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Family Finds Missing Woman in Minivan After Cops Call Them to Pick Up
Illegally Parked Vehicle
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
POMONA, Calif. - A woman reported missing for several days was found
stabbed to death in a minivan by family members who were called by police to
pick up the vehicle because it was illegally parked near a California
courthouse, according to reports.
Relatives found the body of Eileen Orta, 22, on Friday, three days after
filing a missing person's report on her, Lt. Ron McDonald said.
Tracy Ponce, the victim's mother, discovered her daughter under a pile of
blankets in the minivan parked near Pomona Superior Court, MyFOXLA.com
reports.
"I pulled one blanket and that's when I saw my daughter's leg. I saw her leg
and her toes," Ponce told MyFOXLA.com. "I said 'Oh my God.'"
The report gave a full description of Orta and the van, and was entered into
a national law enforcement database, he said.
When the van was found parked in a space reserved for a police official near
the courthouse, police notified Orta's family to pick it up before it was
impounded.
"There's no way the officer could have known her body was in there," Pomona
Police Chief Joe Romeo told MyFOXLA.com.
Romeo said that officers didn't have the right to search the vehicle or
break the windows to get in, but Ponce said the windows were rolled down
when she arrived to pick up the vehicle, MyFOXLA.com reports.
Orta was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy determined she died of
a stab wound to the neck, said Los Angeles County Coroner Lt. Cheryl
MacWillie.
Her death was under investigation, police said.
"I know the detectives are working hard on the case, but someone screwed
up," Ponce told KABC-TV.
"When they found the car ... they knew it was a missing person's car," Ponce
said. "They did not search it. My daughter could have been alive. What if
she was still alive at that time, just dying or needing care?"
Officers often don't force their way into abandoned vehicles, police Sgt.
Horace Blehr said.
"In hindsight, we're pretty ready to admit we could have gone over [the van]
better," he said.
Family Finds Missing Woman in Minivan After Cops Call Them to Pick Up
Illegally Parked Vehicle
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
POMONA, Calif. - A woman reported missing for several days was found
stabbed to death in a minivan by family members who were called by police to
pick up the vehicle because it was illegally parked near a California
courthouse, according to reports.
Relatives found the body of Eileen Orta, 22, on Friday, three days after
filing a missing person's report on her, Lt. Ron McDonald said.
Tracy Ponce, the victim's mother, discovered her daughter under a pile of
blankets in the minivan parked near Pomona Superior Court, MyFOXLA.com
reports.
"I pulled one blanket and that's when I saw my daughter's leg. I saw her leg
and her toes," Ponce told MyFOXLA.com. "I said 'Oh my God.'"
The report gave a full description of Orta and the van, and was entered into
a national law enforcement database, he said.
When the van was found parked in a space reserved for a police official near
the courthouse, police notified Orta's family to pick it up before it was
impounded.
"There's no way the officer could have known her body was in there," Pomona
Police Chief Joe Romeo told MyFOXLA.com.
Romeo said that officers didn't have the right to search the vehicle or
break the windows to get in, but Ponce said the windows were rolled down
when she arrived to pick up the vehicle, MyFOXLA.com reports.
Orta was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy determined she died of
a stab wound to the neck, said Los Angeles County Coroner Lt. Cheryl
MacWillie.
Her death was under investigation, police said.
"I know the detectives are working hard on the case, but someone screwed
up," Ponce told KABC-TV.
"When they found the car ... they knew it was a missing person's car," Ponce
said. "They did not search it. My daughter could have been alive. What if
she was still alive at that time, just dying or needing care?"
Officers often don't force their way into abandoned vehicles, police Sgt.
Horace Blehr said.
"In hindsight, we're pretty ready to admit we could have gone over [the van]
better," he said.
