Sources: Body Found In Barrel In Ridgefield Park, N.J. Identified As Woman Who Worked As High-End Escort
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It's a mysterious death spanning state lines.
Investigators say a woman found dead in a barrel in Bergen County, N.J. last week is from the Bronx.
Chopper 2 was over the scene a week ago, high above Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Bergen County investigators were dusting a barrel where a woman's body was found inside.
A week later, the NYPD has identified that woman as 42-year-old Nicole Flanagan, who lived in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx. She was last seen working, according to sources, as a high end escort on Wall Street.
"Like, a shock because, you know, because that's something you, like, see in the movies," said neighbor Luis DeJesus. "She was always by herself. She would just be in and out."
Police sources say Flanagan's friend initially called the NYPD, worried when she hadn't heard from her. Sources say she told investigators Flanagan had been working downtown, visiting clients.
They were able to track her cell phone to 95 Wall Street, where police say she was last seen alive.
Sources say investigators then found surveillance video, showing a man rolling a barrel out of the building on a luggage cart.
Turns out, it was the same barrel that was then found in Bergen County. It's unclear how the container got there, and why.
"She didn't seem like the type of person that that would happen to, you know? Like, you just get found in a barrel, is just crazy. It's really weird. This world is really messed up," said neighbor Daniel Toledo.
Investigators are searching for the man on that surveillance video, which has not been released publicly.
Meantime, sources say Flanagan's body had no obvious signs of trauma, but the medical examiner will determine an exact cause of death.
Editor's Note: This story was first published Aug. 20.