The Missing Persons Case of Jose "Che" Dominguez in Stockton, CA

by Jessica

On Sunday, August 2, 1981, 16 year old Jose Dominguez left his home in Stockton to meet up with friends to play ball at Stribley Park. He never returned home.  

Jose "Che" Dominguez via the Record

Stribley Park is a large park in south east Stockton between State Hwy 4 (Cross Town Fwy) and East Charter Way. The park has a lot of open space, a community center and several baseball fields. It's also just a short distance from the BNSF railroad tracks and an industrial area with several large businesses. 

Location of Stribley Park via Google Maps

Stribley Park as seen from above via Google Maps

At the time of his disappearance Dominguez, who went by Che to those who knew him, was a student at Franklin High School where he played trumpet in the school band and he was also on the wrestling team. Initially, it was believed that Dominguez was a run away and San Joaquin County Sheriffs received possible tips from both family and the public who reported seeing him. Unfortunately, none of the tips panned out and his family never heard from him again, even during times of the year like holidays. Investigators and his family believed this was unusual and led to the conclusion that he may have met with foul play.

Though police believed it was possible he was run away a search was done at the time of the area around Dominguez' home and the area of Stribley Park. Nothing was found. Over the years this case received little public attention, and any specific information that police have has not been made public. However investigators did continue to work this case.

When he went missing Dominguez was wearing gray corduroy pants, a black t-shirt with a cancer symbol from the zodiac and the name "Che," and gray tennis shoes. At the time of his disappearance he was described by the FBI as a white or hispanic male, with black hair and brown eyes. He was approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and 116 pounds. 

Dominguez via the FBI

In 1989, an arrest in this case was made but charges were dropped when a witness recanted their statement. Since that time Dominguez's disappearance has remained unsolved.

While this case is associated with Stockton it is the San Joaquin County Sheriffs who are responsible for carrying out the investigation. In 2018, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow ran for office and one of the things he talked about was the creation of a dedicated cold case unit. In 2020, that wish became a reality and two "...seasoned detectives" were tasked with heading up the unit. According to KCRA 3, Detective Sgt. Linda Jiminez and Detective Irene Shelvey were chosen and they were working on approximately 200 unsolved homicides and 150 missing persons cases. One of those cases was that of Jose Dominguez. 

In 2021, during a press conference held by the San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow, it was stated that new information led the cold case unit to search "areas of interest" in eastern parts of San Joaquin County in regards to this case. At that time police found partial skeletal remains. San Joaquin County Sheriffs are reportedly testing for DNA. While it was stated that DNA tests would take a few weeks no other information is publicly available in regards to the remains that were collected. 

It has been over 40 years since Jose "Che" Dominguez went missing from Stockton. His loved ones have never stopped hoping answers would finally come in this terrible case. In a 2020 interview with Fox 40 his sister Corina Garcia told reporters that what she wanted for her brother was: "To put him to rest, you know. To let him have peace." 

If you have any information in the disappearance of Jose "Che" Dominguez it's imperative that you contact the San Joaquin Sheriffs Cold Case Unit at 209-468-5087 or you can send a tip by email at coldcase@sjgov.org. You can also contact the FBI with a tip using the information in the flyer below. If you would like to remain anonymous please send a tip through Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600.

Stockton Crime Stoppers is offering $10,000 for information in this missing persons case and the FBI is also offering $5,000 for the same. 

For more information in this case:

Rocha, Angelydet. "Partial human remains recovered in connection with Jose "Che" Dominguez's 1981 disappearance." The Record, 23 Dec 2021, https://tinyurl.com/bdhb2tae.

Macht, Daniel. "Stockton teen Jose "Che" Dominguez vanished 40 years ago. DNA testing on newly found remains is underway." KCRA3, 23 Dec 2021, https://www.kcra.com/article/stockton-teen-jose-che-dominguez-vanished-40-years-ago-cold-case-investigators-have-an-update/38603360.

Miller, Hope. "New Cold Case Unit Created in San Joaquin County." KCRA3, 24 Feb 2020, https://www.kcra.com/article/new-cold-case-unit-san-joaquin-county/31084169.

Recede, Kay. "San Joaquin County family still holding out hope for missing brother nearly forty years later." Fox 40, 10 Jan 2020, https://fox40.com/news/local-news/san-joaquin-county-family-still-holding-out-hope-for-missing-brother-nearly-40-years-later/.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff Office. San Joaquin County Sheriff gives update on Jose "Che" Dominguez disappearance. 23 Dec 2021, found on KCRA3 channel on Facebook.

FBI Kidnapping/Missing Persons Cases: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/jose-esuaro-che-dominguez.

Cold Case: The Disappearance of Pamela Pedro in Atwater, CA

by Jessica

There are many cases of missing people throughout the United States, the majority of which don't garner headlines or feature on the evening news. Worse, many of these cases don't have a wealth of information to aid law enforcement. In these cases, the smallest morsel of information could make a huge difference to loved ones and investigators. 

Pamela Pedro 

One of these cases happened in Atwater, CA when 17 year old Pamela Pedro went missing the morning of September 13, 1982. That Monday, Pamela, or Pam as her friends called her, was last seen before school outside of Atwater High School on the pay phone near the front office. It is unknown who she was speaking with and unclear what happened to Pamela afterwards. 

In 1982, Atwater High School was the only High School in the Central Valley town and Pamela was a senior and an advanced student who had plans to graduate early. Not only was she a good student but that dedication carried over to other talents. She had a black belt in karate and was a classical pianist.  

Atwater was a town of just over 17,000 people in the 1980's but was bordered by many smaller towns and rural areas. At the time it only had a single High School, Atwater High School, and it was about 3 miles from where Pamela lived with her family on Rainbow Lane. 

Map of Pedro home to Atwater High School via google maps

According to the Charley Project, on that Monday, her mother went to the school to pick her up at 1:30pm. When she arrived, Pamela was not waiting for her. She waited and then contacted the office asking them to make announcement looking for Pamela. She did not respond. At 4:30pm on this Monday, her family attempted to report their daughter missing to police. They were told that they needed to wait 24 hours before they could make a report. During that time Pamela was not found and evidence about what happened to her has not surfaced. 

Due to a lack of evidence, it's unclear how to classify Pamela Pedro's case. It's unknown if she decided to run away or if she met with foul play. What is known is that her family and loved ones miss her terribly and want to either find Pamela or information in her case. 

When Pamela went missing she was described as an Asian female of Filipino descent. She was 5 feet 1 inches in height and about 110 pounds. She was wearing blue corduroy pants, a pair of blue Nike sneakers and a blue and pink checkered shirt. Pamela wore glasses and at the time had braces. Some of her defining features included her black hair, dark brown eyes, a dimple on her left cheek and a small mole under her right eye. 

Pamela Pedro w/glasses via Charley Project

Since 1982, Pamela has not applied for a driver's license or used her social security card. 

Pamela Pedro Age Progression to Age 48

In 2012, a candlelight vigil was held at Atwater High School by students and family for Pamela Pedro. 

In September it will have been 38 years since Pamela Pedro was last seen in Atwater. Without evidence police have no way to continue searching for answers in her disappearance. In the ensuing years her father passed away never having answers. Her family and police continue to search for her. If you have any information about this case please call the Merced County Sheriff's Major Crime Unit at 209-385-7472. 

More Information:

Pamela Ann Pedro, The Charley Project: http://charleyproject.org/case/pamela-ann-pedro

"Candlelight Vigil for Missing Atwater High Teen Scheduled for Saturday." (2012 Sept 12). Merced Sun-Star: https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article3270430.html.

The Murder of Evelyn & Alex Hernandez in San Francisco

by Jessica

A "perfect victim" is someone who is the victim of a crime who doesn't have something "wrong" with them. A victim, the news, the police and communities don't view as being responsible for their crimes. These victims are often called "innocent" and society easily identifies with them.

One of the consequences of not being a "perfect victim" is less attention is paid to your case by the media and by communities and when you do get attention a lot of effort is put into finding ways the victim could have done better. Perhaps if they hadn't hitchhiked, or dressed a certain way they may not have become prey to a person who holds less responsibility for their murder. We've all heard phrases like, "they asked for it" far too many times.

In each of our upcoming episodes the idea of "perfect" and "imperfect" victims will come into play. It plays a big part in our bonus episode this week. In it we cover the murders of Evelyn and Alex Hernandez. This is a case that received little attention and is when does receive attention its usually connected with a more famous case. When we put together the episode we considered trying to rectify that issue by only giving details in the Hernandez case but the more we researched and saw first hand how little information was given in the case, and how much of it was reported as part of another case, we decided we'd tackle the subject head on.

You can find our episode on this case anywhere you listen to podcasts, on our home page and on Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/28000626

Evelyn & Alex Hernandez

Evelyn Hernandez was years old and pregnant with her second child in April of 2002 when her and her five year old son, Alex, were last seen. In the days leading up to her disappearance, Evelyn spent time preparing for her baby's arrival on what doctors believed would be May 7th. She attended a doctors appointment, helped get her son set up with a new bed and talked with her sister about an upcoming baby shower. During that call her sister talked to her about how she would get to a baby shower in Richmond, CA from her San Francisco Amazon-Crocker neighborhood. Evelyn didn't have a car and had been experiencing pain with her pregnancy. She was on disability from her job at the The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel on Geary Street in downtown San Francisco.

May 1, 2002 was the last time anyone saw or heard from Evelyn and her son Alex. The next day Alex was absent from school and people who tried to get in touch with Evelyn couldn't find her. On May 7, 2002, the two were reported missing by Herman Aguilar and Evelyn's sister. Aguilar was the father of Evelyn's child due on May 7th.

When police go to Evelyn's home they believe it may be possible she's left town to have her baby elsewhere. Family and friends believed this wasn't possible. Evelyn was a legal immigrant from El Salvador and just a week out from giving birth. Traveling would be difficult and her passports were still in her house. Police could not find her wallet.

Sometime after Evelyn went missing a person in South San Francisco found her wallet in a ditch near Colma Creek. The person who finds the wallet has no reason to think they've found anything other than a missing wallet and hoping to get it back to it's owner they try to get in touch with Evelyn. On May 30, 2002, they take the wallet to the police station hoping they might have more luck getting in  touch with Evelyn. To police this is important and telling evidence that something more has happened to Evelyn.

Inside the wallet the police find cash and Evelyn's disability check. They go to the area where the wallet was found and search thoroughly, even using dogs, hoping to find any other evidence. They don't find anything else. Police move Evelyn's case from missing persons to homicide and a press conference is held in the case.

Then on July 24, 2002, someone walking on the Embarcadero, near the Bay Bridge, in San Francisco sees a body in the ocean about 16 feet away from the sea wall. Police pull the body from the bay and find that it is only the lower half of a torso and legs. Maternity clothes is attached or nearby the body. The police check the DNA of the body with DNA from Evelyn's toothbrush. It was a match. Evelyn's unborn child and Alex are nowhere to be found. Police believe that both have also been murdered by the same person who murdered Evelyn.

Information in this case goes cold pretty fast and it's only later in 2002, when Laci Peterson goes missing in Modesto, CA and is found murdered in the San Francisco Bay that attention is paid by the press to Evelyn's case. During the Scott Peterson trial part of his defense was that his wife was killed by another person, the same person who killed Evelyn Hernandez.

While there are some similarities in the two cases, both women were pregnant and found in the bay, the police do not believe there is any evidence to connect the two cases. Scott Peterson was found guilty of murdering his wife Laci Peterson in a very high profile case.

While the two murders are not connected, there is one major difference. The news coverage of first the missing, and then murdered Laci Peterson was heavily covered around the world while the coverage for Evelyn was considerably less. In the local paper, the Hernandez case only garnered a handful of articles and none of them on the front page.

In the episode we talk at length about the reasons why some cases get more attention while others get very little, and sometimes none at all. In fact, most cases never receive the kind of attention famous cases we can all think of do. There doesn't seem to be one reason why a case would garner more attention than another but in Evelyn's case there were several factors that came into play. She was not, as the media would say, a "perfect victim," But no one really is.

Evelyn was a single mother who the papers repeatedly reminded the reader had become pregnant by a man who was married. The fact that she didn't know he was married when she dated him or became pregnant was mentioned once. Most of Evelyn's family lived overseas in El Salvador and though her sisters and friends advocate for her, including holding memorials and keeping hope that Alex is still alive, this hasn't seemed to bring a lot of attention. She wasn't rich, she didn't have a victim's organization advocating on her behalf, and information in the case did not continue to flow as it had in other cases.

But like every victim of murder, Evelyn mattered as much as anyone. Her and her child had a life ahead of them. She was only days away from having her second child who she planned to name Fernando. Lack of attention from the public did not mean that police weren't working hard to find the answers in this case. It also did not meant that the people who loved her didn't grieve and miss the family terribly. Everything that people in larger cases went through this family suffered. And while press may be a blessing for people looking for answers we've seen plenty of cases where it was a double edged sword when it wouldn't die down after answers were had, or when it assumed things about victims instead of treating them as the real people they were.

In this case the police are still investigating. What they need is someone who knows something or saw something to come forward. Over time someone might feel less scared about coming forward, or start to feel guilty about their role in the crime. Keeping Evelyn and Alex in the news means reminding people everyday that they were real, they deserved better and that three lives were taken.

If you have any information in this case please call police in San Francisco at 415-553-1071. If you wish to stay anonymous please call 415-575-4444.

You can find more information and a full list of our works cited for this episode here: https://sites.google.com/view/californiatruecrime/episodes-page/season-2/evelyn-alex-hernandez?authuser=0