The body of a woman found floating in the Dominguez Channel in Carson, California, last month has been identified as that of a missing 60-year-old grandmother, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner identified the woman as 60-year-old Prisciliana Rose Douglas of Los Angeles.
Douglas' body was found floating in the channel July 28, some five days before her family reported her missing to the Los Angeles Police Department.
At the time, sheriff's homicide detectives said the body showed "obvious signs of trauma" and launched an investigation to determine the circumstances behind her death.
Unaware of Douglas' death, the family filed a missing person report with the LAPD in early August.
They told police that Douglas, a mother of seven and a grandmother of nine, was last seen leaving her apartment near the intersection of 39th Street and Walton Avenue, not far from Exposition Park.
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The family was very concerned when she went missing.
"At the time of her disappearance, the family did not know what she was wearing when she left her home," police said August 5 in a missing person bulletin that asked for the public's help. "Mrs. Douglas is of sound mind, and her family and friends are deeply concerned for her safety and well-being."
But the search for Douglas ended sadly when police notified family members about Douglas' death.
Her son Dave Douglas said he received that notification August 17. He said it's been an emotionally tough time for the family.
"I'm not sure what happened that day," he said.
Douglas said his mother was a churchgoer and liked to go on walks as well as crochet and knit, sometimes making sweaters, dresses and beanies for her grandchildren.
"She was just the sweetest thing," Douglas said. "She was very understanding. You can talk to her about anything and she wasn't going to be judgmental, she was just going to listen."
The grandmother came to the United States from Belize as a teenager.
Douglas said his mother was born in Belize and migrated to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. For a while she drove buses, then worked as a caregiver.
He said childhood was not always easy, but his mother always made sure he and his siblings got what they needed. She also taught them to look at the bright side of life.
"She really taught us how to be strong," Douglas said, "to hang in there and keep soldiering on to keep trying to see the good."
Family and friends plan to hold a funeral for Douglas in two weeks.
-by Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times (TNS)
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