Find the latest updates about Savanah Soto and Mathew Guerra here.
A missing pregnant woman who was the subject of a CLEAR Alert is believed to have been found dead inside a car parked near an apartment complex on the Northwest Side Tuesday.
Family members confirmed to KSAT that Savanah Soto, 18, was found inside her car in the 5900 block of Danny Kaye along with an adult male. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday evening positively identified the man as Soto’s boyfriend, Matthew Guerra.
The ME’s Office positively identified Soto as the other body on Thursday afternoon. Her cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and her manner of death was reported as a homicide.
Leon Valley Police said Soto’s parents told them that she was supposed to induce labor on Saturday but did not show up at the hospital.
‘Perplexing crime scene’
SAPD Chief William McManus said at a press conference around 6 p.m. that investigators believe that the bodies are those of Savanah Soto and her boyfriend, but that he would not confirm it until the medical examiner did.
The Texas Department of Public Safety canceled the CLEAR alert at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s a very perplexing crime scene,” McManus said. “Detectives (are) looking at it as a possible murder but we don’t know for sure... It’s a complex scene.”
(Watch the press conference below.)
The Kia Optima where the bodies were discovered is believed to belong to the boyfriend, he said.
He said investigators have not yet been able to move the bodies and are not sure whether a weapon is in the car.
McManus said the bodies are believed to have been there for three or four days.
Tarps were seen covering parts of the car from Sky 12 as investigators worked the scene.
The location is about three miles away from her apartment in the 6000 block of Grissom Road where Soto was last seen at 2 p.m. on Dec. 22.
Several family members as well as a large police and media presence formed at the scene before police provided an update around 6 p.m.
⚠️ explicit language ⚠️
— John Paul Barajas (@KSATJohnPaul) December 26, 2023
This is presumed family and friends of missing 18 year old Savanah Soto and her boyfriend arguing. Family told @ksatnews they believe the bodies have been found. We are still waiting on official confirmation. pic.twitter.com/b27ZaJS6Bh
CLEAR Alert issued on Christmas Day
DPS issued the CLEAR Alert on Monday for Soto.
A CLEAR Alert is a state program for missing adults. CLEAR stands for Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue and is used to locate and rescue missing, kidnapped or abducted adults, or adults who are in immediate danger.
When Leon Valley investigators performed a welfare check at Soto’s apartment on Friday, they told KSAT they found no sign of forced entry and believed that the couple may have been out of town.
An emotional scene out here. People are holding on to each other and crying after hearing that the two people might be Savanah Soto and her boyfriend. @ksatnews pic.twitter.com/WhKNLt41FF
— Avery Everett (@KSATAvery) December 27, 2023
Court room brawl
Savanah Soto is the second child her mother, Gloria Cordova, lost in the past year and a half.
Savanah’s younger brother, Ethan, was killed last year.
Their family was behind a courtroom brawl involving Ethan Soto’s killer. In a video shared with KSAT in October, members of the family beat the suspect accused of killing Ethan in the middle of a Bexar County courtroom.
Ethan Soto was just 15 when he was shot and killed in May 2022, according to police.
The shooting happened on Alston Street near Callaghan Road. Officers said Ethan was shot after during an argument.