The body of a woman reported missing in Jackson County, Alabama, more than a year ago has been found in Bessemer, Alabama, southwest of Birmingham, officials in Scottsboro confirmed Friday.
Authorities say foul play is suspected.
Karen Joyce Scott, 38, was reported missing by her parents in December 2018 after she willingly left for parts unknown, Jackson County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said Friday.
Investigators at the sheriff's office in Scottsboro were working to close the missing person case and had been checking with other agencies across the state when they contacted Bessemer police, Harnen said.
"We hadn't heard anything in almost a year," Harnen said. "We had just contacted Bessemer about any unidentified bodies."
Bessemer police had just found one that matched up, he said.
According to reports by Al.com, Scott's skeletal remains were discovered Feb. 25 by sewer workers in Bessemer in the 3100 block of Exeter Alley. The body was found 10 feet down a covered manhole. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office used dental records to identify Scott's remains.
Bessemer police on Tuesday said Scott's death is being investigated as a homicide, Al.com reported. Police said there is evidence Scott had been shot.
Al.com reported that Scott was arrested in Marshall County, Alabama, on methamphetamine and heroin trafficking charges in the months before her disappearance. Authorities seized $45,580 from Scott at the time of her arrest and, in January 2019, a circuit judge issued the judgment against Scott and ordered the money be forfeited.
The judge ordered roughly $9,000 go to the Marshal County District Attorney's Office, and the rest to the county's drug task force, according to Al.com. Authorities have not said whether the arrest and cash seizure could factor into the death investigation.
Bessemer police are asking anyone with information about Scott's disappearance and/or her death to contact the Bessemer Police Department at 205-425-2411 or the department's Tip Line at 205-428-3541.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.