- Missing woman Jaclyn Elmquist was discovered Friday in the basement of 540 West 28th Street
- The recruiter went missing after a work party in Manhattan
- CCTV footage showed her stumbling through a street in Chelsea hours before she was found dead
Tragic footage shows the final moments of a recruiter found dead in a trash chute in the basement of a luxury Manhattan apartment building.
Missing woman Jaclyn Elmquist, originally from Minnesota, stumbles down a Chelsea street hours before her body is discovered at the apartment complex at 540 West 28th Street.
The 24-year-old recruiter disappeared after a work party, sparking a frantic search by her relatives, who littered the area with photos of missing people.
But on Saturday afternoon, their worst fears came true when police confirmed Elmquist’s identity.
Police do not currently believe criminal activity was involved in the death and said that “no crime is suspected.”
The body of missing woman Jaclyn Elmquist was discovered in the garbage chute of a Manhattan apartment complex on Friday
According to the family, Elmquist disappeared after a work party and didn’t show up at her office the next day
The 24-year-old was found “unconscious and unresponsive” in the basement of 540 West 28th Street
Missing posters suggested that Elmquist was last seen getting into a yellow cab outside Catch Steakhouse in Manhattan.
When she didn’t return to her Brooklyn home or show up for work, alarm bells began to ring.
Elmquist’s cousin, Katlyn Kampmeier, said her colleagues put her in a taxi the night she disappeared.
The family tracked her phone to 184 11th Street before losing signal. Elmquist’s body was discovered in the apartment building just a few blocks away.
Police were called to the complex around 2:40 p.m. after a report that someone had been injured in the area.
An NYPD spokesman said Saturday morning: “A 24-year-old woman was found unconscious and unresponsive in the basement of 540 West 28th Street.”
“EMS responded and pronounced her dead at the scene.” The coroner will confirm the cause of death. The investigation is currently ongoing.”
After the grisly discovery, police were seen swarming the crime scene for hours.
Sources told the New York Post that when the body was discovered, there was evidence of trauma to the body and head.
Police have not yet released the cause of death but said foul play is not suspected
The grim discovery has shocked residents of the luxury complex, where the average sales price for homes is $1.5 million
The panicked family put up missing person posters in the area after Elmquist failed to show up for work
The outlet reported that a resident was told a janitor discovered the body while taking out the trash.
‘It’s terrible. Man, I feel terrible for that person,” he said.
It is not yet known exactly how long she was in the basement before she was discovered.
The 13-story building is just one block from High Line Park. According to StreetEasy, the complex has 90 residential units, with the average property price approaching $1.5 million.