The Disappearance of Angel Garcia
For this case I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 8 episode 12, titled ‘Lost Angel.’
A 19 year old disappears after a day of dirt bike riding with friends.
Background
Angel Garcia
Angel ‘Ito’ Garcia was born on March 5, 1992. His parents divorced when he was 10 years old, but he remained very close to his mom Laura. He was also close with his sister Rose.
Angel struggled in school due to having ADD (attention deficit disorder), but his ultimate goal was to finish high school. He took medication for it, but said it made him feel like a zombie. He also had other passions, which included cooking and riding dirt bikes.
The Relationship
About fourteen months before he disappeared, Angel met a woman on Facebook named Omayra Serrano. Omayra and Angel’s relationship moved very quickly, and Omayra moved in with Laura and Angel, along with her two year old son.
Omayra was interviewed in this episode, and she said she was afraid that Angel would judge her for having a son. However, he didn’t judge her and he became very close to the young boy.
Angel took very good care of his family, and learned to cook for their ritual family dinners. Angel had dinner waiting for his mom on Thursday, October 20. Laura had worked late, and told Angel that she was too tired and was going to bed. They said their I love yous, and she went upstairs.
The Disappearance
On Friday, October 21, Laura woke up to go to work, and saw that Angel was still sleeping around 10am. Laura said that Angel would go to school if he felt like it, and sometimes he’d get out of bed to get ready, but never go into school.
Instead of going to school, Angel was planning to go over to his friend Joel’s house to ride dirt bikes. Angel had just gotten a red Honda dirt bike that he was pretty much obsessed with, constantly washing and riding it. Laura had asked Angel where he got the money for it, and he said that his dad gave it to him.
The red Honda dirt bike
Angel went over to Joel’s uncle’s house around 10:30am. They rode together behind the house in a field for a few hours, until Joel’s ATV ran out of gas. While they were walking the ATV back to the house, Angel asked Joel if he wanted to go ride in East Hartford with him. Joel said he had to run errands, and Angel rode off around 1pm. This was the last time anyone would see Angel.
Laura started to get worried when Angel wasn’t home around 9:30pm that night. She wanted to wait up, but she had to work the next morning, so she went to bed.
Laura and Omayra were both woken up in the middle of the night by loud yelling. Laura said the voice sounded like Angel, and that the voice said “go ahead, break it.” The two ran out to the front porch, but by the time they were outside they didn’t see anything.
Laura asked Omayra if she had heard from Angel that day. Omayra said she hadn’t heard from him since he told her that he didn’t have much service at Joel’s house. This was around 11am, and he told her that he’d call her back later, but he never did.
The Investigation
By the next evening, around 6pm on October 22, Laura was frantic, and decided to call 911. A patrol officer responded, and took a missing persons report. Omayra told the officer that the last person to see Angel was Joel.
The police went to speak to Joel, who verified this story. He said that after they rode dirt bikes Angel asked him to ride into East Hartford, but that he declined because he had errands to run. Joel also said that he didn’t like to ride over the Connecticut River. It was risky to ride into East Hartford, there were only two options: ride on the bridges in traffic or ride over the railroad tracks. The police’s first theory was that Angel could have lost control of his bike and drowned.
The police didn’t even have proof that Angel did in fact ride into East Hartford. They sent police into the area to check various surveillance cameras. There was no sign of Angel on any of the surveillance cameras from any nearby businesses.
Next, the police wanted to see if Angel’s phone was still on, so they could check the last cell phone ping. His cell phone pinged at 3:28pm near Joel’s home. This led to a search of Joel’s uncle’s property, which didn’t turn up anything. No cell phone, no wallet, no bike, nothing.
The Dirt Bike
Three days after Angel disappeared, a friend of Angel’s named Josh came forward. He told the police that he was with Angel on Thursday night, and that they were out riding bikes near Trinity College. Josh said that while they were out riding, a tan Jeep Cherokee made a U-turn, and started chasing them. Josh said Angel rode into a field, and the car drove up to him asking where his friend went. Josh told the police that there were two men in the car, both blonde.
Another friend of Angel’s named Luis came forward. Luis was afraid to talk to the police, but eventually he told the police that Angel’s red dirt bike was stolen property. He said Angel had found the dirt bike on Craigslist a month earlier, and he recruited him and Joel to help him get it.
Luis continued the story, but saying that Angel met with the owners, a 15 year old and his step-dad. He asked if he could take it for a test ride, and they agreed. Luis and Joel were waiting in the car around the corner, and helped Angel load the bike into the car.
The police went to speak to the original owners, and told them about Angel’s disappearance. The owners recognized Angel when the police showed them a picture. The police eventually ruled out the owners, they didn’t match the description of the men in the Jeep, and they didn’t own a Jeep.
Joel’s Story
The police needed to bring Joel in for another round of questioning. Joel never changed his story about last seeing Angel at 1pm on the day he disappeared.
The police asked Joel to show them on a map where they would go riding. Joel agreed, but seemed uncomfortable and fidgety. The police also wanted to see how Joel would act if they took him to the railroad tracks where Angel would ride on. Joel cooperated, but said he didn’t ride on the railroad tracks.
The police eventually believed that Joel was telling the truth, and he was ruled out.
Other Dead Ends
The police got really excited when they learned that a tan Jeep Cherokee was involved in a hit and run. The Jeep was located, and the police discovered that the Jeep had been involved in a car jacking on the day Josh told them they were chased.
The car was seized, processed and checked for DNA, fingerprints and weapons. A traceable print was found, and it was ran through the database. This became a dead end when the print came back to being from a Hispanic male. He had a criminal record, but the police couldn’t find a connection between him and Angel.
The police were again disappointed when they learned from a friend of Angel’s named Anthony that he had seen him after he left Joel’s. Anthony said he saw Angel around 5pm.
Anthony was brought in for questioning. Anthony said he had rode bikes with Angel on Thursday, but was with his girlfriend by 5pm on Friday. The police contacted Anthony’s girlfriend, who had a very different story. She said they were together on Friday, and had been out all night. Anthony had originally said that he went home early.
The police confronted Anthony, but he said he lied because he had a curfew due to a court order. The police realized Anthony had nothing to do with Angel’s disappearance.
A Shocking Sighting
On January 9, 2012, a convenient store clerk in New Britton, called the police after seeing a person who looked like Angel. The clerk said the man had a tattoo on his neck with the name Angel, and that this would all be on the surveillance footage.
When Laura saw the footage, she said it really did look a lot like Angel. She also said that Angel didn’t have a tattoo, so it would have been new.
Within a week, the same clerk called and said that the man was back in her store. She said this time she was able to get a partial license plate number. The police also decided to do surveillance at and near the convenient store. A few days later, they were shocked when they saw the man walking down the street. The man really did look like Angel, but his name was Nelson, and his tattoo actually read ‘Ashley’.
Theories
Angel’s case is still open. There have been various theories over the years, the number one theory is the drowning in the river theory. Investigators were never able to search the river because it’s too dark and murky.
Other theories and stories that the family have heard over the years include Angel being shot in the head and thrown in the river, Angel being burned and thrown into a dumpster and even being kidnapped.
Angel’s sister said that Angel’s disappearance has really taken a toll on the family, especially Laura. She lost her job, home and wasn’t eating much. Laura believes someone knows something about what happened.
An age progression of Angel
FINAL THOUGHTS
I really don’t know what I think really happened to Angel. Maybe his friends know more than they said, which is what Angel’s family has always thought. They seem to think Joel’s story didn’t make sense, and that Angel would never have ridden to East Hartford alone. I think the drowning theory makes the most sense, and I can tell that the police really wish they could search the river.
It’s so strange that absolutely nothing of Angel’s has ever been found. I’m so heartbroken for Angel’s family, and I hope one day, even if it’s 20 years from now, they will find some answers.
Sources
https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2020/05/22/the-disappearance-of-angel-garcia/
https://charleyproject.org/case/angel-garcia
