A body has been found near the San Antonio home of Camila Mendoza Olmos, the 19-year-old Texas teen who went missing shortly after leaving her house on the morning of Christmas Eve. Authorities said the discovery was made during a renewed search effort, but the body has not yet been formally identified, and no official cause of death has been determined.The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the discovery on Tuesday afternoon, December 30, after search teams returned to an area that had already been examined earlier in the investigation. The body was found in a field roughly 100 yards from Mendoza Olmos’ home, an area that was searched again due to concerns that tall grass may have obscured visibility during previous sweeps.Sheriff Javier Salazar said the body was located at approximately 4.45 pm local time and was wearing clothing that appeared “very similar” to what investigators believe Camila was wearing when she was last seen. While the proximity to her home and the clothing have raised concern, Salazar stressed that forensic identification is still pending.“We hope that we can expedite that process to try to get the community answers,” Salazar said during a briefing. According to the sheriff, investigators do not currently suspect foul play. He said there were indications of self-harm, but declined to provide specific details, citing the sensitivity of the case and the need to wait for confirmation from the medical examiner.A firearm was found near the body, Salazar confirmed. Investigators had previously been searching for a family member’s firearm that had been reported missing, and that aspect of the case remains under review as part of the ongoing investigation.The renewed search that led to the discovery involved combined teams from the sheriff’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Authorities said the area had been searched earlier in the investigation but was revisited after reassessing terrain conditions and visibility concerns.Mendoza Olmos was last seen on the morning of December 24, when a neighbour’s doorbell camera appeared to capture her standing next to her car just before 7 am, outside her home in San Antonio. She was reported missing later that day, prompting a multi-day search in and around her neighbourhood.Sheriff Salazar said Mendoza Olmos had been “going through a tough time” prior to her disappearance, though authorities have not publicly disclosed further details.Authorities say the next steps include formal identification of the body, an autopsy, and toxicology testing to determine the cause and manner of death. Officials have said additional information will be released once forensic work is complete and the family has been fully notified.For now, investigators are urging the public to allow time for the process to unfold, as the community awaits clarity in a case that has deeply affected the neighbourhood and drawn widespread attention across San Antonio and beyond.
