Body of Missing Mom Discovered in Ditch Days After Wrecked Car Found

The body of a missing Texas mother has been found in a ditch days after her wrecked SUV was located.

Mario Morales, Yesica Martínez's husband, said she was on her way home from a new job at a North Dallas bar and that she would have been back at about 12:40 a.m. on Friday, March 17.

After Morales failed to hear from his wife, he decided to go to the bar where she had started working in a bid to find her.

Stock image of a police car
A file photo of a police car. Yesica Martínez was found dead on Sunday. Getty

Morales told NBC5: "First I called the police to see what we could do about a report. He's like, 'well it's not uncommon for young ladies to, you know, break up or leave a relationship just that way without giving notice.

"I kind of sat on that for a few minutes and I was like, 'no I'm going to go to the police station and make a report,' and he kind of said the same thing again.

Morales continued: "I pushed a little bit further. I said, 'I just want to know if she might have been in a wreck, or to tell me there's a hospital that she might have been reported to be in."

The network reported Morales was told a 911 call that came in sounded like Martínez had been in an argument with a man in the car.

A Dallas County Sheriff's Office told NBC5 that officers worked on a crash on Friday at about 12:59 a.m. on southbound I-35 at the connector to Woodall Rodgers Freeway. Police didn't find anyone around or close to the wrecked vehicle.

Deaths on the Road

According to Pro-Care Medical Centers, there are about 500,000 car accidents in Texas every year. It added that the Lone Star State had more than 4,000 traffic accident deaths in 2021.

Houston led the state that year with 67,000 recorded car accidents, while San Antonio was placed second with just more than 38,000. Dallas followed on with more than 35,000 car accidents.

Martínez's SUV was found on Friday along the freeway, but she was not located until Sunday, March 19.

Martínez's family found her body behind a fence that first responders had cut through, across several lanes of the freeway.

Daro Manzo, her brother, told Fox4: "We seen her body laying in that ditch over there. I tried to ask questions. Nobody had answers for me."

Dallas police have launched an investigation into the crash and the moments that led up to Martínez's death.

A GoFundMe campaign organized by Martinez's mother-in-law was launched late on Sunday.

Michelle Rios added: "Yesica was tragically taken from us Friday morning and her husband and family need our help with the funeral expenses as times have been a bit tough lately.

"Yesica was one of the sweetest people and would help anyone she could, please help her rest peacefully."

Since the campaign went live on Sunday, more than $425 has been raised out of a $6,500 target.

Newsweek has contacted the Dallas County Sheriff's Office for comment.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Anders Anglesey is a U.S. News Reporter based in London, U.K., covering crime, politics, online extremism and trending stories. Anders ... Read more

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