Vetrano's father, who neighbours say retired from the FDNY on disability, was called to the crime scene as sobbing neighbours gathered outside his home on 84th Street.
Even before the remains were identified as Vetrano's, neighbours feared the worst. One young girl on the block collapsed in tears as police investigators descended on the neighbourhood.
"She had a routine jog," one neighbour said, describing Vetrano as a "pretty girl."
Another neighbour, who would identify himself only as John, said Vetrano went jogging with her father nearly every night before he suffered an injury.
"He asked her, 'Don't go in there,' " John said, referring to the weeded area.
"They found her phone over here [on the path] ... If these weeds weren't this high, we would have seen her," John said, adding that "all girls know not to walk along these weeds."
Another neighbour said that "hobos and bums" typically lurk in the weeded area.
Vetrano's Instagram account is filled with photos of her enjoying her summer sipping cocktails, travelling and soaking up the sun with friends.
In a recent photo with her dad on his 60th birthday, Vetrano called him her "hero" and said, "I'm so blessed to have a father I can call my best friend."
Vetrano, who was an avid runner, posted an image online that showed her wearing a medal from the Spartan Race at Citi Field 15 weeks ago.
Police have confirmed that she was sexually assaulted.
