WESTFIELD, Pa. (WETM) — The vehicle belonging to a missing Westfield woman who was last seen July 21 has been found, with human remains nearby, Pennsylvania State Police and a source close to the search told 18 News on Monday.
Penny Burnside, one of the founders of a group dedicated to finding Phyllis Potter, the missing Westfield woman who was last seen in July, told 18 News that the car had been discovered on Saturday and was identified as Potter’s. The license plate, DKL-1425, was noted on the back of the vehicle to confirm it, as the vehicle was being pulled out of the spot. Pennsylvania State Police were also able to confirm with 18 News that the vehicle belonged to Potter.
Burnside said the car was found in heavy brush just outside of Westfield off of North Fork Road and was spotted by a driver who had seen a glistening from the vehicle during the daytime when it was hit by sunlight. The driver said that he had spotted something out of the ordinary in the brush after driving along North Fork Road numerous times over a few days. Finally, on Saturday, Oct. 28, the driver went to check out what was in the brush and said he first looked into the area with binoculars before going down into the area where the car was and found the vehicle, leaving the car and the brush intact.
Police were contacted and on Sunday efforts were made to get the car out of the brush. A body was not found inside the vehicle, but after a search of the area, remains were discovered around 50 yards away from the vehicle.
It’s unclear at this time if the body found was that of Potter, but the Deputy Coroner for the Tioga County Coroner Office told 18 News that the body is going to be sent to the Lehigh Valley Medical Center for autopsy.
As for the vehicle, the car was taken out from the brush loaded onto a tow truck, and taken to the impound lot in Mansfield, according to the towing company that picked up the car.
The finding of the car is one step closer to closure in an ongoing investigation and search that has spanned hundreds of miles and involved thousands of people.
