Body ID'd as missing mechanic; death investigated as homicide

A body found southeast of Johnson Lane on Sept. 10 was identified through DNA testing Monday as a missing Douglas County airplane mechanic.

Sheriff Ron Pierini said the badly decomposed remains found by a hiker in the Pine Nut Mountains near Williams Canyon are those of Robin Bodden, 50.

"We are treating this just like a homicide," said Pierini. "The problem is we don't know the cause of death yet."

Pierini said toxicology results could take up to six weeks.

A week after Bodden was reported missing by his sister, his wife of six years, Karen Bodden, 43, was arrested for allegedly embezzling thousands of dollars from her husband's business and using his credit card without permission from Jan. 1 to Aug. 26, the day Robin Bodden was reported missing.

She is being held in Douglas County Jail without bail on suspicion of felony grand theft, uttering a forged instrument and unlawful use of a credit card.

This isn't Karen Bodden's first run in with the law, she is currently on probation for embezzling $44,000 from the Department of Motor Vehicles in Carson City. She was sentenced in August 2004.

Pierini would not say whether she was suspected of harming her husband.

"We cannot say there's a connection between the two cases. Obviously, it's suspicious," he said. "Once we find out exactly what caused the death, we will have a clear direction where to go."

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.