Feb 18, 2008 7:13 pm US/Pacific
Missing Woman Found Dead Inside Van At Courthouse
POMONA (AP) ―
The family of a missing woman found her body in a minivan after police summoned them to pick up the vehicle because it was illegally parked near the Pomona courthouse.
Police said today that Eileen Orta was found stabbed to death on Friday -- three days after her family filed a missing's person report.
The report gave a full description of Orta and the van, and was entered into a national law enforcement database.
When the van was found parked near the courthouse, police told Orta's family to pick it up before it was impounded.
No one apparently checked the vehicle, and it was Orta's mother who found her daughter buried under some blankets.
The mother, Tracy Ponce, says she's upset that no one searched the van when they knew it was connected to the missing person's report.
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