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A 21-year-old Virginia Navy sailor who vanished last month has been found dead in a wooded area, military officials say.
Navy Seaman Angelina Petra Resendiz, known to her friends and family as "Angie," was last seen on the morning of May 29 at her barracks at the Miller Hall Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Norfolk Medical Examiner confirmed late Tuesday that her body had been found in a wooded area in Norfolk, Virginia.
One unidentified Navy sailor is being held in “pretrial confinement” in connection with her death, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said.
The suspect’s charges are pending under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Resendiz, a Texas native, was a culinary specialist assigned to the U.S.S. James E Williams. Her mother, Esmeralda Castle, told ABC News during the search for her daughter that Resendiz “does not miss work. Sick, snow, feeling down, she shows up.”
Castle said her daughter’s decision to enlist in the military “was something that called her,” adding that her daughter held culinary dreams, hoping “that one day she might be able to cook for the president and other world leaders.”
“There are no answers for me. I just want my kid,” she told ABC News the week before her daughter was found.
A GoFundMe page paid tribute to the young U.S. Navy sailor and said her mother was determined to “protest for the reform” of how the U.S military responds to cases of missing women.
“Since her disappearance, the United States Navy has been quiet and ambiguous about searching for Angie,” the page said.
“With all of the technology at the Navy's disposal, there is no reason for a sailor to go missing or stay missing. The Naval base is in a wooded area, and NCIS has refused to tell Angie's mother anything about the search.”
Over $9,000 was raised to support the search efforts.
The NCIS said they “had worked tirelessly” in tandem with multiple law enforcement agencies to pursue all leads since learning of Seaman Resendiz’s disappearance.”
“NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice.”
No further information was available.
