Missing Indiana woman found dead in ravine in wrecked SUV

BRAZIL, Ind. (AP) - A western Indiana woman who vanished after shopping last month has been found dead inside her crashed SUV, which investigators discovered in a deep ravine along a state highway.

Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse said Monday that Jessica Nascimbene's body was found in her Nissan Pathfinder after crews pulled it from a ravine along Indiana 59 in Clay County.

The 36-year-old Terre Haute woman's vehicle was found submerged in several feet of water on May 7 after police returned to an area where a hit-and-run had been reported on April 30. That incident was reported the day after Nascimbene was last seen leaving a Walmart in Terre Haute.

During the hit-and-run investigation, police initially believed a motorist had run over the sign for the Indiana Sheriff's Youth Ranch, then returned to the highway and continued without reporting the incident.

Police returned to that location a few miles south of Brazil on May 7 after cell phone records showed that the last known location of Nascimbene's cellphone was in that general area.

Detectives confirmed that she had succumbed to the injuries she sustained in the apparent crash along Indiana 59. An autopsy was conducted Saturday, but results have not yet been released.

Plasse said it's unclear why Nascimbene left the roadway and the investigation is ongoing.