Authorities discovered Thursday night the lifeless body of a missing 18-year-old girl inside a water tank located on an abandoned property near a motel in northeastern Mexico.
Debanhi Escobar mysteriously disappeared after going out to party – against her mother’s wishes – with two girl friends in the city of Escobedo on April 8.
A haunting photo of her was snapped by a rideshare driver the morning of April 9 before she mysteriously vanished.
Her father, Mario Escobar, accompanied his wife to the Nueva Castilla Motel after they were notified by the Nuevo León State Office of the Attorney General that a female body had been found inside a cistern.
Although the prosecutor’s office said it would need additional time to process a DNA test to confirm the victim’s identity, the distraught father told a bevy of reporters at the site that it was indeed his daughter who had been found after 13 days of a massive search that spread across neighboring states.
‘My daughter is dead and I don’t know what to do,’ he said.
Debanhi Escobar was photographed by a ride share app driver identified as 47-year-old Jesús Nuevo León, Mexico, the morning of April 9 after she decided to get out of the car following an alleged argument. Her father confirmed to the Mexican media that her body was located by authorities Thursday night inside a water tank at an abandoned property next to a motel
Debanhi Escobar is said to have gotten into an argument with her two girl friends during a night of partying April 8 in Nuevo León, Mexico. One of them contacted a ride share app driver identified as Jesús, who was off duty, to driver Escobar home. However, a heated discussion ensued during the ride to her home and she was abandoned on the side of a road
The body of 18-year-old Debanhi Escobar was located inside a water tank on a property next to the Nueva Castilla Motel in Nuevo León, Mexico
Assistant Public Safety Secretary Ricardo Mejia said during Friday morning’s presidential press briefing that the body was apparently unrecognizable after what may have been nearly two weeks in the water.
He noted that it had a crucifix necklace and clothing similar to what Debanhi Escobar was wearing the night of her disappearance.
‘The alert was sounded by hotel workers, because of the fetid odors coming from the cistern,’ Mejia said.
According to reports, Escobar had argued with one of the girls at the bar. One of them reached out to a 47-year-old rideshare app driver they knew, identified as Jesús, to drop off Escobar at her residence.
During the ride on the morning of April 9, Jesús stopped his vehicle in the vicinity of the Nueva Castilla Motel and Transportes Internacionales Alcosa – a trucking company – after Escobar allegedly told him she wanted to get out following an alleged argument.
The father of Debanhi Escobar (pictured) confirmed to the media Thursday night that his daughter’s body was found inside a water tank near a hotel in Nuevo León, Mexico
Mario Escobar addresses reporters in front of the Nueva Castilla Motel in Nuevo León, Mexico, on Friday after authorities located the body of a woman inside a water tank at a property next door. While the prosecutor’s office said it is awaiting results of a DNA test, Escobar confirmed the body is his daughter, 18-year-old Debanhi Escobar
As proof that she was no longer in the vehicle, Jesús took the photo and sent it to her two friends.
Details of how Escobar ended up in the water tank are unknown. But President Andrés Manuel López Obrador vowed to find out what happened to her.
He said the case ‘has caused, logically, a lot of worry, a lot of concern’ among Mexicans.
Mario Escobar slammed the Nuevo León state prosecutor’s office for the length of time it took authorities to find his daughter after the area had been searched earlier during the week.
Authorities had access to 40 surveillance video cameras, but only reviewed half of them.
‘I’m upset because I was wrong. I believed in the prosecution. They never gave me the (screenshots); I asked them for copies. It’s my right as a victim. I never had them in my possession because they didn’t do their job,’ Mario Escobar said.
Debanhi Escobar went out to party with two girl friends April 8 in Escobedo, Mexico, before she was reported missing after failing to return home
The distraught parent slammed the attorney general’s office for not allowing him and his wife in the area where their daughter’s body was found.
Escobar also faulted the prosecutor’s office for not sharing all of the information in his daughter’s investigation file.
‘I demand justice. It has to be cleared up because Debanhi disappeared. At what moment did they know and did not inform us,’ he said. ‘The prosecutor’s office didn’t give us any information. Maybe because it wasn’t their daughter. Put yourself in our role and you will feel what we are feeling.’
The family was planning a march towards the state palace to demand answers from Governor Samuel García.
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