Gateway Woman Found Dead Inside Apartment ID'd

BELL, CA - The Coroner's Office identified a 64-year-old woman whose body was found wrapped in a blanket inside a back house in Bell.

The woman was identified as Bell resident Paula Montoya, according to Lt. Dave Smith of the coroner's office.

Bell police officers were dispatched about 8:30 a.m. Thursday to the 7600 block of Pine Avenue to check on Montoya's welfare because she hadn't been seen since Sunday or Monday, according to the sheriff's department.

They found her body and requested assistance from the sheriff's department.

A cause of death was not immediately known and would have to be determined by an autopsy, to the Coroner's Office, who also said there was no sign that anyone had forced their way into the residence.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock