Saturday, January 11, 2020

The Disappearance of Nathaniel Holmes

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Nathaniel Holmes has been missing since December 19th, 2017. The 17-year-old was last seen at his high school in Westminster, Colorado. Nathaniel had only been attending the high school for five weeks at the time, but according to his father Ben Holmes, he had already gotten into trouble quite a bit. Ben stated that Nathaniel appeared to be "on something" when he returned from school the day before his disappearance. Since Ben had to work, Nathaniel was sent to his mother's house so he could be monitored. 

His mother dropped him off at school the following morning, but he never attended his classes. Nathaniel instead went to the principal's office and asked to speak with a friend. The principal denied his request to call the friend out of class, and Nathaniel left the building after that. He called his mother and told her that he was going to a friend of his father's house and did not need to be picked up. Nathaniel has never been seen or heard from again.

Authorities believe Nathaniel left on his own accord. Still, Nathaniel's family members say that his disappearance is completely out of character. He left behind many personal items, including his iPad. It is unclear where Nathaniel was actually headed after he left his school. Investigators said that there is no evidence of foul play, but clues about what actually did happen have been far and few in between.

There is a $10,000 reward in place for anyone with information about Nathaniel's disappearance. If you have information that could help the investigation, please contact the Westminster police at 303-658-4360.


The Disappearance of Jared Chavis

19-year-old Jared Chavis, circa 2017.

Jared uploaded the picture on the left to his Facebook page on December 26th, 2017. He was going through an exciting time in his life at this point—he had recently completed ten months in the Air Force and was now pursuing work as a technician. Jared also had recently relocated from his hometown in Louisiana to Houston, Texas. He moved in with his father’s niece and began to search for work opportunities in the Houston area. By all accounts, it appeared that Jared’s future was headed in a positive direction. With all of this in mind, Jared’s family and friends were shocked to learn that Jared seemingly vanished into thin air on January 12th, 2018.
On the evening Jared was last seen, he spoke to his mother on the phone around 9pm. Less than two hours later, Jared was last seen getting into vehicle at the 8800 block of Westheimer Road in Houston. The car was driven by a man known only by the nickname ‘Bolt Suave’. According to police, Jared was riding in the back seat of the car, and he got into an argument with ‘Bolt Suave’ at some point during the drive. The verbal argument eventually escalated to shots being fired. Witnesses told police that Jared never exited the vehicle. He has never been seen or heard from again. ‘Bolt Suave’ has allegedly been on the run ever since the incident occurred.
Investigators have not commented on whether or not Jared was wounded or killed by the gunfire that occurred in the car. They are also remaining silent about other details of the case in order to protect the investigation. However, ‘Bolt Suave’ has been named as a person of interest in the case and police are actively looking for both him and Jared.
A $10000 reward is being offered for any information that could help the case. If you have any information that could lead to their whereabouts, please contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-1840.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

List Series: Missing Person Cold Cases Classified as Runaways

An estimated 1.6-2.8 million teenagers in the United States run away from home each year. (source) There are a variety of different reasons a teenager might run away, and there are also many various dangers that teenagers face upon running away. Still, statistics show that most teens do return home--about 77% percent return within one week, and approximately only 7% of teens are missing for longer than a month. (source) There is always cause for concern when a teenager runs away, and when a runaway is gone for a prolonged period of time, those concerns intensify. There are certain cases where authorities reclassify a case labeled as a runaway to an endangered missing person. However, there are still numerous cases in which the runaway classification is maintained--even if the person has been missing without a trace for a prolonged period of time. Below is a list of seven such cases that are still classified as runaways, despite the fact that they have been missing for years.

7. Angel Wilson

Angel Wilson vanished at the age of 17 on August 10th, 2007. The teen lived in Spokane, Washington, and she was reportedly a habitual runaway since the age of 13. Angel dropped out of high school her sophomore year. While her father had custody of her, he stated that Angel rarely ever stayed at his home--instead, she opted to stay with friends...but she never stayed in the same place for long. When she turned 17, Angel's father granted her permission to marry a 21 year-old named Will Wilson. She moved into Will's house after getting married, but the couple often argued about Angel's alleged drug use. On the day Angel was last seen, Will reportedly caught her smoking methamphetamine inside their home. Will then gave her an ultimatum to quit using drugs or their relationship with end. This angered Angel, and she reportedly stormed out of the house. Will awoke the following morning and found her wedding ring on a nightstand. She has never been seen or heard from again.

Due to the fact that Angel was a habitual runaway, it is easy to understand why authorities classified her as such this time. However, there has not been a single trace of her for over a decade. In the past, Angel always returned home or at least stayed in touch with friends. While she might have left her home on her own accord, it does not seem likely that she has purposely stayed away after all this time. Angel's disappearance remains unsolved. [read more]

6. Adrianna Garcia

Adrianna Garcia was only 15 years old when she vanished without a trace on December 29th, 2004. That day, Adrianna left her family’s Tulsa, Oklahoma home to walk to a friend’s home that was located several miles away. She never arrived at her friend’s house and has never been seen or heard from again. Police classified Adrianna as a runaway, even though she had no prior history of running away. Her family members do not believe she would voluntarily leave; they stated that she had a happy home life and was close to her siblings. 

It is unclear why police would label Adrianna as a runaway. Over 15 years have passed, and police have yet to comment on their reasoning behind classifying her as such. Adrianna is still labeled as a runaway to this day, and her case remains unsolved. [read more]

5. Heather Lewis

Heather Lewis vanished at the age of 13 on April 4th, 2003. The young teen was last seen at her middle school in Ely, Nevada. Heather was sent home from school that day after she got suspended for having cigarettes in her possession. After leaving the building, Heather never made it home and has never been seen or heard from again.

Both Heather's family members and authorities believed she ran away from the get-go. Heather and her mother were having trouble getting along at the time and she was reportedly unhappy at home. However, it appears Heather intended to have a completely normal day on the day she disappeared. She left the house with only her school items, and none of her friends were able to provide information about where Heather might have gone. Since years and years have passed since Heather was last seen, her family members now believe she came to harm after running away. Despite this, she is still classified as a runaway and her disappearance remains unsolved today. [read more]

4. Sophie Reeder
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Sophie Reeder has been missing since May 19th, 2017. The 15 year-old left her residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that evening and never returned.  The last known sighting of her was captured by surveillance cameras on West Davie boulevard around 10pm that evening. Sophie was never seen or heard from again after that.

Sophie has been classified as a runaway, however the authorities worry she may have been a victim of human trafficking or an online predator. She ran away once before, but was only gone for a day. This time around, Sophie left behind all of her belongings and there has not been any activity on her mobile devices since the day she disappeared. Investigators were able to search Sophie’s computer after she vanished; it was there that they found evidence that she may have fallen victim to human traffickers or an online predator. However, investigators have not elaborated on said evidence and there are very few other details on what exactly they found on her computer.

Despite the belief that Sophie fell victim to trafficking, authorities still classify her as a runaway to this day. Her disappearance remains unsolved. [read more]

3. Andrew Mayorga
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Andrew Mayorga was in the midst of moving across the country when he vanished on January 4th, 2007. The 17 year-old previously lived with his mother in Washington state, but during late December 2006/early January 2007, Andrew began traveling towards Louisiana--where he planned to live with his grandmother. During his trip he decided to stop in San Antonio, Texas to stay with a man known as the family's "honorary grandfather" during the holiday season. During his stay in San Antonio, Andrew worked for this man at his law firm. 

The "honorary grandfather" reportedly went to check on Andrew on the evening of January 3rd, and noticed he was not in his bed. However, many of his personal items and his pet dog were still at the home. Once Andrew was reported missing, authorities determined that he was last seen the following morning around 7:30am, standing on a corner near Travis Park. This is the last confirmed sighting of him. 

Despite the strange circumstances surrounding his disappearance, authorities classified Andrew as a runaway. There was a theory put forth that he might have met somebody on MySpace--but before authorities were able to search the computer Andrew was using, the 'honorary grandfather' threw the computer away. While this seems suspicious, authorities have still not labeled this man as a suspect and have continued to label Andrew as a runaway.  His case remains unsolved today. [read more] 

2. Ciara Stacho
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16 year old Ciara Stacho has been missing since August 7th, 2015. She was a frequent runaway and authorities believe that she left on her own accord. Ciara had actually run away from her Inkster, Michigan home weeks earlier, but had been keeping in touch with her loved ones and updating her social media pages regularly. In fact, in early August, Ciara texted her mother to tell her that she was ready to come home. Her mother was excited for her daughter’s return, but Ciara never showed up as planned. All additional contact between Ciara and her loved ones ceased on August 7th, 2015. This was also the last time that Ciara accessed her social media pages.

Although Ciara had a history of running away, she has never gone this long without contacting her family members or friends. There have been no credible sightings of her since her disappearance. Despite this, Ciara's status still remains as a runaway, and her case remains unsolved. [read more]

1. Nachida Chandara

Nachida Chandara has been missing since March 14th, 2007. She was only 15 years old at the time she was reported missing, and there are very few details about available about the circumstances around her disappearance. What is known is that Nachida was last seen at her family’s home in Phoenix, Arizona the day disappeared. She left her home sometime after 10pm, and never returned again. After she was reported missing, authorities classified Nachida as a runaway.

Two months later, in May 2007, investigators were somehow able to verify that Nachida was in Detroit, Michigan. She was believed to be using the name Lisa Tran as an alias. It is unclear how investigators received this information, and there have not been any other known sightings of her since May 2007. Over a decade has passed since Nachida was last seen, but she is still classified as a runaway. Her case remains unsolved. [read more]

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

The Murder of Damaris Reyes Rivas


Damaris Reyes Rivas (pictured left) was only 15 years-old when she was brutally murdered by a group of MS-13 gang members on January 8th, 2017. Venus Romero Iraheta (pictured right) was one of the 10 gang members who participated in the attack. She was only 17 years-old at the time. Damaris lived in Gaithersburg, Maryland prior to her death, however she was killed in Springfield, Virginia. 
Damaris’ murder is believed to be motivated by the December 2016 murder of 21-year-old Christian Sosa Rivas. Christian was Venus’ boyfriend, and he referred to himself as the leader of his MS-13 clique, known as the Harrison Clique. At some point before his death, Christian reportedly angered members of two other MS-13 cliques: the Coronados and the Via Satellites.
It is believed that the leaders of those cliques were angry about Christian falsely claiming his title as a gang leader. On the day of Christian’s murder, Damaris allegedly texted him and asked him to meet her at a park in Dumfries, Virginia. Damaris herself was actually not at the park, though. Instead, a group of gang members from the other cliques met Christian there and proceeded to attack him. 
On the day Damaris was murdered, she was asked to meet Venus and the others at Lake Accotink Park in Springfield. Damaris thought they were meeting to smoke marijuana, but when she showed up, she was ambushed by the group of gang members from Christian’s clique, all ranging from ages 15 to 21. 
A series of cell phone videos revealed that they tortured and interrogated Damaris for several minutes. One video shows Damaris being forced to stand naked in the 21-degree weather, while another video shows Damaris laying in a pile of leaves in her own blood.
Venus was the main assailant in the attack. She admitted to investigators that she said “see you in fucking hell” before she stabbed Damaris 13 times. Damaris was then left to die; she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries around 20 minutes later. 
Other MS-13 gang members went back to the park to retrieve her body, and they eventually dumped her in a puddle near an industrial park. Damaris’ body was found about a month later.
All of the 10 people involved in Damaris’ murder have been convicted. Venus was most recently sentenced; she received 40 years in prison. She offered an apology at her sentencing, stating, “I know I made the biggest mistake of my life. I am sorry.”

The Disappearance of Christina Voltaire

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22-year-old Christina Voltaire vanished during the evening of January 8th, 2011. She was last seen at her apartment in Winter Haven, Florida, where she lived while she was studying nuclear medicine at Keiser University. Christina lived by herself at the apartment, but she knew at least one other person who lived at the complex: Charles Pierre-Gilles. Charles is also the brother of Christina’s ex-boyfriend Dieuseul Pierre-Gilles.
On the day Christina vanished, Charles’ car broke down so he asked Christina if he could borrow hers. Christina agreed, and Charles went to her apartment to get her keys. When he got there, Charles said that Christina was laying on her bed in a black robe and doing homework. She didn’t speak of any plans to go out that night—in fact, Christina told Charles that she wasn’t feeling well. 
However, when Charles returned to her apartment 45 minutes later, Christina was gone. The robe she was wearing was left lying on the bed and there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment. Charles thought that she had just stepped out for a minute, and he decided to wait for her. After hours passed with no sign of her, Charles reported Christina missing.
Charles was very cooperative throughout the investigation. Christina’s ex/Charles's brother Dieuseul, on the other hand, refused to speak with investigators and immediately hired a lawyer. Dieuseul did speak to the media, though. He told reporters that he and Christina had broken up almost a year earlier, after he found out that he wasn’t the father of her infant daughter. Her daughter unfortunately passed away of undetermined causes around the time they broke up.
Police have not named any persons of interest in Christina’s disappearance. Prior to vanishing, Christina told her father that Dieuseul was aggressive, and she was afraid of him. Christina’s mother stated that she felt Christina had to choose between Dieuseul and Charles, however Charles denies having a romantic relationship with her.
Christina remains missing today. The investigation into her disappearance is still open. If you have any information that could help lead to her whereabouts, please contact the Winter Haven Police Department at 863-291-5858.

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Sources:
Charley Project
Forumotion
Lakeland Ledger, (2)

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Disappearance of Nancy Bromet


Nancy Bromet has been missing since November of 2015. The 37-year-old woman was going through some major changes in her life at the time of her disappearance, and many of those changes were documented on her Facebook page. Nancy made the image on the left her Facebook profile picture on November 3rd, 2015. Just two days later, she updated her relationship status to "in a relationship." 

Though the page does not state the name of the person she was in a relationship with, her family and friends have confirmed that the man in question was a truck driver named Jesus Julio Cruz. That same day, Nancy also posted that she had moved from Sunrise, Florida to Bakersfield, California. 

According to Nancy's family members, Nancy and Cruz actually left Florida to travel to California on November 12th, 2015. The couple left Nancy's father's house that morning. Nancy has never been seen by her family members again. 

Nancy reportedly did not have a cell phone of her own at the time, so she communicated with her family through Cruz's phone. Nancy's last known communication with her family occurred on November 17th, 2015 - when she reportedly called her sister and indicated that she was in distress. After that call, Nancy's father spoke to Cruz and said that he would buy Nancy a plane ticket home if Cruz dropped her off at the airport. 

Upon hearing that suggestion, Nancy was heard asking Cruz "well, what do you think?" before the phone call dropped. When Nancy's father called back later, Cruz told him that Nancy was asleep. She never contacted her family again after that call.

Cruz later told Nancy's family members that they arrived in California on November 19th, 2015. He explained that on the following day, he dropped Nancy off at a shopping center in El Centro so she could buy groceries while he made deliveries in his truck. Cruz stated that when he returned to the shopping center two hours later, Nancy was nowhere to be found. Her family members reported her missing two days later, on November 22nd.

It is uncharacteristic for Nancy to be out-of-touch with her family members for this long, and her loved ones are suspicious about Cruz's version of events. Although Cruz said that Nancy was last seen in El Centro, her family members are questioning whether or not she ever made it to California at all. Still, the El Centro police are in charge of investigating Nancy's disappearance. If you have any information that could lead to her whereabouts, please contact the authorities at 760-352-2111.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The Disappearance of Andrew Mayorga


Andrew Mayorga was only 17 years-old when he vanished on January 4th, 2007. Around the time of his disappearance, Andrew was going through some major changes in his life. He had been living in Washington state with his mother, but recently decided to move to Louisiana to live with his grandmother. 

On his way across the country, Andrew stopped in San Antonio, Texas to spend the holiday season with a family friend who Andrew referred to as his “honorary grandfather.” That family friend was well known to both Andrew’s mother and grandmother. Both had worked for the man’s law firm in San Antonio, and while Andrew was staying with him, he worked at the law firm as well.

Andrew and his grandmother reportedly spoke on the phone each day since his arrival in San Antonio. The day before he vanished, Andrew’s grandmother decided to drive from Louisiana to San Antonio to come pick him up. Unfortunately, Andrew disappeared before his grandmother arrived. 

The family friend he was staying with told Andrew’s grandmother that he checked Andrew’s bedroom the evening of January 3rd to see if the teen was in bed, and he was not. It is unknown if Andrew left the house through the door or a window. According to San Antonio detective Courtney Weytrich, “it’s unknown how he actually walked away and disappeared from that location.”
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Andrew vanishes suspiciously.

Andrew’s grandmother stated that Andrew left behind “everything that was important to him,” including his wallet, clothing, and even his pet dog. He was spotted for the last time around 7:30 AM on January 4th, standing on the corner of Soledad and Travis near Travis Park; an area he frequented.

Due to the fact that Andrew left all of his important items and his beloved dog at the house where he was staying, it appeared that he intended to return there. He never did and has never been seen or heard from again. Andrew was later reported missing. 

Suspicions about the 'honorary grandfather'.

While working at the 'honorary grandfather's' law firm, Andrew had access to a computer that he also used to access his MySpace page. Andrew’s grandmother was aware of this and suggested that the computer’s hard drive be searched for possible clues. However, before it could be searched, the honorary grandfather threw the computer away. 

While this seems quite suspicious, especially since it is still unclear how Andrew left the man’s house, investigators have not named this man as a suspect. In fact, both investigators and family members have stated that they believe it is possible that Andrew left on his own accord. 

Investigator's runaway theories.

Detective Weytrich put forth a few theories, stating, “we’re thinking that he met somebody ​during his walks downtown. [Or] he met somebody on MySpace, since MySpace was an outlet to other states, other areas. We don’t know if he met somebody, and they provided a plane ticket or a bus ticket to leave San Antonio. Being 17, the airlines and the bus stations will not ID or question you for leaving. You can come and go as you please on the airlines and buses if that’s your choice of transportation.”

For unknown reasons, the honorary grandfather Andrew was staying with in San Antonio has not been publicly identified. Despite the fact that he vanished under seemingly suspicious circumstances, Andrew is still considered a runaway to this day. 

Hope for answers.

Andrew’s family members hope that somebody with potential information could come forward and help bring Andrew home. If you have any information that could help, please contact SAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660.

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Sources:
Charley Project
Fox San Antonio
KSAT
News 4 San Antonio