Channel 11 takes you to Nevada desert where man allegedly confessed to leaving local woman to die

LINCOLN COUNTY, Nev. — One mile off of a rural, dirt road deep in the Nevada desert, a horrific discovery was made by an 8-year-old taking a road trip with his dad.

"They saw what they thought was a dead animal, but it was the body of a nude female," Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee said.

Channel 11 News reporter Amy Hudak went to the Nevada desert where police found the body of Jaime Feden.

Timeline of Bethel Park woman's disappearance, man's alleged confession of her murder

It's known to locals as a place where bodies go missing for decades -- possibly even forever. It's where police say John Chapman tied Feden to a pole with duct tape and tie wraps and left her to die.

"The only word I can think of is cold. It's just pretty cold," Lee said.

It took several weeks to identify the body, but Lee said there was no doubt it was her once the missing person report was filed.

"Tattoos she had on her, family members names ... everything was pointing to that direction," Lee said.

DNA samples from Feden's brother and dental records were eventually used to confirm that it was her.

They also have a bombshell: an alleged murder confession from Chapman.

And they have what could be a smoking gun: possible surveillance video of Chapman and Feden leaving the El Cortez Hotel just moments before they could have been at that possible crime scene.

"When you see something like that, and then two months of nobody reporting and nobody knowing where the female is from, it makes it for a very cold scene," Lee said.

RELATED:

• Timeline of Bethel Park woman's disappearance, man's alleged confession of her murder
• Man tells police he drove Bethel Park woman to Las Vegas desert, suffocated her and left her to die
• Who is John Chapman: Man who told police he left local woman to die in Vegas desert
• Positively identifying remains from Nevada desert could take weeks in missing Jaime Feden case
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Henry Linsowe said Feden's body was lying about 50 yards off the road, face down next to a sign in the Nevada desert. He and his sons were driving back from an antique train show when they spotted it.

"I remember her feet being so small," Linsowe said. "That's one thing that caught my eyes -- her feet and her hands."

But it was a gold ring, perfectly placed on top of a rock in the wilderness and next to her right hand, that is stuck in Linsowe's head. He said it was like a prize, left behind for someone to see.

Cox Media Group