WEST MILFORD Police located the body of Linda Bilinski, 57, on Friday, March 31. They had been searching for the West Milford woman since she was reported missing on January 31. The investigation ended last Friday with the recovery of her vehicle from Green Turtle Pond in West Milford. The 1992 Honda Accord, which had disappeared with Bilinski, was found submerged in Green Turtle Pond, approximately one hundred feet from the boat launch area and about four miles driving distance from her home. The woman’s body was in the Honda. The vehicle was spotted by observers, including West Milford Township Police Sergeant Thomas Celano and Detective Scott Heath of the Passaic County Prosecutors Office, while flying over West Milford in a Port Authority Aviation Unit helicopter. The Port Authority helicopter, which contained sophisticated search equipment, was being utilized for a second air search in an attempt to locate the Bilinski vehicle. A previous air search by helicopter had been conducted on February 5. After the vehicle was spotted from the air, divers from the West Milford Police Underwater Recovery Unit responded. Upon reaching the vehicle, the divers were able to confirm that the vehicle belonged to Linda Bilinski. The vehicle, and the remains, were recovered from the pond. The investigation into Bilinski’s disappearance was spear-headed and coordinated by Detective Lieutenant Peter Van Gilst of the West Milford Police Department in conjunction with Detective Scott Heath of the Passaic County Prosecutors Office. West Milford Police, the County Prosecutor’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office, the State Police, and numerous other agencies were all involved in trying to solve the sudden and unexplained disappearance of Bilinski. The fact that her car had not been located for two months was especially frustrating to them. Searches of the immediate area by both officials and volunteers shortly after her disappearance proved futile. Bulletins sent out nationwide to law enforcement agencies netted nothing. While the boat launch area and Green Turtle Pond were searched numerous times early in the investigation, conditions such as ice or a higher water level may have hampered observation from the air. The vehicle could not be seen from the shore or the boat launch. Green Turtle Pond is a large body of water in a wooded area under the control of the NJ Dept. of Conservation. Access to the pond is gained via a dirt road off of Awosting Rd., in the Hewitt section of the township. The exact cause of death at this time is undetermined but police do not believe there was any foul play involved.