Woman's body found in trailer at Forest Park truck stop

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Regulars at the Sun Petro Truck Stop on Forest Parkway were stunned to see crime scene tape as they pulled in to the lot Tuesday morning. 

WATCH: Investigators piece together how a woman in her 30s died

Truckers stood in shock as Forest Park police investigators combed through the trailer and cab where a man discovered his girlfriend's lifeless body.

“I've been driving a truck 23 years and this is the first time I've ever seen something like this happen and it's very disturbing to me,” said trucker Larry Thrift.

Forest Park Police Captain James Delk said the woman, identified as Nicole Darke, was found on the floor near the cab.

“There were no signs of foul play, but we have to treat this as suspicious since women in their 30s usually just don't die from natural causes,” said Captain Delk.

Ira Collier, the driver of this Southern Refrigerated Transport Truck, told investigators he found his 31-year-old girlfriend dead just before 10 a.m. He told FOX 5’s Portia Bruner they arrived from Pennsylvania on Saturday and had spent the night in the truck.

“She left some time last night while I was asleep, then I woke up to a man banging on my truck saying, 'Man, you need to come get your girl out of my car because she's all messed up. I don't even know who the man was,” Collier said. “I got her out and helped her into my truck.

She was snoring. I watched her then fell asleep. When I woke up, she was gone,” he said as he quietly packed her bags into a car.

Forest Park police said Collier was cooperative with investigators and never in custody.

“This is still an active investigation and we're hoping to learn more about what happened to the woman after the GBI conducts an autopsy—hopefully that will happen this week,” said Captain Delk.

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