KANE COUNTY, Utah — The remains of a woman who was reported missing in early December were believed to be located in Kane County on Monday.
Courtney Townsend, 33, was last seen on November 16, when her mother reported to the St. George Police Department that her car had been stolen. Three days later, on Nov. 19, the stolen car was found in Kane County, stuck on some rocks and burned in the forest South of Duck Creek.
"When she went from contacting my parents every day to no contact whatsoever with anybody, that's when we started to get really concerned," said Dallas Jimenez, Townsend's sister.
Weeks after she was last seen, on December 2, Townsend's mother filed a missing persons report for her daughter.
According to Jimenez, the remains were found not far from where the car was discovered.
"There’s closure I don’t have to look for her anymore. There’s that closure, I guess," said Jimenez. "We do know where she is but now we have all the questions. The Whys, the what happeneds, and what was going on in her mind if she was going up there on her own."
Officials said search efforts were hampered because of snow in the area, making a thorough search not possible until it melted.
"If they had done the search when they initially found the car, we may have found my sister," she said.
Lt. Alan Alldredge said search and rescue crews didn't find anything when they went near the site in early May.
"Four-hundred-and-something man hours and a couple hundred miles that was walked, rails that we searched in that area where the car was, trying to locate her," he said.
On Monday, an individual told officials they were riding their ATV in the Duck Creek Ridge area and found some clothing on the side of the road.
A search team comprised of the Kane County Sheriff's Office, search and rescue members and dogs trained in human remains, were sent to search the area. That's when they found human remains.
"Evidence on the scene leads investigators to believe the remains are those of Courtney Townsend," officials reported.
The remains will be transferred to the Utah State Medical Examiner's office for further analysis and identity confirmation. Officials told FOX 13 News that while they don't suspect foul play, the case is still under investigation.
"We think she may have just been heading down this road, the car appeared to maybe have gotten high-centered on some rocks and started on fire. That's one possible scenario, it just was an accident," said Alldredge.
Jimenez said her sister's death is a "complete mystery" and that "nothing adds up."
"We just don't have any answers that bring real closure," she said.
