Karina Vetrano's body found by father; reward offered to find killer

Karina Vetrano's body was found dead by her father in a marsh near a bike path in Queens, and police are looking for her killer.

The 30-year-old jogger was reported missing after going for a jog in Gateway National Park near her Howard Beach, N.Y., home, Tuesday evening. Hours later, her father, a retired firefighter, discovered her body while searching with police just blocks from her home.

1010 WINS reports Vetrano, known as Karina Vee on Instagram, usually ran the route with her father but he stayed home that night because his back was hurting.

"He asked her not to run this path. Not without him," Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told CBS.

Police believe she was strangled and sexually assaulted as her shorts and sports bra were in disarray. She was face down in the ground in the woods, likely dragged some 15 feet off a bike path where her cell phone was found.

The New York Daily News reports an autopsy Wednesday confirmed her cause of death was strangulation, and the case has been officially ruled a homicide.

Authorities don't know if the incident was random or if she was targeted, but neighbors said Wednesday that vagrants live in the nearby woods and illegal activities also take place in he area. According to CBS, one of her sneakers and her headphones are missing; trash near the crime scene is being tested for evidence, and surveillance video from nearby homes is also being reviewed.

The NYPD is also asking the public to come forward with any information that may help.PIX 11 reports a $2,500 reward is being offered for info leading to an arrest of Vetrano's murderer.

"This girl was a beautiful girl in the prime of her life, taken down by an animal," family friend DJ Skribble told CBS. "The fact that this happened literally in my backyard. I live around the corner from them, it just doesn't make any kind of sense."

Vetrano worked at the Vetro Restaurant and Lounge, where a vigil was held Wednesday night, and as a speech pathologist after earning a master's degree from Saint John's University last May. According to the Daily News, she loved to travel with her "best friend," FDNY retiree Philip Vetrano, who helped at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Until an arrest is made, authorities are urging area residents to exercise caution. Boyce said there had never been reports of stranger rapes in Howard Beach before.

"I hope they just catch the animal that did it, that's all I care about right now," DJ Skribble told CBS.