SAN ANTONIO – A woman’s body and a weapon were found in a wooded area in northwest Bexar County while deputies were searching for a missing woman, according to the sheriff’s office.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed investigators found the body of a woman in her late 20s off Braun Road outside of Loop 1604.
Salazar said the woman appears to show signs of trauma, but it is too early to tell how she died. The sheriff’s office is treating the case as a homicide, BCSO said.
In a news conference, the sheriff provided a timeline of the investigation leading up to the body being found on Wednesday:
-
A woman disappeared on Monday
-
BCSO teamed up with Alamo Area Search and Rescue on Tuesday night
-
The search team used dogs to trace the missing woman’s scent
-
The scent trail ended along Mustang Ranch
-
Hours later on Wednesday, investigators searched underbrush next to Braun Road and found the body
On Wednesday, Salazar did not confirm the identity of the body found or the name of the person his office was searching for when they discovered the body.
Texas Search and Rescue is a similar group that helps investigate missing persons.
They weren’t involved in this case, but Shannon Smith, the director of communications and outreach at Texas Search and Rescue, said the first 48 hours after someone goes missing can be the most important.
“We have to have a starting point — a last known location,” Smith said. “Canines are a huge asset to our team and a big part of a lot of the searches that we do.”
Smith also said neighbors coming forward with information can help solve a case.
“Every little bit of information is helpful,” Smith said.
Northwest Bexar County neighbors told KSAT that their community is quiet.
The incident is “unsettling,” one neighbor said. “It’s very scary because this is a pretty safe neighborhood,” they added.
BCSO is continuing its investigation. As of Wednesday night, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office had only confirmed the body to be a 28-year-old woman. The medical examiner’s office has not yet released her name, cause and manner of death.
However, the details released by BCSO on Wednesday match the case of the missing person, 28-year-old Mariadelis Labrador Siles.
According to a BCSO Facebook post on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said Siles disappeared from the same area on Monday.
Siles’ boyfriend told BCSO he believes she may have walked to Wildhorse Sports Park, which is near the area where deputies found a body.
BCSO said they found a weapon at the scene but “cannot elaborate on the type of weapon due to the preliminary stages of the investigation.”
BCSO urges anyone with information regarding the missing person case to call the sheriff’s office at 210-335-6000.
This is a developing story. KSAT will update this story as more information becomes available.
Read also:
