BERWICK — Police believe a murdered man’s car was in the Berwick area after he went missing, and now they need the public’s help in the homicide investigation.

Samuel John Vacante, 52, Drums, was reported missing by his estranged wife Aug. 31, and his body was discovered Sunday in the woods near Petrarch Trail in Penn Forrest Township, Carbon County, state police report.

But Vacante’s 2014 Kia Cadenza was spotted in the Berwick area Sept. 1 in the early evening hours, said Lt. Robert Bartal; it may have been in the area from the evening of Aug. 31 until it was recovered on Sept. 2 at 3 a.m. in Hazleton.

The Kia is a white, four-door sedan with a distinctive black roof. The Pennsylvania registration on the car is JMR9595.

Anyone with information is asked to call State Police at Hazleton, 570-459-3890.