Body of missing woman from Castle Shannon found near Meadville

WEST MEAD, Pa. — The body of a Castle Shannon woman whose abandoned car was discovered north of Meadville on Oct. 10 was found Friday morning, authorities said.

Emily Stalter, 32, died by suicide, according to Crawford County Coroner Scott Schell.

“Everything we’ve been investigating [Friday] indicates that she has been dead since Oct. 10, the day her car was spotted in that wooded area,” Mr. Schell said.

Stalter was found in the woods south of East Cole Road near where it intersects Routes 6 and 19, according to Mr. Schell.

Mr. Schell said no autopsy was planned.

Stalter’s red Toyota Solara convertible sedan was discovered by the property owner on a private road off Routes 6 and 19, according to West Mead Township police.

The discovery of Stalter’s body was reported at 7:36 a.m. Friday, according to Mr. Schell. She was found by “a family friend who’s been up here quite often walking the woods looking for her,” he said.

The discovery was reported about 40 minutes before the planned start time for a search near the area by Pennsylvania State Police at Meadville and other agencies.

Prior to Friday’s search, a search was planned for Oct. 16 but later called off. West Mead police Sgt. Rod Wise told the Tribune on Oct. 15 that the initial search was called off after the missing woman had been in contact with relatives. Those relatives talked to Stalter’s father and the father talked with Sgt. Wise and agreed to call off the Oct.16 search.

Sgt. Wise told the Tribune on Thursday night a new search was scheduled for Friday after Castle Shannon police said they traced a phone number back to the caller who reached out to a relative of Stalter. However, the phone number of that caller was not Stalter, who was originally believed to have contacted a family member, Sgt. Wise said.

Castle Shannon police then contacted West Mead asking for the search to resume, insisting the missing woman was in Crawford County. Castle Shannon police said Stalter’s cellphone was found in her vehicle, Sgt. Wise said.

Castle Shannon police have referred questions to Pennsylvania State Police.

State police issued a news release stating, “There are no unresolved issues at this time.”