The body of a Tamaqua woman was discovered Saturday morning by firefighters in Jim Thorpe working to extinguish a brush fire, a relative of the woman said Sunday night.
State police have called the case a "homicide investigation."
According to Donald R. Serfass, Tamaqua, it was the body of his niece, Angela Serfass Steigerwalt, 35.
"She grew up in Tamaqua and went to Tamaqua high school. She worked at Kraft Foods down in the Lehigh Valley. She worked in inventory control. She was very clean cut. She supported animal rights causes, anything having to do with the welfare of animals," Serfass said.
Her family included her husband, Gary Steigerwalt. She was stepmother to Gary's son, Brendon, Serfass said.
"She never had children of her own, but she was a loving stepmother," Serfass said.
Serfass said the last time she was seen was Friday afternoon when she left for her job at Kraft Foods near Fogelsville.
State police at Lehighton categorized the case as a "homicide investigation" in the public information release report it sent out to the media Sunday night.
The PA State Police Troop N major case team has taken over the case from the Jim Thorpe borough police, state police said.
Firefighters discovered the body at 9:50 a.m. Saturday in a wooded area off of Flagstaff Road in Jim Thorpe, Carbon County, police said.
State police would not offer further information on the case when contacted Sunday night.
Anyone having information in reference to the crime is asked to contact state police at 610-377-4270, police said.