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1982 cold case: Items belonging to missing teen found in Massachusetts river; human remains also found

A car and identification belonging to Judy Chartier, a teen who disappeared in 1982, were found this week in a Massachusetts river in some of the first discoveries in an almost 4-decades-old cold case. Authorities also found as-yet unidentified human remains in the same location.

Chartier, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, was last seen on June 5, 1982, at 2 a.m. after leaving a party with friends. She was just 17. On Tuesday, the Massachusetts State Police and civilian divers found a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger belonging to Chartier in the Concord River, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a news conference.

Authorities used portable sonar equipment to locate the vehicle. The Concord River is in eastern Massachusetts, about an hour from Boston.

Ryan said divers returned to the waters Wednesday near the area where the car was discovered and found humans remains, clothing and purse that contained work identification belonging to Chartier. 

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The remains have not been identified, and the cause of death remains unknown, Ryan said.

"We've in contact with the remaining members of Judy Chartier's family, and it's both heartening in that they now have a clearer sense of what happened to their sister but also distressing in terms of all the years they have waited," Ryan said. 

Chartier's parents died years ago without "knowing what happened to their daughter."

Chelmsford Police Chief James Spinney said the dive team will return to the waters soon in an effort to uncover more evidence. 

“While this is a major, major case development, it affects a person and a family,” Spinney said Wednesday. “This case has affected the Chelmsford community for the better part of four decades.”

Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda

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