Ashley Manning missing Anaheim, California woman body found in abandoned U-haul. Death deemed suspicious as authorities await autopsy & toxicology test results.
The ‘decomposing’ body of a missing California woman has been discovered inside an abandoned U-Haul according to officials.
Ashley Manning, 29 — of Anaheim who went missing nearly two months ago — was found dead ‘tightly’ wrapped in cardboard, plastic wrap and duct tape Friday, KCBS reports.
Her family reported her missing after not hearing from her following a flight Nov. 13 from Dallas to Los Angeles.
Police said the U-Haul truck was rented by an unidentified person in Anaheim and never returned. The vehicle was discovered abandoned in Anaheim.
When the truck wasn’t returned, the company tracked down the vehicle and brought it back to a storage facility in Fullerton for an inventory search. It is there that a macabre discovery awaited them.
‘After they recovered the truck, they brought it here to the Fullerton location to do an inventory of the contents of the truck,’ Anaheim Police Sgt. Shane Carringer said in a press release. ‘During that inventory search, they discovered what they believed to be human remains, and it has been confirmed that it is human remains.’
The body was so tightly packaged that it was impossible to tell the gender, race or age of the deceased, let alone his or her identity, Carringer initially noted.
‘We are not calling it a homicide yet,’
No cause of death was immediately provided, but authorities are investigating the death as suspicious.
‘We are not calling it a homicide yet,’ Carringer said. ‘It’s obviously a suspicious death, and the circumstances in which the body was found are certainly suspicious, but we’re going to treat it as if it could potentially be a homicide.’
Carringer noted that even if the person in the vehicle did not die as a result of a homicide, other crimes may have been committed.
‘It could be something much less nefarious than a homicide,’ Carringer told KTLA5. ‘It could just be a natural death in which the body was disposed of or stored improperly.’
Manning’s sister, Taylor, confirmed her death Friday in a Facebook post.
‘As a family we are trying to navigate this tragedy and this extremely hard time,’ the post said.
To date police have told of having no suspects or making an arrest as they await the return of autopsy and toxicology tests.
Body found in back of U-Haul truck in Fullerton on Wednesday has been identified by Anaheim Police as 29 year old Ashley Manning of Anaheim. Police say cause of death is still pending while they await results of toxicology reports. pic.twitter.com/9pwQpn0zrt
— Chip Yost (@ChipYost) January 10, 2020
