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Authorities Say Body Found in Shenandoah National Park Likely Missing Woodbridge Woman

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UPDATE: Virginia State Police say troopers have preliminarily identified the body found in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia as that of a paramedic-firefighter who disappeared a week ago.

Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in an email late Thursday that the body is likely 31-year-old Nicole Mittendorff of Woodbridge, Virginia.

Geller says the Virginia medical examiner will have to confirm the identity, and the body was taken to the chief medical examiner's office in Manassas, Virginia.

The ground search for Mittendorff was called off about 2 p.m. Thursday after the remains were found in a remote location more than a mile from the Whiteoak Canyon parking area, the National Park Service and Virginia State Police said in a news release.

Mittendorff's sister, Jennifer Clardy Chalmers, said in a statement that the family believes Mittendorff has been found, but not in the way they had anticipated.

Geller says evidence collected during the investigation, including a note found in her car, leads troopers to believe that foul play is not involved in Mittendorff's death.

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Thirty-one-year-old Nicole Mittendorff, of Woodbridge, was reported missing Friday when she didn't show up for her job with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. Family members say she is an avid runner and tri-athlete who might have been in the park to use a running trail. 

She last had contact by text message with her family on Wednesday.Police have been searching by ground and air since Saturday, concentrating around White Oak Canyon Trail, where Mittendorff's car was found.

Authorities say there is no evidence to indicate foul play. Anyone with any information about Nicole’s whereabouts is requested to call Virginia State Police at 703-803-0026 or #77 on a cell phone or by email at