Missing Texas mother found dead in car, children alive in back seat

DALLAS, April 1 (Reuters) - A woman from a Dallas suburb who was reported missing this week was found dead inside her sport-utility vehicle in a shopping center parking lot with her three children alive in the back seat, police said on Friday.

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Police in Frisco, about 25 miles north of Dallas, discovered the body of Christine Woo, 39, in a Honda Pilot at a Target parking lot on Thursday evening. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Police would not say if there were signs of trauma on Woo.

The children, a 5-year-old girl, 3-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl, were taken to a hospital for evaluation, police said. Local media reported that they were severely dehydrated.

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Brandon Woo, her husband, reported on Tuesday that his family had been missing since Monday, police said.

Surveillance video released by authorities showed the mother and her children shopping at a local drug store the same day about 15 miles from where she was found dead.

"She's a loving mother," her husband told local TV station WFAA. "She's like a lioness, she would fight for her kids, she would never hurt her kids at all."