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Human Remains Found In Shallow Grave Believed To Be Rosemary Diaz, 15, Who Vanished Without A Trace 25 Years Ago

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 06:45 PST, Nov 27, 2015

Twenty-five years after 15-year-old Rosemary Diaz of Danevang, Texas disappeared, investigators state the human remains found in a shallow grave at a “60-acre property belonging to the suspect’s family are indeed the missing teen,” according to NY Daily News. On November 24, 1990, the El Campo High School student went to work at Dane’s Country Store, but sometime during the day she left and was never seen again.

Diaz’s car remained parked outside of the store, which led investigators to believe that she may have been abducted. Although Texas police searched night and day for the missing teen for over two decades, there was still “no hard evidence of her apparent abduction.” It wasn’t until they asked Texas EquuSearch to get involved that they found themselves searching a home, belonging to the family of a man — whose name is being withheld — who has admitted to family members over time that he was involved in the disappearance of Rosemary Diaz.

The suspect’s family turned the information over to the police, which is the sole reason why Texas police re-opened the case. The suspect, who police officials said was in his early 20s during the time the teen disappeared, has since passed but his family is cooperating with police officials, sanctioning them to search their property where they ascertained human bone fragments on Monday. The following day, the search team discovered several items, including an amethyst ring that was “heart shaped with a gold band.” Diaz’s family confirmed that the ring found at the location did in fact belong to the missing teen as it was given to her at her quinceanera.

According to the Daily Mail, Diaz’s sister Irma said after seeing the ring, “That’s when my heart just sank. I know it’s her;” however, “This is not the outcome we were hoping for. We just want to lay her to rest. My mother says a weight has been lifted on her shoulders. Now she can finally lay her daughter to rest.”

On Wednesday, an early morning conference was held where Sgt. Scott Grosser of the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office stated, “I can’t speculate what happened after she disappeared, other than she is deceased. She was found in a shallow grave in a remote, wooded area. That is what we expected all along. Exactly how did the abduction happen, there’s no way to know because stores didn’t have a lot of video security systems back in those days.”

“It was a very emotional experience for both the family and law enforcement.”

“The main thing is closure for the Diaz family,” Grosser added. “That’s a family that has kept the memory of Rosemary alive for 25 years. They never let her memory die. They never gave up. It’s all about bringing Rosemary home now.”

However, a positive identification will still need to be made. The human remains will be sent for forensic testing and investigators are hoping that it will shed light on how the teen died. In the meantime, investigators will continue to “interview sources and review evidence.” Tim Miller of the EquuSearch added that when the search for the missing teen commenced, they “made a goal, we wanted her home by Christmas, but God had different plans. He wanted her home by Thanksgiving, and on the day she disappeared.”

“Rosemary Diaz’ family has been on a torturous roller coaster of emotional hope and despair for the last 25 years,” Equusearch wrote in Facebook post. “Hopefully, the Diaz family may now have some type of peaceful resolve, and some of their questions might be answered.”

[Image via National Center of Missing and Exploited Children]

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