Homicide ruled out

PHOENIX – Phoenix police have ruled out homicide as the cause of death of a woman found in an irrigation ditch.

Someone found the body of a 50-year old woman behind a row of townhomes near 27th Avenue and Maryland on Saturday afternoon.

However Saturday night homicide detectives told 3TV they were not investigating a murder. Police say the woman was a known alcohol and substance abuser who disappeared Christmas Day.

It appears she was a victim of the cold overnight weather. Investigators did not find any signs of trauma on the victim's body.