records will be used by Ross County authorities to identify the body.
'Long shot': But Allan Young, a Columbiana County Sheriff's Department deputy, said today that he doubts it is that of Tracy Hill, 24, of Sprucevale Road.
"It's a long shot," Young said.
Hill has been missing about 10 weeks. The woman found in Ross County has been dead two to six weeks, Young noted.
He added that investigators probing Hill's disappearance for weeks know of no Ross County connection associated with her.
Columbiana County officials will monitor the results of Ross County's efforts to identify the body found there, just in case it is Hill, Young said.
Background: She was last seen at her job at Duo-Corp on Miley Road, North Lima. Hill had been working there for about six weeks.
On June 8, a woman identifying herself as Hill called the business to report off. She hasn't been seen since.
Hill's estranged husband, Clifford, 32, of Guilford Lake, is being held in the county jail on a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Authorities accused him of using a car used by his wife without permission from the vehicle's owner, Tracy's mother.
Hill has not been named as a suspect in his wife's disappearance.