Although the murders stopped after that, police have unfortunately not been able to say without a doubt that Montoya was the serial killer known as the West Mesa Bone Collector. if she comes and stays, i'm going to leave. it was so much going through my. >> a few years before the first body was found a colleague of mine and i had heard about a list of women that were missing. but for the most part the public didn't even know there was a list. maybe he knew where the money was going to go. he has pics of you on his phone. and ida says, "dan." In 2005, she was handed two missing persons files including missing 25-year-old Michelle Valdez,. Tonight's Dateline http://datl.in/fSpdzC, Anyone with information on the West Mesa murders is urged to contact (505)-768-2450 or. where did she come from? [9] Some of the women appear to be unconscious, and many share the same physical characteristics as the original 11 victims. all the remains. we approached the vehicle, open the door, the first words out of this girl's mouth, who's a known prostitute, was that he was trying to kill her. Promising leads became dead ends with every cleared suspect. and one of the things that those girls all had in common was that they were all attractive and blond and white and didn't have any criminal record. a restless night's sleep. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. dupixent is not a steroid, and it continuously treats your eczema even when you can't see it. >> so at one point at least you're sort of looking at truckers. Still, authorities have not given up. >> if these women had been blond, white, and from the right part of town would you guys have sounded the alarm sooner? >> somebody that lives here? but knew it was reality. >> thin, wired out, strung out maybe. we had to utilize the joplin police department. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? Where do they crash? Someone called Father Reynaldo at the St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe to provide the last rites to a dying grandfather. >> all six sets of remains were found within 20 yards of each other. >> reporter: -- no one who seemed to know something about the five-year missing persons cases was dialing the phone. aleve pm. and we know a few that have a, history of murdering the girls who frequent the truck stops. >> he may be waiting in some other community to start doing the same thing again. In 2006 there were reportedly dirt trails leading from his trailer park to the site. "They did an excellent job with our West Mesa murders," said Sgt. Edwards was from Oklahoma, but was known to have been in Texas and Colorado before ending up in Albuquerque. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) The notes are written on paper tags, tributes to the nine women, two teenage girls and unborn child found buried 10 years ago atop a New Mexico mesa. It is unknown, however, if she traveled on her own or was trafficked there. >> reporter: it was intended to be a low-key search of the man's home and offices. >> yeah, because based on our experience with crimes of this nature, homicide crimes, when you have multiple offenders, more than one of them, someone's going to talk. West Mesa Murder Victims Jamie Barela Jamie Barela, 15, was last seen with her 23-year-old cousin Evelyn Salazar heading to a park at San Mateo and Gibson SE in April 2004. She had also grown close to the families of the victims by that time. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics (bubbles popping) and cleans them away as it dries. A sinister force seems to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. >> it was growing, and i had kidney cancer. Within a year, they had identified all of the 11 victims, which ranged in age from 15 to 32. (danny) every day you're nearly fried to a crisp, professionally! but her presence in the west mesa bone yard raised a troubling prospect. >> reporter: over the years ida's career blossomed. >> tough questions for her boyfriend. >> yeah. >> reporter: desiree gonzalez says she used to hang out on these streets and says she knew several of the missing women and had also heard those same rumors. >> this is michelle. in a sense michelle never was a teenager. that. The serial murders of 11 women in the West Mesa area of Albuquerque will be featured in a two-hour edition of NBC's Dateline tonight. in a blanket, and was preparing to dump her in the trunk of his car when the woman's boyfriend showed up. also, again, it goes back to the lifestyle. >> reporter: but as erratic as michelle had become in recent years, she'd somehow always managed to show up. >> reporter: for the detectives who were trying to catch a serial killer those remains represented a wild card with staggering implications. >> no. There are so many episodes online but I can't find this one, http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/dateline/somebodys-daughter-part-1-254001731808. it's where they needed somebody, and it worked out, you know, for me. i didn't choose their lifestyle. According to A&E, Jaramillo and a woman named Christine Barber founded an organization to protect sex workers in New Mexico after the discovery of the West Mesa victims in 2009. >> who was she? by the fall of 2004 dan valdez's calendar was beginning to fill with xs. for ida lopez that's a mission statement. >> several of these victims were missing for months before anyone reported them missing. so, let's make this the summer of loving your gut. do you need anything? The serial murders of 11 women in the West Mesa area of Albuquerque will be featured in a two-hour edition of NBC's Dateline tonight. >> yes. >> how many other detectives ins missing persons? and the newly organized families, which included everyone with a daughter on ida's list, began holding monthly vigils to keep public attention focused on finding all of the missing women. and for them. The cases remain unsolved with no arrests. but what can you do?te you can't be with them 24/7. sometimes in the middle of her work week the albuquerque detective feels a pressing need, for spiritual solace and divine guidance. Known as the West Mesa killings, the victims' deaths have resulted in no arrests, despite the massive homicide investigation police launched after discovering the makeshift graves. >> do you think we're dealing with one guy here? >> i needed to know where they were all the time. Deadly House of Cards Air Date: September 16, 2011 tbd so she did what every good detective does. well, if they were, so be it. -uh, yes. >> we had gotten a call from a family friend of ours that i grew up with, and you know, i pick up the phone and she's like, oh, my gosh, i'm sorry about your sister. Dubbed the West Mesa Murders, they sparked a frenzy of investigations, interrogations, and media attention, but despite the best efforts of police to bring whoever was responsible to justice, the crimes remain unsolved to this day. >> what about those last seven girls? served. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. >> investigators are looking for connections. >> reporter: lorenzo montoya, a short, powerfully built man in his 30s who was known to have an, equally short temper and a taste for prostitutes. Please enter valid email address to continue. and i thought, well, i need to make further plans. Edwards was classified as an endangered runaway from Lawton, Oklahoma in 2003 and was last seen with three sex workers in Aurora, Colorado in May 2004. [7], On February 2, 2009, a woman walking a dog found a human bone on the West Mesa, and reported it to police. >> he's got me by the throat and he's shaking me and yelling at me telling me not to say a word. after three years angelica was sent to live with dan's mother, who lived nearby, and michelle took to living with a series of people she called friends. According to New Mexico State University, the FBI has investigated long-haul truck drivers as suspects in murders of sex workers along major highways, and authorities have reason to believe that Edwards was one such victim. >> yes. >> tonight they say the search is far from over. Paige Birgfeld: Missing Mother Living a Double Life Was Kidnapped & Murdered. -oh, a plaque. terry, can you take a selfie of me? >> i got to know a lot of them. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fortunately, the detective came back on a contractual basis to investigate the West Mesa murders. bark i wanted to consolidate my credit cards in to a personal loan to pay them off faster. any trucker initiatives or murderers that the fbi sent us we posted on the wall. >> i was the only detective in there at the time. [1] Police have also suspected the involvement of a sex trafficking ring operating through neighboring Texas that targets sex workers during events throughout the Southwest, Southern, and Western United States, especially regularly scheduled events, such as the New Mexico state fair in this case, to take advantage of reliably heavier traffic. and i kind of was wobbling a little bit, and ida consoled me a little bit and said it's okay, you know, it's okay. you know, it's not what you see in vegas. Joseph Blea was imprisoned when the bodies were found, but he became a suspect when his ex-wife contacted police. because savings is as savings does. i just could feel all the strength in my body just kind of just drain all of a sudden. possibly two prior times. Or contact APD at 1-877-765-8273 or (505) 768-2450. read more >> it was a problem. >> did you believe her story? >> the company kind of left town and just kind of left the land the way it was. >> reporter: according to police, montoya lured the woman to his home near the west mesa burial ground. so i keep them, do my full boheh background on them. >> and you thought, this is it. In 1999, a sex worker named Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo was kidnapped and imprisoned in a city south of Albuquerque by a man named David Parker Ray, aka the "Toy-Box Killer." In 2015, Blea was found guilty of sexual assault in charges stemming from incidents in the 1980s and 1990s and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. [25] In 2015, Blea was also suspected by police of killing a sex worker; his DNA sample was located on the inner waistband and belt of a sex worker found dead on Central Ave, a notorious street for sex work in the eastern part of the city. Two years later a local family of four, the Wagners, are arrested and charged with the crimes. Starting tonight at 8 p.m., NBC will air a special two-hour "Dateline" episode dealing with the notorious West Mesa Murder Mystery. apoquel has helped over 6 million itchy dogs get the relief they deserve. They founded Safe Streets New Mexico in response to the threats sex workers face in the state and the lack of attention paid to violent crimes against them. All rights reserved, Privacy Policy|Online Content Agreement, Seven years later, one detective remains on West Mesa killings, Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation. >> 35 to 50? 'd as one of the west mesa women victims -- one of the west mesa women." do you think you'll ever find them? memorial service organized by Street Safe New Mexico. >> reporter: and as it turns out, jolene gutierrez krueger, a columnist for the "albuquerque journal," had gotten a copy of that list a few years earlier, when she worked the police beat. >> i said to one of my editors. do you know -- -room 303. and i thought, well, i'll write it and we'll see what happens. Reporter Josh Mankiewicz reports from Albuquerque on the story that made national headlinesthe discovery of 11 female bodies buried on the city's West Mesa. That discovery of a single bone led to a months-long dig, as police used DNA and dental records to identify the women and girls. >> reporter: ida didn't completely disbelieve what her girls were telling her. >> reporter: for medical investigator wendy honeyfield the bones of jane doe number 7 and her pink-tipped acrylic nails were a beguiling puzzle. >> reporter: the target of the search warrant was a local joplin, missouri photographer who had allegedly been in albuquerque to take pictures during the city's 2004 balloon fiesta. happy birthday that september angelica celebrated her sixth birthday. after months of digging for bones in the desert west of albuquerque, detectives desperately wanted to get on with the work of catching a killer. >> we were always bumping heads. but she kept coming up empty. To this day, the case remains unsolved. cinnamon elks, missing since august of 2004. but even if those rumors were true and human remains were cooling in the desert night on albuquerque's west mesa, the detective knew, it would take a miracle to find them. and last longer with fewer pills. >> yes. there's a better choice. ida went by the book. >> she says i have some bad news for you. According to the Albuquerque Police Department, something didn't sit right with Christine Ross when her dog Ruca found a bone on their walk in the West Mesa. and i remember telling him no. Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). >> you're a prisoner in this apartment now. who got an awful skin condition. and most of these boxes were returned. >> reporter: michelle valdez. had been booked. Police have offered a $100,000 reward for anyone offering evidence leading to the discovery of the person the media came to call the West Mesa Bone Collector. >> no. >> you look at how many things had to have happened for these victims to be located. >> i think we will. >> so what i usually do is i go back to see what their arrest history is. In 2009, the bodies of 11 women were found in multiple shallow graves on the West Mesa of Albuquerque but the cases remain unsolved. A two-hour NBC Dateline special about the 2014 Fayetteville murder of James Allan Chambers II will air Friday at 9 p.m. . ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. Daniel Wozniak was found guilty of the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi. ten. the boyfriend shot and killed lorenzo montoya on the spot. tw >> reporter: the toll of michelle's addiction on her t younger sister camille is also evident in dan's videos.il as camille becomes a teenager, she no longer seems to want to acknowledge michelle or even have her around. definitely. All Rights Reserved. While the killings were initially believed to be the work of a serial killer, the involvement of a sex trafficking ring has been suspected. i said it's michelle valdez. >> missing persons is kind of a backwater in a lot of departments. all of her other victims were local. [7], Soon after, Wozniak was apprehended by US Marshals while at his bachelor party two days before his wedding. Happy New Year! serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, a severe reaction. Meet Detective Ida Lopez, bringing justice to missing women & their families. lengthy delays in reporting missing people as missing. >> reporter: this michelle according to her sister camille was an all-american girl with a future as bright as the new mexico sun. see a vehicle pick this girl up. >> yeah. she started keeping a list of missing women who match that profile.wh that was the easy part. According to the Albuquerque Journal, it all began when a woman out for a walk with her dog in a part of the city known as the West Mesa made a grisly discovery in February 2009. Uploaded by sad but common, especially for these dark streets where drug addiction and prostitution literally go hand in hand. In one incident years before the West Mesa murders, police searched his car after a woman said he had exposed himself to her. Police budgets are stretched thin. even thinking about the aerial photos evidence gives me chills to this day. According to Tixier, the department made the decision to bring Lopez back due to her extensive involvement in the case as well as her connection with the families of the victims. the killer, whoever he was, and police naturally assumed the killer was male, had a five-year head start. >> when you ask them how many bad dates have you had? >> we all had a common denominator. Ida Lopez previously appeared on Dateline in an episode on the West Mesa tragedy which aired in December, 2010. >> and i said, well, let's gather these families together and let's get to know them. activia. love for your gut. >> she ran up ahead of me, and she was messing with something on the ground. they said it wasn't common in women and it wasn't common in women my age. and there were certain processes that it did pose a concern. all i want to know is a timeline. By Marlene Lenthang, MaryEllen Resendez, Jennifer Pirone, and Amanda Karrh May 21, 2021, 9:22 AM 6:56 Single mom Paige Birgfield goes missing in a small Colorado town: Part 1 dupixent is not a steroid, and it continuously treats your eczema even when you can't see it. now that two women from ida's list had been identified, jolene had an idea. pe reporter: the michelle valdez that appears in these home videos with her little sisters is a far cry from the thin, drug-wasted young woman police would later come to know and fingerprint. One bears a stick-figure angel and a message from a woman who says the victims watch over her. and sometimes you've just got to stop and smell the savings. and then as the months go by, wi search more and find that there are, you know, maybe another one here, then another one there, and that sort of thing. she struggled to hold it all together. A sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. >> reporter: sticking up for victims comes naturally to ida lopez. the killer, whoever he was, and police naturally assumed the killer was male, had a five-year head start. Four crime scenes, thirty-two gunshot wounds, eight members of the Rhoden family left dead in their homes. According to satellite photos, the last victim was buried in 2005. and it's safe for puppies. [9][14] Police would not say how or where they had obtained the photos. American convicted of murder on death row, Dr. Phil: Was She an Accomplice to Murder? >> i did. stop dancing around the pain your home and auto that keeps you up again, and again. >> he may be waiting in some other community to start doing the same thing again. The case reportedly began in 2005 when Lopez was handed files of a few missing women, one of whom was a 25-year-old prostitute named Michelle Valdez from New Mexico's largest city, Alberquerque. soon could be years. >> kind of weird to be able to, you know, call a family and say great news -- >> oh, yeah. She was released from jail sometime in 2019.[12][13]. but she was unable to find the aunt or to pin down the source of the rumor. Who do they party with? la la la la la. -oh. sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. in this 2002 image of the area where the bones were discovered there's nothing unusual. >> i took it upon myself to tape them, tape every event. Detectives were left with the fact that serial killers move with ease, often vanishing long before their victims are ever found. you know, it seems like they knew or something. >> february 2nd is when one of our violent crimes detectives said oh, they found a bone on the mesa, i'll let you know. Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 14:32, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, "The West Mesa Murders: A Central American Connection? whatever else draws that connection to him. [2] He was found guilty and sentenced to death in September 2016. the crime lab had determined that one of the unidentified, sets of remains, jane doe number 7, was a young black female. Dateline Full Episodes. >> i didn't even -- i didn't even want to be around it anymore. Today, two suspects remain only of whom is still alive. some passed on grisly rumors to ida, that the missing women were dead and had been dumped in the desert west of town. glad i could help. Despite the jewelry, underwear, and other evidence that appeared to connect him to the case including the testimony of a former cellmate who said that Blea claimed to have known and hired the West Mesa victims and called them "trashy" police have still been unable to conclusively tie him to the murders. at 16 weeks, nearly four times more patients taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin compared to those not taking it, and patients saw a significant reduction in itch. they travel interstate. >> reporter: but some do. >> reporter: and so in july 2005, after a few months of recuperation as a reserve officer, the department offered ida a 20-hour-a-week desk job working missing persons. >> looking at everybody. Dateline is the long-running, award-winning news magazine bringing viewers stories ranging from compelling mysteries to powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. >> he's in the area where the prostitutes frequent. michelle's -- michelle and cinnamon were stabbed and buried on the west mesa. >> whatever the killer's permanent address, those satellite photos were a huge break because they told police. In one case, there was a DNA sample but the rape test kit was not re-tested until 2010, eventually linking Blea to the rape. -i'm sorry? >> for a long time the news would be full of stories about girls who were missing and everybody's looking for them. backing you. >> okay. Decades later, the case still remains unsolved. 2015. Dateline Mystery is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (7 episodes). >> and i'm natalie morales. start with supporting your gut health. and i don't have phone records. what had i been doing? >> and sometimes they make the i wrong turn or a mistake.ke >> reporter: shortly after her . She was found buried next to her 27-year-old cousin, Evelyn Salazar.