Woman died at least 5 weeks before she was found near a Kennewick highway
The body of a woman found Friday was likely on the embankment of the irrigation canal near busy Highway 240 for at least five weeks, said the Benton County coroner.
A passerby spotted Annette Gae Nemeth, 47, late Friday afternoon just west of the interchange with Highway 395, south of Columbia Park.
She was found in some trees on the embankment. Coroner Bill Leach said the area is off a canal road and is marked with no trespassing signs.
Nemeth had a cellphone and detectives used it to figure out who she was and to reach relatives who live in other states.
It’s still unclear if she lived in the Tri-Cities or was a transient, said police.
Online records show Nemeth may have lived in The Dalles and Hood River, Ore., and in Boise in recent years.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to determine how and when she died.
The coroner’s office took X-rays, but her body is partially decomposed, making it hard to determine if she was wounded before she died, Leach said.
Police are asking anyone who knew Nemeth or had seen her in recent months to call 509-628-0333.
This story was originally published November 9, 2019 at 2:34 PM.