Remains of Woman Missing Seven Years Found, Man Charged

By Alex Morgan. Oct 4, 2026

A Seven-Year Search Reached an Answer

Nearly seven years after Kimberly Gsell disappeared from a Pennsylvania motel, investigators say they found her remains and charged a man with her murder. The discovery came just days before the anniversary of the date she was reported missing.

Gsell was last seen around Sept. 28 and 29, 2019, at the Rodeway Inn in Middlesex Township, according to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office. Her whereabouts remained unknown for years as police continued investigating the missing-person case.

On Sept. 25, 2026, investigators recovered human remains in New Cumberland. Authorities identified them as Gsell’s. The discovery changed a long-running disappearance into a homicide case with a newly announced arrest.

Police Say an Interview Led to an Admission

Investigators identified 39-year-old David Allen Snyder as a suspect. Middlesex Township Police said detectives interviewed Snyder on Sept. 26 and that he admitted his role in Gsell’s strangulation and death. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and strangulation.

CBS Pittsburgh reported that the remains were found near a creek. The district attorney’s office said investigators had spent years trying to determine what happened to Gsell and where she was located.

The charges are allegations, and Snyder is presumed innocent unless convicted. An admission described by police can become important evidence, but the prosecution still bears the burden of proving the charges in court.

The Discovery Came at a Painful Anniversary

The timing adds a stark element to the case. Gsell disappeared at the end of September 2019, and her remains were found almost exactly seven years later. The district attorney said investigators had hoped throughout the case that she might eventually be found alive.

Snyder was taken to Cumberland County Prison and arraigned. Bail was denied because of the nature of the charges, according to the police department’s arrest notice.

The discovery gives Gsell’s family an answer to the question of where she was, even as the criminal case opens a new phase. Authorities have not treated the recovery as the end of their work. Prosecutors must now present evidence supporting the murder charge, while the identification of Gsell’s remains closes one part of a disappearance that had remained unresolved since 2019.

References: Cumberland County District Attorney | CBS Pittsburgh