Body in Minivan Backseat ID'd as Missing Mom

Dec. 5, 2007 — -- The search for a Pennsylvania mother of three who disappeared a week ago under unusual circumstances may be over, but the mystery surrounding her case is not.

Police in Falls Township, Penn., have confirmed to ABC News that the body of Gina Marie Bobbing-Mormando was found early this morning in the backseat of her family's minivan. The body was identified by her family members, said Lt. Ron MacPherson, Falls Township police spokesman.

Preliminary autopsy results are expected by the end of the day, MacPherson said, adding that they will likely determine whether Bobbing-Mormando killed herself or was the victim of a crime. Additional toxicology results could take up to six weeks.

The body of the woman, who disappeared a week ago after a minor fender bender, did not show any immediate signs of foul play, MacPherson said. The car was parked in the overflow parking lot of a Falls Township bar behind the building for several days. A female employee of the bar contacted police after reading about Bobbing-Mormando in the newspaper this morning after a late shift, MacPherson said. Police made the discovery around 4 a.m.

Late Tuesday, Bill Bobbing laid out the details of his daughter's disappearance, which began a week ago after the 32-year-old mother evidently was involved in a minor traffic accident on her way to a Social Security office.

"She was going up there to finally get her name changed," Bobbing said, recounting the mysterious pattern of events that played out Nov. 28 after she dropped her three children, ages 5, 3 and 1, off with their grandmother to run some errands.

In the week since, work by investigators and a handful of unusual clues have shed some light on what may happened during her trip that afternoon.

"She called her husband to say she was getting gas," Bobbing told ABC News, adding that a $20 debit from her bank account was traced to a gas station. Surveillance video shows her entering the store, Bobbing said, adding it was the last phone call she made and the last time her debit card was used.

The morning of Nov. 29, Bobbing said, after his daughter failed to arrive home the day before, someone accessed the voice mail on the woman's phone four times in a six-minute span, according to her phone records.

The calls to voice mail came from the woman's cell phone, Bobbing said, and the phone companies are trying to determine the general area in which the calls were made.