INDIANAPOLIS — The night of Sept. 11, IMPD received a tip of a burned, abandoned car in a remote, wooded area on the southeast side of Indianapolis.
Police radio traffic tells us officers were searching the woods for at least an hour. Finally, after midnight, the car was spotted.
"When they investigated that, they found the remains of an adult male," Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine said.
Police said 58-year-old Patrick Stern, of Noblesville, was last seen in Indianapolis March 2.
ISP believes the remains in the car are Stern's.
"The family had reported the man and his vehicle missing for several weeks," Perrine said. "Originally, Noblesville Police Department started the investigation, but because the investigation expanded, the search area expanded to Indianapolis, the Indiana State Police was asked to handle the investigation."
The Marion County Coroner's Office believes the car was set on fire sometime in March. They also told 13News Stern's remains were taken to the Forensic Anthropology Lab at the University of Indianapolis.
ISP said investigators are still waiting for a DNA test to confirm what they already know, that it was Stern's burned body found in the woods. One way police were able to identify Stern was by the burned Cadillac Escalade he was found in. Police said that was his car.
Now, detectives are searching for a suspect or suspects.
"We received all the information from the family about maybe who he was with, where he was going and now with the discovery of the vehicle and the remains, it provides more evidence, more information to us to try to continue to connect those dots and determine exactly what happened," Perrine said.
If you have any information about this case, you're asked to reach out to ISP or submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 317-262-8477 (TIPS).