Colorado police said in a news conference Wednesday that they've spoken to Shawn Schwartz following a report that Natalie Bollinger was missing. (Facebook)
A body found in Adams County, Colorado, was confirmed to be a 19-year-old woman who vanished late last year, investigators announced Wednesday, adding that they’ve spoken to the man she claimed was “harassing” her.
Adams County Sheriff Mike McIntosh said investigators have spoken to Shawn Schwartz, a man they discovered through social media was linked to the missing woman, Natalie Bollinger. Investigators said they are “not ready to call anyone a suspect.”
The department wouldn't confirm to Fox News whether Schwartz was cleared or considered a suspect.
Schwartz confirmed in a Facebook video that he’d been contacted by the Broomfield police. He reportedly said in the comment section that he was not involved in her disappearance.
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Bollinger, from Broomfield, was reported missing on Dec. 28 around 3:30 p.m, police said. Her body was found a day later in a wooded area near Riverdale Road, according to a statement from police, but it took additional time to confirm her identity.
About two weeks prior to her disappearance, the teen posted on Facebook saying she’d known Schwartz since she “was young,” but in the past few years they’d reconnected and she’d help him out. After moving to Virginia, she claimed the man “drove across country to see me” and “slept behind my work for weeks.” When she tried to end contact, she claimed he called and texted her “hundreds” of times.
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“He’s sent emails for over a year close to everyday, harassing me,” Bollinger wrote. “Making numerous account until I block him again. Threatening my family, telling me he’ll kill himself in front of me, and sending my friends and family harassing messages as well.”
McIntosh said after the body was found, the Adams County Sheriff’s Department began working with the Broomsfield Police Department in connection with Bollinger’s missing persons case.
McIntosh added that police could not yet release the exact cause of death and they do not have a motive for her killer but believe they “are headed down the right path at this point” in the investigation.
However, he added that there were still 26 hours in the timeline unaccounted for and police were seeking information from people who may have had contact with Bollinger during that time.
Bollinger's family requested privacy and asked for the community's continued support, McIntosh said.