Funeral held for Dacara Thompson, missing Maryland woman found dead along highway

A funeral was held Tuesday for Dacara Thompson, the Maryland woman whose body was found along a highway after she was reported missing. 

The funeral was held at Kettering Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro. 

Dacara Thompson's body found

Thompson's body was found in a grassy area off Route 50 in Anne Arundel County on Aug. 31, nearly a week after her family reported her missing from Prince George's County.

Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, 35, is accused of killing Thompson and is being held without bail. Authorities said he is living in the United States unlawfully.

Charging documents allege Hernandez-Mendez threw Thompson's body from the U.S. 50 bridge into the South River, a drop of more than 30 feet.

Timeline of Thompson's disappearance

On the night she went missing, Thompson's father, Daniel Thompson, said she left their Lanham home around 10 p.m.

Just before midnight, he said they exchanged text messages, in which she told him she was out getting gas.

Surveillance video later showed Thompson leaving her white Ford Edge SUV in Hyattsville and, after a brief conversation, getting into another vehicle, allegedly driven by Hernandez-Mendez.

Hernandez-Mendez is accused of driving her to a home in the 12000 block of Kembridge Drive in Bowie, where police said they believe he killed her in his bedroom.