Missing Elderly Woman Found Dead In Trash Chute

A missing elderly woman has been found dead in a trash chute. Florence Banta of Chicago was reported missing on Saturday. Her body was eventually found at the bottom of the trash chute in her apartment building. Banta is the second person to die in the trash chute in just over one year.

Residents of the apartment have requested an investigation as Banta died in the same trash chute where the body of 17-year-old Charley Manley was found in February 2012.

As reported by ABC News, Manley, who was diagnosed with autism, was reported missing when an alarm indicated a door had been left open. A search for the young man eventually led the family to the bottom of the trash chute, 47 floors down.

Banta lived in the 17th floor of the same building. Her family reported her missing over the weekend, stating that she was “fragile” and may be suffering from anxiety. They report that she frequently walked around the hallways of the apartment building.

When neighbors learned that the missing elderly woman was found dead in the same trash chute, they became suspicious.

Residents in the apartment building are skeptical as the trash shoot is under two feet wide and the openings are about four feet off the ground. Neighbor Barbara Georgians states that she cannot “understand how these things are happening.”

Management of the Astor Condominium building has issued a statement that they are cooperating with the authorities in the investigation. They did not provide any further details as the investigation is ongoing.

As reported by the Huffington Post, the Cook County Medical Examiner will be conducting an autopsy to determine Banta’s official cause of death.

It is likely only an tragic accident that the missing elderly woman’s fell down the trash chute, but the autopsy results will ease the minds of residents. Astor Condominium management has not said whether they will change the construction of the trash chutes to prevent similar accidents.