Marisol Espinosa, 34, has been missing since Dec. 29. (Family)
Updated at 3:42 p.m. with the drone pilots’ change of plans.
North Texas drone pilots were going to search for Marisol Espinosa, the Pleasant Grove mother who’s been missing for a month Tuesday. But plans were cancelled later in the day, and now it’s unclear whether the drones will be involved at all.
Espinosa’s family has said they’re losing hope they’ll find the 34-year-old hairdresser alive. But they still want the closure of finding her and learning what happened.
Though a month of searches by police, family and volunteers have been unsuccessful, the drone pilots were optimistic, said Chad Frazer, of the North Texas Drone User Group. Frazer is a Navy veteran and former contractor who flew drones for military search and surveillance missions.
“A month really isn’t that far out,” Frazer said. “There’s still a pretty good chance of finding her.”
A drone. (DMN file)
Frazer said he was told Tuesday afternoon that the drones were no longer wanted for help searching on Wednesday.
If someone threw Espinosa’s body into a body of water, the drones will likely be able to see it floating, Frazer said. His 5-pound fixed-wing foam drone and two other users’ multi-rotors would be able to cover several square miles within a few hours, he said.
Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit that uses sonar-imaging boats and other tools, were going to join the drone users this week. The two groups have partnered before, last year, to search for Norma Shultz, 72, who went missing in Hurst last May. She has still not been found.
Missing poster for Marisol Espinosa (Naomi Martin/ Staff)
Dallas police are still pursuing all investigative leads, Assistant Chief Randy Blankenbaker said Tuesday.
“We haven’t forgotten about her,” Blankenbaker said. “Our folks are still working the case. We’ll continue to follow up on any tip, any lead that we can get that might help us determine her whereabouts.”
The case remains a missing persons case, so there are no criminal suspects at this time, Blankenbaker said.
Even so, Espinosa’s family suspects that her ex-boyfriend, Faustino Valdez, may have been involved in her Dec. 29 disappearance. Valdez, 34, who has a history of domestic violence, is currently considered a wanted fugitive for an alleged probation violation in an unrelated theft case, authorities have said.
Espinosa’s family has said that Marisol rejected Valdez’s attempts to get back together. Valdez is the father of Marisol’s two youngest children. A judge last week awarded Marisol’s mother, Rosemary Espinosa, temporary custody of the kids, ages 3 and 5, and suspended Valdez’s parental rights.
The kids are struggling as they realize the reality of their mom’s disappearance, said Espinosa’s aunt, Veronica Walls. Cicilia, 5, is having nightmares and waking up crying. Corrina, 8, talks in her sleep to her mother.
“It’s not imaginable,” Walls said. “I can’t describe how they’re feeling.”
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2016/01/drone-pilots-to-help-look-for-marisol-espinosa-mom-who-disappeared-a-month-ago.html/