17-year-old girl found dead in ditch was strangled
A 17-year-old girl found dead in a Northeast Side ditch after going for a walk was strangled, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The ME’S office identified the teen as Kaitlin Elizabeth Hernandez. Police said they found her around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 7600 block of Dell Oak Drive after family members said she went for a walk with a neighbor.
When the neighbor returned, Hernandez was no longer with them, police said, and she was reported missing to authorities. Police said they interviewed the neighbor, but it’s unclear if they are expected to face any charges.
Someone saw her phone light up in a nearby ditch as the family searched for her, according to police. Officers also found a jacket she had been wearing. They eventually found Hernandez lying naked in a drainage ditch under a bridge, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Wednesday, police published an image of a person of interest on Facebook and asked the public to help identify them. They later said they’d found him and that he was cooperating with detectives.
The family of Hernandez created a Gofundme to pay for her funeral expenses. Crystal Rodriguez, Hernandez’s aunt who started the Gofundme, wrote in the fundraiser description that Hernandez’s sister also died four months ago. She wrote that she was supposed to graduate high school soon.
“We are in a state of shock as this feels so unreal to us,” Rodriguez wrote. “We are trying to have a proper funeral service for her as we just layed her sister down to rest four months ago, now (they’re) together in heaven.”
Crime Stoppers said they may pay up to $5,000 for any information that leads to a felony arrest. They can be reached at 210-224-7867.