SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The search for missing 19‑year‑old Camila Mendoza‑Olmos took a devastating turn Tuesday when deputies and FBI agents found a body and a firearm in a brushy area just 200 yards from her residence, a location investigators had struggled to clear earlier due to heavy vegetation. An official identification of the body, found approximately 200 yards from the missing woman’s residence, is expected within days.
For nearly a week, family members and more than 100 volunteers have searched for 19-year-old Camila Mendoza-Olmos, expanding the search area as the days have progressed.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar held a press conference late Tuesday and provided details concerning the discovery of a body near the residence where the young woman resided. According to Salazar, a body was recovered close to the home of Mendoza-Olmos just before 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The area where the discovery took place had already been searched, but was revisited because tall grass hindered the initial inspection.
A source close to the search told Breitbart Texas the body was found near a business just outside the Wildhorse subdivision where Mendoza-Olmos lived. The company that specializes in bulk sales of mulch, rock, and topsoil is near an area with tall brush and high grass, which made a thorough search difficult.
According to Sheriff Salazar, a consensus was reached between his deputies and a contingent of FBI agents participating in the search that the brushy area needed to be re-examined due to the difficulty posed by the dense, towering foliage. According to Salazar, a firearm was found near the remains.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Salazar indicated a firearm, owned by the Olmos family, was reported missing at the time of her disappearance. According to Salazar, positive identification of the remains by the Bexar County Medical Examiner will take approximately two days.
Salazar commented on the possibility that the young woman may have taken her own life, saying, “During the course of the investigation, we developed some information that there may be some suicidal ideations on Camila’s part.” Salazar did not provide specific details out of respect for the family. Salazar later added, “It sounds like it was a young person going through a very tough time in their life.”
Breitbart Texas visited with volunteers searching for Mendoza-Olmos early Sunday morning at the Wildhorse HOA Sports Park, nestled in the center of the neighborhood where Mendoza-Olmos went missing. Search organizer Frank Trevino provided Breitbart Texas with details on efforts to locate the missing young woman.
Trevino told Breitbart Texas that the search initially focused on the area where Camila had been known to go for daily walks. The Wildhorse neighborhood, on the Northwest side of San Antonio, is an upper-middle-class subdivision with a median home price exceeding $300,000. The missing persons case sparked concerns initially that the young woman may have been abducted against her will.
Across the neighborhood, mailboxes, street signs, and utility poles still display missing person flyers with Mendoza-Olmos’ photo and details of her disappearance. On Tuesday, Sheriff Salazar expressed his thanks to the efforts of the FBI, which joined in on the search and investigation shortly after the young woman’s disappearance.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, initial reports from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office indicate the young woman was last seen leaving her residence on the 11000 block of Caspian Spring Road at approximately 7:00 am on foot. Authorities reviewed video evidence from a home security camera and showed an unknown individual, believed to be the young woman, searching inside her vehicle for an unidentified item.
Shortly after her disappearance, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) issued a statewide Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue (CLEAR) Alert to widen the search for Mendoza-Olmos. According to the DPS, the alert is designed to “assist state law enforcement in locating and rescuing missing, kidnapped or abducted adults or adults who are in immediate danger of injury or death, as well as aid in locating any potential suspects.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X @RandyClarkBBTX.
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