Photo: San Antonio Police Department
The death of a Texas mom who went missing in July was an accident, officials said.
Christina Powell’s cause of death was “hyperthermia complicating ethanol intoxication,” the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office said, ruling her death an accident, according toFox News Digital,San Antonio Express-News, and a localNBC affiliate. She was 39.
The San Antonio Police Department also told Fox News that it is closing the case, stating, “We did not find any evidence leading to a criminal investigation.”
Hyperthermia occurs when the body is no longer able to regulate temperature which raises a person’s body temperature to dangerous and potentially deadly levels. Temperatures when Powell first went missing were well into the high-90s.
Her car had reportedly been parked in the lot for about a week, police told theFort Worth Star-Telegram. The security guard who discovered her allegedly smelled a foul odor coming from the car before seeing her body.
The outlet also reports that her purse, including information identifying her, was found in the vehicle.
There was no apparent trauma to her body, local outletMy San Antonioreported. Powell’s body was transported to Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
Confirming the loss on Facebook, Powell’s mother Claudia Mobleywroteon July 25, “My beautiful daughter, Christina Powell, has been found, deceased. I am heartbroken. Thank you all for your prayers.”
RELATED VIDEO: Missing Mom Christina Powell Found Dead Inside Car in Mall Parking Lot Miles from Home: Police
“We didn’t really have any kind of in-depth conversation. It was basically, ‘Good morning.’ She told me she was late,” Mobley, 70, told Fox News. “Then, she was leaving for work and I told her to be careful. And I probably told her, ‘I love you.’ "
Earlier that morning, Powell called her office where she works as a paralegal and told them she would be late. But she never showed up.
Later in the day, a colleague went to her home and asked Powell’s 12-year-old son if her mother was there, according to Fox News.
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“My grandson answered the door, and the lady said, ‘Is your mom here?’ " Mobley told the site. “He said, ‘No, she’s at work’ … He went and checked, and of course, she wasn’t here.”
The SAPD and Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
