Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Missing woman's car discovered at Albuquerque hotel

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

After searching for more than a month for a missing Corrales woman, Los Lunas police located the woman's car Tuesday afternoon in Albuquerque.

Sandra Sanchez, 43, has been missing since April 3. She was last seen in public shopping at Walgreens in Los Lunas. Since then, no one had reported seeing Sanchez or her vehicle.

Los Lunas Police Chief Roy Melnick said officers located Sanchez's 1995 dark green Chevy Lumina parked at the Elegante Hotel on the 2000 block of Menaul Boulevard N.E., just off Interstate 25.

"Los Lunas police have been diligently investigating her disappearance, executing several search warrants, interviewing witnesses, collecting records, evidence and following up on all leads," Melnick said.

On Tuesday, Los Lunas police officers, armed with a search warrant, seized a vehicle belonging to Sanchez's ex-boyfriend, who police are calling a person of interest in the investigation. Police and Sanchez's family believe he was the last person to see Sandra alive.

"Today's discovery of Sandra's vehicle is another piece of the investigation that investigators hope will lead to additional evidence and clues of her whereabouts," Melnick added. "Sandra's vehicle was sealed by investigators and removed to a secure location where it will be thoroughly searched with the assistance of the New Mexico State Police Crime Lab Technicians."

Melnick said the ex-boyfriend's vehicle would also be searched in a similar manner for clues and evidence. Officers did search Sanchez's ex-boyfriend's home in Los Lunas a couple of weeks ago, but the chief wouldn't disclose what, if any, evidence was found.

Sanchez's brother, Dennis Maestas of Los Lunas, who has been searching for his sister since she went missing, said he's also hoping that the discovery of the car will lead them to find out what happened.

"I don't know what to feel — it's a big hole in our stomach," Maestas said. "We just need to know what happened to her. We haven't given up.

"I hope that it will lead them to my sister and hopefully there are cameras that captured something in the parking lot," he added. "We're happy with Los Lunas police and what they've been doing. They put a lot of detectives on the case, and they're taking this seriously. We have been pleased with what they've been doing."

Melnick said investigators have interviewed numerous witnesses and have searched area casinos, the Albuquerque airport parking lots, irrigation ditches, secluded dirt roads and various other potential sites for Sanchez and her missing vehicle.

Sandra Sanchez is described as having brown hair and brown eyes, standing five-feet four-inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds.

Anyone with any information regarding her disappearance or her vehicle that was recovered on Tuesday is asked to contact Chief Roy Melnick or the detectives at the Los Lunas Police Department at 839-3855.

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