Police in Austin, Texas, are trying to figure out why a 26-year-old woman climbed into the exhaust duct system of a downtown parking garage – a decision that cost her her life.

The body of Jamie Minor, a hostess at the W Hotel, was found Monday in the air duct of the Norwood Tower garage. She apparently became trapped when the duct tapered into a opening that she couldn’t fit through and was unable to go back.

Minor had been missing since May 23, when she left the hotel and headed to Perry’s Steakhouse, where she used to work, to see a friend, according to police. Surveillance video shows her trying unsuccessfully to enter a side and back door.

A maintenance worker found some of her possessions near an duct grate in the Norwood Tower, which attaches to the restaurant. Police believe she was attempting to drop into the restaurant’s office via the duct work.

“That area is located in a part of the building where it’s not readily accessible to anyone so noises inside of the duct work couldn’t be heard,” Austin Police Commander Julie O’Brien told KVUE News.

Minor’s family became concerned after not hearing from her for over a week. A missing person’s report was filed with Bee Caves Police Department on June 7 and then with Austin Police Department on June 19.

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