Missing mom Sarah Goode was murdered, sources say

MEDFORD, N.Y. (WABC) -- Missing mom Sarah Goode was murdered, sources say.

The remains of a woman found in a wooded area on Long Island Thursday were identified earlier Friday as the 21-year-old, and now sources confirm that she was killed.

"She was God-given... Heartbreaking!" said Crystal Ryan, Goode's friend.

For the family, it has been a tense, agonizing week. Crime scene investigators spent much of Friday searching the area surrounding the body for hair, blood and saliva, knowing that DNA evidence could help pinpoint a suspect.

Volunteer searchers Thursday evening smelled a foul odor and alerted authorities who found the decomposing body near Camden Court in Medford, Suffolk County. It was about a half a mile from where Goode's BMW was found Sunday.

Goode, a medical technician who had a 4-year-old child, has not been seen since Friday evening, after a night with friends.

"I walked into the woods and smelled a very foul smell," volunteer David Zornes said. "We saw police, and they told us to escort us out."

Zornes is one of dozens who've mobilized in recent days to hunt for Goode, and they were searching around 6:30 p.m.

"I smelled a very hard smell, and I told one of the detectives," volunteer Sharon Verderosa said. "And they said that's why you have to leave, we found what you were looking for."

At a news conference Thursday, police said they would not make the connection between Goode and body that was found.

Police held a press conference on Monday, with Goode's sister pleading for any information as to her whereabouts, saying her car was found under "suspicious circumstances."

The sister had called police on Sunday after the family didn't hear from Goode for about two days. Her 1999 gray BMW 328i was about a mile from the home where she lives with her mother and child.