Police say missing Texas woman killed; man arrested in death

A Texas woman who went missing after going on a date in July was killed, and a man has been arrested in her death, police said Wednesday.

This undated photo provided by the El Paso Police Department in El Paso, Texas shows Ricardo Marquez. who was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, and charged with the murder of Erika Andrea Gaytan. [Photo: AP]

El Paso police said the body of Erika Andrea Gaytan, 29, has not been recovered. She was last heard from July 13 after going to a concert.

“Her body has not been found, but based on forensic and other evidence gathered over the course of the investigation detectives have reason to believe that she is deceased and was the victim of a murder,” police spokesman Enrique Carrillo said in a statement.

Ricardo Marquez, 28, of El Paso has been arrested and charged with her murder, Carrillo said. He is being held on $1 million bond.

Police issued a missing person alert in July describing Gaytan as “endangered.” She was last seen by her family on the day of the concert, and they reported her missing on July 16.

Gaytan's family said when she went missing that it was not like her to go off and leave her 7-year-old son behind.

TV station KVIA reported that the man she was on the date with told police she had called for an Uber. Her son's father said Gaytan was a good mother and would always have her phone with her.