Woman Found in Winchester Field Died of Natural Causes

Stacey Lee Ortiz, the 36-year-old French Valley woman whose remains were found in a weeded field near the corner of Winchester and Scott roads in the unincorporated area of Winchester, died of natural causes, confirmed Cpl. Courtney Donowho of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Ortiz’s body was discovered by a passing motorist the afternoon of April 21. According to an unnamed witness, Ortiz had been spotted walking in the area prior to her death, Donowho said.

Investigators believe "she walked to the area where she was located," Donowho confirmed today.

Friends and family reported Ortiz missing the same week she found dead, according to Sgt. Herman Lopez of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

“Identification was made by comparing photographs and fingerprints of the deceased woman and a woman who was reported by family and friends as missing,” Lopez wrote in a report.

For months there has been speculation about Ortiz’s death, and police had initially sought the public’s help in the investigation.

The exact cause of death has not yet been publicly released by the coroner’s office.