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NASHVILLE – A body found Tuesday in Edgecombe's rural county has been clearly identified as being that of a nurse from the Wilson Medical Center missing since Friday, and investigators said there had been a criminal act in his death.
At a Wednesday evening press conference, Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said the original case of the missing person had become a homicide investigation. He added that Diana Alejandra Keel, 38, was found around 12:30. Tuesday outside the city of Leggett, about 30 minutes from Nashville, by employees of the NB Department of Transportation Employees were not part of the missing persons search for Keel, in which dogs Plott hound corpses loaned by Greensboro were used to "hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Stone said.
Keel's body was transported to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, where a forensic autopsy was performed and a criminal act was determined. Stone said Keel's local family as well as the extended family in Colombia had been notified.
"We must remember that not only is there an investigation into a homicide, but that there is now a 10-year-old child without a mother," Stone said. "It's very difficult, especially when I see life as it is, how fragile it is and how many questions remain unanswered."
Keel was last seen Friday by her husband, Rexford Lynn Keel. Stone said Rexford Keel continued to be a person of interest, but he would not identify other people of interest in this case.
"There are people of interest that I do not want to name at the moment, because in any survey, you can have a person of interest and this can change at any time and operate in a totally different way," said Stone.
Rexford Keel was not charged with a crime and remained free Wednesday night. Stone said Keel continued to be "very cooperative" with the investigation.
The authorities believe that Diana Keel's body has been in the woods for a few days. Stone said that the body was breaking down, but that he did not want to specify the exact cause of death, but simply that it was the "fact of someone" ".
A press release from the Nash County Sheriff's Office, released after Wednesday's press conference, indicated that keeping the cause and manner of death confidential could contribute to the homicide investigation.
According to Stone, Diana Keel's 18-year-old daughter and her employer, Wilson Medical Center, announced her death on Friday.
The sheriff said Keel's husband told MPs that his wife had left with friends on Friday.
"He said that she was leaving from time to time and that she would be away for a few days," Stone added.
Investigators are interested in any video from Highway 97, Battleboro-Leggett Road, CN 33 or US 64 in Edgecombe County from March 8-12, Stone added, adding that this could contribute to the investigation.
Anyone with information about the disappearance and murder of Keel is asked to call the Nash County Sheriff's Office at 252-459-4121 or the Twin County Crime Stoppers at 252-977-1111.
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