Two men, including the ex-boyfriend of missing teen Melanie Stephanie Rios Camacho, have been arrested in California after police located the young woman’s remains in an orchard not far from where authorities found her car on fire just days ago.
Vicente Jasso, 23, the woman’s ex-boyfriend, has been booked by Madera County Sheriff’s Office on suspected murder and Jose Lopez-Hernandez, 22, a friend to Jasso, was taken into custody for accessory to murder, according to a police statement obtained by Law&Crime.
They are detained at the Madera County Jail.
Police said Jasso and Camacho had dated for a few months but had broken up just a few days before Thanksgiving. Notably, Jasso has a criminal background that includes a history of domestic abuse dating back to 2016, Fresno ABC affiliate KFSN reported.
“To the family of Melanie, we are deeply sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, especially as we approach Melanie’s 20th birthday, which would’ve been this Friday,” Sheriff Tyson Pogue said during a press conference late Monday.
Left to right: Jose Lopez Hernandez booking photo Madera County Sheriff’s Office; Melanie Stephanie Rios Camacho appears in photo provided to police by family. Camacho went missing Nov. 24, 2023; her remains were found by police in California on Nov. 27, 2023. Vicente Jasso booking photo Madera County Sheriff’s Office.
Though many of the details of Camacho’s murder are being kept under wraps as an investigation is still pending, police offered some insights into how they captured Jasso and Hernandez.
Surveillance footage and witness interviews pinpointed Camacho leaving her job at AutoZone in Madera around 10:15 p.m. on Nov. 24. Her 2014 white Nissan Altima was spotted on the roadway near her job around 10:30 p.m., just a half-hour before her mother received a text from her daughter saying she planned to meet “with a friend” after work.
When she didn’t come home, her mother reported her missing around 6:45 a.m. on Nov. 25.
“Tracking of Melanie’s phone had been disabled at some point prior to her call with authorities,” police said. “Melanie didn’t show up for her shift at AutoZone later that morning. Detectives spoke with the friend she told her mom she’d be meeting, who reported they never met after work, but rather Melanie planned to meet with an ‘ex’ to either give or receive something.”
Within two hours of Camacho’s mother reporting her missing, police received a call about a car on fire in the area. It was Camacho’s. Witnesses told police they saw a blue Ford Mustang with a black hood being driven around the same area where her car was found. Queuing up surveillance footage, police said they were able to determine that the Mustang belonged to Lopez-Hernandez.
Lopez-Hernandez was brought in for questioning that night and police executed a search warrant on his home shortly afterward.
The warrant led them to the orchard near a rural highway where officers located Camacho’s remains.
By then, police said they had made Vicente Jasso their primary suspect. Officers spotted him around 7 a.m. on Monday driving around Madera in a minivan. That’s when California Highway Patrol attempted to stop him.
A chase got underway, with speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour, according to The Fresno Bee. Jasso was finally stopped in his tracks thanks to a spike strip that caused his tires to rupture. Though Jasso managed to escape on foot briefly and hide in a residential neighborhood but was ultimately captured with the help of a police helicopter.
Police said Monday that during the high-speed pursuit, some of Camacho’s belongings were tossed by Jasso from his car window, including the woman’s driver’s license.
It is unclear whether Jasso or Lopez-Hernandez have retained an attorney.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse or domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
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