Body Found Near Kent Island Is Robin Pope

STEVENSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- A heartbreaking end to the search for a missing Queen Anne's County woman, after a body was found floating in the waters near Kent Island Saturday.

As Derek Valcourt explains, police confirm it is the body of Robin Pope.

For three weeks the friends and family of Robin Pope had been hoping and praying that this would be news they would not get. With the missing persons search over, now comes the search for answers.

The discovery of 51-year-old Robin Pope's body floating in the water came Saturday afternoon by a man walking on his pier, almost a mile and a half away from the home Pope once shared with her estranged husband Wayne.

Sunday night dental records confirmed it was her body.

"Forensic tests are ongoing. There is no identification at this time of a cause or manner of death," said Greg Shipley, Md. State Police.

Pope disappeared March 1, weeks after separating from her husband, Wayne, who told police she came to their Stevensville house to collect some items.

He said when he left the house and when he returned Pope and her Great Dane, Bella, were gone. But her car, her phone, her keys and purse were all still there. Hours later near the water just a short distance away, the dog was found dead from an unknown cause and Robin Pope was nowhere to be found.

"She's a really great person," said Pope's daughter, Priscilla Hastings.

Her two daughters helped launch intense searches of the neighborhoods near their Kent Island home.

"We're really just taking it day by day and hoping for the best," said Rachael Pope.

But with their worst fears now confirmed, her family members and police hope the still ongoing autopsy will provide answers.

"How did she die? What happened? Was there a crime involved? And certainly the primary question at this point for investigators is was there a crime and if so, certainly who was responsible for that crime?" Shipley said.

Investigators are still asking anyone with information in the case to contact Maryland State Police.

Family and friends are planning a memorial for Robin Pope. WJZ will bring you the details as they become available.