Austin police department to review policies after missing woman found dead

Austin police said a woman reported missing last week has been found dead. 

K9 search and rescue teams located her body Sunday morning behind a business complex on West Courtyard Drive near the 360 Pennybacker bridge.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said he does not believe there was any foul play involved. He also emphasized that the department will be reviewing how the case was handled to make sure officers followed protocols for a missing person’s report.

47-year-old Angela Morris was reported missing on August 20th by her fiancé Andi Davies. 
                
“Ms. Morris was gone for approximately 5.5 to 6 hours when the complainant called 911, according to his estimation when he talked to our officer,” Manley said. 

FOX-7 Austin spoke with Davies last week. He explained the couple was headed to an appointment when they got a flat tire on 360 near Lakewood Drive. They stopped, put on a spare and then got back on the road. Then, Davies said, the spare blew out about 1.8 miles from the first flat. 

“There was a locking lug nut on this tire, and there was a special tool they needed to remove that, and when they changed the tire the first time that tool was dropped down into a storm drain,” said Manley. 

Davies said because he is an amputee, he and Morris decided she would walk back to the location while he waited in the car. But Morris did not have a cell phone and Davies never saw or heard from her again. 

“It's totally out of character, especially to walk off like that and not come back and leave me in the car,” Davies said. 

Manley said the officer who took the report searched by car for about 15 minutes, but never located Morris. Then, a be on the lookout notice was issued. Police also had knowledge of an illness that could've affected Morris' ability to make the trip. 

“He gave descriptions of a medical condition she had that made her susceptible to heat and heat related incidents,” said Manley. 

Four days later, Morris' case was forwarded to the missing persons unit. Detectives there re-interviewed Davies, APD Air One searched for her from the sky, then search and rescue teams were brought in to help. 

“They put together a plan that brought in 20 people to search along with six K9s. And that search conducted on the 26th, yesterday morning, and resulted in the location of the deceased person that, at this point, we do believe is our missing person,” Manley said. 

Questions about why Morris was located in the woods or what exactly happened to her are still unanswered. Meanwhile, Manley said he is searching for other answers as well. 

“We're looking at our policies, we're looking at our procedures, and we're looking at the steps we took to make sure we're compliant with our policies and our procedures and that we don't need to make any changes to them,” said Manley. 

Morris' family issued a statement that reads, “On behalf of Andi Davies, Angela's fiancé, and the Morris family, we'd like to thank the Austin Police Department and supportive community who helped raise awareness of Angela's disappearance. The family is heartbroken and respectfully requests privacy to mourn during this incredibly difficult time.”