MISSING student Camila Mendoza has been found dead days after she disappeared on an early morning Christmas Eve walk.
Police confirmed the grim find on Tuesday afternoon close to the teen’s family home in San Antonio, Texas.
Search and rescue teams worked round the clock to help find the missing teenCredit: ABC News
Camila was last seen on what her parents have called a “regular” walk on the morning of Christmas Eve in a suburb of San Antonio.
She was last seen on a neighbor’s surveillance footage while leaving her home at 6:58 am and has not been spotted since.
The medical examiner determined that she had died by su::::icide from a single gunshot wound.
Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed the find on Tuesday afternoon and said a firearm had been found close to where the body was discovered.
A relative of Camila’s had reported a firearm, cops said.
Sheriff Salazar said on Wednesday morning: “At this point, we don’t suspect foul play.
“We hope that we can try to expedite that process to be able to get the community answers.”
Investigators said the 19-year-old only had her car keys and possibly a driver’s license when she went missing.
Salazar told ABC News on Sunday that police have only ruled out the possibility that the teen, who is a US citizen, was mistakenly taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
“I had it checked to make sure that there were no stops, no detentions, and that she’s not somewhere in a federal detention facility,” he said.
He said Tuesday: “From what’s being described to us, it sounds like it was a young person going through a very tough time in their life.
“This is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for.”
TIMELINE OF DISAPPEARANCE
When she disappeared, Camila’s car was still parked at her home, leading police to believe that she left on foot.
The sheriff said the teen recently went through a breakup that ended amicably and added that everyone in her life is cooperating with the investigation.
Camila typically goes on a morning walk, but never forgets her phone, according to her family.
“It’s just not Cami,” her aunt Nancy Olmos told the outlet.
The morning of her disappearance, a neighbour’s security camera captured Camila leaving her home, dressed in blue pyjama shorts, a black hoodie, and white shoes.
The footage shows her rummaging through her car for an unknown item before the camera cut off.
Camila’s car remained parked outside the house, suggesting she may have left on foot with only her car keys and possibly her driver’s licence.
Camila’s mother, Rosario, woke up around 7.30am to find her daughter gone.
The two had shared a bed the night before and Rosario said she could feel when Camila got up.
By the time she awoke herself, Camila was nowhere to be found.
Around 9.30am, Rosario called her daughter’s phone, only to discover it on her bed with no charge.
She quickly reached out to Camila’s boyfriend and her father – both of whom hadn’t seen her – and then called the police.
LAST WORDS
Camila’s disappearance came just hours after speaking with her childhood best friend, Camila Estrella.
The two were chatting about plans to go dress shopping for Estrella’s boyfriend’s family event.
Before hanging up, Camila told Estrella, “Bye Cami, I love you.”
Those would be the last words Estrella would hear from her best friend before she vanished.
Estrella said she and her friend spoke nearly every day.
She called her friend’s vanishing “so random.”
“This is so random, we never expected this.”
Camila is described as 5-feet 4-inches tall, weighing about 110 pounds.
She was last pictured wearing a baby blue and black hoodie, baby blue pajama bottoms, and white shoes.
Camila was last seen in the 11000 block of Caspian Spring on Christmas EveCredit: Facebook
The morning of her disappearance, a neighbour’s security camera captured Camila leaving her home, dressed in blue pyjama shorts, a black hoodie, and white shoesCredit: KSAT
