The case of missing Massachusetts woman Ana Walshe, who was last seen on Jan. 1, is drawing comparisons to another high-profile missing woman case from two decades ago.Laci Peterson disappeared from her home in Modesto, California, on Dec. 24, 2002, and for months, investigators could not find her body.Shortly after Peterson disappeared, investigators started focusing on the possibility she was murdered."It seemed like foul play from the beginning," said Jon Buehler, the lead detective on the Peterson case.Buehler, who is now retired, said what made him suspicious is that Peterson — like Walshe — had no history of running off."So in this case, you've got a victim that didn't do anything that we could see that seemed unusual and, all of a sudden, she comes up missing," he said.Without a body, Buehler said he had to do what Massachusetts investigators are now doing: gathering circumstantial evidence against Walshe's husband, Brian, including his internet searches, surveillance video and traces of Ana's blood at a Peabody trash sorting facility."In this case, it seemed like from the start they were doing it right, at least from what I could see," Buehler said. "It seems like you've got a prosecutor's office up there that knows what they are doing."Sarah Schoff, a forensic anthropologist at Lasell University, said investigators often gather personal items from the victim."They may ask for her toothbrush. They may ask for her hairbrush. If there's intact roots of hair, they can get DNA samples from that," Schoff said.Peterson's remains were found nearly four months after she disappeared, and her husband, Scott, was eventually convicted and sentenced to death.Buehler said he and prosecutors were lucky not to have to take the case to trial without a body."It's a tough hill to climb," Buehler said.Brian Walshe, 47, was arraigned on Wednesday in Quincy District Court on new charges of murder and improper transport of a body. He was initially arrested on Jan. 8 on the charge of misleading a police investigation.During the arraignment, prosecutors accused Brian Walshe of killing Ana Walshe and dismembering her body before disposing of it. According to prosecutors, 10 bags of evidence taken from the Peabody trash station included Ana Walshe's COVID-19 vaccination card, a necklace matching one she would wear, a hacksaw and a hatchet.Prosecutors have also accused Brian Walshe of conducting a series of grisly Google searches after his wife's disappearance, including queries about the disposal of a body.Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.Ana Walshe's body has still not been found, and the defense has questioned the strength of the evidence brought forth by the prosecution, saying in part: "It is easy to charge a crime and even easier to say a person committed that crime. It is a much more difficult thing to prove it, which we will see if the prosecution can do."