A search is underway for a Utah man who was named a “person of interest” in his wife’s death after her body was found inside his camper trailer, which was parked at a storage lot, according to authorities.
Family members of Jeusselem Elieth Genes Vitola and her husband, Alvaro Jose Urbina Rojas, reported them missing to Saratoga Springs police after they last saw the couple the morning of Thursday, February 26, KUTV reported.
Vitola, 43, and Rojas, 57, shared two children and were married for nearly 20 years, according to the outlet.
The Saratoga Springs Police Department said in a Tuesday, March 3, news release that while investigating a missing persons case, they searched an RV owned by Rojas at a storage lot in Draper.
Inside the trailer, officers “found the body of an adult woman believed to be Jeusselem Vitola,” according to police, who shared that her death is considered a homicide.
Investigators now believe that Rojas is no longer in Utah and has fled to California, police said.
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Authorities suspect Rojas is driving a 2005 Gray Toyota Sequoia with a Utah license plate, according to police.
Saratoga Springs police are working with Draper police, the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol to apprehend Rojas, police said.
Rojas and Vitola had immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela about ten years ago and had been running a food truck in Utah, their friends told KSL-TV.
Police said that Rojas had taken his wife to work on February 26, when they were last seen, according to the TV station. Vitola reportedly never arrived at work.
Saratoga Springs Police Chief Andrew Burton said that the couple’s relatives told police that they initially did not believe anything was wrong when they went missing, and that there had been no domestic violence incidents between the pair, the TV station.
However, Burton said that there was “some talk about divorce,” KSL-TV reported.
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A potential motive for Vitola’s homicide is unclear.
According to police, Rojas’ alleged vehicle has been linked to southern California and Las Vegas after he allegedly fled Utah, KSTU reported.
Rojas, who is also known as Jose Alvaro, is 5-foot-9, weighs 193 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes, according to police, who have shared a photo of him and the car he is believed to be driving.
The Saratoga Springs Police Department asks anyone with information on Rojas or the vehicle to call local authorities or Saratoga Springs Detective Llorens at (801) 766-6503 or (801) 798-5600.
