A body went undetected in a vehicle for 15 days as the car passed through two different towing companies before workers finally discovered the deceased man in the backseat, prompting a police investigation into the death of an individual who had been reported missing two days before his car was initially towed.
According to the Prince William County Police Department, an unnamed private towing company was contacted on 3 November to remove a vehicle from the PS Business Park parking lot on PS Business Center Drive in Woodbridge, Virginia. The car was towed from the location and eventually transferred to another tow lot operated by a different company in Fairfax County, a routine transfer that occurs when vehicles are moved between impound facilities.
Fifteen days after the initial tow, workers at the Fairfax County tow lot contacted police after discovering a dead body on the floor of the vehicle’s backseat, a grim finding that raised immediate questions about how the body remained undetected through two separate towing operations and transfers between facilities.
Police have identified the deceased only as a 49-year-old man who had been reported missing on 1 November, two days before his car was towed from the business park parking lot where it had apparently sat with his body inside whilst family members or associates filed a missing person report with authorities who were unaware the individual was deceased in his own vehicle.
The man’s body was transported to the medical examiner’s office to formally confirm identification through fingerprints or other means and to determine the cause and manner of death through autopsy and toxicology testing. Preliminarily, investigators indicated there does not appear to be any signs of foul play suggesting homicide, nor any threat to the community that would indicate an active danger to public safety.
The incident raises troubling questions about towing industry practices and whether workers who handle vehicles are adequately checking for occupants before moving cars, particularly given that this vehicle passed through two separate companies over more than two weeks without anyone noticing a body visible in the backseat. Standard towing procedures typically involve a cursory inspection of vehicles before towing to identify valuables, damage, or other issues that might affect liability, though the extent of these inspections varies widely across companies and circumstances.
The fact that the body was located on the floor of the backseat rather than upright in a seat may have contributed to it remaining undetected, as workers performing quick visual checks might not have noticed a body positioned low in the vehicle, particularly if windows were tinted or if workers were focused on exterior vehicle condition rather than interior inspection.
The two-day gap between the missing person report and the initial tow suggests the man may have died shortly before or around the time he was reported missing, with his vehicle sitting in the business park parking lot attracting attention as an abandoned or improperly parked vehicle that prompted the towing request. The timeline indicates the man had likely been deceased for at least 15 days by the time his body was discovered, a period during which decomposition would have progressed and potentially created odours that might have been noticeable to workers handling the vehicle, though enclosed spaces and cold November temperatures could have limited odour detection.
A body went undetected in a vehicle for 15 days as the car passed through two different towing companies before workers finally discovered the deceased man in the backseat, prompting a police investigation into the death of an individual who had been reported missing two days before his car was initially towed.
According to the Prince William County Police Department, an unnamed private towing company was contacted on 3 November to remove a vehicle from the PS Business Park parking lot on PS Business Center Drive in Woodbridge, Virginia. The car was towed from the location and eventually transferred to another tow lot operated by a different company in Fairfax County, a routine transfer that occurs when vehicles are moved between impound facilities.
Fifteen days after the initial tow, workers at the Fairfax County tow lot contacted police after discovering a dead body on the floor of the vehicle’s backseat, a grim finding that raised immediate questions about how the body remained undetected through two separate towing operations and transfers between facilities.
Police have identified the deceased only as a 49-year-old man who had been reported missing on 1 November, two days before his car was towed from the business park parking lot where it had apparently sat with his body inside whilst family members or associates filed a missing person report with authorities who were unaware the individual was deceased in his own vehicle.
The man’s body was transported to the medical examiner’s office to formally confirm identification through fingerprints or other means and to determine the cause and manner of death through autopsy and toxicology testing. Preliminarily, investigators indicated there does not appear to be any signs of foul play suggesting homicide, nor any threat to the community that would indicate an active danger to public safety.
The incident raises troubling questions about towing industry practices and whether workers who handle vehicles are adequately checking for occupants before moving cars, particularly given that this vehicle passed through two separate companies over more than two weeks without anyone noticing a body visible in the backseat. Standard towing procedures typically involve a cursory inspection of vehicles before towing to identify valuables, damage, or other issues that might affect liability, though the extent of these inspections varies widely across companies and circumstances.
The fact that the body was located on the floor of the backseat rather than upright in a seat may have contributed to it remaining undetected, as workers performing quick visual checks might not have noticed a body positioned low in the vehicle, particularly if windows were tinted or if workers were focused on exterior vehicle condition rather than interior inspection.
The two-day gap between the missing person report and the initial tow suggests the man may have died shortly before or around the time he was reported missing, with his vehicle sitting in the business park parking lot attracting attention as an abandoned or improperly parked vehicle that prompted the towing request. The timeline indicates the man had likely been deceased for at least 15 days by the time his body was discovered, a period during which decomposition would have progressed and potentially created odours that might have been noticeable to workers handling the vehicle, though enclosed spaces and cold November temperatures could have limited odour detection.
