The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says no foul play is suspected as the medical examiner works to confirm the identity.
SAN ANTONIO, TX — Authorities searching for 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos found a body and a firearm in a grassy field a few hundred yards from her northwest Bexar County home on Tuesday, nearly a week after she was reported missing on Christmas Eve, Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
The discovery shifts the weeklong search into a death investigation focused on identification and cause of death. Deputies and FBI agents located the body in thick brush near the teen’s neighborhood after revisiting an area that had been canvassed earlier. Officials said there were no immediate signs of foul play. The Bexar County Medical Examiner will make a formal identification and conduct an autopsy. Olmos’ disappearance had drawn a multi-agency response and attention from across the San Antonio area, where volunteers and neighbors helped review cameras and walk the greenbelts near her home.
Investigators said Olmos was last seen the morning of Dec. 24, with home video showing her briefly searching inside her vehicle before leaving on foot without her phone or tablet. Family members reported her missing when she did not return. Search teams began working outward from the neighborhood on the city’s far Northwest Side, checking drainage easements, trails and vacant lots through the holiday weekend. The sheriff said the body was found Tuesday after deputies and agents pushed deeper into a field hemmed by tall grass and brush that likely concealed the scene during initial passes. “We expanded the grid and went back through areas we had already cleared,” Salazar said. “Unfortunately, this is where that led us.”
Detectives recovered a firearm near the body. Investigators are reviewing whether the weapon matches one previously reported missing from the residence, the sheriff said. He stressed that, while the working assessment is that no foul play is suspected, the scene was processed as a potential homicide to preserve evidence. The medical examiner will determine the manner and cause of death. Officials said multiple possibilities were examined during the search, including voluntary departure and self-harm. The field where the body was found sits a short walk from the family’s home and near a commercial property, according to investigators familiar with the neighborhood layout. Deputies used drones and K-9 teams to map the area before evidence technicians documented and removed items from the scene for lab review.
The search for Olmos began with door-to-door checks and a canvas of private security cameras along Wildhorse Parkway and adjoining streets. Neighbors provided clips showing a young woman walking alone shortly after 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, investigators said. Volunteers organized small groups to comb greenbelts and retention basins as Bexar County deputies coordinated with federal partners. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations assisted with technical resources, while mounted patrols helped navigate rugged lots along the neighborhood’s edges. Family members described Olmos as a first-year college student who had recently changed majors and, according to the sheriff, had struggled with school stress. Authorities asked residents to review footage and report any sightings from the holiday week as the search moved through Christmas and the following weekend.
Public records show the medical examiner typically releases basic identification within several days, depending on the condition of remains and the need for additional testing. In this case, officials said they will await fingerprint, dental or DNA confirmation. If the nearby firearm is linked to the decedent and ballistics align, investigators said it could help resolve the manner of death. Deputies also pulled call logs and recent reports from the neighborhood and retrieved devices that might shed light on Olmos’ movements before she left home. Authorities have not announced any person of interest and emphasized that abduction indicators were not present. The sheriff said earlier that the field had been searched once, but thick vegetation could have obscured critical evidence until the grid was widened.
As the case shifts to the medical examiner, procedural steps include finalizing the scene diagram, submitting the firearm and shell components for ballistic analysis, and preparing a supplemental report summarizing search operations. Detectives will compare the weapon’s serial number with any entries from the residence and run queries through state and federal systems. The sheriff’s office said it will release the decedent’s name after next of kin notification by the medical examiner. Any additional briefings are expected once the autopsy report provides a preliminary ruling, which could come later this week. If the death is ruled a suicide or accident, detectives will close the missing-person file and reclassify the case under the applicable statute. If new evidence points to criminal activity, the investigation would transition to the homicide unit.
Neighbors described a steady stream of patrol cars and marked units returning to the field Tuesday afternoon as the search narrowed. A volunteer who joined weekend efforts said crews focused on drainage easements because tall winter grass made some lots difficult to sweep. “It’s rough terrain back there,” the volunteer said, adding that many residents checked backyard cameras while others walked the greenbelts in small groups. Outside the family’s home, relatives declined extended comment but thanked searchers and asked for privacy. “Our hearts are broken,” a family member said in a brief statement. The sheriff, speaking near the neighborhood entrance, said, “This is not the outcome anyone wanted,” and noted that investigators would “follow the evidence wherever it leads” after the autopsy.
As of late Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said the investigation remains open pending identification and autopsy results. Evidence processing and laboratory submissions are underway, and officials said they will provide an update once the medical examiner issues preliminary findings, expected later this week.
Author note: Last updated December 31, 2025.