Missing
Pauline Cantu Diaz
Diaz, approximately 2010; Diaz's truck
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/07/2010
Missing location (approx) :
San Antonio, Texas
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 07/24/1946 (75)
Age at the time of disappearance: 64 years old
Height / Weight : 4'11, 135 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A red H-E-B polo shirt, dark blue jeans and black sneakers.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Gray hair, brown eyes. Diaz's ears are pierced. She wears wire-rimmed eyeglasses.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Diaz was last seen after leaving work at the H-E-B grocery store on southeast Military Drive and Goliad Road in San Antonio, Texas on December 7, 2010. Surveillance cameras showed her talking to another woman near her truck.
She was supposed to go to the home of her estranged husband, Pedro "Pete" Ruiz, to pick up a lawn mower. Her husband said he did see that day. They were in the process of a divorce. Prior to her disappearance, Ruiz had had to be escorted out of the H-E-B several times after confrontations with Diaz while she worked.
Days later, Diaz's white 2010 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, with her purse inside it, was found on Highway 181 and F.M. 320, just down the street from Ruiz's home. There was no sign of her at the scene and she has never been heard from again. A photo of the truck is posted with this case summary.
A private investigator hired by Diaz's family believes she arrived home after going to Ruiz's house, and was surprised there. The shoes she wore on the day of her disappearance was found inside her home, and they had sand stuck to them, similar to the sand found at Ruiz's home. Some clothes were also scattered on the floor of her residence, which is uncharacteristic of Diaz; she normally kept everything neat and clean.
Investigators don't believe she left of her own accord. Ruiz has been a person of interest in her case over the years. Just days after she went missing, he inquired about her life insurance policy and grew angry when he found out he wasn't the beneficiary. He has never charged in her case, however, and he maintains his innocence. Police dug for her body at their former home in Floresville, Texas in 2018, but didn't find any evidence.
Diaz's case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Texas Department of Public Safety
800-346-3243
September 2021 updates and sources
Texas Department of Public Safety
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
