Dallas ISD teacher assistant's body identified; cause of death 'pending,' medical examiner says
Remains identified as missing Dallas ISD employee
The Dallas County Medical Examiner confirmed that human remains found in October belong to missing Dallas ISD teacher's assistant Jennifer Mendez Olascoaga. Police are digging into text messages sent to her friends and family after her disappearance.
MESQUITE, Texas - The Dallas County Medical Examiner has confirmed a body found in Mesquite belongs to a missing Dallas ISD teacher's assistant.
Jennifer Mendez Olascoaga's body was found on Oct. 12 in a wooded area less than a mile from where her car was found.
Jennifer Mendez Olascoaga
Investigators say it took one month to identify Mendez due to the condition of the body, resulting in a DNA test.
The cause of death is still pending, however Mesquite police are still investigating this case as a homicide.
The 24-year-old Mendez was reported missing to police by her family in late September after she failed to show up for work.
Police say she was last seen on Sept. 27.
That evening, she dropped a friend off at a mobile home park in Seagoville.
Shortly after, Mendez was caputred on surveillance video at a Dallas QuikTrip near Highway 175 and Belt Line Road pumping gas and purchasing a drink and food.
During a desperate search, Mendez's family found her white 2015 Buick La Cross in Mesquite near Milam Road and Lawson Road the day after she didn't come home.
Jennfier Mendez's white 2015 Buick La Cross was found in Mesquite near the intersection of Milam and Lawson roads.
Two weeks after she vanished, Seagoville investigators located Mendez's remains in a wooded area off Interstate 20, during a search about a mile from her abandoned car.
Coordinates of Mendez's place of death from the Medical Examiner's website led to a site tucked in the trees.
Orange flags and tape were seen marking an area.
Now, Mesquite police are leading the investigation.
The department tells FOX 4 Monday no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been identified.
Detectives say they're currently investigating threatening text messages sent to Mendez's family and friends after she disappeared.
One text threat reads, "Jennifer dead. You are next. You better text me back."
Another said, "I never going to find the body. I won't tell you nothing."
Mesquite police say there are no arrests in the case yet.
Detectives are waiting for more evidence from the phone records.
Mendez's family did not want to make any public statements today.
They tell FOX 4 they were notified of the identification over the weekend and are now planning her funeral.