Missing Person Photos
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Resources for Missing Persons
According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day.
Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends.
Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.
Missing Person Photos
Cindy L. Rivera
Rivera, date, approximate 2012; Age-progression to age 24 (date, approximate 2017); Tattoo on Rivera's collarbone; Tattoo on Rivera's arm and hands; Christopher Trujillo prior to Rivera's disappearance; Anselmo Ortiz
Date Missing 06/30/2012
Missing From
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
Hispanic
Date of Birth 02/14/1993 (29)
Age 19 years old
Height and Weight 5'1, 134 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A white spaghetti-strap top, pink silk pajama pants with heart designs, and slippers.
Associated Vehicle(s) Purple 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier with the New Mexico license plate number JFZ-534
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Rivera has multiple tattoos, including the name "Rhonda" on the right side of her neck, the phrase "Trust No Bitch" across the front of her collarbone, faces and the phrase "Smile Now, Cry Later" on her right arm, the word "tyga" with stars on her right hand and the word "Bites" with hearts on her left hand. Photos of some of her tattoos are posted with this summary. Rivera's ears are pierced and her lower lip is pierced on both sides. Her nickname is Tig and she may use the last name Trujillo.
Details of Disappearance Rivera was last seen after she left the home she shared with her father on Peggy Lee Lane in Las Vegas, New Mexico on June 30, 2012. She was driving a purple 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier with the New Mexico license plate number JFZ-534. She said she would be back in a few minutes, but she never returned.
She and her one-year-old son were staying that night at the home of a health care client of her mother, but her mother wasn't home at the time; she was spending the night with a friend. Rivera was supposed to care for the client, who was bedridden.
At 2:00 a.m., Rivera called her mother from the client's house to say Christopher Trujillo, Rivera's ex-husband and the father of her son, was at the house and was drunk. She didn't sound frightened, so her mother told Rivera to chase him away and go inside.
She has never been heard from again. Her son was left behind, locked in the bathroom, and all night the bedridden man heard him crying. When Rivera's family arrived at the house later in the morning, they the garage door open and her slippers, her lighter and a couple of cigarettes on the ground outside.
Some of Trujillo's family members saw him and another man, Anselmo Richard "Chemo" Ortiz, that afternoon, and stated both men were shirtless and had scratches and bite marks on their chests. Ortiz's ex-wife and her mother also saw them, and noticed Ortiz's neck and Trujillo's face were bloody. Ortiz has a Walmart bag full of clothing that appeared to be bloodstained, and he burned it in a fireplace.
Photos of both Trujillo and Ortiz are posted with this summary. Ortiz served time on drug trafficking charges after Rivera's disappearance and, after his release from prison, began working for Trujillo, but the men's relationship deteriorated. In the spring of 2021, Ortiz reached out to investigators and Rivera's family members to discuss her disappearance. He wanted immunity from all charges in her in exchange for his cooperation.
In May 2021, Trujillo died by suicide. After his death, police found numerous recorded conversations on his phone; in one of them he said, "I killed my ex-wife, Cindy Rivera, and buried her in the national forest. Im going to tell them Chemo killed her and buried her." Cellular phone data indicates the two men were near Cindy's home in Las Vegas between 12:30 and 4:00 a.m. on the night of her disappearance.
In July, Ortiz was arrested kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in Rivera's . Investigators believe Trujillo abducted and murdered Rivera on the night of her disappearance and that Ortiz helped him do it.
Rivera's body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Las Vegas State Police
505-425-6771
Other
NamUs
Facebook Page for Cindy Rivera
KRQE
The Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico Department of Public Safety
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The Las Vegas Optic
Missing Person Photos
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Resources for Missing Persons
According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day.
Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends.
Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.
Missing Person Photos
