The Disappearance of Zoe Campos
For this case I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 8 episode 6, tilted ‘Into the Night.’
An 18 year disappears in Lubbock, Texas.
Background
Zoe Campos
Zoe Campos was born on September 5, 1995. She was very close to her family, and even moved in with her sister Savannah, to help her raise her young children. She was also very close to her mom Melinda, and would prefer being around her family then going out with friends.
When Zoe did spend time alone, she liked to go to the lake to go fishing. The lake was just a few miles from her grandma’s house. Zoe was also very kind and had a big heart.
The Disappearance
On November 17, 2013, Zoe had spent the day with her family. Zoe’s mom said she turned to her daughter before she left for work, and said she loved her. Melinda said this was the last time she saw and spoke to her daughter.
After Zoe left her family, she went to her friend April’s house. April had just had a baby, and there were several other friends there as well. April would later tell police that Zoe left at 9pm. This was also stated by another person who met Zoe that night, this will become important later.
After Zoe left April’s house, she went to have dinner with Savannah, Savannah’s kids and a friend named Jessica. After dinner, they went back to Savannah’s to watch movies. Savannah said everyone went to bed at 11:30pm, and by that point Zoe was already falling asleep, too.
Zoe ended up leaving the house that night. Again, I will get into this information soon. Melinda received a text from Zoe around 2:20am asking if she wanted a ride home from work. Melinda said yes, but Zoe would never show up that night. Melinda said she didn’t think too much of it and thought she would just see Zoe the next day.
Savannah woke up the next morning, and couldn’t find her sister. Zoe wasn’t in her room or on the couch, and her car was missing. Savannah became worried and called her mom. They both tried calling Zoe, who wasn’t answering. They called her other family members, her friends and her ex-boyfriend. No one had seen Zoe, and by 5pm that night they contacted the police.
The Investigation
The police issued an APB (all points bulletin) for Zoe’s Lincoln Town car. They waited until the next day to finally file a missing persons report for Zoe.
The police contacted Zoe’s cell phone company to try to get a location from her cell phone. The cell phone company said they couldn’t get a location because the phone was either turned off or the battery had been taken out.
Three days later, Zoe’s family went out looking for her and her car. They drove all over Lubbock, when all of the sudden, Zoe’s aunt Monica spotted a familiar vehicle. She followed the car, and called her sister to ask if Zoe’s car had damage to the front bumper. Her sister said yes, and Monica said she also called her son to come and meet her. Monica pulled up right next to the car at point, and knew that Zoe wasn’t driving. The person she described was a male, but she couldn’t see his face. Monica followed the car until the car turned onto a side street, she said she didn’t want the driver to be suspicious.
Monica let her son know where the car turned, and they eventually found the car at an apartment complex. Monica called Melinda, and they called the police. It took them an hour to show up to the scene because the information that was given didn’t demand immediate attention.
The police opened the trunk, and thankfully Zoe was not in it. The police did find Zoe’s jacket, a roll of duct tape, a cell phone charged and a men’s sweatshirt. The sweatshirt was collected for evidence, and the car was dusted for fingerprints. The fingerprints didn’t turn up any information or suspects.
Suspects
Detective Adam Freeman with the Lubbock police department, started to look at Zoe’s Facebook page and obtained her cell phone records. Her last text message put her last known location near a football field called Lowery Field. This area was known for drug activity and sex work. Zoe’s family was confused as to why Zoe would have been there.
The police continued to search her cell phone records, and her last phone call was to a man named Ben Flores. Ben and Melinda had previously tried to have a relationship, but they were better off as friends. The police found it odd that Zoe and Ben would have been in communication. Zoe’s sister also said that Ben had taken a polygraph test, and failed one question: do you know where Zoe is? However, Ben was eventually ruled out.
The police looked into Zoe’s ex-boyfriends. She had dated a man named Joe Rodriguez for 2 1/2 years. Joe said he hadn’t seen Zoe since they broke up a few months ago, and he was eventually ruled out.
After her relationship with Joe ended, Zoe started dating a “bad boy” named Jacob. Jacob had a child with another woman and was also known the police. Zoe’s family didn’t approve of Jacob, and knew that Jacob had a girlfriend while he was with Zoe. Jacob told the police that he and Zoe argued several days before she disappeared about his two timing. Jacob did have an alibi from the night Zoe disappeared, and he was ruled out.
Changing Stories
All of the leads that the police were getting ended up being dead ends. Detective Freeman continued to look through Zoe’s private messages on Facebook, and discovered that one person he had spoken to lied to him.
This person’s name was Carlos Rodriguez. He met Zoe at her friend April’s house, and he was someone the police had spoken to in the early days of the investigation. Carlos originally said that he and Zoe both left around 9pm that night. What Carlos didn’t tell the police was that he had messages Zoe on Facebook, asking her to come over in the early morning hours when she disappeared. Carlos’ home was also in the area near the football field. He said that he lied because he and Zoe planned to smoke weed, and he didn’t want to get in trouble.
He said Zoe came over, but when she arrived neither one of them had any weed. He said Zoe said she would get some weed and come back, but she never returned. Carlos also left out information about messaging Zoe several more times around 4 and 6am. He asked her if she was coming back, but she never responded.
Detective Freeman believed that Zoe never left Carlos’ that night, but didn’t have proof. Carlos was now the number one person of interest.
Zoe’s family said that they were shocked that Zoe didn’t say anything to them, but they also believed that this person did something to Zoe. Her sister said that she believes Zoe got a weird vibe from Carlos, and tried to make excuses to leave.
Zoe’s family was also very disappointed after the police released a statement about their investigation. They said that the police painted Zoe as a bad kid, but Detective Freeman said that was not their intention.
A Rumor
In 2014, one year after Zoe disappeared, the family hired a private investigator named Paula Boudreaux. Paula and Detective Freeman worked together, and met with a few people after a rumor surfaced about Zoe’s case.
A woman named Kim Cruz said she saw Zoe at the Villa Town Motel, a place where homeless people, drug addicts and sex workers went. Paula met with Kim and her husband Chris, and they both said that Kim saw Zoe that night.
This episode really didn’t go into much information, but the rumor was that Zoe was sold into human trafficking. However, it turned out to be a false lead.
The House
In July 2015, Detective Freeman, who was now officially the lead investigator, went to the home where Carlos Rodriguez used to live. Carlos had since moved out, which was actually great for the investigation.
Detective Freeman brought in scent dogs, and they hit in five places in the home and in an alley near some dumpsters.
The police searched Zoe’s car again. They collected every single item they could to test for fingerprints. Carlos’ DNA didn’t come back in the database, and he denied every being in the car.
Carlos was always Detective Freeman’s number one suspect, and nothing came of the investigation until years later.
A Confession
Five years later, Zoe’s remains were found in the backyard of Carlos’ home at 1927 7oth Street. He confessed in a hand written letter, which partly read:
“I confessed simply because I couldn’t take this burden anymore. This burden was so heavy on me that before I confessed to detective’s [sic] I confessed my crime to a friend.
On 11-17-13 while visiting an old friend named April, Zoe happened to show up. It was obvious to the both of us that we had an attraction for each other so I messaged Zoe on Facebook and we agreed to meet at my house.”
He said he was on drugs when he killed Zoe. He said they had smoked weed, which also had K-2 in it. He said Zoe looked “weird in an evil way.” He said he hit her and choked her. He said he didn’t want to be labeled a murderer, but someone that made a mistake.
He was also 18 at the time that he killed Zoe. He is now behind bars.
Carlos Rodriguez
FINAL THOUGHTS
Carlos is a murderer. He murdered an innocent young girl who had her whole life ahead of her. He didn’t even know Zoe, but she thought he was an okay person to hangout with. The police said that Carlos was obsessed with having sex, so a part of me believes that he planned to have sex with her that night. Zoe probably didn’t want to have sex with him, and he killed her. He tried to make excuses, but he’s a monster and he deserves to be in jail for a long time.
#JUSTICEFORZOECAMPOS
Sources
https://truecrimedaily.com/2015/11/16/missing-girl-next-door-a-victim-of-human-trafficking/
https://www.newschannel10.com/2018/11/21/police-say-human-remains-found-nov-are-zoe-campos/
https://people.com/crime/zoe-campos-teen-vanishes-suspect-charged-five-years-later/
https://www.wlbt.com/2018/11/19/warrant-shows-zoe-campos-murder-suspect-choked-killed-her-his-house/
