COPS searching for a missing woman have reportedly found a body – days into their hunt.
Marissa DiNapoli, 18, was reported missing on June 30 after she didn’t return home following a supposed trip to her friend’s.
Marissa DiNapoli has been reported missing[/caption]
Martin Mendoza has been identified as a person of interest[/caption]
She last spoke with her family on Saturday night, as reported by the local NBC affiliate KNTV-TV.
DiNapoli was last seen with a man, who has since been identified as Martin Mendoza.
Cops in Morgan Hill, California, revealed the pair were seen leaving a home together at around 9:45am on Sunday – hours before DiNapoli’s car was found.
Mendoza has reportedly been uncooperative during the probe into DiNapoli’s disappearance.
He has since been identified as a person of interest.
Cops have revealed he’s believed to be driving a white Toyota Camry car.
DiNapoli’s disappearance sparked a frantic search and police said her family found a body under a bridge, as reported by KNTV.
Concerns grew after she told her family she was staying with a friend but never returned home.
The body was found near the Anderson Lake County park – which is around three miles from Trail Drive.
A pal said Mendoza was DiNapoli’s ex-boyfriend, but the pair were not in a relationship.
The lake was somewhere they had visited in the past.
But, they had been in contact for several months in the lead-up to her disappearance.
DiNapoli’s friends claimed Mendoza had shown signs of threatening behavior.
“Marissa has told me, firsthand in the car with my friends outside of my house, that he would kill her, that he would not stop, that he’s obsessed with her, that he’s crazy and that he’s willing to go to that extent,” Jaslyn Gutierrez said.
The duo graduated from the Opportunity Youth Academy just weeks before she went missing.
She was set to study at the Gavilan College in Santa Clara County.
Meanwhile, her former teacher paid a heartbreaking tribute.
“She was friends and friendly with everyone who came into our classroom,” Tara Guerrero said.
“She’s just one of those kids that leaves a mark on your heart.”
Cops have issued an urgent appeal in a bid to find Mendoza.
FBI agents are also involved in the investigation.
