Missing Florida woman found dead outside Red Lobster in Kissimmee, deputies say

(Photo via Florida Department of Law Enforcement)

Catrina Ashley, a Central Florida woman who was reported missing after she left her job early in July, was found dead Wednesday outside a Red Lobster in Kissimmee, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. 

Deputies said they found the woman's body inside a vehicle in the restaurant's parking lot on W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway after receiving a report of a suspicious incident. Detectives are working with the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office to learn how Ashley died. 

On July 26, 2022, the 41-year-old was seen by her daughter leaving her home to go to work at the Hilton on Hotel Plaza Boulevard in Buena Vista at 7:30 a.m, the sheriff's office stated. Deputies said she arrived to work, but her co-workers said she left early. 

MORE HEADLINES:

A Purple Alert was issued statewide by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after Ashley was reported missing. Those alerts go out when an adult suffering from mental, cognitive, intellectual or developmental disabilities is missing, but does not meet criteria for a Silver Alert.