ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Detectives seek to generate new leads in the slaying of a 42-year-old woman, two years after her dismembered body was discovered in a wooded area near Orlando, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
Investigators said Ethel Shannon McCarson's mutilated body was discovered April 6, 2016, in woods near Old Winter Garden and North Cottage Hill roads.
Surveillance footage showed McCarson arriving at a nearby Greyhound bus station and speaking with a woman before walking away, deputies said.
Orange County Detective Scott Lowen said Friday that McCarson died of blunt force trauma to the head.
McCarson, who was from Georgia, was a transient and frequent traveler who didn't use credit cards or social media, which makes her slaying more difficult to solve, Lowen said.
"She would call her Mom. She would call her sister on a regular basis. They said she was very private," he said. "They really never knew where she was going. They didn't even know she was coming to Orlando."
NEED LEADS: Two years ago today, the mutilated body of Ethel “Shannon” McCarson was discovered along Old Winter Garden Road. Call Crimel
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) April 6, 2018
Our Homicide Unit continues to work this murder case, but is still asking for the public’s help. WATCH: https://t.co/XVHbhyIJNX #ColdCase pic.twitter.com/rHNu0Qhiqa
Detectives said McCarson had visited Orlando before, but they're unsure of where she stayed. They said they'd like to interview the woman at the bus station even though she isn't considered a person of interest.
"These cases aren't cases that we ever forget," Lowen said. "These are cases that we always revisit and see what we can work."
Anyone with information about McCarson's death is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-8477.
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Cox Media Group