Body of Florida woman missing for nearly six years discovered inside freezer at scrap metal warehouse
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The body of a Florida woman who had been missing for nearly six years was found last month inside the freezer of a scrap metal business, the owner said Friday.
Lilian Argueta opened the freezer and screamed when she found the body, she told the Sun-Sentinel. She said she originally thought the body was a “witch or a mannequin.”
The body was later identified by Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office as 29-year-old Heather Lacey, who vanished in November 2013, according to the newspaper.
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The freezer had reportedly belonged to Jonathan Escarzaga, who was found dead inside his apartment in February. The freezer was moved from his apartment to a scrap warehouse in Margate -- 40 miles north of Miami -- after the apartment manager hired a company to remove the appliances.
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The freezer wasn't locked, the warehouse owners said. They opened it about a month after Escarzaga's death and found the missing woman.
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It wasn’t immediately clear if Escarzaga played a role in Lacey’s death or whether the two knew each other.
Authorities are withholding information pending autopsy results by the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.