- - Remains of Texas teen missing since Christmas Eve identified, police say

Sakshi Venkatraman; Max MatzaJanuary 1, 2026 at 2:07 AM

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Warning - this story contains discussion of suicide and suicidal feelings

An exhaustive search for a Texas teen who vanished outside her home on Christmas Eve came to a tragic end when authorities found the girl dead.

Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen leaving her house in San Antonio for her regular morning walk. After a search that lasted for an entire week, officials discovered her body and ruled her death to be suicide.

The tragic discovery came after local authorities released dashcam video that they said might show the missing woman walking near her home.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told a news conference that he couldn't say for certain it was her, but the person's clothing in the video "certainly does match up with what she was wearing".

[Bexar County Sheriff's Office]

Salazar said authorities were looking into all potential scenarios in their search, adding that the sheriff's department was working with the FBI on the case.

"We've got to consider all possibilities from disappearing wilfully to the possibility of self-harm, to somebody may have taken her," Salazar said.

On Wednesday, Salazar said her body was discovered in a field of tall grass, along with signs of self-harm. She had been "going through a tough time", he said, adding that there were no signs of foul play.

He also noted that authorities had been looking for a relative's firearm that had gone missing, and that a gun was found near her body.

If you've been affected by issues involving suicide or feelings of despair, details of organisations offering advice and support for people in the UK are available from BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide.

The teen's parents had told reporters that they were holding out hope she would be found.

"I miss her, come home," her father Alfoso Mendoza told CBS Mornings, adding that he has been "praying to God" since she disappeared. "I might sound strong...but it hurts."

Her mother also told CBS, the BBC's US media partner, on Sunday that "we are hopeful everyday".

"At times we are broken but we are staying strong because my daughter is missing and we don't know where she is at," she said in Spanish.

Police previously released video believed to be of Mendoza Olmos recorded the day she disappeared. That footage showed a woman searching in the back of her car for an unknown item, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities had believed that she then walked somewhere on foot, leaving her car behind. They were concerned that she left without her phone, which was unusual.

Missing Texas teen believed to be in 'imminent danger'

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”