Body Found in Winchester Identified

The body of a woman found in Winchester was identified today, and the cause of death remained unknown.

The remains belonged to Stacey Lee Ortiz, a 36-year-old woman living in French Valley. A passerby reported the body at 1:52 p.m. Thursday in a field of weeds on the northeast corner of Winchester Road and Washington Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Ortiz’s friends and family reported her missing that week, so investigators explored the possibility the body might belong to her, said sheriff’s Sgt. Herman Lopez.

“Identification was made by comparing photographs and fingerprints of the deceased woman and a woman who was reported by family and friends as missing,” Lopez wrote in a report.

Investigators are still trying to figure out how she died, and got several leads from calls to the police station, he said.

He asked anybody with information to call the Southwest Station at 951-696-3000.