Carolyn Watkins' family say they want answers from the authorities
The body of a missing North Carolina woman has been found inside her wrecked car, three days after a highway patrolman ordered it to be towed away.
Carolyn Watkins was reported missing by her family early on Monday after she failed to show up at work.
The Pontiac Sunfire was badly damaged in
the crash
An accident report filed on Friday by Trooper Marlon Williams shows the 62-year-old's Pontiac was found in a deep ditch near Smithfield, 30 miles southwest of Raleigh.
Both air bags had been deployed.
The trooper wrote in his report: "Note: No driver at the scene of this collision."
A local towing company then took the vehicle to a car pound.
On Monday, a Smithfield police officer investigating the woman's disappearance found the body.
"They were looking for her pocketbook and the keys, and when they started searching, that's when they found the body in the car," her son, Algernon Parker, told WRAL-TV.
"They didn't do their job properly, and we want some answers."
Relatives believe she could still be alive today if the car had been thoroughly checked.
"If they would've got her out like they should have, medical attention could've taken care of what was wrong with her," said daughter-in-law, Patricia Parker.
State Trooper Marlon Williams found no body in the car
The trooper has been placed on paid administrative duty while the time and cause of her death are investigated.
"First and foremost, we offer our most sincere condolences to Carolyn Watkins’ family," said a short statement from the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol.