On Thursday night, her car was found underneath an overpass on Highway 59 and Hamblen in Montgomery County and detectives are now calling this a murder investigation. But they won't say what evidence leads them to believe the woman missing from Beaumont is now dead.
Reina Janeth Cornejo-Triqueros, 34, vanished from Beaumont on Monday. The 34-year-old mother of two hasn't been seen since.
"The family's lost a mom, lost a sister. It's just a sad deal," said Colburn McClelland, the victim's boss.
Investigators say McClelland is the last person known to have spoken to her. His words, or anyone's words for that matter, are little solace to her family.
"They're just distraught and it's just a sad time. It really is," McClelland said.
According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Triqueros left home around 8am Monday. She called her boss at 9am from a pay phone in Sour Lake, 20 miles northwest of Beaumont. She told her boss she'd be late for work. She never showed up.
Acting on a tip, investigators Thursday evening found the woman's truck underneath Highway 59, south of Hamblen Road, near the San Jacinto River. The vehicle was partially burned and, according to detectives, it looked as if there had been a fight in and around the truck.
Based on that evidence, a murder warrant has been issued for 52-year-old Jesus Castrejon, the woman's boyfriend. He lives in Conroe.
"He has not been located, he has not been arrested and we believe he could be traveling to either Mexico or to California," said Lt. Dan Norris with the Montgomery Co. Sheriff's Office.
They consider him armed and dangerous. That is unsettling for those living near his home.
A Houston police dive team searched the San Jacinto River Friday near where Triqueros' truck was located. Her body has not yet been found.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment of a felony crime. Call 800-392-STOP (7867). Anonymous tips can also be made through the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Web Page at www.montgomerycountycrimestoppers.org.
