Human remains were found in Mesquite this week about a mile from where a missing Dallas ISD assistant’s car was located late last month.
A little before 6 p.m. Thursday, Mesquite police officers responded to the area near Interstate 20 and Lawson Road to investigate the discovery of human remains. Seagoville police contacted authorities in Mesquite after searching a wooded area and finding the remains.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s office will identify the deceased, Mesquite police said.
The remains were discovered close to where family members of Jennifer Mendez Olascoaga, 24, found her car.
Mendez has been missing for more than two weeks, and Seagoville police, the lead agency working to find her, said there may be evidence of foul play. The department said Wednesday that detectives discovered Mendez was last seen Sept. 27 on surveillance video at a QuikTrip in Dallas at U.S. Highway 175 and South Belt Line Road.
The footage shows Mendez arriving at the gas station in her white 2015 Buick LaCrosse and entering the store, buying snacks and pumping gas before leaving. Before that, police said, she was seen on surveillance cameras in the Creekside Mobile Home Park in Seagoville, where she dropped off a friend.
The next morning, her car was found abandoned by her family near the intersection of Lawson and Milam roads in Mesquite. Mendez, a teacher’s assistant for Dallas ISD, did not show up to work that day, and family members said her disappearance isn’t normal behavior, according to police.
Seagoville police said the friend that Mendez dropped off received text messages that could signal foul play. Her family members, who saw the messages, told KXAS-TV (NBC5) they said, “You’ll never find her. She’s gone.”
NBC5 reported that the number was not traceable. According to police, family members filed a missing-persons report with Dallas police on Sept. 28, but they were referred to the Seagoville department after authorities learned that’s where she was last seen.
Anyone with information is asked to call Seagoville police at 972-287-1111.