Authorities identify woman found dead Monday on Pleasure Island

Published 1:50 pm Tuesday, November 30, 2021

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Authorities said the woman found dead Monday on Pleasure Island was categorized as a missing person out of Beaumont.

Next of kin was notified Tuesday, and Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 Marc DeRouen identified the victim as Janice Summer Ross, 30.

An autopsy for Ross is expected to be performed Wednesday.

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Port Arthur Police investigators began work identifying the victim immediately, taking finger prints to run with the FBI and DPS.

Det. Mike Hebert said Port Arthur Police dispatch received a call of a deceased person at approximately 2:18 p.m. Monday. The body was located in the 1000 block of North Levee Road.

Police are not releasing many case details in an effort to maintain the investigation’s integrity, including how long Ross had been there and who notified police.

However, the body was in a decent condition, meaning authorities do not expect Ross was there for an extended length of time.

DeRouen told Port Arthur Newsmedia there wasn’t anything obvious on scene like knife or bullet wounds indicating foul play.

“There were a bunch of marks on her back, which could be related to fire ants or bugs eating on her back side as she laid there,” he said.

“There is foul play in the fact she was placed there by someone. She didn’t collapse there. There is some kind of foul play, but whether there was any harm done or she potentially overdosed and (those with her) just said, ‘oh, I don’t want to have anything to do with this;’ that part we really don’t know at this time.”

Hebert said PAPD is working the case as “a suspicious death.”