ABINGTON, Mass. -- The search for a missing man turned into an investigation into a violent murder spree after the body of a Kingston, Mass., teenager was found in Abington.

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Gail Huff Reports From Abington

Jonathon Rizzo, 19, had been missing since last Friday. His body was recovered behind a mini-golf course on Route 18 Tuesday night.

Police said that they searched the area because the suspect, Gary Sampson, told them where to find the teen's body.

After spending the night collecting evidence, a medical examiner removed Rizzo's body early Wednesday morning.

Officials got a break in the missing person's case late Tuesday when a Sampson, a 41-year-old former Abington resident, allegedly confessed to Vermont police that he killed Rizzo.

It took police about two hours to find the body. They are now piecing together a timeline of the murder spree.

"It is likely that sometime between the time he left his place of employment in Plymouth at 9 p.m. and prior to him getting to his final destination -- his home in Kingston -- that Mr. Rizzo became a subject of a carjack by Sampson," Plymouth District Attorney Michael Sullivan said.

Since Friday, volunteers had searched for Rizzo. Inside the Kingston Middle School Tuesday night, there were tears and hugs as searchers learned that he had been murdered.

It was an end to a bizarre day. First, Rizzo's car ended up in, Meredith, N.H., outside a home being watched by 58-year-old Robert Whitney. Police found Whitney's murdered body inside the home. His car was missing.

Hours later, Whitney's car was found in Vermont. Police then arrested Sampson, who was being held at the Vermont State Police barracks in Bethel, Vt., Wednesday morning.

But the surprises did not end there. Sampson is also wanted for the murder of Phillip McCloskey -- the 69-year-old Taunton, Mass., man whose murdered body was found last week in Marshfield, Mass.

"There is no question that all three of these victims are innocent victims who had no connection with Gary Sampson prior to Gary Sampson sadly coming into their lives,"

Sullivan said that all three are random victims of a carjacker. Officials said that Sampson has a violent past. He has spent time in prison. Police said that they were looking for Sampson in connection with a string of robberies in North Carolina.

Sampson will be arraigned on carjacking charges in Vermont Wednesday before his return to Massachusetts to face two murder charges. Sampson will also face a third murder charge in New Hampshire.