Body Discovered Off Wildcat Canyon Road May Be Missing Woman

Originally posted October 2 at 10 p.m.

An autopsy was scheduled Thursday to determine whether a body found on the Barona Indian Reservation near Ramona was that of a missing Serra Mesa woman, authorities said.

The body was found in the vicinity of San Vicente Oaks Road and Wildcat Canyon Road about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Clayton Lisk.

A reservation security official at the scene told U-T San Diego that a sheriff's search and rescue team found a woman's body. San Diego police homicide Lt. Jorge Duran declined to confirm the gender but told the newspaper that the body had been at the location for some time. He said the body was found face down and showed signs of animal activity.

San Diego police detectives responded to investigate if the remains are those of 79-year-old Mehria Mansury, who disappeared the morning of Sept. 24 after leaving her home in the 2800 block of Amulet Street.

Teams have spent several days hiking through overgrown open areas in and around Mansury's neighborhood near Qualcomm Stadium as they search for the woman, who is described as Middle Eastern, 5 feet 1, around 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Mansury lives with her 42-year-old daughter, who was escorted from the family home for questioning Wednesday night after police served a search warrant at the residence, according to KFMB-TV Channel 8.

Mansury's friends have raised $5,000 of a $6,000 reward for information leading to her recovery, with San Diego County Crime Stoppers posting the remainder. Anyone with information about Mansury was urged to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

-City News Service