Missing woman found dead in rural woods days after she vanished in Florida, cops say

A 45-year-old woman vanished days before she was found dead in the Florida woods, officials said.

Wendy Hanleck was at her home before she disappeared from the Port Charlotte area on June 21, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.

Now, about a week after she was last seen, officials said human remains found inside a car belong to the missing woman. The car was parked in a rural area about 3 miles from where she lived, the North Port Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.

Before her disappearance, officials said Hanleck was spotted at her Arnold Avenue home, and her Chevy Spark was seen near Interstate 75. She was considered “endangered” and was believed to be in the North Port area, roughly 40 miles northwest of Fort Myers.

Then, someone in the region reportedly stumbled upon Hanleck’s car on June 29. At the time of the discovery, officials opened a death investigation but said the remains found inside the car hadn’t been identified.

By July 1, the medical examiner reportedly had confirmed that the remains belong to Hanleck. A full autopsy could take time, according to Josh Taylor, a North Port city spokesperson.

“There is nothing suspicious about this case at this time,” Taylor told McClatchy News in an email.

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