SAN ANTONIO — A wait for answers is stretching into the ninth month as the Bexar County medical examiner is looking for help to identify a woman who was found dead at the scene of a south-side fire.
Sketches of the victim that were recently released show a woman county officials believe might be white or Hispanic. They said they think she was probably between 25 and 40 years old, and that she stood about 5 feet 2 inches tall.
Fire officials said the woman's body was recovered at the fire scene during cleanup efforts.
Before a massive Dec. 16 fire on Clifford Court, there were only a few calls for trouble at the boarded-up home at 109. San Antonio police were called to the South Presa area to look into burglaries in May and June while Code Compliance looked into overgrown weeds in August and September.
A complaint about a homeless camp and a disturbance in November may have foreshadowed the trouble to come; the fire department was called to the home the next month.
A fire spokesman said when that first responders arrived at the home, built in 1918, they found it had already been consumed by flames.
The battle was so intense, code enforcement records reflect the Public Works division had to help the fire department during the blaze to take care of hotspots and to demolish the structure right away.
It wasn't until a private contractor hired by the property owner was at work Jan. 2 that human remains were found in the debris.
A code spokesman added that once the discovery was made, arson investigators were notified. At that point, they said, a city crew took over the job of sifting through debris for further remains until the investigation was complete.
Now the medical examiner's office said they have exhausted all other avenues and are asking for help from the public in identifying the deceased. They said anyone who thinks they recognize the woman in the sketch can reach out to investigators at (210) 335-4011.
More information about this and other cases can be found on the medical examiner's website.