CROSBY A local family is mourning the loss of a wife and mother this week after her body was found last Thursday afternoon just over a mile from the abandoned vehicle she was last seen driving. It was not far past the Liberty County line. Family members tell of her getting upset August 6 and taking off in the familys white 1993 Oldsmobile, while her husband William followed behind. He lost sight of her as she sped toward FM 2100 coming from Indian Shores.
The family informed officers that she had been diagnosed as having dementia and since short term memory does not stay with her for long her husband worried for her safety.
Precinct 3 Constables Office was the first law enforcement agency informed of the dire situation. Ken Jones asked for extra effort from Precinct 3 Constables Deputies to find the missing woman. Deputies deployed throughout Northeast Harris County in patrol cars, heading up volunteer searches, on ATVs, Jet Skis, running behind tracking dogs and directing special hunts. Some of the more senior deputies looked a little weather worn from enduring the sultry humidity and heat factors making each day feel over 100 degrees.
Finally after a search of an area in which her vehicle was spotted by a Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice airplane on Wednesday, she was found. There had been deputies near the location during the night. Her body was located just over a mile North from the vehicle on Thursday. They had found footprints around the car leading North but the trail abruptly ended. Her vehicle had traveled North on FM 2100, East on FM 1960, North again on Highway 686 and into a wooded path two miles off County Road 6242.
Precinct 3s Captain Jack Hagee credits Houston Police helicopter crews with spotting her remains shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. She had apparently changed clothing after getting out of the car on the muddy roadway. We dont know why. he added.
Cause of death has yet to be determined. An autopsy will be performed by the Jefferson County Medical Examiners Office in Beaumont, TX.
The Liberty County Sheriffs Dept. is still investigating the cause of her death.
