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San Antonio police are seeking public tips after a 17-year-old Texas girl was found nude and strangled just one hour after her family reported her missing.
According to KHOU 11, Kaitlin Hernandez’s family said she went out for a walk with a male friend in her Northeast San Antonio neighborhood on Tuesday night but never returned home. At around 11:30 p.m., her family called police and reported her missing after her friend claimed he didn’t know where Hernandez was.
Then, a passerby discovered the teen’s cell phone in a ditch and turned it over to the police.
Officers from the San Antonio Police Department located her jacket, then later, at around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, they located a body beneath a bridge in a drainage ditch on Oak Dell Drive, approximately half a mile from her residence.
Investigators said the officers found the body naked, with signs of trauma. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identity and said she had been strangled.
“I actually saw two males standing next to the ditch shining like a light down there. After a couple of seconds of that. I then heard a female shout “Hey!’” a neighbor told KHOU 11.
“I want to say it was in the ditch. It echoed like it was in the ditch. But then after that it just kind of went quiet.”
SAPD said the man last seen with Hernandez was detained and questioned. The department previously shared a photo of another person of interest but has since identified him. He is reportedly “assisting with the investigation” but no suspects have been arrested.
Crime Stoppers of San Antonio is offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is urged to contact 210- 224–STOP.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Kaitlin Hernandez/Handout via KHOU 11]
