Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Police Suspend Search for Missing Mother
A lack of leads prompts the Gilroy Police Department to halt searches for Martha Gutierrez.
Updated at 12:52 p.m., Sunday
After two days of searching, police announced Sunday that search efforts for Martha Gutierrez will be suspended until more leads are developed regarding her whereabouts.
"We don't have any further evidence as to where she might be," Sgt. Joseph Deras of the Gilroy Police Department said. "We have no way of knowing where this person is."
Martha’s 27-year-old son, Abel , Lucero, before turning a gun on himself Wednesday night, and Martha has been missing since. She was last seen Tuesday night and is , police said.
The GPD Friday afternoon and found evidence of a violent assault, including blood, as well as Martha’s cell phone. The Iraq War veteran’s undated DMV photo was released by police Saturday.
Thirty volunteer search and rescue members and half a dozen canines covered 30 miles of rural terrain in the southwest section of the county during Saturday’s search, but found nothing. Police have no evidence indicating that Martha was in the southwest part of the county and don't have any reason to believe she's in any other specific location, Deras said.
Detectives, he said, are following all leads as to where Martha could be and are trying to determine what could have led Abel to commit the murder-suicide.
Police searches will resume as leads develop, Deras explained. He said that, as more time passes, the possibility of finding her alive becomes less likely.
"It's not looking real promising as time goes on," he said.