Body found in parking garage in Chinatown identified as missing 22-year-old woman

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A badly decomposed body found in a parking garage at a busy west Houston shopping center has been identified as a woman who has been missing for two weeks.

Briony Amador, the aunt of the victim, 22-year-old Monica Alcantar, told her niece was last seen leaving Leawood Condominiums on Aug. 26.

Alcantar’s family reported her missing to Houston police on Aug. 30, and on Tuesday afternoon, the search was over.

“People need to stop looking for her because she’s found,” Amador said through tears.

On Sunday, Alcantar’s body was found in the driver’s seat of her car in a parking garage at the Dun Huang Plaza on Bellaire near the West Beltway, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play. The cause and manner of death have yet to be determined, but there is one person investigators want to find.

Police released surveillance images of a man and his car, a Dodge Challenger. The images are from the same parking garage where Alcantar was found.

“He would have been, in theory, the last person to see her,” Amador said. “That person should come forward and should say if they’re involved in any way. There’s an investigation. There’s no reason to hide. They’re going to find you.”

Amador said Alcantar was injured during Army boot camp but hoped to return one day. She was working in retail, and in the time she was missing, her family hoped she was just taking a break. The reality has been devastating. They have no idea what happened to her.

“It’s going to take time to process, but we’re going to remember her in life, and not in death,” Amador said.

Police said the person of interest is believed to be either white or Hispanic.

Anyone with information about the person of interest or the case is urged to contact the Houston Police Department Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.