The search for missing Domino’s Pizza driver Helerica “Latrice” Dortch ended Tuesday morning after the 31-year old’s body was found behind an abandoned house in Canton, Mississippi, WLBT.com reports.
As ESSENCE previously reported, Dortch was last seen around 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13. when she departed the Domino’s Pizza on Peace Street in Canton in her maroon, 2015 Chevy Malibu.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, a farmer found Dortch’s vehicle Saturday hidden behind bushes, with some of her belongings still in it. Her body was found approximately five miles from where her car was discovered.
“If he hadn’t been out there feeding his cows, we would have never known she was missing,” Tammie Dortch, Helerica’s aunt, said. “We would think ‘We’ll see her next week sometime. She’ll pop up eventually.'”
Dortch—who was described by her aunt as a “very private person”—and her 8-year-old son, alternated living between her aunt’s and her mother’s homes.
“All of us at Domino’s are horrified by the senseless, tragic loss of Hilereca Dortch,” Dani Bulger, Domino’s spokesperson said in a statement from the company Wednesday morning. “Domino’s, the local franchise owner and local law enforcement are working together and will be offering a reward as authorities look for whomever was responsible for this heinous act.”