WILMINGTON — An investigation into a woman’s recent death after going missing over the holidays is no longer active as the death is being considered an accident.
READ MORE: 49-year-old missing woman found deceased
Forty-nine-year-old Karin Rochelle Ottenberg, who was recently found dead at her home in Sunset Park after going missing on Sunday, Dec. 22, garnered a lot of attention over the holiday season. Police missed her body while searching her home the first time around.
The Wilmington Police Department said that her remains were found in a place that was “difficult to locate” outside her home. It took two searches for police to find her.
WPD spokesperson Greg Willett wrote to Port City Daily in an email on Dec. 30 that the evidence points to Ottenberg’s death being an accident, but many details surrounding it are being kept private to protect her family.
“Karin’s family have the full details, but ultimately it is up to them as far as what detail they want to provide,” Willett wrote.
Ottenberg was found outside her home after police believe she fell to her death. The position of her body showed no evidence of intentional self harm or foul play, Willett said. WPD believes the fall happened the night she went missing, Dec. 22, and as such, her remains were exposed to cold temperatures throughout the nights that followed.
“Her body being outside and the relatively cool temperatures play a factor in body preservation and can make determination of an exact time of death difficult to determine,” Willett said.
The investigation is no longer active, but the report will remain open until the autopsy has been completed, which will reveal the exact findings surrounding Ottenberg’s death; this will include date, time and cause of death. Willett is not sure of the autopsy timeline and said it could take a while because it depends on the current workload of the medical examiner’s office performing it.
A GoFundMe page has been started by Ottenberg’s friends Shelly Wilkie and Caroline Pearson to cover funeral costs. The mother of two is described as “the most giving, selfless, kind, and beautiful human being.”
Port City Daily reached out to Wilkie and Pearson but didn’t hear back by press.
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