A body found by a landowner in Dakota County was identified Tuesday as a woman last seen in late December at a convenience store in Rock Island, Ill.

She was Carrie Elaine Olson, 29, of Davenport, Iowa, which is in the Quad Cities area, near Rock Island.

The Davenport Police Department said Olson was last seen at a 7-Eleven getting gas in Rock Island, and investigators had asked for the public's help in making an arrest. Her picture and information about her disappearance were on billboards, fliers and in Quad Cities news reports.

The Dakota County Sheriff's Office said the owner of the land on Presley Circle, north of 175th Street in Ravenna Township, made the discovery about 5 p.m. Saturday on a vacant lot near Hastings.

It's unclear when or how Olson died, but the sheriff's office said it appeared that the body had been at that location for less than 36 hours.

A website established to find Olson said she was last seen by family on Saturday afternoon Dec. 28, 2013, and about 4 p.m. pumping gas alone. She returned to the convenience store the next day at 3:34 a.m. and, according to the website, her car was seen there again about 7 a.m. with only a male friend visible in the images.

Her car was driven to Minneapolis sometime between that Sunday and Monday by the friend, who flew to Las Vegas from Minneapolis, according to the Facebook page and published reports.

A few days later, he returned the car to the Davenport Police Department, with her coat and purse inside. Her phone was missing. Police questioned the man and released him.

No information was immediately available from authorities in Davenport and Scott County, Iowa, Tuesday night as to whether any arrests had been made after Olson was identified.

The cause and manner of death are pending further investigations by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office, Dakota County Sheriff's Office, and Davenport Police Department.

Olson was reported missing Dec. 30. On Jan. 2, her father, Dave Olson, told a Quad Cities television station that Carrie's cellphone and credit cards hadn't been used and the family feared foul play.

Joy Powell • 612-673-7750