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A man who died this month at age 80 took a secret to his grave - a secret that was discovered only after his family went through his belongings in a storage unit.

Inside an unplugged freezer, they found a set of human remains that investigators believe may be those of his girlfriend, who disappeared in 1983, when she was 29. Now investigators are trying to confirm the identity of the body, the cause of death and who may have been involved.

State police were awaiting results of an autopsy on Monday. DNA tests were under way to determine whether the body was that of Kitty Wardwell, who was last seen with boyfriend Frank Julian.

The gruesome discovery came as a shock to Lewiston residents including Jane Child, who knew Julian as a kind shop owner who would allow customers to put items on layby when they were short on money. It's difficult to reconcile that image with a potential killer who stashed a body in a freezer, she said.

The storage unit was rented in 1992 by Julian, who died on October 1. Back in 1983, Julian occasionally lived with Wardwell 160 kilometers away in Holden.

Julian told police in New Hampshire that he last saw Wardwell after an argument that June, when he dropped her off at a motel in Salem, New Hampshire, before returning to Maine, police said. She was reported missing the following month by a close friend.

A state police investigation indicated she was likely a victim of foul play in Maine. Because of that, the investigation officially remained open.

The freezer was inside a 3-by-3 meter storage unit at a Moore Self Storage Facility in Lewiston, where Julian paid in advance for the unit, coming around every three months to pay in person, owner Gary Boilard said.

The storage company's previous owner kept good records, indicating Julian rented the unit 19 years ago, Boilard said.

The family was going through boxes inside the storage unit when the remains were discovered on Friday, and half the unit was still filled with boxes when state police alerted Boilard.

Dwight Collins, Wardwell's brother, said the family was awaiting further word on the body but declined to comment further. Other family members either couldn't be reached or declined to comment.

The process of determining the victim's identity could be time-consuming because of the condition of the body. Wardwell's family members have donated DNA samples that will be compared against DNA from the body.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.