Woman found frozen in car at Lincoln Knolls Plaza identified

The woman whose body was found in a parked car on Youngstown's east side Thursday has been identified. 

According to investigators, a man discovered the body of 77-year-old Roseann Hensley of Youngstown inside her car parked in Lincoln Knolls Plaza parking lot near the Dollar General Store.

Police looked at surveillance video from Dollar General and said the woman could be seen getting in her car about 26 hours before her body was discovered.

A receipt from the nearby Save-A-Lot store found on the car seat showed a time stamp about ten minutes before she got into the car.

The camera at Dollar General captured her getting in her car at 2:44 pm on Wednesday, but it was that alert citizen who noticed something was wrong just after 6 pm on Thursday.

What's most puzzling to the man who found her is that no one else noticed her in those several hours that police suspect she was out in the bitterly cold temperatures.

WRTA bus driver Lorenzo Wise said he stopped by Dollar General and pulled next to the car and thought the person was sleeping, but when he came out something told him to check on her.

"She was in that same position. I said something ain't right and I started hitting on the window, and I hit it real hard. They didn't move," Wise said.

That's when he decided to call 911.  

"It was strange because the cop touched her right here (showing his shoulder), he patted her. It was solid rock. I felt bad behind that. I didn't know what to do. I tried to rest last night but it was tough," Wise said.

What was even more strange was how Hensley was dressed on the coldest day of the year.

"They didn't have no coat on, they had like a sweatshirt on, a gray sweatshirt and pants, and even though she had a nice car, why would she be out with no coat on?" Wise said.

As of now, investigators believe the woman died of natural causes, and say there are no signs of foul play.

The Mahoning County Coroner is investigating the official cause of death.