Christine Woo Dead: Missing Mom’s Body Was Inside Car For Three Days With Young Children Trapped Inside

https://phoenix.playwire.com/en/publishers/1013074/videos/4743003

Christine Woo has been found dead on Thursday, with the search for the missing mom ending as police found her body inside a parked car that had her three children still inside for as long as three days.

The Texas mother was reported missing this week when her husband came home to find her and the couple’s three children gone. On Thursday evening, police found Woo’s body inside a car parked at a Target store, with the children still strapped in their car seats.

The children, ages 1, 3, and 5, were taken to a hospital and treated for dehydration, but police said they were otherwise in good condition.

Police said they are still looking into Woo’s cause of death and have not said if there are any signs of violence or foul play.

PICS: Crime scene in McKinney where Christine Woo and her 3 children were found. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/WpZfUbsJyE

— ScottGordon (@ScottGordonDFW) April 1, 2016

“There is an active investigation and her cause of death is undetermined. The Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death. We are conducting an investigation with the assistance of the McKinney Police Department to determine exactly what did happen,” said Sgt. Jeff Inmon with the Frisco Police Department.

Christine Woo’s husband, Brandon Woo, said he last saw the family on Monday morning before leaving for work. They were not home when he returned. After checking with family members, he called police to report them missing on Tuesday, Fox 4 News reported. Woo said he wrongly believed that he had to wait 24 hours to file a missing person report.

In the days before she was found, Brandon Woo said his wife was not one to disappear without warning.

“I’ve tried to keep calm especially talking to the parents,” Brandon Woo told WFAA during the search for his wife. “I don’t’ want them to be too alarmed. But emotionally, I’m broken. I’m tormented. This is really hurting me.”

Surveillance video had shown Christine Woo and her three children entering a Walgreens store, holding 16-month-old Leah in her arms. Credit card records showed that she was picking up a prescription for one of the children. She later went to a McDonald’s that day, records showed.

Brandon Woo added that there was nothing unusual about his wife’s behavior in recent days.

As Fox 4 News reported, there were no signs that she was planning to leave, either.

“But Brandon Woo says when he got home, he found the house empty. At first, he says he thought perhaps they’d gone to the park to the store. He says he became increasingly worried and tried calling her, and it rang in the other room, he said.

“‘The house was as if it was a normal day. The house was secured,’ he said. ‘The suitcases are still there. The bags are still there. The kid’s hoodies are still in their same places. The bottles were still stored where they were.’

“He says his wife also didn’t take any diapers. It was as if she’d stepped out for errands and never returned, he says.

“‘She had every reason to come home,’ he says.”

Brandon Woo added that his wife would never do anything to intentionally hurt their children.

“She’s the rock of the family,” he told Fox 4 News. “She’s the most level head. I’m the one who gets emotional, always worried about finances or this and that. She’s the one that says, ‘We’ll figure it out.'”

Investigators said they plan to conduct an autopsy on Christine Woo to find out how she died.

[Image via Woo family/WFAA]