LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities said that they have located and recovered what evidence so far suggests is the body of a woman who was reported missing from Lake County nearly two months ago.

The Ford Crown Victoria belonging to Kelseyville resident Sharon Foley, along with human remains, was discovered earlier this week on private property in a remote, forested area of Sierra County, according to Sgt. Mike Fisher of the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office.

A family member reported Foley, 67, missing to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on July 9, six days after she was last seen.

She also had gone missing for a few days in early May but was quickly located, as Lake County News has reported.

When she was reported missing in July, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said she suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and hadn’t been taking her medications, and that she couldn’t walk on her own, but could drive a vehicle.

Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office told Lake County News that on Monday the agency was notified by the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office that a deceased female believed to be Foley was located in a rural area of that county.

Fisher, the supervising sergeant on the investigation as well as Sierra County’s sheriff-elect, said that on Monday afternoon the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a forester who had been doing some work on a remote piece of property in that county’s western portion.

The forester came across a white Ford Crown Victoria and thought it was suspicious. When he approached the vehicle, he found what he believed to be human remains, Fisher said.

With there being no cell service, the forester went to get the property owner and together the two of them went to find an area of cell coverage to call authorities, according to Fisher.

Fisher said he and two deputies responded out to the location, which he said is about a 40-minute drive on dirt roads to the east of Camptonville, the closest town, located in neighboring Yuba County.

Once on scene, Fisher said they were able to confirm that the vehicle was Foley’s 2009 Ford Crown Victoria – the same vehicle in which the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said she had left her home on July 3 – and matched the license plate, 6FYP475.

During their subsequent investigation of the scene, Fisher said they located human remains.

“We believe it to be that of Sharon Foley but we have not made positive identification,” he said.

Fisher said they don’t believe there was foul play. Rather, it appears that Foley’s car became stuck and she succumbed to the elements. She had been dead for some time, he added.

He said it appeared that Foley had traveled a series of Forest Service roads before turning off onto the private property.

“We run into this a little more in the winter time,” he said, noting that one of the area’s main highways on its far east side is Interstate 80 between Truckee and Reno. In those cases, if there is a highway closure, people can get off course when their GPS directs them to alternate routes through remote territory.

But that didn’t appear to be the case here, with there being no sign of a GPS, he said.

The vehicle was found on an unmaintained road that the property owner doesn’t often travel, Fisher said.

In examining the car, Fisher said Foley did not have her wheelchair with her, which she needed because she couldn’t walk. She also didn’t have a cell phone. Without the ability to walk out or to signal for help, Foley was trapped.

Fisher said the car was open, and the remains appeared to have been disturbed by animals.

The remains were sent to the Placer County Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy. Fisher said they will essentially catalog what was recovered and collect DNA samples to confirm the identity.

The car also was removed from the scene, he said.

Fisher said Foley’s family has been notified of the discovery.

While they haven’t so far positively identified the individual, “Based on the evidence at scene, we were confident enough to give the family some closure,” Fisher said.

He said it may take another month to get DNA results back from the California Department of Justice.

If there is a delay, they will consult a forensic odontologist in the Bay Area, who will use dental records for the identification, he said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.