Missing mother's body found in lake 2 months after boyfriend's body was found in another lake few miles away
The body of a 26-year-old woman found in a lake in Dallas has been identified as Weltin Garcia, a mother-of-two, who had disappeared nearly two months ago after filing charges for assault against her boyfriend, according to reports. Garcia was found by a kayaker on Mountain Creek Lake in Texas, near to her hometown of Grand Prairie, the Daily Mail reported. The remains were discovered nearly two months after her 28-year-old partner Alfonso Hernandez's body was found at another lake on February 17, just 16 miles away.
Both Garcia and Hernandez disappeared on February 5, a week after the mother pressed charges against him for physical assault. Reports stated authorities had issued a warrant in January for his arrest on domestic violence charges against Garcia, however, they could not locate him. Hernandez's Honda Accord was found by authorities near White Rock Lake, northeast of Dallas, after pinging Garcia's phone. Two days after the discovery of his vehicle, a passerby reportedly discovered his body floating in the lake. However, the authorities could not locate Garcia anywhere.
Her phone was found in Hernandez's pocket and his own phone was discovered inside his car. A primary inspection of his remains revealed no signs of trauma, however, a full autopsy is yet to confirm the cause of death. Meanwhile, Garcia's body was found last week, however, investigators took some time and announced her identity on Monday afternoon.
The couple's children, aged three and six, have been handed over to the 26-year-old's twin sister Atziry Mireles. Garcia's sister, while talking to Dallas Morning News in February said her sister moved into their cousin's house after she had multiple disputes with her partner.
Mireles added that on the morning of February 5, Hernandez had sent his family and her sister a goodbye message and could not be located after. The sister, in a Facebook post on March 17, wrote that she didn't think Hernandez was responsible for her disappearance: "They were working things out." The Dallas Police Department's Homicide Unit has launched an investigation into Garcia's death. A Grand Prairie police spokesperson, Mark Beseda, said: "Once they [Dallas Police Department] complete their investigation, we will close ours as well."
Garcia's mother, Vania Mireles, took to Facebook on Monday to thank people for praying for her daughter and wrote that she is now "in a better world." Vania wrote the message in Spanish.