Kameela Russell, 41, vanished May 15 after she failed to pick up her daughters from her aunt's house
A body pulled from a Florida canal this weekend has been confirmed as that of a missing mother of two, who vanished May 15.
Kameela Russell, 41, died of a blunt force head injury, the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner told local ABC affiliate WPLG.
Her body was found Saturday by a 16-year-old boy in Miami Gardens, according to the outlet which also reports that Russell was wearing the same pair of gray leggings she had on the day she disappeared.
Online records confirm her date of death is listed as May 25.
Russell, a testing coordinator at Miami Norland Senior High School, was mourned by her colleagues, with the school district saying in a statement to CBS Miami it was “deeply saddened” by the “painful and shocking news.”
“All available counseling resources will be deployed to the school immediately to assist students and staff during this extremely difficult time. 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,” the statement read. “The entire M-DCPS family is heartbroken. We ask that the community join us as we keep Kameela Russell’s loved ones in our prayers.”
School superintendent, Alberto M. Carvalho, also shared sentiments on Twitter, writing, “An unbearably painful week for @MDCPS. We ache for Kameela Russell’s grieving loved ones and pray they find the strength to bear the pain of this heartbreaking loss. District Crisis team has been deployed to @MiamiNorlandSHS to help students and staff during this difficult time.”
Russell’s aunt, Donna Blyden, told WPLG she was watching Russell’s daughters the day she disappeared, and that she briefly saw her niece in the driveway, but she did not enter Blyden’s home.
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“I have been taking care of her since she was a baby,” Blyden told CBS Miami days after Russell vanished. “She knows the bond we have. It’s unusual for Kameela not to get her children when it’s time to get them. I keep praying that Kameela comes back to us.”
The canal where Russell’s body was found is located less than a mile away from Blyden’s house.
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Spokespersons for the Miami Gardens Police Department did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The Miami Herald reports that detectives executed a search warrant on the home of one of Russell’s former colleagues last week, though there remains no suspects.
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Her mother, Linda, however, told the outlet she’s known the former colleague since he was a child and because he grew up with Russell, she does see him as a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance.
Russell was remembered by Norland High School student, Mormare Jones, who told CBS Miami that “she was a very nice lady.”
“She was always so giving and she was nice to students,” Jones said. “She was very impressive and everybody loved Ms. Russell. I was flabbergasted when I heard about this. I wouldn’t have thought that something so horrible would happen to someone so good.”