The body of a missing Maine woman whose car was abandoned at a ski area with her toddler unharmed inside has been recovered from a nearby pond, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The body of 20-year-old Krista Dittmeyer, of Portland, Maine, was found by divers in a retaining pond about a quarter-mile from where her car was found idling Saturday in the parking lot of Cranmore Mountain ski area in Conway, a town of 10,000 people.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said an autopsy would be done Thursday to determine the cause of Dittmeyer's death. She described the death as "suspicious," but she would not elaborate or comment on possible suspects.
Police on Wednesday morning pushed media back from the area of the retaining pond, but a hearse was seen arriving nearby late afternoon.
Dittmeyer's mother is caring for 14-month-old Aliyah in Bridgton, Maine, where Dittmeyer grew up, about 25 miles from Conway. Family and friends days ago scheduled a candlelight vigil there for Thursday to pray for her safe return.
Dittmeyer was last seen Friday. Police believed from the outset that she was a crime victim and received assistance from the FBI.
Dittmeyer moved to Portland shortly after her 2008 high school graduation and had been working as a waitress at a South Portland restaurant, said her older sister, Kayla Dittmeyer, who lives in Colorado.
The family had offered a $3,000 reward for information leading to Krista Dittmeyer's whereabouts and had planned the candlelight vigil in Bridgton at Stevens Book Elementary School.
Dittmeyer's mother said in an interview on NBC's "TODAY" show that she has no doubt the young woman was abducted.
Kayla Dittmeyer said on TODAY there was nothing unusual in her sister's behavior in the days leading up to her disappearance — no sign that she was troubled or that she had any reason to fear anyone. She said she had spoken on the telephone with her sister just two days earlier.
"She was happy,” Kayla said. “Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all.”
Police said the toddler's father was not in Conway on Friday and Saturday, although they have not ruled him out as a suspect.
The ski area closed in early April, but the resort is popular among joggers and those walking dogs. It also has a fitness center that is open year-round, but it was not yet open for the day at the time police got the report about Dittmeyer's car.