November 22nd, 2019
Press Release-UPDATE of Missing Portage Woman
On Thursday November 21st, 2019, the Detectives of the Portage Police Department received critical information with regards to the identity of the subject Ms. Saucedo-(who had been reported missing earlier that day) had met on Facebook. This subject was discovered to be a 15-year old black male from Gary, Indiana. He was located at the Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (9th grade) located at 3401 West 5th Ave in... Gary, Indiana and detained by Portage Detectives. He was then transported back to the Portage Police Department Detective Bureau where his parents met with Detectives.
During the course of our investigation, our Detectives identified two other subjects believed to be present at the time of Ms. Saucedo was picked up from her home in what we understand to be a prearranged purchase of a small amount of Marijuana. Those subjects are identified as a 16-year old black male and a 17-year black male both from Gary, Indiana.
Also during the course of our investigation, we learned that Ms. Saucedo was shot inside the vehicle in which she was picked up, in what appears to be a robbery of her money she was to use for the Marijuana purchase. The subjects drove to Gary, Indiana where they callously dumped Ms. Saucedo in an abandoned elementary school (Horace S. Norton) located at 1356 Harrison Boulevard.
Captain Joe Reynolds, Detectives Kurt Biggs and Nicole Heuberger and I went to Horace Norton School where we began searching for Ms. Saucedo and ultimately found her deceased. The Lake County Coroner’s Office was requested and along with Portage Police Detective Janis Crafton processed the crime scene. The Gary Police Department and their MAG Unit (Multi-Agency Gang Unit) assisted in searching for the 16-year old and 17-year old suspects.
The 16-year old suspect was located at his home and transported back to the Portage Police Department where his parents met with Detectives. The 17-year old suspect was not at home last night and is still at-large, but we are currently searching for him. He and his family are aware that we are looking for him. The 15-year old is currently detained at the Porter County Juvenile Detention Facility and the 16-year old is currently detained at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Facility.
I wanted to take a moment and talk about the cooperation of local law enforcement and the coroner’s office as well as the Porter County Prosecutor (Gary Germann) last night and what it meant to see approximately thirty officers working together to bring the subjects involved in this heinous crime to justice. The determination displayed last night by everyone was exemplary.
I also want to acknowledge the specific work of Captain Reynolds, Detectives Heuberger, Biggs, Crafton and Phil Garzella last night. Their tenacity and committed focus to find Ms. Saucedo, who was a Portage resident and bring her family some measure of closure was extraordinary. Our investigation is still ongoing and we will provide more updates as our investigation continues.
Chief Troy Williams