Investigators say David Allen Snyder admitted killing Kimberly Gsell in 2019 and later led them to remains buried near a Cumberland County creek.

CARLISLE, Pa. — Nearly seven years after Kimberly Gsell vanished from a Cumberland County motel, authorities say a renewed investigation ended with the discovery of her remains and the arrest of a man who allegedly admitted killing her on the night she disappeared.

David Allen Snyder, 39, is charged with first-degree murder and strangulation in the death of Gsell, who was 38 when she disappeared in September 2019. Authorities announced the charges after investigators recovered skeletal remains near Yellow Breeches Creek and confirmed Gsell’s identity using dental records and rapid DNA testing. Snyder has not been convicted, and the allegations against him remain subject to the court process. The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office said the recovery marked the end of a yearslong search for Gsell while opening a new phase of the case: determining criminal responsibility for her death.

Gsell was last seen Sept. 28 or 29, 2019, at the Rodeway Inn on Harrisburg Pike in Middlesex Township, according to authorities. Police said she had been staying there with Amanda Snyder, to whom Gsell was engaged. Amanda Snyder was still legally married to David Snyder at the time. Investigators say an argument occurred between the two women during their motel stay and Amanda Snyder suffered a nose injury. David Snyder then drove to the motel and took his wife to a hospital for treatment. What happened while Amanda Snyder was receiving care became one of the central questions investigators later revisited.

David Snyder initially told investigators that he remained with his wife during her hospital visit and that he did not see Gsell again, according to the probable cause affidavit described in published reports. Amanda Snyder later returned to the motel and said Gsell was gone. Authorities said varying explanations were given to relatives and others about where Gsell might have gone. The disappearance was reported to police, but no confirmed sighting established what happened to her after she was last known to be at the motel. With no body and no public explanation for her disappearance, the case remained unresolved for years.

Authorities said the investigation gained new momentum in 2026 after the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office assembled a team to take another intensive look at the disappearance. District Attorney Seán McCormack said investigators met regularly and used multiple approaches as they tried to resolve questions that had persisted since 2019. The team included Middlesex Township police, county detectives and forensic specialists. State police personnel, local emergency agencies and other investigators also assisted. The renewed work focused not only on finding Gsell but also on testing earlier accounts against records and other evidence developed during the investigation.

Detectives ultimately returned to statements David Snyder had made about the night Gsell disappeared. Investigators said they identified inconsistencies and confronted him during interviews in September 2026. According to police and the charging documents, Snyder then gave investigators an account that differed sharply from what he had previously said. Authorities allege he acknowledged returning to the motel while Amanda Snyder was at the hospital and persuading Gsell to enter his vehicle by telling her they were going to see Amanda. Once Gsell was inside, Snyder allegedly strangled her. Police said he later concealed her body before leaving the motel area.

Investigators allege Snyder drove Gsell’s body to a secluded area along Yellow Breeches Creek near New Cumberland and buried her near the bank. That account provided authorities with something the investigation had lacked for almost seven years: a location where physical evidence might still be found. Snyder later took detectives to the area, according to authorities. Searchers initially found material linked to the burial and what appeared to be human remains. A Pennsylvania State Police human-remains detection dog was used as investigators expanded their search, and forensic anthropology specialists helped with the recovery. Authorities eventually recovered skeletal remains from the site.

The recovery allowed investigators to move rapidly from a suspected burial site to a confirmed identification. McCormack said the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Forensic Laboratory used rapid DNA technology that produced a high-probability indication that the remains belonged to Gsell. Dental records then positively identified her. The district attorney said the county’s ability to conduct fast forensic testing gave investigators an important advantage after the remains were found. Professors and students from Mercyhurst University’s forensic anthropology program also assisted with the recovery process, one part of a broader effort involving multiple local and state agencies.

The identification transformed the public status of a case that had long centered on a missing woman. Gsell was no longer simply unaccounted for; authorities now alleged that she had been killed at the time of her disappearance. McCormack said investigators had continued to hope throughout the case that Gsell might eventually be found alive, even as circumstances led them to fear otherwise. The discovery brought certainty about where she had been, but it also confirmed the outcome her family had hoped not to receive. Prosecutors have described the recovery as a step toward providing answers after years of uncertainty.

Authorities have not publicly established a motive. The charging affidavit, as described by Law&Crime and other outlets, outlines the complicated relationships among Gsell, Amanda Snyder and David Snyder and describes the confrontation at the motel before Gsell disappeared. Middlesex Township Police Chief Andrew Bassler said the people involved knew one another through friendships and shared acquaintances and had a history together. That background may help explain why investigators examined their interactions closely, but police have not announced a specific reason they believe Snyder killed Gsell. Amanda Snyder has not been charged in connection with Gsell’s death.

The case also illustrates how the disappearance investigation and homicide investigation effectively became one continuous inquiry. When Gsell vanished in 2019, investigators did not have remains to examine or a confirmed account of where she had gone. Seven years later, detectives say statements, inconsistencies, renewed interviews and a location supplied by Snyder converged in a way that allowed investigators to recover physical evidence. The discovery then gave forensic specialists an opportunity to independently identify Gsell rather than relying only on Snyder’s alleged statement. That combination of an attributed admission, a burial location and identification of the remains now forms a major part of the prosecution’s publicly described case.

Police arrested Snyder in late September after the interviews and recovery effort. Middlesex Township police said he was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder under Pennsylvania law and felony strangulation. He was ordered held without bail at the Cumberland County Prison. The original charging announcement listed a preliminary hearing for Oct. 7 before Magisterial District Judge David J. Rogers. A preliminary hearing is an early stage of a criminal case at which prosecutors generally seek to establish enough evidence for charges to proceed. The reliable public sources reviewed for this report did not establish a later disposition of that hearing, so no subsequent outcome is being reported here.

For Gsell’s family, the case has moved from a search for a missing relative to a homicide prosecution. McCormack said authorities could not provide the result the family wanted but hoped locating and identifying Gsell would finally answer at least part of what had happened. Other questions remain unresolved in the public record, including motive and what additional evidence prosecutors may present as the case advances. Snyder remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The murder and strangulation charges are allegations, and any final determination of criminal responsibility must come through the Pennsylvania court system.

Author note: Last updated Nov. 9, 2026.