Body found under debris is ID’d as missing 67-year-old woman
A body found in the house of a woman missing since April was identified Friday as Billie Jean James, according to the Clark County coroner's office.
The cause of her death will take weeks to determine, a coroner spokeswoman said. The 67-year-old went missing in April.
Bill James, her husband of 40 years, found the remains underneath debris while he was cleaning out a cluttered back room Wednesday afternoon and identified his wife by her shoes.
He declined to be interviewed for this story.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will determine if a criminal investigation needs to be opened, said officer Bill Cassell, department spokesman.
Police and other volunteers combed through the house and the surrounding desert several times after she went missing April 22. Helicopters with infrared technology searched from above, and dogs sniffed inside the home.
Family friends characterized Billie Jean as a compulsive hoarder with mountains of clothing and trinkets stacked to the ceiling in her home near M Resort at the southern edge of the valley.
Police said the state of the home made it impossible for dogs to detect anything during their searches. Because the dogs never indicated anything unusual, police did not clear items from the house while they looked for the woman.
