California authorities have discovered the body of a woman days after she was reported missing. She had been shot to death.
The body of Janet Mejia, a 28-year-old department store worker whose car was found abandoned a day after she was reported missing on Tuesday, was discovered Thursday along a Placer County road, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. An autopsy showed she died from a gunshot wound and was the victim of homicide.
ABC-10 reported authorities have arrested one of Mejia’s roommates, who has not been identified, on unrelated weapons charges. That individual has been named a person of interest in her homicide, according to the station.
Earlier, Mejia’s family and friends held out hope.
“We want Janet to come home ... we love you [and] we miss you,” Mejia’s sister, Daisy Mejia, told Sacramento’s CBS 13 News. “I’m praying to God that you’re OK.”
Janet Mejia was reported missing Tuesday night, according to the sheriff’s department. Her roommate told police she was last seen that morning leaving their Sacramento apartment for a doctor’s appointment. Mejia missed the appointment and failed to show up for work at the Nordstrom department store in Roseville.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Mejia grew up in Stockton and graduated from California State University, Sacramento, last year with a degree in American Sign Language and deaf studies.
“Her disappearance is out of the ordinary,” the sheriff’s department said in a press release on Wednesday. “She is usually in constant contact with her family.”
Authorities located Mejia’s blue 2011, four-door Honda on Wednesday afternoon in the Arden-Arcade area, reportedly a 15-minute drive from her apartment. Mejia has no known connection to the area, the sheriff’s department said.
In an interview with Sacramento’s Fox 40 News, Daisy Mejia said police found her sister’s credit card in the Nordstrom parking lot.
“That is what they are telling us,” she said. “We don’t know if it’s related” to Janet Mejia’s disappearance.
Authorities haven’t confirmed the find.
Mejia is described as Hispanic, approximately 5 feet tall, 120 to 125 pounds, with long black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt with the word “PINK” on the front. She is fluent in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.
“We hope for the best and pray she is OK,” Daisy Mejia told Fox 40 News. “Her dream is to become an interpreter for the deaf, and I just want to ask help from anyone and everyone to help her achieve that dream.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 916-874-5115.
This article has been updated to include the discovery of Mejia’s body.
David Lohr covers crime and missing persons. Tips? Feedback? Send an email or follow him on Twitter.
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