Photo: Getty Images
LOWELL, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said human remains have been found in the Lowell stretch of the Concord River which may be connected to the 1982 disappearance of a teenage girl from Chelmsford.
Then 17-year-old Judith Chartier has been missing since about 2:00 AM on June 5, 1982, when she was last seen attending a party with her friends in Billerica.
Parts of the 1972 Dodge Dart she was driving were discovered in the Concord River by sonar dive teams earlier this week. Middlesex D.A. Marian Ryan stressed in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that officials were still working on a positive identification on the remains, but some items belonging to Chartier have been found in the river near the remains, including Chartier's work ID and some clothes.
She said divers went back into the water on Wednesday morning near where Dodge Dart was discovered, and found "a variety" of human remains close by.
"For a long time we knew where the story ended in those early morning hours, now we have a conclusion to where the car and these human remains were found. The question now will be connecting them," Ryan said.
The D.A. credited new sonar technology with helping officials with the breakthrough in the nearly 40-year-old case. Officials said they will now need to go back to the friends Chartier was last seen with to dig deeper into the case.
Ryan said it was too early to talk about the possibility of foul play in the Chartier case.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App