Las Vegas restaurant owner’s cause of death a mystery

The Clark County coroner’s office could not determine how or why Sharon Harrell, the 53-year-old owner of TC’s World Famous Rib Crib in Las Vegas, died in late August.

Both her cause and manner of death were officially ruled “undetermined” on Tuesday by the coroner’s office.

A manner of death is ruled one of five ways at the coroner’s office: natural, homicide, suicide, accident or undetermined. A case becomes undetermined if investigators are unable to medically explain the cause of death or if the case has conflicting manners of death, the coroner’s office has previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The ruling on Harrell’s death comes nearly three months after she was found dead on Aug. 28 inside her car in the Chinatown area, about 2 miles south of her restaurant.

By then, Las Vegas police have said, Harrell had been missing for at least five days. She was last seen alive near Durango Drive and Oakey Boulevard.

The Metropolitan Police Department has released few details surrounding Harrell’s disappearance and death but previously confirmed that its homicide section was investigating.

Metro spokeswoman Alejandra Zambrano said Tuesday the investigation was active and ongoing. No arrests have been made in the case, she said.

The woman’s goddaughter, Alexis Germany, has said she was told that investigators suspected foul play. Germany could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

For 15 years, Harrell owned TC’s World Famous Rib Crib, a barbecue restaurant near Durango and Spring Mountain Road that Harrell named after her late father. As of Tuesday, the restaurant was listed as permanently closed on Google and Yelp.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.