Body Found in Hammock in Alabama Forest Identified as Ohio Mother Missing Since September

Mar. 15, 2025

Vendula Rose.Photo:Cleburne County Sheriffs Department

Cleburne County Sheriffs Department

A body found in a hammock in a forest in Alabama has been identified as belonging to an Ohio mother who went missing after leaving for a camping trip months ago.

Her cause of death has not been released.

The human remains of Rose were discovered on Dec. 4.Cleburne County Sheriffs Department

Rose was last seen leaving for a cross-state camping trip to Alabama on Sept. 24, the Marysville Police Division in Ohio previously shared onFacebook. She was expected to return home from her trip on Oct. 2.

Rose last spoke to her family and friends about going on a hiking trip on Sept. 20, telling them she was “leaving some personal belongings in a Safe Deposit Box at her bank.” She also “left her work keys with her employer” at the time, according to police.

Rose arrived in the Dugger Mountain area of Cleburne and Calhoun County on Sept. 20, police said. There, she “hiked that portion of the Pinhoti Trail."

She then went to South Carolina on Sept. 24, before coming back to Cleburne County that afternoon, according to police.

A body has been found in a hammock in Alabama identified as missing Ohio mother.Cleburne County Sheriffs Department

Rose was then captured on camera journeying to Oxford, Ala., and “making a purchase at a business” before leaving solo on Sept. 24.

Police found later found Rose’s vehicle on Oct. 7. They said that the car had “multiple notes that were deemed as abnormal for Rose unless she was having a mental health crisis.”

A box of ammunition with seven rounds missing was found in the car, according to police. They said at the time that there wasn’t any evidence “to believe that there is any foul play suspected in this case."

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“I appreciate the hard work that Coroner Downs and the Alabama Department of Forensic Science done to confidently confirm this for the family,” Sheriff Jon Daniel said onFacebook.

He added, “My prayers are with Mrs. Rose’s family and friends as they go through this loss.”

source: people.com