The possibility for a quick answer is now gone, as the body found inside U student Zach Ruble’s car in Southern Utah will take several weeks to identify.
Police found the body in a torched Kia Sorento near Zion National Park on Thursday. Because they couldn’t identify the body, it was sent to the state medical examiner in Salt Lake City.
While the body was on its way, police found that the car belongs to Ruble, a freshman in bioengineering. No one has seen or heard from Ruble since April 1. His family members submitted dental records to determine whether the body is their son’s. Dental records are the quickest method for identifying a body, but the examiner announced Tuesday evening that the comparison was inconclusive.
Now the remains must be subjected to DNA testing, a process that will take several weeks to complete, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. When police couldn’t determine a gender for the body, which was found in a burned car on a lone dirt road in “the middle of nowhere,” they had their doubts of ever identifying the body, said Washington County Detective Nate Abbott.
His family held a vigil for him at a church in his hometown of Maysville, Ky., last Sunday, but family members have declined to comment until the body is identified.
Police haven’t been able to classify the death as a homicide, suicide or accidental death.