A Texas Sheriff has released a tragic statement urging parents to check in on their kids after a body was discovered in the search for missing teenager Camila Mendoza Olmos.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed that a body was found, although the identity has not been confirmed.
Camila Mendoza Olmos went missing on Christmas Eve
The search for missing Texas teenager Camila Mendoza Olmos has been going at pace since her disappearance from home in San Antonio on Christmas Eve.
Police released some grainy dashcam footage that they believed to be the 19-year-old walking by the side of a road near her home.
At the time, authorities had refused to rule out abduction or trafficking, and it had been confirmed that they had not ruled out her crossing an international border.
On Tuesday, it was announced that a body had been found ‘a few hundred yards’ from the teenager’s home, but added that it was ‘too early to tell’ that the body was certainly that of the missing woman.
At the time, Salazar confirmed that there was no suspicion of foul play, adding that ‘there are some indicators’ of potential self harm, although the cause of death has yet to be determined.
A number of descriptions were released during the search for Mendoza Olmos, and Salazar said that the body found had clothing ‘very similar’ to one of those descriptions.
The police had already checked that area once, but ‘due to tall grass, we felt that there would be a benefit to checking the area once again’.
10 minutes later the body was found.
A firearm was also found near to the body, and a family member had also noticed a firearm missing, the Sheriff said.
Again, there has been no confirmation that it is the same weapon.
Sheriff releases touching statement asking families to look out for one another
Sheriff Salazar spoke in moving fashion about the teenager’s mental health, and urged families to look out for each other.
“There may have been some suicidal ideations on Camila’s part before. Some signs of depression, undiagnosed as far as we can tell. But, from what’s being described to us, it sounds like it was a young person going through a very tough time in their life,” he said.
He added that Camila was having ‘a tough time with school, with work, [and] with a relationship that had recently ended’, calling it ‘heartbreaking’ to learn about her life issues.
“I use this as an opportunity to remind everybody out there, whether you got kids this age or even well into adulthood, check on people and don’t take anything for granted,
“If you are going through a crisis yourself, reach out and get help.”
If you or anyone you know has been struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8.