Move it, or it's towed

"I pulled one blanket and that's when I saw my daughter's leg. I saw her leg and her toes," stated Tracy Ponce.

Relatives of Eileen Orta, 22, of Pomona CA had reported her missing several days before and the police had a missing person's report, complete with a description of her vehicle. On Friday, they were called to come remove her minivan from a parking space where it was illegally parked.

That minivan had been discovered parked in a spot reserved for a police official at the Pomona Superior Court and her reletives were informed that if they didn't come down and remove the van, it would be towed and impounded. Tracy Ponce stated that she moved one of the blankets that were piled in the van and that was when she saw her daughter's leg. In fact, her daughter was dead and hidden under the blankets.

The police stated that there was no way that they could have known that her body was in there according to Pomona Police Chief Joe Romeo. He added that they didn't have the authority search the vehicle or break windows to get into it.

Ponce though stated that the windows were rolled down in the minivan when they arrived at it and although the police may have had no authority to search an abandoned vehicle, they had a missing person's report that included that vehicle. She questioned why it wasn't searched because it should have been found that it belonged to a missing person. She added that she would like to know if her daughter may have been found alive if it had been searched when it was found.

Orta was pronouced dead at the scene and an autopsy revealed that she died from a stab wound to the neck. Police admit that in hindsight, they could have gone over the van better than was done.

Eileen Orta may have already been dead when her van was found but to think that her family was the one to find her after being told to come get her van..........that sounds like a bit more than just an oversight.