Haunting images show car crash site where missing Jolissa Fuentes’ body was found as search ends tragically
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA: Haunting images of a crushed automobile show the isolated area where the months-long search for missing California woman Jolissa Fuentes, 22, came to a sad conclusion. After spotting tire traces going to thick undergrowth and a high cliff on Tuesday, October 10, 2022, Selma Police Chief Rudy Alcarez uncovered a body thought to be that of Fuentes. The details of her tragic end have been revealed by the police after a search team helped uncover the mysterious death.
Fuentes was last seen at about 4 am on August 7, 2022, when a gas station's CCTV footage captured her getting out of her car to buy food. A bend in the road in the Sierra Nevada foothills, some 30 miles east of Fresno, is where she is believed to have crashed while dozing off, according to authorities. "If you've been out there and actually got out of your vehicle and looked at this area, you're talking about vast amounts of foliage and cliffs," Alcarez said. "Search and rescue was down 200 feet and we couldn't even see them anymore. Even with their flashlights. Someone couldn't try to hide a car better than that." The Fresno County Sheriff's Department has posted some terrifying images of search and rescue crews scurrying around Fuentes' car which was lying in parts after falling more than 400 feet off the road. As they rappelled off the road, rescue workers reportedly found some of the victim's personal items and remains of her body.
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The disappearance of Jolissa Fuentes: Search for missing California woman ends
Human Remains Found Believed to be of Missing Selma Woman Jolissa Fuenteshttps://t.co/QtyoBCyJXc pic.twitter.com/I4MWImVeF8
— Fresno Co Sheriff (@FresnoSheriff) October 11, 2022
Alcaraz claimed that he saw tire tracks leading into the thick undergrowth when he had halted his police car along a curve in the road close to Pine Flat Lake. "I just got lucky in finding the location where her car went off the road," Alcaraz said on October 10, 2022. Then, investigators followed the vehicle's likely path down the heavily forested cliff using drones.
After locating the automobile, authorities used a 475-foot rope to rappel down two cliffs in order to get to the actual crash site, according to CNN. Fuentes likely fell asleep while driving, according to Alcaraz, who did not suspect foul play. The coroner's office is still seeking to identify the body found at the crash site.
A candlelight memorial in honor of Fuentes was held on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at Lincoln Park in Selma, California which was the designated location for the vigil. The family invited the entire neighborhood to join them in honoring Fuentes’ life.