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The dead body of a missing woman from Texas has been found, according to the El Paso Police Department.
On April 9, the El Paso Police Department issued a missing person alert for 32-year-old Michelle Angela Morales-Nakaza.
The alert detailed that Morales-Nakaza was last seen on the evening of March 27 this year. Her last known location was at 12379 Edgemere, a Baskin-Robbins establishment.
Police also said she may have been picked up by a Hispanic male who was driving a white 2005-2010 Toyota Camry. Morales-Nakaza does not drive a vehicle.
Days after the alert went out, the El Paso Police Department confirmed that Morales-Nakaza was found deceased and that they were investigating her death as a murder.
In a press release issued on April 11, authorities confirmed that a body, later identified as Morales-Nakaza, was located in the area of Red Sands in El Paso County. A cause of death was not disclosed by the police and an investigation is ongoing.
The police also asked for anyone with information to come forward to help with the investigation.
The El Paso Police Department can be contacted at 915-832-4400 or Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477 (TIPS) to remain anonymous.
Sgt Robert Gomez of the El Paso Police Department told Newsweek he was unable to provide further details as the case is still under investigation.
According to the National Institute of Justice, as of August 2021, Texas was ranked second for the state with the highest number of unresolved missing person cases published in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS)
First was California with 2,872, Texas placed second with 1,606, and Florida was third with 1,568.
Of the top 10 cities with the highest number of unresolved missing person cases, Los Angeles was first with 312, San Francisco was second with 218 and Houston was third with 196.
A report by the Texas Center For The Missing also provided data regarding the number of missing people in Texas for 2021.
Looking at the country as a whole in 2021, of the 521,705 new missing persons reported entered into the National Crime Information Center, 203,836 missing persons were over the age of 18.
The report stated: "In Texas alone, there were 46,581 missing persons reports in 2021 with 12,807 of those adults.
"In 2021, 3,292 new missing adult cases were filed in Harris County and 4,143 in the 14-county Houston-Galveston Region."
The report also detailed the difficulties in resolving missing person cases with limited resources.
The report added: "Law enforcement partners in our area work tirelessly to serve our communities, especially searching families. However, overwhelming numbers make this work incredibly challenging.
"For example, the 2 largest agencies serving our region, in 2021 alone: Worked over 12,000 missing persons cases, with just 15 investigators. Despite the odds, the vast majority of missing persons are recovered through collaboration and dedication."
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more