Police arrested an Aroostook County man early Monday and charged him with murder in the death of his girlfriend.

Officers took Jayme Schnackenberg, 39, into custody just before 4 a.m., eight days after his partner Kimberly Hardy, 42, was reported missing, a Maine State Police spokesperson said.

The couple lived together in Monticello, a town in eastern Aroostook County with a population of about 750.

State police and the Maine Warden Service searched for Hardy for more than a week before game wardens discovered her body in the woods near Harvey Siding Road.

The Medical Examiner in Augusta will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death and confirm the body’s identity.

Schnackenberg was making his initial appearance in court Monday.