Family Finds Body of Missing Texas Woman After Searching Area Where Her Car Crashed 2 Days Earlier

After learning that her car had been involved in a wreck on a Dallas freeway, Yesica Martínez's family members discovered her body in a nearby ditch

Yesica Martinez
Photo: Facebook

A Texas family is grieving after a loved one was found dead near her wrecked car more than two days after she was reported missing.

The body of Yesica Martínez, 25, was discovered by family members Sunday behind a fence along the North Stemmons Freeway southbound service road, according to FOX affiliate KDFW and NBC affiliate KXAS.

Her SUV crashed on an overpass about 48 hours earlier, per the reports.

Mario Morales, Martinez's husband, said her body was found "pretty beat up and half clothed" about a half mile away from her car, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Morales last heard from his wife early Friday morning as she was heading home from her new serving job at a Dallas bar, according to the newspaper.

But by 2 a.m., Martínez still hadn't returned to the couple's Pleasant Grove home, per the report. Morales called 911 to report his wife missing.

"[The dispatcher was] like, 'Well, it's not uncommon for young ladies to … break up or leave a relationship just that way without giving notice,' " Morales told KXAS.

Morales later went to a Dallas police station to file a missing person report, according to The Dallas Morning News, and was allegedly told again that Martínez was free to leave as she pleases.

After sharing Martinez's license plate number, Morales learned that the car his wife was driving had been involved in a wreck on Interstate 35E at the connector to Woodall Rodgers, per the report.

An officer told Morales that Martínez seemed to be arguing with male individual during a 911 call placed the morning of the wreck, KXAS reports.

"But you could hear her asking for help," Dario Manzo, Martínez's brother, told KDFW.

The Dallas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) said officers searched the area around the empty vehicle, but did not see anyone nearby at the time, per the report.

Manzo said it took family members just two hours to locate his sister on Sunday, according to KXAS.

"It's heartbreaking," Manzo told KXAS, "and it really makes me sad to know that in a city like Dallas with so many police officers and sheriffs that none of them could take the time to actually try and find her."

Martínez's body was found in a ditch by what once was the Landmark Cabana Motor Hotel, KDFW reports.

Morales suggested that DCSO officers "didn't search the area" for his then-missing wife when they were at the scene Friday morning, according to KXAS.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The DCSO has reportedly disputed Morales' claim.

"Deputies checked the area at the time of the accident and after Ms. Martinez was reported missing, but did not locate her in the immediate area of the accident," the sheriff's office said in a statement to sent to KXAS.

An investigation into the "unexplained death" is ongoing, per the reports. A cause of death has not been released.

Related Articles