Man Arrested In Case Of Missing Texas Woman, Christina Morris

Christina Morris disappeared more than three months ago from a Plano, Texas, shopping center, but yesterday a man, 24-year-old Enrique Gutierrez Arochi of Allen, who has been a person of interest in the kidnapping, was arrested at his home. Security footage from the Shops at Legacy in Plano showed that Christina, 23, walked through a parking garage August 30 with Arochi at 4 a.m., and she hasn’t been seen since that fateful night.

On Saturday, police charged Arochi with aggravated kidnapping in connection to Morris’ disappearance. Arochi, who has repeatedly denied any role in Morris’ disappearance, is being held in the Collin County Detention Center. His bail has been set at $1 million, but he is also being detained on an immigration hold, as reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Plano police spokesman David Tilley said that though Arochi’s arrest marks a “huge step” in the case, there’s still farther to go.

“The biggest step we need to make is finding Christina,” he said. “We’ve been able to determine who could have done it, and that her disappearance is associated with a criminal offense — those are two big things.”

Tilley told ABC News affiliate WFAA in Dallas that Arochi’s arrest was partly based on DNA samples taken during the investigation. Few details about what led to charging Arochi were released Saturday, and his arrest report will remain sealed for 30 days while police continue to search for Morris.

“The DNA evidence and the details that surround that… if we were able to release that, you would understand it more,” he said. “We are dealing with an aggravated kidnapping here. We now, more than ever, have to protect the information so we don’t jeopardize the investigation.”

Arochi, who attended Allen High School with Morris, had never been officially named as a suspect until Saturday, but police had increasingly focused on him as other leads dwindled. In September, investigators collected samples from Arochi’s 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, and their search warrant noted discrepancies in his account of what happened before Morris disappeared.

He originally told investigators that he wasn’t with Morris the night of August 30, but when he was shown photos from the security footage, he admitted he was with her. When he tried to explain bruises on his right forearm and abrasions on his right hand, police say he first told a co-worker he’d gotten in a fight at the Shops at Legacy. But later he told police a tire had fallen on his hand while he was working on his car.

Arochi told police Morris had never been in his Camaro, but forensic testing shows that evidence collected from Arochi’s car matches Morris’ DNA, police say. Damage was also visible to his car in which Arochi stated he had punched it himself, but a collision expert told police the damage was inconsistent with his explanation.

Christina’s mother, Jonni McElroy, has wanted answers from the last person who saw her daughter before she disappeared. She has been very vocal in the media to keep Christina’s name in the public. There are also several social media pages, including the Facebook Community page Help Find Christina Morris, to get daily updates on the search.

McElroy said she never gave up hope authorities would link Arochi to her daughter’s disappearance.

“It’s sad that we had to wait over 3 1/2 months to prove it,” McElroy said.

She is confident Arochi’s arrest will advance the search for her daughter. Christina’s stepmother, Anna Morris, also said the arrest was good news.

“But it’s not the news we were waiting for,” she said. “This isn’t over; we’re not stopping. Nothing’s changed because Christina hasn’t come home yet.”

“We have to remain optimistic, but we don’t have evidence to support either way,” Tilley said. “You have to hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

McElroy said she is confident Arochi’s arrest will advance the search for her daughter.

“I believe we’ll have her home by Christmas,” she said. “I want that wish to come true.”

Read about another kidnapping case as reported by the Inquisitr, where the victim was found alive in Mexico several years after her abduction.