Woman Found Dead Under Mysterious Circumstances After Disappearing While Rushing To Work

A mother from Texas who worked as a paralegal and has been missing for over three weeks was found dead inside a vehicle at a shopping mall parking lot on Saturday, with her cause of death unknown as police continue to investigate the case.

Christina Lee Powell, a 39-year-old paralegal from San Antonio, was found dead inside her Nissan Rogue by a security guard in the Huebner Oaks Center shopping mall after the guard noticed that the car had been parked in that establishment for a week, according to the New York Post.

“He looked inside the vehicle and observed a body in the front passenger side seat and called 911,” police said in a report.

The police noted a “foul smell” in the car, and had used the ID and purse in the vehicle to positively identify the body as Powell.

“This was not the outcome we prayed for,” Lauren Perez, Powell’s best friend, said on social media after Powell’s body was found. “I’m beyond devastated.”

Powell was last seen on July 5, after she had left her home to leave for her paralegal job. Claudia Mobley, Powell’s mother, said that nothing strange seemed to be happening with Powell when she rushed out of the house to go to work, the Daily Beast reported.

She had called the office ahead of leaving the house that she would be late, and she had left her Apple Watch and phone in the rush. A colleague from her work later went to Powell’s home to check on her after she had not made it to work that day.

“We didn’t really have any kind of in-depth conversation. It was basically, ‘Good morning.’ She told me she was late,” Mobley said of her last interaction with Powell. “Then, she was leaving for work and I told her to be careful. And I probably told her, ‘I love you.’”

Powell’s body is currently undergoing autopsy as her death continues to be shrouded in mystery. An investigation into her death by local authorities continues.