Corpse Dumped by Van Thieves Is Found After Hunt
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REDLANDS, Calif. — Searchers found a body missing for nine hours after thieves stole a van from a local funeral home and dumped the corpse it was carrying.
Police, Eagle Scouts, mortuary staff and other volunteers scoured the area for several hours Wednesday night after the van was stolen outside Emmerson-Bartlett Mortuary with an 83-year-old woman’s body inside.
Authorities said the driver had been making a phone call at the mortuary.
The van was found in San Bernardino--approximately 10 miles from the funeral home--about 4 p.m., three hours after it was stolen.
Sgt. Joe Bodnar said the body, clad in a hospital gown, was not in the van.
Shortly after 10 p.m., mortuary staffers found the body of the woman, who was not identified, beside a little-traveled road about two miles from the funeral home, Bodnar said.
He said police had not made any arrests.
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