A Michigan mother of five who went missing ten days ago was found dead by authorities on Tuesday.
The body of Mollie Schmidt was found with a gunshot wound in the apartment of a man who is interested in what has since been ruled a homicide investigation, police in Wyoming, Michigan, said Wednesday.
Authorities suspect Schmidt, 33, was with Yenly Garcia, 44, who police are now trying to find.
“Detectives are investigating this case as a homicide and are pursuing all leads,” a Wyoming police spokesperson said at a press conference Wednesday.
“The whereabouts of Garcia are unknown,” the police spokesperson added.
Schmidt told her five children that she was leaving for work on August 21 but never returned, MLive.com reported. Before she disappeared, she told her father she would see him the next day, but when her father came then, only the children were at home, according to the report.
Schmidt’s family told a local news station that they were “both heartbroken and horrified” by the death of their loved one.
“I can’t wait to begin the process of bringing accountability to the person capable of such cruelty,” sister Sarah Oaks told News 8. “I won’t rest until little Mollie gets justice.”
A friend of the victim also told the news station that Schmidt had a “bright personality and always had an infectious smile on his face.
“I wish her kids had more time to know how amazing their mom was. She was an amazing person and she didn’t deserve any of this,” her girlfriend Jennifer Cogswell said.