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Sensuntepeque Mayor Jesus Edgar Bonilla Navarrete sits in his office with Deysi Benitez’s cedula, or official ID. |
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SENSUNTEPEQUE, EL SALVADOR -- The search for Deysi Benitez has taken federal law enforcement officials to Central America.FBI officials visited Sensuntepeque on April 12 to speak with Deysi Benitez's parents and siblings. They asked if they had been in contact with Deysi and they viewed birth certificates and official identification documents for Deysi, her husband Pedro Rodriguez and their oldest daughter Elsa, who was born in El Salvador, said Sensuntepeque Mayor Jesus Edgar Bonilla Navarrete. The FBI is providing support to the Frederick Police Department upon request, said Lt. Tom Chase. Every possible lead is being followed. FBI spokeswoman Michelle Crnkovich said the bureau is taking a back seat to Frederick police in this case. Deysi's sister Angela Benitez believes she is still alive. Angela has not heard anything from Deysi, despite reports in the Latin American media that the two had been in contact. Deysi has been missing since March 18. The four Rodriguez children -- Elsa, 9; Vanessa, 4; Angel, 3; and Carena, 1 -- were murdered in their Danielle Drive townhouse. Their father hanged himself in the same house. Their bodies were found March 26. Deysi's family hasn't been contacted since the FBI visited -- the same day the children and their father were entombed in Sensuntepeque's only cemetery. Angela wonders how the investigation is progressing. There are no new announcements, Jaime Lopez Reyes, an inspector with El Salvador's national civil police force, said this week. Deysi's parents, Miguel Angel Benitez and Carmen Adilia Quinteros, got up early Tuesday morning to hike two hours from their remote mountain house in Tronalagua to the mayor's office in downtown Sensuntepeque. They sought a visa for Quinteros to travel to Frederick . Quinteros said she has many questions about her daughter and hopes to be able to visit her Frederick house to seek some sort of closure. Rodriguez's mother, Rosa Rodriguez, also said she wants to see the home where her son and grandchildren died. It is unlikely either will be able to make the journey, Navarrete said. United States visas are difficult to obtain. Staff writer Sarah Fortney contributed to the story.
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