Andrea Vazquez, a 19-year-old California woman who was believed to have been kidnapped after a shooting incident at a Whittier park over the weekend, has been found dead, police confirmed Tuesday. A suspect has also been arrested in connection with her death.
Vazquez was last seen shortly after midnight Sunday, Aug. 20, in the parking area of Penn Park, according to the Whittier Police Department.
“An adult male witness reported that while at the park with an adult female companion, an armed suspect approached their vehicle and fired a weapon in their direction,” police said in a statement. That same witness told police he ran from the car, and when he came back he found blood, and Vazquez missing.
After a day-long search, Police said they found Vazquez’s body in a vegetation field off Alessandro Boulevard and Merwin Street in Moreno Valley. Earlier that day, Whittier Police said they arrested a suspect, 20-year-old Gabriel Esparza at his job in Lakewood.
Authorities do not believe the suspect had any connection to Vazquez or her family.
The family of Andrea Vazquez reacts to the news of the missing 19-year-old’s death. Vazquez, who was believed to be kidnapped after a shooting in Whittier, was at the center of a desperate search across Southern California.
Esparza is being held without bail for Vazquez’s alleged kidnapping and murder. Police said they’ll be presenting the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges on Wednesday.
No other information about the case was immediately available.
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