‘We have no news’: Loved ones of Susana Torres rally after alleged kidnapping
Susana Torres’ loved ones are doing whatever they can to make sure everyone knows her name.
About 40 of her family members and close friends gathered Tuesday at the intersection of Hatch and Crows Landing roads dressed in white, holding signs demanding justice for the allegedly kidnapped mother.
“We all decided to come out here just because we haven’t heard from her in a week,” said Yazmin Cruz, Torres’ cousin. “We have no news.”
Torres, along with her 8- and 2-year-old sons, were allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint April 11 by Torres’ estranged husband outside Richy’s Mini Mart. Torres had just taken a restraining order out granting her full custody of the 2-year-old, Chavez’s son, after he allegedly tried to kidnap her in late March.
Around 10 p.m. the Sunday that Torres disappeared, police believe Chavez dropped the children at his parents’ house and told them he and Torres were getting back together, despite the temporary restraining order and a history of domestic abuse dating back to at least 2019. Authorities believe Chavez then fled to Mexico sometime within the next day.
The family still does not know where Torres is. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Letras said Tuesday there are no updates to the case but the investigation is ongoing.
Cruz said she knows some people may not keep up with the news, so the group thought coming to the busy intersection — close to where the alleged kidnapping occurred — would help get Torres’ name in front of more eyes.
The group wore white because it’s a peaceful color, Cruz said, and everyone wants to keep as much peace in the situation as possible. It also helped them stand out to the cars that passed by as they chanted Torres’ name.
Cruz said she hoped more people would be able to help if they knew what was going on and possibly provide more answers.
“We’re trying to maintain our hope, but it’s hard because it’s already been a week,” Cruz said.
Another of Torres’ cousins, Maria Muñoz-Torres, drove up with her family from Victorville, a city near Los Angeles, to be in Modesto for the rally.
“I want her to know we will stop at nothing to bring her back and find her,” Muñoz-Torres said.
Kristal Ramirez, Muñoz-Torres daughter, said that although the drive to get to Modesto was about 6 hours, she’d want her family to show up for her if she went missing.
“It’s been a lot of worrying, stressing, crying,” Ramirez, 17, said. “It’s been a difficult time for all her loved ones, worrying and wondering if she’s fine or not.”
Muñoz-Torres said Torres was in the process of seeking political asylum in the United States after fleeing violence in Mexico. It has made the situation especially difficult for Muñoz-Torres, knowing her cousin became the victim of a crime after trying so hard to escape to a better situation.
Muñoz-Torres said she believes the police should be doing more to search for her cousin. She hasn’t seen much posted about her case in Southern California, but she thinks that a statewide strategy could help since Chavez would have had to travel down most of the state to get to Mexico.
“I know somebody had to see something or hear something,” Muñoz-Torres said through tears. “Somebody doesn’t just disappear off the face of the earth.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2021 at 11:19 AM.
