Niece Speaks Out After Aunt Vanished from Crash Only to Be Found Dead a Quarter Mile Away Days Later (Exclusive)
Lorena Carrie Scott tells PEOPLE she has questions about what happened to her late aunt Lorena Scott
Wayne County Sheriff's Office
Lorena ScottLorena Scott, 59, went missing after her car was found unoccupied on Saturday, Nov. 30
Three days later, after another search, Scott's body was found about a quarter mile from the crash site
Scott's niece, Lorena Carrie Scott, tells PEOPLE that her aunt had scoliosis and couldn't see her going that far by herself
The niece of a woman whose body was found in a creek about a quarter of a mile from where her vehicle crashed in Indiana three days after she went missing has questions surrounding the circumstances leading to her death.
“I just don’t understand how they couldn’t find her the day of the accident with the resources they’re saying they used,” Lorena Carrie Scott tells PEOPLE about authorities' initial efforts to locate her aunt, Lorena Scott, 59.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that authorities asked the public for information on Scott’s whereabouts after her gold Chevrolet Malibu was involved in a single-vehicle crash on New Paris Pike near Mid Drive and found unoccupied on Nov. 30.
Related: Woman Finds Bone of Missing Man She Knew as a Child: 'He Still Had His Whole Life Ahead of Him'
“Despite an initial area search involving multiple officers and a drone team, Mrs. Scott was not located in the area of the crash site,” authorities later said in an update on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
“An extensive investigation into Mrs. Scott’s disappearance was conducted,” the sheriff’s office said. “This investigation included collaboration with the New Paris Police Department, interviewing family member, reviewing for security camera footage, financial records, as well as significant media coverage and community support.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After all leads were exhausted, authorities noted they decided to “expand and intensify” their search.
With the assistance of the drone teams from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Richmond Fire Department, authorities resumed their search on the morning of Dec. 3. That's when officials found the victim's body in a creek.
“The cause of death has yet to be determined, but foul play is not suspected" and the investigation into the 59-year-old woman's death was ongoing, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Wayne County Coroner’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comments.
But Scott’s niece is confused as to why it took so long to locate her body.
“There are so many people who use drones to recover deer for miles, how could they not find my aunt until three days later when she was only a quarter mile from where her accident was," she says.
The niece argues her aunt would have "called for help instead of trying to walk somewhere."
“She had severe scoliosis," she continues. "I just can’t imagine her leaving the car like that and not calling 911.”
Related: Veteran Missing for 4 Days Found Dead After Motorcycle Crash: 'Deeply Cherished by His Family'
She now believes someone may have been in the car with her aunt at the time of the disappearance and that investigators could have done more.
"I hate that knowing they didn’t really try looking hard enough for her," she shares. "Like she didn’t matter as much."
She adds, "I just know something isn't right about all of it."
As far as what she would like the police to do in this case, she says, “Investigate further and do better for the next person.”
Read the original article on People
