The Buckingham

Photo Credit: www.projectjason.org

The body of a woman who had abandoned her children on the side of an Alabama county road has been found.

Elmore Country authorities reported on June 27 that they had found the body of 28-year-old Lamona Fields Bender.  Bender had supposedly taken her children’s clothes off and left her 5-year-old and 2-year-old children in her vehicle near Harragote Springs Road on June 25.  The children were later found unharmed about two miles from the vehicle and had told authorities that their mother had gone to “look for God.”

Investigators used tracking teams and K9 officers in an attempt to find Bender, who was last seen in a dark-colored sun dress, carrying a Bible near a Winn-Dixie.

On June 27, Bender’s body was found near the Coosa River entrance at Gold Star Park, about 10-12 feet underwater.  Authorities had received a tip by a fisherman who reported seeing her around the area, reading scriptures on a rock the night of June 26.  The search for Bender began around 9 a.m., and her body was located just after 12:30 p.m.

The cause of death is currently unknown, but authorities believe the mother died by suicide.