Susana Torres was kidnapped 3 months ago, authorities say. Where is her case now?
A Modesto mother remains missing three months after she was kidnapped at gunpoint by her estranged husband, and her family is no closer to finding out what happened.
“Still no news, no updates, everything’s the same,” Yazmin Cruz, the cousin of missing Susana Torres, said this week.
Torres, 29, and her two sons were kidnapped in April by 41-year-old Javier Chavez around 5:30 p.m. outside Richy’s Mini Mart on Butte Avenue, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office says.
Surveillance footage from the store that evening appears to show Chavez holding an object at Torres as she gets into a light-colored sedan.
Later that night, detectives say, Chavez showed up at his parents’ house, dropped off the 8- and 2-year-old boys and told them the couple was getting back together. Chavez is the father of the 2-year-old.
However, Torres was granted a temporary restraining order days before the kidnapping and had documented domestic abuse by Chavez dating back to at least 2019.
Chavez is believed to be in Mexico, and the sheriff’s office says they are working with Mexican authorities on the case.
While waiting for news of her disappearance, Torres’ family has tried to keep her case in the public eye.
Loved ones rallied at Hatch and Crows Landing roads just over a week after her disappearance and later showed up at the sheriff’s office to ask for better communication as they waited for updates.
The sheriff’s office has said detectives continue to investigate the case but not all of the information can be released to the family or public.
The department’s last statement came July 7 with a Facebook post saying the investigation continues.
The office has remained in contact with the family, Cruz said.
Earlier this month, detectives questioned Cruz, her mother and Torres’ mother – who came from Mexico after her daughter’s disappearance – about Torres’ life during the process of bringing charges against Chavez.
Cruz said she was told detectives are looking at bringing a homicide-related charge against Chavez because it would be easier to lower charges later than bring them up. However, she was unsure if the detectives thought Torres could still be alive.
Cruz is the temporary guardian for Torres’ sons and is fighting for full custody against Chavez’s parents.
She said it’s been difficult watching the boys trying to understand what has happened to their mom.
“It’s sad and it’s hard,” Cruz said.
Even the youngest one seems to understand something is missing. Just the other day, Cruz saw him looking out the window at Torres’ car and repeating, “Mommy’s not coming.”
While there has been no news of where Torres is, Cruz said she believes the search isn’t over.
“We still have hope that she’s still alive, especially for the kids,” Cruz said.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 9:35 AM.
