A missing Alabama woman’s body is found in a parked, unoccupied police van

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Christina Nance was found dead by police after being in a van for five days after she was reported missing by her family. Now, her family is calling for an investigation into her death.

Nance Family via GoFundMe

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Nance Family via GoFundMe

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Family members, who viewed the parking lot surveillance footage ahead of the news conference, are now calling for an investigation into her death.

«The video was not clear enough to indicate that that was our sister Christina Nance» climbing into the van, her sister Whitney Nance told local news station WAFF.

The surveillance footage released Friday shows Nance walking around a parking lot, lying down in the bushes, and sitting on the hood of a police car.

McCarver said she later walked up to other parked and unoccupied vehicles for about 10 minutes before entering the parked police van. According to the video footage, it appeared there was no one else present when Nance got inside the van.

The officer who found Nance’s body says they observed shoes next to the parked van, approached the vehicle and discovered her body inside.

McCarver told reporters that the van was unlocked, which violates «department policy» and «shouldn’t have happened.»

«All city vehicles should remain locked any time they are not in use or occupied,» McCarver said. «Sometimes, you just have to say that was something that shouldn’t have happened. It did.»

The police van, according to police, was purchased in 1995 and was initially used to transport inmates to jail. However, in the early 2000s, the van was repurposed and used by employees to «transfer evidence» approved for destruction from cleared investigations.

«Because of its original design, it does not have handles inside. It was made for transporting inmates,» McCarver said. «You cannot exit once you’re inside.»

The van was last used in March 2021, police said.