Mother identifies daughter found dead in arroyo

Family last saw teen as she angrily left home after argument

Albuquerque police released the name of a 16-year-old girl who was found dead at the bottom of an arroyo in northeast Albuquerque earlier this month.

Officers found Tomica Yellowhorse’s body Feb. 10 in an arroyo beneath Montgomery, near Interstate 25.

On Tuesday, Crime Stoppers asked for the public’s help in identifying her and offered a $1,000 reward. They released a picture of Yellowhorse’s face and, hours later, she was identified by her mother, Quintana Lamemn.

“I’m trying to stay strong,” Lamemn told the Journal on Thursday. “So many questions but still no answers.”

Lamemn said the arroyo where police found her daughter’s body is only a few blocks from where they live. The night before she was found, Yellowhorse had come home drunk.

“Of course, her being a teenager, she’s going to get lectured,” she said.

Lamemn said an argument with her aunt ended with Yellowhorse throwing on a sweater and walking out without saying where she was going.

“Usually she comes back,” she said. “That was the last time we saw her.”

Nine days later, Lamemn identified her daughter’s body.

APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said police are still investigating the teen’s death.

Lamemn said she moved Yellowhorse and her three sons to Albuquerque from Shiprock a few years ago.

Yellowhorse was enrolled in Del Norte High School but was withdrawn by the school after three months. Lamemn attributed it to her daughter’s rebellious spirit.

“She had a hard time growing up — lot of things she didn’t talk about,” she said. “As the parent, we always think our kids are good because they smile and we give them everything they want. But then we really fail to listen, because we’re so busy”

Lamemn said Yellowhorse, who she lovingly calls “sugar bear,” was very outgoing and an old soul who loved oldies like Ritchie Valens songs.

“She was so full of life, her favorite thing was music,” she said.

Yellowhorse was also known for posting deep and often emotional writings on Facebook. When Lamemn asked about the posts, Yellowhorse calmed her mother by saying, “It’s just how I feel — if random people read it and I could help a person with my honesty then, thank you.”