WOODLAND PARK, COLO. -- The search for a missing Manitou Springs woman last seen in Woodland Park ended tragically Wednesday.
The Teller County Coroner, Dr. Earl Byrne, has positively identified a body found by police early Wednesday morning as missing 33-year-old Mindy Lee.
Police said the body was found around 8 a.m. on an athletic field at Woodland Park High School, near the same area that Lee was last seen alive Friday night.
Police and volunteers have been searching for days for Lee.
Wednesday morning another group was preparing to search the area again when police made a gruesome discovery.
"When they were checking the south side of the upper athletic fields they saw just a piece of red material poking through the snow," John Gomes, Deputy Chief of the Woodland Park Police Department, said.
Police uncovered the frozen body of Lee who they said disappeared after a string of strange events.
"She was with some friends who had taken her to the hospital," Gomes said. "They came down here to do some errands, she got out of a car and walked away, and we've been looking for her since."
Friends told police they took Lee to the hospital in Woodland Park because she had flu like symptoms, and others said she had laryngitis, but the hospital has no record of Lee ever checking in.
"These are all things we'll be asking questions about in the future and hopefully our investigation will determine," Gomes said.
Despite lots of unanswered questions, police don't think Lee was murdered.
"We have no reason to believe that there is foul play involved at this time," Gomes said.
The coroner said he thinks Lee died late Friday night or early Saturday morning and has been outside the entire time.
He said it will take days before her body thaws enough to be able to perform an autopsy and determine a cause of death, but adds given the conditions outside over the weekend, hypothermia is a possibility.
As police wait for answers, they are asking anyone who may know what happened to Lee to come forward.
"We still need additional information," Gomes said. "If anyone saw her walking around that night, was she with anyone, did they happen to contact her that night, any information like that can be useful," Gomes said.
A friend said Lee had two daughters ages 14 and 4, and that a fund has been set up for them.
Donations can be made by going to any Academy Bank in Colorado and asking to donate to the "Mindy Lee Fund."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Update:
The Woodland Park Police Department says the body found behind Woodland Park High School Wednesday morning has been identified as Mindy Lee.
They say Teller County Coroner, Doctor Earl Byrne, has not yet been able to determine how Lee died.
Lee was reported missing last Friday in the Forest Edge housing area of Woodland Park.
Her body was found approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile outside the housing area, east of the high school, partially hidden from view by a storage shed adjacent to a wooded area.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Original story:
Patrol officers found a body Wednesday morning wearing clothing matching the description of Mindy Lee, the woman who was reported missing Friday.
They found the body around 8:13 a.m. in an area behind Woodland Park High School. Woodland Park police said the area is not normally used by students this time of year. An officer spotted red clothing while on rounds and found the body when he went to investigate.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Woodland Park Police Department in the investigation of the scene.
Police said no other information is available at this time.
The voluntary search for Mindy Lee has been called off.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM