KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, Fla. – Clay County deputies said Monday that dental records have confirmed a body found late Saturday inside a Keystone Heights home is missing 25-year-old Jordan Cooper.
Sheriff Darryl Daniels said foul play is suspected in Cooper's death. She was the subject of an extensive search over the past two weeks since she was reported missing Nov. 25.
The body was found in a "very concealed" area of the home, Daniels said.
Cooper, who deputies said had the mental capacity of a young teenager, was last seen near a park not far from her home in the Keystone Heights area.
Neighbors, who were shaken by the discovery of the body, said Cooper lived alone in the home.
Diane Grill, who lives nearby, said the case is unsettling with no one in police custody.
"She was only 100 pounds. Someone could push the door open, grab her, kill her," Grill said. "What I’m perplexed about is where could they have hid her that the cops didn’t find her."
Clay County deputies, with assistance from other agencies, spent several days searching the area before following other leads to find Cooper. Daniels said the woman's home was searched extensively early in the investigation.
"The only thing I was thinking is if police searched the house when they started, why didn’t they find her the first time?" Grill said.
News4Jax crime analyst Gil Smith said it's possible investigators missed the body during their first search of the home because it was only a missing persons investigation at the time.
"If they were searching the home, they’re not going to go that far looking into the walls like that," Smith said. "And more than likely they didn’t bring any type of cadaver dogs that could have smelled (a body), so other than that -- maybe there was an odor that tipped off someone that led police to where the body was (later)."
A family spokesperson said Cooper's loved ones don't have a lot of information from the Sheriff’s Office.
"We have to give them time to do their work, you know, and we have to be patient, as well, just like the community," the spokesperson said.
In a prepared statement Monday, Daniels asked the community to pray for Cooper's family during a difficult time.
No further details are being released at this time, deputies said. They have not said how Cooper died.