Missing woman found dead in woods weeks after she disappeared, Georgia police say

Human remains found in a wooded area belong to a woman missing for nearly three weeks, police in Georgia say.

Adriana Castaneda, 38, was reported missing March 7 after she was last seen a few days earlier on March 4, Athens-Clarke County Police and WSB-TV reported.

Authorities located her body at about 10:45 a.m. March 21 in the woods near Maple Forge Drive and Lavender Road in Athens, according to a news release.

Castaneda was vanished after leaving her house and never returned, police said. She also failed to show up to work.

Additional information about the case wasn’t immediately available.

Castaneda’s cause of death will be determined by an autopsy, police said.

Athens is about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.

This story was originally published March 24, 2023 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Missing woman found dead in woods weeks after she disappeared, Georgia police say."

Tanasia Kenney

Sun Herald

Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.