California crews searching a partially frozen lake found what they believe is the body of a woman who hasn't been seen by her family since late December, according to the Orange County Register.
The search for Lisa Ann Cimbaluk, of Irvine, was called off Thursday morning when San Bernardino County Sheriffs found a woman's body in the water near the south shore of Big Bear Lake.
The woman has yet to be identified, but sheriffs believe it is Cimbaluk, who was reported missing Dec. 30 by her family after she was last seen at their Irvine home the day before. There was no evidence of foul play on the body, the Orange County Register reported.
"Because of the passage of time, this was not unexpected," Tiffany Swantek, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, told the newspaper. "You hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Ultimately, what the Sheriff's Department was able to do was bring some sense of closure to the family."
A search for the missing 35-year-old included Polique Canyon, areas around Big Bear City Airport and a forested area north of the lake.
On Sunday, Cimbaluk's snow-covered car was found in a parking lot leading to the Woodland Trail, located on the north side of the lake. But it was difficult to track the missing woman's trail from the car due to a snowstorm that hit the area. If she was in the area she would have had to survive subzero temperatures overnight, the newspaper reported.
John Tuttle, lake manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District, said the wind could have pushed the body from one side of the lake to the south shore since the lake has no currents.
