Police announced on Monday that the body of Reyna Hernandez, a 54-year-old Washington woman missing for two weeks, was discovered in a local cemetery in Mexicali, Mexico. Her body was found over 1,300 miles away from her home, the Renton, Washington Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Hernandez vanished on February 26 from her residence in south Renton, which led her friends to report her disappearance two days later, as stated by Renton police.
According to the police’s social media post, she didn’t return home after running errands and didn’t open her small business in Renton. According to ABC News, Hernandez operated a hair salon in Renton, a suburb of Seattle located approximately 12 miles south of downtown.
However, Renton police stated that detectives became aware of Hernandez’s potential location on March 8. They were alerted to a news article from Mexicali detailing the discovery of an unidentified body on the Tijuana Highway.
ALSO READ: Florida County Sheriff Apologizes for Posting Photo of Dead Body Believed To Be Missing Teen
Over the weekend, investigators contacted Mexican authorities, who provided sufficient information to identify Hernandez, according to Renton police positively. Mexican law enforcement arrested a 61-year-old Renton resident on unrelated charges.
Now, he’s considered a suspect in Hernandez’s disappearance and possible murder, Renton police’s Facebook post said.
POLL — Should Donald J. Trump Be Allowed to Run for Office?
Furthermore, the suspect remains in custody in Mexico, where they also found Hernandez’s vehicle, police said. “Detectives have not been super clear on what (their) relationship is,” Meeghan Black of the Renton Police Department told KIRO-TV.
Renton police detectives believe this was a domestic violence crime, according to the department’s Facebook post. “This is the worst possible outcome, and our hearts go out to Reyna’s family and friends,” Renton police Investigations Cmdr. Chandler Swain said in the Facebook post.
“We are working closely with Mexicali police and our U.S. Federal partners to determine when and where Reyna was killed.”
ALSO READ: Authorities Find Missing Houston Girl E’minie Hughes, Arrests 27-Year-Old Man
Once the time and manner of death are confirmed, Renton police detectives aim to determine where the alleged homicide occurred.
However, if Hernandez’s death took place in the U.S., authorities would seek to extradite the suspect to face charges in America, according to the department.
“To have this as the outcome is just devastating,” Black said. “It’s now gone across country lines, not just state lines but country lines and we were working very well with Mexican officials and we’re getting the federal officials involved to try and figure out who takes jurisdiction when we figure out that timeline.”
You Might Also Like:
Rep. Ken Buck Announces Leaving Congress, Shrinks GOP’s Majority
Police Arrests Man Who Fatally Shot Mom, 11-Year-Old in Parked Car
Officials Say Pennsylvania Man Accused of Skinning Kitten Claims It Was a Jaguar
Angelina Jolie Makes Her Debut as a Designer on the Oscars Red Carpet
Authorities Find Two Dead at Scene of Pennsylvania House Explosion
