Investigators now know what killed a homeless woman found near a Kennewick highway
A 47-year-old woman died of a methamphetamine overdose weeks before her body was discovered near a Kennewick highway.
Annette G. Nemeth’s body was discovered late in the afternoon on Nov. 8 near a regular homeless camping area along Highway 240 near the interchange with Highway 395.
A man spotted her partly decomposed body along the bank of an empty irrigation canal and called police.
She died along a rarely traveled stretch of canal road.
A cellphone discovered near her was used to help find her family and also to estimate that she may have been dead five to six weeks, said officials.
Blood tests did not find any other drugs in her system, said Coroner Bill Leach.
Police have wrapped up their investigation into her death, Kennewick Detective Sgt. Dan Todd said in a news release Thursday afternoon. He said they believe her overdose was accidental.
Around the time she was found, several people on Facebook commented that Nemeth was a wonderful person who needed mental health treatment, but was too scared to get it. She reportedly suffered from a bipolar disorder and would disappear for long stretches of time.
Her mother Rose Ann Woosley Riggins took to Facebook to search for answers about what happened in the days before her daughter’s death.
Nemeth has family in Florida, and public records show she had lived in Virgina, Oregon and Idaho.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 4:25 PM.