Portsmouth, Ohio Police found a missing woman dead in her home on Thursday evening. The case began when her former boyfriend reported her missing just before 8 am on Wednesday morning. He told police he was worried because she had a history of substance abuse issues and he’d not heard from her in weeks. He’d headed over to her home to check in on her but there was no answer at the door.
Wednesday, police talked with a neighbor who said she last saw the woman five days before but that she’d been pretty intoxicated. The neighbor also told police she’d spotted people working for the woman’s landlord changing the locks.
Another neighbor said she’d spotted the woman three days ago. The neighbor said the woman seemed okay, but that she was intoxicated. Neighbors suggested officers get in touch with the woman’s landlord. Officers left a message for him.
The landlord got in touch with officers on Thursday evening at about 6:30 pm. An officer went to Vinton Avenue home to make entry with the landlord. They discovered the body of the missing woman.
Police called the coroner and also sent for animal control to take the woman’s pets into their care. An officer stood by at the scene with the animals until animal control arrived on the scene.
Upsetting Situation
When an officer called to speak with the deceased woman’s next-of-kin, they discovered that someone had already told her that her mother was dead. The officer noted in the official police report that they hated to give death notifications over the phone, but since the woman was quite upset and already knew, there was no reason to make the grieving daughter wait while officers drove to her location to make the official notification.
There was no indication in the initial police log that foul play of any type is suspected.
