Sept. 07–The body of the Galleria-area Omni Hotel's missing spa manager was found Thursday morning.
Jill Renick, 48, was last heard from about 5:40 a.m. on Aug. 27, calling the front desk of the hotel for help while trapped in, what her family believes, was one of the building's elevators.
Renick's body was found inside of the hotel, off of South Post Oak, according to a statement from her family.
"It is with heavy hearts that the search for my sister, Jill Renick, has concluded with the confirmation of her death," said Renick's sister, Pam Eslinger, 62, in the statement. "We are heartbroken. To know Jill is to have loved her. She could light up a room just by walking in and adored life. She was loved by so many people, and we will feel the impact of her absence in our hearts forever."
Neither the Houston Police Department nor the Omni have confirmed Renick's identity, though HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva said a body was found at the hotel about 9:15 a.m. Thursday.
Kristen Cadenhead, spokeswoman at Omni's Dallas headquarters, confirmed a body — who staff presume was Renick — was found in a ceiling area above the lower level of the hotel.
"We are heartbroken and shaken by this development," Cadenhead wrote in an email to the Chronicle. "We are communicating with the family to offer whatever assistance we can, and we are arranging grief counseling to help our associates process this shocking news. This is a difficult time for us all."
Cadenhead said staff searched every area of the hotel they had access to.
Cadenhead added HPD had previously concluded Renick was not in the hotel or parking garage after "thoroughly searching" the building.
HPD has confirmed the agency searched last week at least one of the hotel's elevators and found it empty, but has repeatedly declined to say if police searched other parts of the hotel.
Renick had stayed the night of Aug. 26 at the Omni to help guests in anticipation of bad weather from Tropical Storm Harvey, Eslinger said.
