A Michigan woman who apparently died six years ago was found on Wednesday inside her garage, her body "in a mummified state" in the back seat of her car.
The woman, whose name has not yet been released while authorities search for her next of kin, kept to herself in the quiet Pontiac, Mich., neighborhood and frequently traveled, according to the CNN report.
She would have been 49 years old in 2008, when she likely died, The Associated Press reported.
"She's been dead years," said Robert Gerds, administrator for the medical examiner's office, told the AP. "Everything is pending right now. It's still under investigation."
Because her bills were covered as usual through auto-pay, no one appeared to notice the woman's disappearance.
"She had $54,000 in her account and her bills were being deducted," said Undersheriff Mike McCabe, as reported by the AP and other media. "Eventually, the money ran out and her house went into foreclosure."
After the house was foreclosed on, the company managing the house for the mortgage holder sent a repair man to fix a hole in the roof, and he made the gruesome discovery and called 911.
A neighbor mowed her lawn since nearby residents knew the woman, who may have been self-employed, frequently traveled to Germany. When they didn't see her for years, they assumed she was either overseas or had moved and kept the house.
She really kept to herself. We never really heard anything from her," neighbor Caitlyn Talbot told CNN affiliate WXYZ.
"She was probably there for a couple of days, then she'd leave for a week, then she'd come back. Then she'd leave for a month and come back," Talbot told WXYZ.
Authorities are working to determine the cause of death, but the toxicology report will take four to six weeks to complete.
Medical examiner Dr. Bernardino Pacris told the Detroit Free Press that the body's skin was intact, although the internal organs had decomposed. The woman's body, clothed in jeans and a warm jacket, had no visible signs of trauma.
While the electricity was still on in the house, covered by auto-pay, there was no heat. The SUV in the garage had a license plate that expired in 2008.
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