Two Bodies Found in Missing Woman's Minivan

HOCKESSIN, Del. - July 13, 2006 (WPVI) -- Police in Delaware had been searching for the minivan for days. They hoped it would lead them to a missing man and woman. Apparently, it has.

The vehicle, a 2000 Ford Windstar, was found on a remote path near a man-made hill at a park that is under construction.

It was a construction worker who made the gruesome discovery around 9:45 Thursday morning.

That's when police converged on the scene, but investigators don't know how long the vehicle had been there or what happened to the man and woman inside.

An autopsy will confirm the identities, but police know the van belongs to 40-year-old Tammy Gardner, who has been missing since last Sunday, along with her companion 41-year-old Gabe Gabrielli.

Both mysteriously disappeared after being last seen at a bar where Gardner reportedly had words with an unidentified ex-boyfriend.

Gardner's heartsick relatives rushed to the scene on Valley Road in Hockessin only to learn that her minivan had been torched with two bodies inside, along with a large amount of debris in the back of the vehicle.

Her ex-husband called Gardner a devoted mom. The couple shared custody with two children, ages 10 and 12. A sister-in-law told Action News both children already miss their mother.

(Copyright 2006 by 6abc and Action News. All rights reserved.)

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