A transgender doctor and activist has been found dead without signs of violence after being reported as missing for 10 days.
The lifeless body of Dr. Maria Elizabeth Montano, 47, was discovered with all her belongings and without signs of violence on a road near the town of Tres Marias in the municipality of Huitzilac in the Mexican state of Morelos on 18th June.
Montano’s Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) colleagues reported her disappearance on 8th June.
She was last seen at around 8am the same day leaving the Siglo XXI National Medical Centre in Mexico City where she worked, according to reports.
The investigation was initially launched as a suspected femicide and the local LGBT community shared social media posts with the hashtag #JusticiaParaMariaElizabeth.
However, the state public prosecutor’s office said they found an email that was scheduled to be sent after her death with a posthumous message to loved ones that indicated she had killed herself.
The public prosecutor’s office added that the “body did not show any injuries or signs of violence involving a third party” and that the police are currently investigating the case as a possible suicide.
The victim’s body is undergoing an autopsy to establish the exact cause of death.
Following the statement, over 100 LGBT activists took to the streets to demand that the police thoroughly investigate all possibilities that the victim was murdered.
Maria Elizabeth Montano, the doctor 
Maria Elizabeth Montano, the doctor
Demonstrators also called on justice for the unsolved trans victims killed in Mexico in recent years.
The investigation continues.
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Story By: Amanda Morales, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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