The body of a 33-year-old woman, identified by the Austin Police Department (APD) as Melissa Davis, was found burned alive on the side of the road in Cat Mountain, Texas on September 29.
Police said they reportedly "smelled a strong odor of accelerant" near the victim's body, which was pronounced dead at the scene, Breitbart reported.
According to detectives, a lighter that appeared to be new and a butcher knife were also recovered from the scene. The search warrant for the perpetrator was "placed with the decedent in an attempt to destroy the evidence with the fire."
Perpetrator Still on the Run, Police Say
An autopsy of Davis's body revealed that she had been burned alive, but the perpetrator is currently unknown and remains at large as of Monday (October 16).
Despite this, Austin Police obtained a search warrant for the victim's phone data, uncovering that she left her mother's home the day before her death, telling her she had to go have her phone fixed at the Apple store.
Davis's phone and the car she was driving in, a 2016 blue Toyota 4Runner with a Texas license plate reading "KYV3765", were not found at the scene.
"A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for any information that leads to an arrest," police said.
Friends Grieving Davis's Death
Davis's best friend, Ellie Simmons, told ABC's Austin affiliate KVUE that she was heartbroken by the death of her "soul sister" and the way she died.
"She had more of a zest for life than I think anyone else," she said. "And we actually had dreams together with one of our other friends to start a hostel in Costa Rica and we would have an art station. She painted. She loved art."
David Haisman, another friend of Davis's, told the outlet he was left with "such a deep grief."
"Just to know that this person I cared so much about was not only gone but had been through such an ordeal," he added. "I still feel like my heart is breaking. Like I'm being stabbed. Like I've been stabbed and I'm bleeding out slowly."
