JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Homicide detectives said they found two bodies in a wooded area west of downtown Wednesday night.
Investigators were sent to the scene at South Myrtle and Harper Street in the LaVilla area around 7:30 p.m. after residents reported smelling an awful odor.
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Police confirmed the bodies were of a man and a woman, and it appeared they had been there for at least a week.
Family members of missing woman Jeanette Hawkins were at the scene. They strongly believe Hawkins is one of the victims.
"I'm just hoping it's not my niece back there," Hawkin's uncle, Gerald Martin, said. "That's all. I can't take this, man. I just lost my wife. I can't do my niece, too."
Hawkins, 36, along with her husband, 31-year-old Ricardo "Ricky" Morgan, were both reported missing Aug. 17. They have only been married for five months.