The body of Brittany Ritter, a 37-year-old mother of two from Holland, Ohio, was discovered on top of a stopped train in Elkhart, Indiana, on September 3. The Elkhart Police Department announced the discovery on Thursday.
Ritter was last seen in the Holland area in the early morning hours of September 2. The Lucas County Sheriff's Office stated that she may have been traveling by bicycle when she disappeared, and her family had expressed concern for her welfare. Her body was found the following morning on a Norfolk Southern Railway train that had traveled from east to west.
According to a GoFundMe launched to cover funeral expenses, Ritter was a devoted mother who also struggled with mental health challenges. Those who knew her remembered her strength and compassion.
The Elkhart County Homicide Unit initially investigated the circumstances of Ritter's death but has since transferred the case to the Lucas County Sheriff's Office. Ritter's cause and manner of death have not yet been released. The Elkhart medical examiner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sherry Straub-Guess, Ritter's aunt, expressed gratitude for the search efforts and asked for continued support as the family seeks to understand what happened. "Brittany has been found. It is not the outcome we had hoped for but she is now forever home," Straub-Guess wrote on Facebook. The sheriff's office indicated that the investigation is ongoing and declined to release further details.