The search for a Texas mother who disappeared mysteriously on her way to work earlier this month ended Saturday after the 39-year-old’s body was found in a parked SUV outside a San Antonio strip mall, authorities say.
Christina Powell, who was captured on video by a doorbell camera rushing to her job as a paralegal just before she went missing on July 5, garnered national attention when her family pleaded on social media for help finding her.
Saturday’s discovery ends the search for Powell, but only raises more questions about the details surrounding how she died.
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A cause of death was not released by San Antonio police, who said Powell had no signs of trauma on her body and was set to undergo an autopsy by the Bexar County Medical Examiner.
Powell’s mother, Claudia Mobley, and her best friend, Lauren Perez, both shared on Facebook that Powell had a medical condition that required regular medication. Neither responded to messages sent by The Daily Beast on Monday afternoon.
“This was not the outcome we prayed for,” Perez posted. “I’m beyond devastated.”
San Antonio police say Powell’s body was found decaying in her 2020 Nissan Rogue by a security guard who was monitoring the strip mall’s parking lot. The security officer told police the SUV had been there more than a week and had a “foul smell” emanating from it.
Police said Powell’s body was found in the car’s passenger seat. Her identity was confirmed by documents found in her purse.
Mobley, who lived with Powell and her son, told Fox News that nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Powell left in a hurry to get to work the day of her disappearance. She told her mom she was in a rush before she headed out the door, leaving her phone and Apple Watch at home.
Powell worked about 15 minutes from her home, Mobley said. But she never made it to the office.
“We didn’t really have any kind of in-depth conversation,” said Mobley. “It was basically, ‘Good morning.’ She told me she was late.
“Then, she was leaving for work and I told her to be careful. And I probably told her, ‘I love you.’”
