Investigators released new video Tuesday of a murder victim just days before the 42-year-old's dismembered body was discovered along an Orange County road.

  • Deputies searching for woman who talked to Ethel McCarson 48 hours before she was found dead
  • Deputies say woman is not a suspect in the case
  • McCarson's dismembered body was found near the Greyhound bus depot in April

Deputies hope the video will give them some clues as to who killed Ethel Shannon McCarson. The video was posted on the agency's Facebook page.

McCarson's body was found last month along Old Winter Garden Road. McCarson was last seen alive at the Greyhound Bus Depot off of John Young Parkway in Orlando.

Investigators released surveillance video that shows her walking through the bus depot and talking to an unidentified woman.

The footage from April 4 shows McCarson just 48 hours before she was murdered.

McCarson is seen wearing a light-colored sleeveless shirt, a scarf around her neck and a bag slung across her chest. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a bun.  

The next camera captures her walking outside of the Greyhound Bus Depot and sitting down on the grass. For about 90 seconds, she talks to a woman standing next to a nearby palm tree.

"The black female is not a suspect in any way shape or form, but she had a conversation with a woman who was murdered," said Jane Watrel, of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

McCarson walked out of the frame, and her her trail disappeared. Detectives said they have no idea where she went.

"That is the mystery that we're trying to solve and we're hoping that perhaps the woman she was speaking to outside the Greyhound Bus Depot might shed some light on it," Watrel said. "She may not. But no stone is going to be left unturned in this investigation."

Detectives said they don't know why McCarson came to Orlando, but they learned from her family in Georgia that she would often travel on her own.

"It wasn't unusual for her not to be in touch with her family," Watrel said.

Just 48 hours after McCarson left the bus depot, her dismembered body was found in a wooded area near Old Winter Garden Road. Investigators combed through the crime scene, cutting through thick brush in hopes of finding any clues.

"We want to catch whoever did this to her," Watrel said. "The killer is out there."

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477). There is a $10,000 reward.