Body of missing Washington woman found in cemetery across from Tijuana Highway in Mexico, suspect arrested

RENTON, WASHINGTON - According to authorities, the body of a missing woman has been found in a cemetery on the side of a highway in Mexico. The unidentified suspect in the case is also from Renton, a possible domestic violence incident at hand.

ABC News reported that the woman, identified as 54-year-old Reyna Hernandez, disappeared from her home on February 26th. The Renton Police Department (RPD) said that her friends had reported her missing two days later, on February 28th when she did not return home from running errands. Hernandez also did not open her hair salon in the Renton Highlands, another red flag.

In the initial stages of their investigation, RPD said, "Over the past several days, detectives have served multiple search warrants and are following up on dozens of leads. A friend reported that he last spoke with Ms. Hernandez on Monday, February 26th between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. as she was out running errands.

"She told her friend she was going to a home in South Renton. Evidence recovered in the search warrants indicates that Ms. Hernandez was taken against her will and we do not believe her car is currently in the area."

About a week later, the search for Hernandez took a devastating turn when, on March 8, detectives were alerted to a news article in Mexicali about "an unidentified body found in a local cemetery on the Tijuana Highway." Police said that investigators contact Mexican authorities and were able to provide enough information to identify that the body was in fact Hernandez. 

According to RPD, Mexican law enforcement officers arrested a suspect in the case on unrelated charges. Authorities confirmed that a 61-year-old Renton resident was in their custody in Mexico and that they also recovered Hernandez's car.

Investigations Commander Chandler Swain said in a statement, "This is the worst possible outcome, and our hearts go out to Reyna's family and friends. We are working closely with Mexicali police and our U.S. Federal partners to determine when and where Reyna was killed."

Family of the victim confirmed that the 61-year-old man who has been arrested was Hernandez's partner. Authorities reported that there were signs of torture on her body, saying that she was bound at the hands and feet, shot in the head and then wrapped in a blanket.

Hernandez's sister, 47-year-old Sara Carillo said that she last spoke to Hernandez on February 24th. She said that her sister had sounded happy and that she had gone out dancing that night. However, clients told family members that Hernandez had experienced some form of domestic violence, adding that she had a black eye at her salon days before she went missing. 

Carillo said that her sister was a dreamer, a hardworking and emphatic person with a lot of love to give. She said, "I walk into the salon and I smell her perfume, sense her joy, and hear all the stories that people share when they come."

RDP said that once Hernandez's time and manner of death are confirmed, they can then determine where she was killed. If evidence shows that she was killed in the United States, they will ask for the suspect to be extradited for trial in the States.