Cause of Death of French Valley Woman Still Undetermined

The cause of death for a woman found dead in a field on Winchester Road eluded coroners a month and a half after the discovery.

Lab work on tissue samples were set to be conducted, though when the results would be ready was unknown, according to the coroner’s office.

The body of Stacey Lee Ortiz, a 36-year-old French Valley resident, was discovered by a passerby in the afternoon of April 21 in an empty lot of knee-high weeds at Winchester Road and Washington Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

because Ortiz’s family and friends reported her missing earlier that week, said sheriff’s Sgt. Herman Lopez.

The body--which was fully clothed--showed no obvious signs of injury or foul play, investigators on the scene said.

The sheriff's department asked anyone with information to call the Central Homicide Unit at 760-393-3500 or the Southwest station at 951-696-3000.