The body of a woman was found in a towed car this week after a state trooper failed to notice that the missing woman was in the vehicle.
Carolyn Ann Watkins was reported missing on Monday after she failed to show up to work.
North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Marlon Williams filed a crash report on Friday after he found her crashed 2000 Pontiac in a ditch on Friday morning. Both air bags deployed in the vehicle. Williams didn't notice a person in the car, the Associated Press reports.
"Note: No driver at the scene of this collision," Williams wrote in his report.
The trooper had a tow company take the car to a lot for storage. On Monday, the Smithfield police investigated the car again while looking for clues about Watkins' disappearance and they found her body inside.
It wasn't clear when Watkins died. She was last seen alive on Thursday.
Al Parker, Watkins' son believes that his mother's life may have been saved if the trooper saw her in the car earlier.
"I'm thinking she could still have been alive," Parker said Tuesday. "How do you not look in the car? When you pulled the car out, how do you not see a body in the car?"
Williams has worked for Highway Patrol for nine years. He has been placed on paid administrative duty as the incident is investigated. The State Bureau
Investigation has not released any other details at this time.
"We will release accurate information to the public as soon as available and appropriate," Public Safety Commissioner Frank Perry said in a brief written statement. "At this early stage, our main concern is to conduct a thorough and professional investigation so we can determine exactly what happened."
Workers at the tow company would not respond to questions about the incident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
