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Woman Found Dead In Washington Heights Believed To Be Missing Bronx Mother, Sources Say

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police were called to Washington Heights on Saturday afternoon where they found a woman unconscious and unresponsive.

Officers discovered the woman just before 1:30 p.m. near West 187 Street and Chittenden Avenue. Her body was found over a wall in an area not far from the George Washington Bridge, sources said.

Sources tell CBS2 she is believed to be the Bronx mother who has been missing since Monday. Her description and clothing matched those of the mother, sources said.

Joan Viau, 52, hasn't been seen since she took her 31-year-old son, Joseph Garcia, for a doctor's appointment at a VA facility in Kingsbridge.

Garcia was arrested Friday and charged with grand larceny for allegedly using his mother's credit card after she went missing.

Days after her disappearance, blood was found inside Viau's bedroom and her car and her family feared for her safety.

EMS responded to Washington Heights on Saturday and pronounced the woman dead at the scene.

"That's crazy, kind of scary too. She was sweet, quiet," a woman who knew Viau told CBS2's Jessica Borg on Saturday night.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

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