Missing Miami school district staffer found dead in canal, ruled homicide: Medical examiner
A woman found dead in a Florida canal has been identified as a Miami school district employee who had been missing for nearly two weeks, officials said.
Kameela Russell, 41, died from a blunt head injury and her death has been classified a homicide, according to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office.
Russell, who worked as a test chairperson at Miami Norland Senior High School, was last seen by her family on May 15 in Miami Gardens, the Miami Gardens Police Department said.
Her body was found in Miami Gardens this weekend, according to the medical examiner's office.
Russell leaves behind two children, reported The Miami Herald.
Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, called it "an unbearably painful week."
"We ache for Kameela Russell's grieving loved ones and pray they find the strength to bear the pain of this heartbreaking loss," he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. "District Crisis team has been deployed to Miami Norland Senior High School to help students and staff during this difficult time."
She had worked in the school district since 2014, said John Schuster, a spokesman with the school district.
Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, a school district spokeswoman, told ABC News Wednesday via email: "School district staff and Miami-Dade Schools Police will continue to work with the Miami Gardens Police Department, which has been handling this case since the employee’s disappearance from her home."
A spokesperson with the Miami Gardens police did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the investigation.
