London, Jul 25 (IANS): A reclusive woman who rarely spoke to her neighbours was found sitting mummified in her car in the US state of Florida 16 months after she died, a media report said here.

Kathryn Norris had her home in Cape Canaveral repossessed after she stopped making repayments on her mortgage in August 2009, The Telegraph reported Sunday.

Norris, 57, who lived on a pension and disability benefit, was thought to have gone away. She had few friends and no concerns were raised until March 2010, when a nephew called the local police, the newspaper said.

An officer visited the townhouse and reported seeing nothing suspicious. It was also inspected twice by bank officials, who even took photographs of her car as part of their "diligent search and inquiry", the daily said on its website.

The house was bought at auction by a man, whose name has not been released, in November 2010. While inspecting the property he found Norris's remains in the passenger seat of her Chevy Nova.

During the 1990s, Norris worked as a contractor for NASA and was married. But she developed mental health problems, lost her job and separated from her husband.

She was rarely seen in later years. Details of her life emerged in an investigation by local newspaper, the St Petersburg Times. An autopsy could not determine the cause of her death, The Telegraph said.