Manhattan, NY – Surveillance footage revealed the final moments of 24-year-old Jaclyn Elmquist before her body was discovered at the base of a garbage chute in a luxury apartment building in Manhattan. According to her cousin, Elmquist worked at Mission Staffing, a New York City-based employment agency. She was attending a party hosted by the company before she disappeared.
Currently, authorities do not suspect foul play and believe Elmquist’s death was a result of falling down the trash chute. However, the specific details surrounding her tragic demise have yet to be released.
The chilling footage captures Elmquist stumbling along West 28th Street in Chelsea at around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday night, ultimately arriving at the +art complex located at 540 West 28th Street. Before her disappearance, she was seen entering a yellow taxi cab outside the popular Catch Steakhouse in Manhattan.
Concern escalated when Elmquist failed to return home or show up at work. Her family determined the location of her phone to be 184 11th Street before the signal was lost. Regrettably, her lifeless body was found just blocks away at the luxury apartment building.
NYPD responded to a call about a potential injury at the complex around 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed, “A 24-year-old woman was found unconscious and unresponsive in a garbage compactor at the base of a trash chute at 540 West 28th Street.” Despite attempts by first responders, Elmquist was declared dead at the scene. Initial investigations indicate that she likely fell down the garbage chute, with no criminal activity suspected.
The +art building, boasting 90 units and an average property price of nearly $1.5 million, is conveniently located near High Line Park. The circumstances leading up to Elmquist ending up in the basement area remain unclear. The New York Post reported that her body exhibited signs of trauma, and it was a maintenance worker who discovered her while handling garbage.
It is unclear how the victim got into the building, as she did not live there. “Definitely wouldn’t expect that at all. We have great security in the building, our doors are always locked, we have lots of cameras, just honestly upsetting to hear that happened,” one resident said.
Police believe Elmquists’s death was an accident, with the NYPD saying no foul play was suspected. Authorities are withholding further details regarding the specific cause and intricate details of Elmquist’s tragic death.