GARY, Ind. — The death of a missing Indiana mother whose remains were found this week has been ruled an accident by a northwest Indiana coroner.
Preliminary findings following an autopsy Thursday on 23-year-old Ariana Taylor of Calumet Township are consistent with trauma from a motor vehicle accident complicated with drowning, the Lake County Coroner's Office said Thursday.
Other results are pending.
Taylor's body was found in a shallow drainage ditch around 9 a.m. Wednesday following a search by cadaver dogs, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said at a news conference.
The body was found more than a mile from where her vehicle was found on April 3, Hamady said. At the time, police said they were investigating the crash as a hit-and-run.
Police would not comment on whether foul play could be involved.
Taylor was last heard from Saturday, April 2. The next day officers were called to a crash on Interstate 65 where an SUV had gone off the road and crashed in an embankment below. The registered owner of the SUV said Taylor was supposed to be the last person driving it.
When Taylor's mother realized the SUV had crashed, she reported Taylor missing to Gary police.
Indiana State Police investigated the crash as a hit-and-run while Gary officers and K-9s searched for Taylor on foot and the Lake County Sheriff's Department searched for her by helicopter.
Taylor's wallet, cell phone and keys were missing from the crash scene, family members told 13News partners, WMAQ. They also said some of her bloody clothes were found several feet away from the crash scene, along with a piece of her jewelry.
The search for Taylor was expansive with police also searching for the missing mother by ATV and dive searches. They also contacted area hospitals with no success in locating her.
When Taylor's body was found Wednesday her identity wasn't immediately known. Hamady said the body was identified as Taylor a few hours later.
