FRISCO – Authorities believe a woman’s body found early Wednesday in a wooded area east of the Dallas North Tollway is that of a 40-year-old missing Plano fitness instructor and mother who disappeared under suspicious circumstances a day earlier.
Susan Loper of Frisco was reported missing after she did not show up for several appointments Tuesday morning at the Gleneagles Country Club in the 5400 block of West Park Boulevard. Investigators said there were signs of a struggle in one of the fitness rooms at the country club where Loper worked for 16 years.
No arrests were reported Wednesday evening and police would not comment on possible suspects. The body was found just after 8 a.m. just south of Lebanon Road in Frisco.
A Plano patrol officer had been searching for clues related to the kidnapping at isolated spots up and down the Tollway. He decided to make on last stop at a spot in Frisco where police occasionally see late-night drinkers and partiers, police said.
There, he discovered the body about 250 yards away from the road, “”under the tree line,”” said Plano police spokesman Rick McDonald.
McDonald would only say that the body was that of a woman and he said “”the condition of the body is not enabling them to give a race or age.”” But police did notify Loper’s family that it was believed to be her.
Authorities from the Collin County medical examiner’s office were at the scene through late morning and into the afternoon.
Loper was reported missing at 11 a.m. Tuesday from Gleneagles Country Club, in the 5400 block of West Park Boulevard. Police said there were signs of a struggle in one of the fitness rooms at the Plano country club.
Plano police found her abandoned SUV near the tollway and Parker Road – about six miles from where the body was later discovered.
Based on evidence found at the country club and in Loper’s white 2010 Toyota Rav4, “”it looks like a very violent attack on her,”” McDonald said. He would not comment on what that evidence was.
McDonald said Loper lives with her parents and her young child in Frisco. The home is about a block from the elementary school her son attends. Her relatives have been informed that a body was found.
Friends of Loper’s called police after she missed several appointments. Loper had a very regimented schedule, and she adhered closely to her routine.
When Loper failed to show up for a 6:15 a.m. appointment at the country club Tuesday, that was sufficiently out of character to raise concerns about her whereabouts. She may have been abducted by someone who knew her routine, police said.
Loper attends Hope Fellowship church in Frisco. Pastor John McKinzie sent a message to church members Tuesday about Loper’s disappearance, asking them to pray for her.