Suspicious death has Austin police scrambling for answers

AUSTIN, Texas - A suspicious death has Austin police scrambling for answers after a body was found in a wooded area off of I-35

That woman's body was found next to an apartment complex off of Rundberg Lane. It's an area frequented by transients and at the center lies a homeless camp. It was someone inside camp who made the gruesome discovery.

"I stopped by here at this camp to give my mother some medicine she needed some medicine and food," said Kelly Dubose, the woman who discovered the body.

Dubose's mother has lived in this field off of I-35 since her home burned down six months ago.

"They're good people, down on their luck. A lot of people have drug addictions, mental health issues, this is best they can do," said Dubose.

They were headed to Walmart around 1 o'clock Monday morning when they made a gruesome discovery.

"I walked behind this couch because I saw what looked like a person laying there. It was foam here and it was kind of broken foam here and she was on the ground," Kelly Dubose

"I checked her pulse and her wrist, she was cold. I had 911 dialing at the time, got 911 on the phone," said Angela Dubose who called 9-1-1.

Austin police say it was a black female in her late twenties or early thirties. Ems tried to revive her but couldn't. She was pronounced dead just after 2 a.m.

"There are no obvious signs of trauma but because of where she was located it's being considered a suspicious death," said Veneza Bremner, Senior Police Officer with the Austin Police Officer.

"People that have lived out here the longest had never seen her before. Maybe she accidentally overdosed and someone got scared and brought her here and left her," said Angela Dubose.

Police spent most of the morning combing for clues, a mystery that's sent shockwaves through this tight-knit transient community.

"We try to act as a family to do things but it's stressful," said Angela Dubose.

A community, they say, is being forced to break up. The Dubose's say Austin police told them over the weekend the entire place had to be cleared by Tuesday.

"That stigma of homeless people always being prostitutes and drug addicts and alcoholics was being lifted from us," said Kelly Dubose.

But it seems after this morning's tragedy, it couldn't have come at a better time.

"Even though we had nothing to do it, it was right here in our backyard unfortunately," said Angela Dubose.

It's not known if the woman was also homeless or how her body ended up in that field. Austin police have not yet released her name. They are asking anyone with any information to come forward.