Authorities did not release the name Monday of a woman shot to death Sunday afternoon near Columbia.

The woman, believed to be a local resident in her early 20s, died around 2:40 p.m. at Tuolumne General Hospital.

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Lt. John Steely said detectives believe they know who she is but had not made a positive identification or notified next of kin Monday night.

According to Steely, a driver says he was flagged down in the Columbia area around 2:15 p.m. Sunday.

The driver – Jerry Coey – told detectives the woman told him she had been shot and needed help.

He drove her to Tuolumne General Hospital where she died some 20 minutes later.

Her autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

This is the fifth homicide in Tuolumne County this year. The other four were the people murdered by the Russian kidnapping ring and dumped in New Melones Reservoir.