Search continues in new location to find missing Flagstaff woman, case considered possible homicide
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — Search and rescue teams are in recovery mode after a missing person’s case in Flagstaff is now being considered as a possible homicide investigation.
Fresh blood was found at the home of Kelly Paduchowski, and her husband - who originally reported the disappearance - is now a suspect in the case; he was arrested for aggravated assault charges.
We want to warn you some of this new information is graphic.
Court documents of the incident said neighbors heard a woman scream, and then they saw Kelly lying face down with her husband, Daniel Paduchowski, on top of her, his hands on her shoulders Sunday morning.
Documents also said neighbors saw Daniel spraying down the area where Kelly was with a hose. Police said they found fresh blood in the home.
After talking with Kelly’s friends and family, police arrested Daniel for aggravated assault charges, and his bond sits at $500,000.
The full timeline of events shows cell phone data, which places Kelly’s phone at Shultze Creek Trail around 10:20 am. Police said because of this they are efforting the forest around Snowbowl on Wednesday.
Lt. Adam Simonsen with Coconino Search and Rescue said they are taking every measure to find Kelly.
“Today for instance we’ve had approximately 40 different trained search personnel out in the field assisting with multiple different types of teams ranging from just standard ground search units to different dog teams with different disciplines,” Simonsen said. “We’ve also utilized different types of resources such as our drones.”
Simonsen said they’ve heard a lot from the public about wanting to help, but they added that their team is trained to handle this kind of recovery.
“They’re trained to locate and secure evidence for whatever the circumstance may be,” he said. “It’s important for us to be able to document the areas that we are searching or our search personnel are well-versed in utilizing technology so we could track where we’ve been down to a very, very small location.”
All trails are still open, and police said there is no danger to the public.
With more people traveling to the high country and recreating outdoors over the Fourth of July holiday crews are hoping someone will find Kelly.
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