According to the article her body was seen near the road and called in to 911 by someone. The cell phone of the accused was found near her body. When the cops went to "meet" the cell phone owner they found blood in his vehicle and scratches on his arms. Cops grinding their way through the mountains of tough and obscure leads in a case sometimes provides results.
The vast majority of criminals are stupid; the Ted Bundy types are the very small exception. Not sure what is odd about it.