Mom Found In Trunk: Family and Those Who Found Car Speak

Sad news for a family and community as the search for a missing mother comes to an end.
 
32-year old Aciea Battise, a mother of three, had been missing since last Thursday. The car she was last seen getting into, a 2006 silver Honda Accord, was found on the 300 block of East Charlton Street in east Savannah.
 
Last night, police cordoned off a house in the 1200 block of East Anderson Street. Battise's mother and other family members stood by as detectives searched the property. The home is where Battise was last seen before she disappeared a week ago.
 
Here are the fast facts in the case:
 
Aciea Battise was last seen a week ago, getting into her car near East Anderson and Live Oak, around 9 p.m.
 
A report was made Friday, August 1st around 4 that Battise was missing.
 
Police began investigating her disappearance over the weekend.
 
Then, Tuesday, August 5^th, Savannah-Chatham metro police asked the public to help locate the mother of three.
 
Last night, the search for Battise came to a tragic end when the car she was driving was found nd her body was discovered in the trunk.
 
Two men working in a home across the street found the car, noticed something wasn't right and they called police
 
"Heart started racing a little bit then I kind of started looking at some of the other details on the car like parking tickets on the windshield and inside the window there was a purse on the passenger seat just kind of opened up with stuff strewn about so I called 9-11 at that point,” Joe Porter, explains what he saw.
 
News 3's Randi Hempel sat down with Aciea Battise's family members who received the news they dreaded last night.
 
“Aciea was a sweet person, sweet, kind hearted person…very dependable. She took care of her kids. She's got 3 kids she took care of her kids and she worked,” Aciea’s aunt, Ora Battise talks about her niece. 
 
Aciea Battise's aunt, Ora, and father, Eugene Williams, remember the young woman they loved so much.
 
“It's truly going to be a loss to me. So, now we've got to look forward to her kids, how they're going to take this as the years go on,” explains Eugene Williams, Aciea’s father.
    
They tell me Aciea's children were young, a 16 year old son and 13 and 10 year old daughters.
 
“That's where my heart is with those kids cause they got a long time to live without a mom,” adds Ora.
 
The family's heart is with Aciea's children and hope in the community.
 
“If anybody out there knows what's going on, they need to come forward. Take a stand and come forward and let the people know that what happened that's not fair to this family,” pleads Willliams.
 
“They found her body. At least we know she wasn't hurting. You know that was the only thing, hopeful thing that we had.  And now we just want the person who did this to be held responsible,” continues Ora.
 
Police continue to investigate this case. If you have any information, they urge you to call CrimeStoppers at 234-2020

Update (2:30 PM) Tonight at 6 on NEWS 3, we talk to Aciea Battise's family member about her tragic death.  The put a plea out to the community, hoping anyone who knows about what happened to Aciea will come forward.  We also talk to the men who say they discovered the Honda Accord Battise was last seen getting into a week ago. Hear what they noticed about the car and see pictures they took of the scene.

Update (1:55 PM) NEWS 3 speaks to two people who called police when they spotted Battise's car. The Honda had two parking tickets and it appeared a purse and its contents had been strewn about the front seat. NEWS 3's Randi Hempel is also talking to Battise's mother this afternoon, look for her report tonight on NEWS 3 On Your Side at 6.

 SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Savannah-Chatham Metro Police say a body of

a woman was found in a car trunk late Wednesday afternoon.

The body was found on East Charlton Street.

Police said the remains appeared to be that of Aciea Battise

who was reported missing August 1. Authorities are treating the

case as a homicide.

Detectives said two "persons of interest" were interviewed, but no arrests were made.