Mother, 2 children reported as missing found dead in car in Dallas area, officials say
A mother and her two young daughters were found dead inside of her car in Farmers Branch on Thursday morning less than 24 hours after they were reported missing, officials told the Star-Telegram.
Natalie Chambers, 31, left her home in Forney around 8 a.m. Wednesday with Izabel, 4, and Elise, 2, to head to a playdate in Grapevine, according to a spokesperson from the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office. But they never arrived.
Family members grew concerned that they didn’t show up and filed a missing persons report around 2:30 p.m., the spokesperson said. The search continued until Thursday morning — when Farmers Branch police became involved.
Officers were contacted by the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office around 10 a.m. to check for the missing mother and daughters in the area of Midway Road and I-635 in Farmers Branch, near Dallas, according to Officer Steve Rutherford, a police spokesperson. Police were told the family was believed to be in a blue Ford Escape. As they searched, he said, officers spotted the car in a parking lot in the 4300 block of I-635.
They saw the three family members in the car and determined they were dead, Rutherford said.
It’s unclear at this time how they died, he said, or what led to them ending up in that area of Farmers Branch after leaving for a playdate Wednesday morning.
Rutherford told the Star-Telegram in a phone call on Thursday this case has been “devastating” for the department and especially the officers who found the family.
“This morning’s very, very tragic events where we’ve lost three precious lives ... officers have to respond to that situation. That’s a lot. That’s a lot to see that,” he said. “But we do have a job to do. You do your job and then you have to move forward. And we’ll check on our guys and make sure everybody’s OK.”
He was unable to say what conditions the bodies were in on Thursday morning, as he wasn’t on the scene, he said. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of the deaths.
No suspects were identified as of Thursday afternoon, Rutherford said.
The car with Chambers and her daughters inside was located in the area of the Freed’s Furniture store near Midway Road and I-635.
Chambers’ cellphone was last detected around 1 p.m. Wednesday in that same area, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
Farmers Branch police and the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office are working together to investigate the deaths, Rutherford said. He was unable to say on Thursday afternoon which agency is taking the lead.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 12:50 PM.
