MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- Family and friends of an assistant track coach who has been missing since Thursday morning said they are still holding out hope that the man will be found while at the same time are waiting to hear the identity of a body that was found in the area the man disappeared, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Jeremy Scully, 38, disappeared while driving from his Bellingham apartment to a friend's house in Alger.

His car was found Saturday near Lake Samish with the door ajar and the key in the ignition. Another key to Scully’s 1993 Nissan Sentra was found on the ground near the car’s trunk.

The Medical Examiner’s office is performing an autopsy on the body that was found by hikers near Alger on Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County on Sunday, in a rugged area.

"It appears as though the victim died from a gunshot wound to the head," according to a news release from the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. "Fingerprints were obtained and attempts are being made to confirm if the deceased is indeed the missing Bellingham man. At this time we are not able to confirm the identity. "

The case is being investigated as a homicide, the sheriff's office said.

Scully is a substitute teacher in Ferndale and assistant track coach at Ferndale High School.

Scully’s girlfriend, Robbin Goldspy, said she believes the unidentified body is that of Scully. She described Scully as a person who was respected in the community and said it was very unlike him to disappear.