Woman missing for 10 days found dead at bottom of out-of-service parking tower in Seoul

A woman in her 50s who had been missing for 10 days was found dead at the bottom of a mechanical parking tower inside an officetel building in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

Police and firefighters discovered the body of the woman, identified only as A, at the below-ground level of a mechanical parking tower at an officetel in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, on Thursday night.

A was a resident of the building. Her family filed a missing-person report on July 6 after losing contact with her. Police and firefighters forced open the door to her unit and searched inside but found no trace of her. They also canvassed other residents in the building.

A police forensic dog was deployed during the search, but investigators found no sign of A for several days. The building's closed-circuit television system was out of order and provided no help. Through CCTV footage from nearby buildings, police confirmed only that A had entered the officetel — her movements after that could not be traced.

Investigators eventually found a person at the base of the tower while checking the mechanical parking facility. The parking tower had broken down and was no longer in operation. Residents said the lights inside the tower were also off, making it nearly impossible to see inside with the naked eye. The tower's entrance had a sign reading "No entry while in operation," but it was not locked.

Police believe A entered the out-of-service parking tower and fell to the bottom. "The exact cause of death and the circumstances under which she entered the parking tower require further investigation," a police official said. Her body has been sent to the National Forensic Service for an autopsy.