GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — The search for the body of a woman police believe was killed by her ex-boyfriend continues. Family members of Yanira Cedillos, 30, have coordinated numerous efforts with community support since Yanira vanished in early March. They have combed through desolate areas from Grant to Umatilla Counties hopeful to find some trace of Yanira.
“We are very grateful for everyone who has come out and helped us,” Yanira’s sister, Lanny Abundiz, told KHQ.
Police have arrested Yanira’s ex-boyfriend, Juan Gastelum. He’s facing a charge of murder and rape, and remains in Umatilla County awaiting extradition. Yanira’s family says they were told by investigators content found on his phone indicates Yanira was the victim of a homicide.
“He won’t tell anyone where her [body] is,” Lanny said.
The family, with help from volunteers and community members, have walked through several locations looking for Yanira’s remains. This weekend, multiple searches were conducted, including one in Franklin County near Mesa.
Just a day later, they were notified a decomposed body was recovered near one of the areas they were searching.
The remains were found in the Scooteney Reservoir around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 1. The scene was closed while detectives searched for additional evidence. Lanny says the investigators assigned to her sister’s case have been in contact with them about the discovery, but at this point, there is no way to tell if the body is Yanira’s or not.
“We probably won’t know anything more for a couple of weeks. They said two weeks, if not more, because of how badly the body was decomposed,” she explained. “It could be [Yanira]. His phone did ping in that area, but we don’t know for sure yet.”
And Lanny says they won’t until test results come back. She says until they are told for certain either way, effort to find Yanira will continue.
“It’s a nightmare,” she lamented. “We can’t sleep, we can’t eat. I know she’s not alive, but she’s out there. Somewhere. And it’s awful.”
She says they’re planning to come together again later this week or into the weekend to continue their search.
