Dallas Police Department officials announced on Wednesday that they had identified the remains of a woman found near Princeton, Texas, in February.
The victim, identified by the Collin County medical examiner’s office as Mercedes Clement, 25, had been missing since October 11, 2020. She was identified through dental records earlier this week.
Princeton police found Clement’s skeletal remains on February 13 at Morning Dove Lane and County Route 477 near Lake Lavon.
Alicia Gazotti, the victim’s mother, took to her Facebook page to confirm the news.
“It is with deep sadness that we share this news today. The remains of our beloved Mercedes Clement have been located and positively identified,” Gazotti wrote.
“While we are grieving immensely, at least now we can bring her home. The investigation remains ongoing, and this will hopefully speed up the process of pressing charges on those responsible.”
Mercedes Clement is survived by her 6-year-old son Darryn and was five months pregnant when she went missing.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Gazotti and her family were seeking answers regarding the whereabouts of Mercedes before the discovery of her remains.
Clement’s family claimed they received several misleading tips and had dealt with fake ransom requests from individuals who tried to capitalize on their willingness to find their daughter at all costs.
According to ABC News, the surveillance video from October 2020 showed Clement walking with a man across the parking lot at the Koko Apartments in Dallas.
Detectives said the surveillance video stopped recording for over seven hours that night. Patty Belew, a Dallas PD homicide detective assigned to Clement’s case after it was moved from “missing” to “murder” in light of suspicion of foul play, asked the camera system company if such glitches are normal.
The company had replied, “Not so much.”
Clement’s mother also stated that her daughter called friends around 10:30 p.m. on October 11, 2020, and sounded worried.
“She called a couple of her friends, and she told one girl, in particular, she was scared; she needed a ride to her car. Her friend said it was just eerily quiet … and the phone disconnected, and that was it …” Gazotti shared.
Authorities said the case is still open and urged anyone with useful information to contact Detective Patty Belewat at 214-671-3603 or via [email protected].
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 214-373-8477 at any time. Any information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the criminal responsible for Mercedes’ murder could be rewarded with up to $5,000.
