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Police: Durst Linked To Vermont Student's Disappearance In 1971

MIDDLEBURY, Vermont (CBS) - Police say they are aware of the connection between millionaire Robert Durst and the disappearance of Middlebury College student Lynne Schulze in Vermont in 1971.

"We have been aware of this connection for several years and have been working with various outside agencies as we follow this lead," Middlebury police chief Thomas Hanley said in a statement Monday night.

Durst owned and operated the "All Good Things" health food store in Middlebury at the same time that the then 18-year-old Schulze was reported missing.

This is an ongoing criminal investigation and the Middlebury Police Department is not releasing any other details.

Lynne Schulze
Lynne Schulze. (Photo credit: Middlebury, VT Police)

The Schulze case was re-opened in 1992. The cold case has been continuously generating leads since the investigation was re-opened, police say.

Durst appeared in a New Orleans courtroom on Monday where a judge ordered him held without bond. He is awaiting extradition to Los Angeles where he is wanted in the 2000 murder of a woman he knew.

Prosecutors claim he is a flight risk. After his arrest, police found fake IDs, stacks of money, a mask and a map of Cuba.

He has come under suspicion in the 1982 disappearance of his wife who was never found.

Durst was also charged, and later acquitted in the 2001 murder and dismemberment of a Texas man.

The FBI is assisted Vermont police in their investigation.

"So, if local partners need help with a homicide investigation or something else they will frequently ask us to run down a lead," said FBI Director James Comey.

Anyone with information can call Middlebury police at 802-388-3191 or email Detective Kris Bowdish by email at kbowdish@middleburypolice.org.

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