Police Investigating Claims Two Missing Mothers Were Chased Before Found Dead in River

Niles, Michigan – Police are investigating claims that two missing mothers, Vanessa Bautista, 24, and Alexa Navarro, 23, may have been chased or followed before their vehicle went over an embankment and submerged in the St. Joseph River. The bodies of the two women, both from South Bend, Indiana, were discovered Tuesday night after their Jeep was pulled from the river.

The vehicle plunged approximately 70 feet into the water around 4 a.m. Sunday, according to Niles Police Chief James Millin. The women had been reported missing earlier that same day. Family members tracked their phones to Niles, located about 11 miles north of South Bend.

Millin stated that investigators are looking into witness accounts suggesting the women were followed from an establishment in Elkhart, Indiana, and potentially within Niles itself. "There’s been statements made that possibly somebody was chasing the girl, so we’re investigating that, looking into it," Millin told reporters. He added that while there is no immediate indication that external forces pushed the vehicle, this aspect remains under investigation.

"Some people are saying ‘followed,’ other people are saying ‘chased,’ so of course we’re looking into all that to try to determine is this factual? And if so, what, if any part, did it play in them ending up in the river?" Millin said.

The victims were positively identified by the Western Michigan University Office of the Medical Examiner on Thursday. The official cause of death has not yet been determined, and toxicology results are expected to take several weeks.

The condition of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which sustained significant damage, has raised questions, but police currently attribute the damage to the vehicle's descent down the steep embankment, which included striking trees, before entering the water. Millin clarified that the damage was consistent with a fall of that nature.

Jovani Ramirez, the father of Navarro’s child, expressed confusion about the route the women took. He stated that they typically used a specific route, Portage, and that Navarro’s decision to turn left towards the river was unusual. "It’s so weird to me, but we just have to let the police do what they do and start the investigation and see what’s going on. We’re just going to have to wait," Ramirez told WNDU.

Friends and family had organized search efforts for the missing women before the discovery. "She always check in with us; regardless of who it is she hasn’t checked in on her child, and we know that’s really not like her at all, and that’s a problem," Navarro’s cousin, Brandi Oritiz, had said prior to the finding.

Navarro is survived by her 3-year-old child, and Bautista by her two children, aged 2 and 3. The Niles Police Department has not released further updates on the investigation.