The grieving father of Vanessa Marcotte, who was found dead in woodland in Princeton, Massachusetts on 7 August, has asked that his daughter's killer be found. The 27-year-old Google employee's body was found hours after she went missing, without clothes and partially burned.

"I could only ask for your prayers, that they find [who] did this. That's all we want. That's all we want: justice," John Marcotte told the Boston Globe. Marcotte said he last saw his daughter on Saturday when they went out to dinner together.

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According to the Globe, the Boston University alumna had been visiting her mother from New York when she went jogging around 1pm on Sunday (7 August). When she did not return home, police launched a missing person's search around three hours later. Marcotte was found around 8.20pm about a half-mile from her mother's home.

Police are uncertain whether Marcotte had been assaulted but she was found without clothes. Her hands, feet and part of her head were also burned.

John Marcotte described his daughter as highly dedicated to her job and said she was not romantically involved with anyone. "She was 100% on to her job," he told the Globe. "Her whole thing was to just get up the [career] ladder. She knew how smart she was."

He also praised the work of investigators, the Globe reported. "They just seem to work above and beyond what they have to do to find this person," Marcotte said, adding authorities have "offered us all kinds of assistance."

"I want my daughter remembered as a great kid," he added. "She's the best kid in the world."

WBUR reported that authorities have asked for the public's help to identify any suspect or suspects in Marcotte's murder. Officials noted they have received hundreds of tips but have not announced a suspect.

"We're still approaching this from every angle," Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr said. "We don't know if this was a random act. We cannot speak to that right now. Again, we're asking the citizens of Princeton to use an abundance of caution with regards to this."

A vigil was planned for Marcotte in Princeton on Tuesday, 9 August, WBUR reported.

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