Police link SUV in lake to mom of 3

A weekslong search for a missing Houston mother on Tuesday took police to a small man-made lake in a Pearland neighborhood, where divers recovered what is believed to be the woman’s submerged SUV with a body inside, according to authorities.

Houston Police Commander Kevin Deese said he could not confirm whether the body was Hernandez. He said the identity will be verified and released by the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The vehicle, he said, matched the make and model and license plate of Hernandez’s vehicle, a black GMC Acadia. Hernandez, 40, has been missing since April 17.

“Our condolences go out to the family as they go through a painful time of waiting for a positive identification,” Deese said.

He said he could not comment on whether the unidentified body showed signs of foul play.

Deese said police gathered information with the FBI that led them to the small man-made lake in Pearland’s Shadow Creek Ranch subdivision. There, near the intersection of Reflection Bay and North Clear Lake, officers found evidence that a vehicle struck a curb and entered the body of water, Deese said.

He said the dive team was called and quickly located the vehicle at the bottom of the lake, which ranges in depth from 8 to 15 feet. Deese said the SUV appeared to have been in the water since Hernandez was first reported missing.

Officers noted damage on the SUV consistent with striking a curb, Deese said. Investigators believe the crash likely occurred in the early-morning

hours, when “no one would have heard anything,” he said.

Pearland police will lead the investigation into the death.

“We won’t definitively say the search for Erica Hernandez is over, because there is a process that still needs to be followed,” Deese said.

A mother of three, Hernandez worked at Community Health Choice, verifying insurance benefits. Her disappearance sparked a massive search effort that included Houston police, the FBI and Texas EquuSearch.

Her children have also pleaded for the public’s help, passing out flyers and taking on a media blitz for any information.

“She is the type of mother who would do anything she can for us,” said Briza Armenta, Hernandez’s 19-year-old daughter. She said her brothers — 3 and 15 — feel the same way.