HYDE PARK, Vt. (AP) – The husband of a Johnson woman missing since last week has confessed to killing her, police said Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the day investigators discovered the body of a woman but officials said they could not positively identify it as that of Jodie Whitney.

The sheriff’s office announced Wednesday evening that Edgar Whitney had confessed.

Deputy Sheriff Andrew Glover said an autopsy on the body was scheduled to be performed on Thursday, when officials from the state crime lab would also continue to search the Whitney’s house.

At a late Wednesday afternoon news conference held to announce the discovery of the body, Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux described Edgar Whitney as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife.

“Right now he is the best suspect we have,” Marcoux said.

He tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills Wednesday morning, said Marcoux.

Edgar Whitney was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington after relatives called for an ambulance. Investigators talked to him Wednesday afternoon.

Police officials had not confirmed the identity of the body by Wednesday night.

“We are operating off the common sense there is a good chance of it (being Whitney’s body),” Marcoux said.

at the news conference. “We don’t have a lot of missing females.”

Marcoux said investigators were still looking for links between the cases of two other missing women from the region. Marcoux and a state police detective were still planning to meet Friday with New Hampshire detectives to look for links between the cases.

“We are still going to proceed with that meeting,” Marcoux said.

In February Maura Murray, a University of Massachusetts student, disappeared after a single vehicle traffic accident in Haverhill, N.H., about 75 miles from Johnson. In March, Brianna Maitland of Sheldon disappeared after leaving her job in Montgomery, about 25 miles from Johnson.

Marcoux said that information gathered from relatives helped lead to the discovery of the body.

“I can tell you this really stepped up this morning after we got the call about him taking the pills,” Marcoux said of Edgar Whitney.

AP-ES-06-02-04 2144EDT