A week after a 19-year-old Texas college student went missing during what her family believed was a routine morning walk, authorities discovered human remains near her home, prompting her mother to utter haunting words.
Bexar County deputies and FBI agents located the body on December 30, in a field just a hundred yards from the family’s residence in San Antonio.
Officials confirmed a firearm was also found nearby.
A 19-year-old Texas teen went missing during a Christmas Eve morning walk
Image credits: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
After the news of the body discovery spread, the missing teen’s mother, Rosario Olmos, was heard repeatedly saying, “So close to home.”
Camila Mendoza Olmos was last seen just before 7 a.m. on December 24, after leaving her northwest home.
The surveillance footage captured her outside the house wearing baby-blue pajama shorts, a black hoodie, and white shoes, rummaging through her car before the video cut off, as per officials.
Authorities also confirmed Camila left on foot, taking only her car keys and possibly her driver’s licence. Her phone was found inside the house.
Image credits: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
The morning she disappeared, Camila was sleeping in the same bed as her mother. Rosario Olmos revealed to the local media that she felt her daughter get out of bed, but waited nearly 90 minutes before checking on her.
“I thought I would find her like other times, walking, and we would come home together,” Rosario said.
When Camila did not return, her mother searched the neighborhood, contacted her boyfriend and father, Alfonso Mendoza, and eventually filed a missing persons report. A CLEAR Alert was issued later that day, listing the teen as “possibly endangered.”
Image credits: Priscilla Aguirre, MySA
Over 100 people, including relatives, searched for Camila but came back empty-handed.
Her mother, father, and brother, Carlos Mendoza, who flew back home after learning about her disappearance, pleaded publicly for her return.
“Pray, pray, pray and ask from the heart, to God and the angels, and the Virgin Mary, whoever you believe in, to please for my daughter to return,” Rosario said.
“It’s been real hard. Please come home. Daddy’s missing you,” her father said.
Texas Sheriff revealed the teen showed signs of mental health struggles before her disappearance
Image credits: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
During the investigation, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar claimed that the investigators uncovered information suggesting Camila had been experiencing depression and emotional distress in recent weeks.
“She was a young person going through a very tough time in her life,” Salazar said, citing struggles with school, work, and a recent romantic breakup, emphasizing the separation was mutual and did not involve foul play.
Image credits: Facebook
Camila’s mother also acknowledged the Sheriff’s claims while describing her daughter as overwhelmed by academic pressure.
However, Camila’s father strongly rejected the suggestion, stating, “She would never do something like that. People talk, but they don’t know my daughter like I do.”
Image credits: News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio
Image credits: Noticias Telemundo
Throughout the investigation, multiple agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, assisted in the search.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage, drone scans, and a dashboard camera clip showing a woman, believed to be Camila, walking along a roadway near her home around the time she vanished.
Texas deputies confirmed remains found near home belong to missing teen Camila Olmos
Image credits: Facebook
On Tuesday afternoon, search teams returned to a field near Bent Canyon and FM 1560, an area that was previously checked but partially obscured by tall brush.
Around 4:45 p.m., deputies and FBI agents discovered human remains.
Sheriff Salazar also confirmed a firearm was found near the body and claimed it appeared to match a missing weapon reported from the family’s home.
Image credits: Facebook
On Wednesday, December 31, the medical examiner positively identified the body as Camila’s.
The examiner also determined the cause of passing to be su*cide by a gu**hot wound to the head.
Now, the community mourns the devastating loss of a young life and as for Camila’s family, the focus has shifted from searching to grieving a devastating loss.
“That’s horrible that poor girl, poor family,” said one netizen
