Body Found In Car ID'd As Missing RivCo Woman

PALM DESERT, CA —A body found in a vehicle alongside Highway 74 south of Palm Desert was that of a 38-year-old missing woman, authorities say, but there was no evidence of foul play, authorities said Wednesday.

The body of Nancy Rodriguez of Indio was positively identified after being found Monday night along the two-lane corridor, just south of Palowet Drive, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's coroner's bureau.

The agency said Wednesday that Rodriguez had been reported missing earlier that day to the Indio Police Department, and police officers requested assistance from deputies in the search for the victim's vehicle.

Sheriff's Lt. Deirdre Vickers said an initial search turned up no clues as to the woman's whereabouts, but shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, a patrol unit located her car.

"No evidence of foul play has been located," Vickers said. "The investigation remains ongoing, and no further details are available at this time."

There was no word on why Rodriguez might have been on the highway, which is in rugged terrain leading into the San Jacinto Mountains, or why she apparently left home without telling anyone her intentions.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the sheriff's department at 760-836-1600.