RALEIGH, N.C. — Investigators hope an autopsy will reveal how an 87-year-old woman died.

Katie Poythress was last seen Oct. 9 at a shopping center in Henderson. A passerby found her body around 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a wooded area of Vance County near a recreation park. Her car was found nearby. Investigators are treating the area as a crime scene.

Poythress' son-in-law said information given to him over the last two days points to a specific person, but he said he would not comment because it may interfere with the investigation.

"So much depends on what the medical examiner tells us. We have to rely on forensic analysis. We have to rely on medical analysis," Henderson Police Chief Glen Allen said. "There's a lot more investigating to be done before I can make any kind of determination as to what may have happened here."

Her family said Poythress suffered from heart problems and high blood pressure.

Henderson police had been circulating fliers with pictures of Poythress and her light blue 1988 4-door Toyota Camry with black bumpers bearing N.C. license plate

DZL-6697

.

"This is not an ending that we were not looking for, but, of course, it brings a closure to everything," said Charles Boyd Poythress' nephew. "It's a very sad ending."