Burned items in a fire pit eventually led investigators to a shallow grave in northern Minnesota containing the wrapped and bound body of a missing Indiana woman, according to a murder charge against the woman's boyfriend.
Daniel Lynn, 40, of South Bend, Indiana, is charged in Minnesota with second-degree murder in the death of Christina Woods, 28, also of South Bend. Bail for Lynn was set at $1 million Wednesday, and Lynn remained in jail.
Woods' remains were discovered July 2 on property owned by a family member of Lynn's near Cook, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Duluth.
According to the complaint, Woods' stepfather received a text message from her phone on June 13 saying she was in trouble and needed to be picked up. Two hours later, he received a text from the same number saying Woods was fine.
Phone records showed Woods was in the Eveleth, Minnesota, area around June 12. When authorities checked Lynn's family property, they found the lawn was freshly mowed and saw bleach and other cleaning materials.
Lynn told investigators he was at his family's property last month to open the cabin for the rest of his family but denied knowing where Woods was or having anything to do with her disappearance. Investigators found a fire pit on the property that included metal buttons from jeans and a necklace. Woods' body was found, wrapped and bound, in a fresh grave.
On July 3, s Crime Stoppers tip to law enforcement in Indiana said Lynn and his wife were packing to leave the area, and that Lynn had said he had killed someone but that the body would not be located, according to the complaint. Lynn's wife told investigators that her husband had strangled Woods and that she saw it, the complaint said.
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Lynn was captured last Friday in a campground near Edwardsburg, Michigan. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
