“Out-of-town” family members discovered the body in the freezer last month.

A body found in a San Diego freezer last month may have been that of a woman who has been missing or dead for up to nine years, police said Thursday.

“Out-of-town” family members who were visiting a residence called local authorities when they discovered the body in the freezer, police said in December.

The family members are related to someone who currently lives in the home and are not related to the woman found in the freezer, according to police. Police added the freezer was running when the body was found.

The San Diego police homicide unit was called in to investigate because of the unusual location of the body, police said.